Looking for a place to eat with great food and outdoor seating in Gatlinburg, Tennessee? Our insider’s guide features top Gatlinburg restaurants with outdoor seating — boasting a variety of Appalachian, Mexican, Cajun, American, and Southern entrees plus craft beer, local wine, moonshine, and spirits. Plus, many Gatlinburg eateries offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
Most outdoor dining can be found along the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg, and there are some outdoor eateries near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and inside the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community in The Glades as well. You can even create your own outdoor dining experience at a log cabin rental in the Smoky Mountains of Sevier County.
With all that said, let’s jump into the best restaurants in Gatlinburg with outdoor seating and/or outdoor features plus delicious food for your Smoky Mountain vacation. Foodies unite!
1. Cliff Top Grill & Bar
Outdoor dining at Anakeesta — a family adventure park — is a no-brainer. Our favorite mountaintop eatery has to be Cliff Top. Enjoy stunning views of the Smokies and Mt. LeConte while chowing down on onion rings, nut & berry salad, homestyle grits, gourmet burgers or steaks, rosemary pomme frites, and homemade desserts on the outdoor deck.
2. Crawdaddy’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar
Craving Cajun-style food with a twist and a handcrafted cocktail? From alligator bites, seafood gumbo, and raw oysters to low country boil, bacon-wrapped sirloin, and stuffed lobster, you’ll be in a food coma in no time at Crawdaddy’s. Plus, weekends feature karaoke for all ages, and New Orleans vibes extend to the outdoor patio!
3. Crystelle Creek Restaurant & Grill
Whether you’re planning a romantic dinner for 2, a family feast, or a group meal, Crystelle Creek offers a beautiful dining experience in Gatlinburg. Meander around the grounds, featuring a koi pond, a 150-foot lit tree, and water falling from the roof. Then, enjoy fried mushrooms, premium ribeye, a loaded baked potato, and dessert by large picture windows framing the great outdoors.
4. Howard’s Restaurant
Another restaurant with outdoor seating in Gatlinburg, Howard’s Steakhouse — a local favorite since 1946 — offers a gorgeous patio with trees, flowers, and tables with umbrellas right next to a flowing creek. Menu items include catfish bites, soups, salads, ribs, steaks, salmon, trout, burgers, and pulled pork sandwiches. And there’s an in-house saloon!
5. Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina
Adding to their yummy Tex-Mex flavors — including fajitas, chimichangas, and tableside guacamole — plus punchy margaritas is the rooftop dining area at Loco Burro! With the only rooftop bar in Gatlinburg, this eatery is a great pick for a night out. Order drinks from the tiki bar, dance to live music, and lounge by the firepits. Inside, there’s a mechanical donkey to ride and a convenient elevator to take you to the roof.
6. The Greenbrier Restaurant
Between savory appetizer bites and a chef-prepared meal inside this lodge-style restaurant in Gatlinburg, sit outside in the rockers or around the roaring firepit. Known as a food and spirits outpost, this popular steakhouse features dry-aged beef, fresh seafood, and organic produce plus house-crafted cocktails, top-shelf whiskey, and Appalachian wine.
7. The Peddler Steakhouse
Feel like you’re outdoors with huge picture windows, offering a nature experience year-round — right next to the Little Pigeon River — at The Peddler Steakhouse.
Near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you can enjoy a mouthwatering steak dinner riverside, then go for a scenic drive with dessert.
8. The Wild Plum Tea Room
Tucked into the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community, The Wild Plum is a unique place to eat with outdoor seating in Gatlinburg. You can sip wild plum tea, bite into a baked salmon burger, or eat a dessert sampler while sitting outside in the fresh mountain air. Pets are allowed on the screened porch or open deck as well. Only lunch is served on specific days, so reservations are recommended.
9. Three Jimmy’s Good Time Eatery
Serving a made-from-scratch menu — including BBQ, artisan pizza, comfort food, plus fried chicken, burgers, and beer-battered fries — and featuring a fully stocked bar, Three Jimmy’s is known as a good time eatery with outdoor seating in Gatlinburg. Not to mention, you can shoot pool, play cornhole, sing karaoke, or enjoy live entertainment.
10. Timbers Log Cabin Restaurant
Dine at bistro tables on the wraparound porch or on the patio with tables and umbrellas at Timbers Log Cabin Restaurant, nestled in the crafts community of Gatlinburg. Outdoor seating is pet friendly, so Fido can come, too! American eats include shrimp and grits, steak-and-cheese burgers, potato salad, and phenomenal blueberry cobbler.
11. Tom & Earl’s Back Alley Grill
At this Gatlinburg restaurant with outdoor dining, there’s a spacious patio with views of downtown and distant mountains. Live music is often played, and floor-to-ceiling windows bring the outdoors inside on rainy or chilly days at Tom & Earl’s. What’s on the menu? Nachos, chilis, salads, wraps, burgers, bottled or draft beer, wine, and specialty drinks!
Pigeon Forge Restaurants with Outdoor Seating
Worth a short drive from downtown Gatlinburg are restaurants with outdoor seating in Pigeon Forge, TN! Here are some of our recommendations.
- Bennet’s Pit Bar-B-Que
- Blue Moose Burgers & Wings
- Bullfish Grill
- Harpoon Harry’s Crab House
- Lil Black Bear Cafe
- Margaritaville at The Island
- The Pottery House Cafe at The Old Mill
- Wild Bear Tavern
- Yee-Haw Brewing Co.
Scenic Outdoor Dining at YOUR Cabin
Aside from a wide variety of restaurants in Gatlinburg with outdoor seating, you can enjoy a memorable outdoor dining experience at your cabin rental with scenic views. With Cabins for YOU, you’ll have your pick of amenity-packed outdoor spaces, spectacular mountain views, or riverside dining at our Gatlinburg cabin rentals. We also have vacation rentals in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.
Fire up the charcoal or gas grill for a mountain cookout and set the picnic table beneath the lofty trees. Order takeout from a local eatery and dine at the outdoor table with gorgeous mountain vistas and music playing. Or whip up homemade dishes and cocktails in the fully equipped kitchen and eat outside after swimming in the pool. Plus, firepits or firepit tables are great for evening s’mores as the sun sets over the mountain peaks.
Additional amenities at our cabins in Gatlinburg include hot tubs, game rooms, home theaters, cozy fireplaces, indoor dining areas, free and fast Wi-Fi, indoor jetted tubs, plus king suites with private bathrooms. Get ready for fun and food-tastic times with family and friends at your cabin in the Smokies!
Plan to eat at the best Gatlinburg restaurants with outdoor seating and retreat to scenic outdoor spaces at a Smoky Mountain cabin on YOUR gourmet vacation.