Pigeon Forge Restaurants
Pancakes in the morning, barbecue in the afternoon, and a dinner show if you want the whole production. Here's where our team actually eats along the Parkway — and where to go when the wait is an hour.
Alamo Steakhouse
A Texas-inspired steakhouse on the Pigeon Forge Parkway, serving aged, hand-cut steaks grilled over an oak fire, plus prime rib, chicken and seafood.
Azul Cantina
A Mexican restaurant at the Mountain Mile in Pigeon Forge with wood-fired specials, margaritas and what it calls the town’s first rooftop bar.
Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Que
Hickory-smoked ribs, brisket, pork and chicken on the Pigeon Forge Parkway since 1991, with Southern sides, a salad bar and family meals to go.
Big Daddy’s Pizzeria
Wood-fired pizza from a brick oven on the Pigeon Forge Parkway, with handmade dough, fresh toppings and an arcade for the kids.
Blue Moose Burgers and Wings
A family-friendly sports grill on Teaster Lane in Pigeon Forge, known for Angus burgers, jumbo wings and TVs throughout the dining room.
Brick and Spoon
An upscale breakfast, brunch and lunch spot in Pigeon Forge with Louisiana flair, known for beignets, creative Benedicts and brunch cocktails.
Bullfish Grill
A local steak and seafood grill on the Pigeon Forge Parkway with hand-cut steaks, seafood, smash burgers, cocktails and a kids menu.
Calhoun's
Award-winning hickory-smoked ribs, Tennessee barbecue, steaks and seafood in an upscale mountain lodge setting in Lumberjack Square on the Pigeon Forge Parkway.
Dick's Last Resort
The restaurant where the servers are rude on purpose, at The Island in Pigeon Forge, with burgers, ribs, comfort food, paper hats and a full bar.
Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe
A family breakfast and lunch café on the Pigeon Forge Parkway, next to the Comedy Barn, where dozens of animatronic chickens sing while you eat.
Gaucho Urbano
A family-owned Brazilian steakhouse just off the Pigeon Forge Parkway, where passadores carve churrasco-style meats tableside, plus a Harvest Bar and caipirinhas.
Guy Fieri’s Downtown Flavortown
Guy Fieri’s restaurant, tiki bar, arcade and duckpin bowling under one roof at The Mountain Mile on Teaster Lane in Pigeon Forge.
Harpoon Harry’s Crab House
A Pigeon Forge seafood restaurant known for crab boils, with seafood, sushi, steaks, a kids menu and Ole Smoky moonshine margaritas.
Huck Finn's
A family-owned Pigeon Forge favorite since 1995, known for all-you-can-eat catfish, fried chicken and Southern “vittles” like scratch-made hushpuppies.
Iron Boar Saloon
A biker bar and grill built by riders for riders, across from Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson in Pigeon Forge, with Iron Boar Lager, bar food and live music.
J.T. Hannah's Kitchen
A casual, family-friendly Parkway restaurant styled like a 1930s warehouse, known for award-winning St. Louis spare ribs, burgers, steaks and strawberry shortcake.
Johnny Carino's
A casual Italian restaurant on the Pigeon Forge Parkway with fresh-baked lasagna, pasta, wood-fired pizzas, family platters and tiramisu.
Junction 35
A distillery and restaurant in one at The Mountain Mile, with house-made bourbon, moonshine and more, plus barbecue, smash burgers and a kids menu.
Little Tokyo
A Japanese steakhouse and sushi bar on Teaster Lane in Pigeon Forge, with hibachi cooked at your table, a full sushi bar, patio seating and sake.
Local Goat
A family-friendly New American restaurant on the Pigeon Forge Parkway with a scratch-made, locally sourced menu, craft beer, craft cocktails and a deep whiskey list.
Mama's Farmhouse
All-you-can-eat Southern country cooking served family style, one block off the Pigeon Forge Parkway, with fried chicken, award-winning biscuits and banana pudding.
Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett’s island-style restaurant on the south end of The Island, with cheeseburgers in paradise, margaritas, live music and a river-view deck.
Mel's Diner
A family-owned, 1950s-style diner on Wears Valley Road, just off the Parkway, with all-day breakfast, burgers, sandwiches and banana splits since 1993.
Mellow Mushroom
A laid-back pizza spot on the Pigeon Forge Parkway with stone-baked pies, calzones, burgers, draft beer and cocktails, plus a second location at The Island.
No Way Jose's Cantina
A family-friendly Mexican cantina just off the Pigeon Forge Parkway near light #3, with fajitas, tamales, food truck tacos, margaritas and free parking.
Old Mill Pottery House Cafe and Grille
A local-favorite café in a 1954 potter’s home at The Old Mill, serving creative Southern dishes and fresh-baked breads on pottery made next door.
Paula Deen's Family Kitchen
All-you-can-eat Southern cooking served family-style from Paula Deen’s own recipes, upstairs at The Island overlooking the fountain show.
Puckett's Gro. and Restaurant
A Tennessee original on the Pigeon Forge Parkway, serving cherry wood-smoked barbecue and meat-and-three plates with live local music.
Reagan's House of Pancakes
A family-owned Pigeon Forge pancake house since 1986, known for its all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, with two locations on the Parkway.
Sawyer's Farmhouse Breakfast
A family-owned Pigeon Forge breakfast favorite since 2014, known for scratch-made pancakes, crepes and homemade syrups.
Smoky Mountain Brewery
House-brewed craft beer, specialty pizzas and burgers in Lumberjack Square on the Pigeon Forge Parkway, from East Tennessee’s first craft brewery.
Sunliner Diner
A 1950s-style diner on the Pigeon Forge Parkway with vintage car booths, hand-spun milkshakes and breakfast served all day.
The Casual Pint
A craft beer market and bar on the Pigeon Forge Parkway with a rotating tap wall, cans and growlers to go, and a food menu to match.
The Old Mill Restaurant
A Pigeon Forge tradition serving scratch-made Southern meals by the Little Pigeon River, just steps from the historic Old Mill.
Timberwood Grill
A mountain lodge-style restaurant inside The Island in Pigeon Forge, serving wood-fired steaks, burgers and seafood.
The best places to eat in Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge's restaurants stretch the length of the Parkway, with clusters at The Island, The Old Mill, The Mountain Mile and Lumberjack Square. You'll find all-you-can-eat Southern feasts, hickory-smoked barbecue, pancake houses, steakhouses, crab boils, pizza and plenty of places built for big groups. Here's how to choose, meal by meal and neighborhood by neighborhood.
Southern cooking and family-style meals
Pigeon Forge is made for a big Southern meal. Paula Deen's Family Kitchen serves all-you-can-eat Southern cooking family-style, upstairs at The Island overlooking the fountain show, and Mama's Farmhouse brings family-style country cooking to the table one block off the Parkway. At The Old Mill, The Old Mill Restaurant serves scratch-made Southern meals by the Little Pigeon River, with grits and fritters made from grain ground at the mill, and its sister restaurant, Pottery House Café & Grille, serves creative Southern dishes on handmade pottery.
For more comfort food, Huck Finn's is known for all-you-can-eat catfish, Puckett's serves meat-and-three plates with live music, and J.T. Hannah's Kitchen is a family favorite for ribs and strawberry shortcake. See our guide to Pigeon Forge's best Southern restaurants.
Breakfast and pancakes
Breakfast is serious business in Pigeon Forge. Reagan's House of Pancakes is known for its all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at two Parkway locations, and Sawyer's Farmhouse Breakfast serves scratch-made pancakes, crepes and homemade syrups. For brunch with Louisiana flair and beignets, try Brick and Spoon.
Kids love breakfast at Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Café, where animatronic chickens sing while you eat. For a retro morning, Mel's Diner and Sunliner Diner both serve breakfast all day in 1950s style. See our list of the best pancake houses in Pigeon Forge.
Barbecue
Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Que has been hickory-smoking ribs, brisket and pork on the Parkway since 1991, and Calhoun's is known for award-winning hickory-smoked ribs in Lumberjack Square. Puckett's smokes its meats over cherry wood, and Junction 35 pairs barbecue with spirits distilled on site.
Steak and seafood
For a nicer night out, the Alamo Steakhouse grills hand-cut steaks over an oak fire, and Gaucho Urbano carves Brazilian churrasco-style meats tableside. Bullfish Grill is a local steak and seafood grill on the Parkway, and Timberwood Grill serves wood-fired steaks in a mountain lodge setting at The Island.
Seafood lovers can dig into a crab boil at Harpoon Harry's Crab House. See our guide to the best steakhouses in Pigeon Forge.
Pizza, burgers and family favorites
For pizza, Big Daddy's Pizzeria bakes wood-fired pies in a brick oven and has an arcade for the kids, and Mellow Mushroom serves stone-baked pizza on the Parkway and at The Island. Blue Moose Burgers and Wings is a family-friendly sports grill on Teaster Lane, and Local Goat serves a scratch-made New American menu.
Want something different? Johnny Carino's serves Italian favorites and family platters, Little Tokyo cooks hibachi at your table and has a full sushi bar, and for Mexican, try No Way Jose's Cantina or Azul Cantina and its rooftop bar. See our lists of top pizza places in Pigeon Forge and family-friendly restaurants.
Fun and themed dining
Some meals come with entertainment. Guy Fieri's Downtown Flavortown puts a restaurant, tiki bar, arcade and duckpin bowling under one roof, Margaritaville brings an island vibe and live music to The Island, and the servers at Dick's Last Resort are rude on purpose. Want a full show with dinner? Browse our Pigeon Forge dinner shows, or see our list of fun places to eat in Pigeon Forge.
Breweries and bars
Smoky Mountain Brewery, East Tennessee's first craft brewery, pours house-brewed beer with pizza and burgers in Lumberjack Square, and The Casual Pint has a rotating tap wall with growlers to go. Junction 35 is a distillery and restaurant in one, and motorcycle fans like the Iron Boar Saloon, across from Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson. See our guide to bars in Pigeon Forge.
Where to eat by area
The Island: Paula Deen's Family Kitchen, Margaritaville, Dick's Last Resort, Timberwood Grill and a second Mellow Mushroom are all steps from the Great Smoky Mountain Wheel. See our guide to things to do at The Island.
The Old Mill: The Old Mill Restaurant and Pottery House Café sit side by side along the Little Pigeon River. See our guide to things to do at The Old Mill.
The Mountain Mile: Guy Fieri's Downtown Flavortown, Azul Cantina and Junction 35 are all at The Mountain Mile.
Lumberjack Square: Calhoun's and Smoky Mountain Brewery share the square with Paula Deen's Lumberjack Feud.
Tips for eating out in Pigeon Forge
Beat the dinner rush. Waits are longest at peak dinner hours on weekends, holidays and in summer and fall. Eat a little early or a little late.
Wait somewhere fun. At The Island and The Old Mill, you can put your name in and shop, ride or watch the fountain show while you wait.
Skip the parking. The Pigeon Forge trolley runs along the Parkway.
Check before you go. Restaurant hours and seating policies change by season, so check online or call ahead.
More dining guides
For our team's top picks, see the best Pigeon Forge restaurants and Pigeon Forge's famous food. We also have guides to Mexican restaurants, farm-to-table restaurants, and holiday dining, including restaurants open on Thanksgiving and restaurants open on Christmas Day. Heading out of town? See our Gatlinburg restaurants and Sevierville restaurants.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best restaurant in Pigeon Forge?
It depends on what you're craving. For a Southern feast, try Paula Deen's Family Kitchen or The Old Mill Restaurant. For barbecue, try Bennett's or Calhoun's. For breakfast, try Reagan's House of Pancakes or Sawyer's Farmhouse Breakfast. See our list of the best Pigeon Forge restaurants.
Where can I get a family-style meal in Pigeon Forge?
Paula Deen's Family Kitchen and Mama's Farmhouse both serve all-you-can-eat Southern meals family-style.
What restaurants are at The Island in Pigeon Forge?
Sit-down options at The Island include Paula Deen's Family Kitchen, Margaritaville, Dick's Last Resort, Timberwood Grill and Mellow Mushroom.
Where should I eat breakfast in Pigeon Forge?
Reagan's House of Pancakes has a breakfast buffet, Sawyer's Farmhouse Breakfast is known for scratch pancakes and crepes, and Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Café is a hit with kids.
How do I avoid long waits at restaurants?
Eat before or after the peak dinner rush, visit on weekdays when you can, and put your name in at places like The Island where you can explore while you wait.
Stay close to the Parkway. Browse our Pigeon Forge cabins, our cabins near The Island, our cabins near Dollywood and our large cabins for big groups. Book direct and the Stay & Play Pass includes free attraction tickets for every paid night.