Harpoon Harry’s Crab House in the Smokies: Is It Worth It?

Harpoon Harry’s offers a wide variety of seafood dishes and Sushi: An honest review

Located right in the bend of the strip, just as you get ready to enter the proper cruising section of Pigeon Forge sits Harpoon Harry’s, which has been delivering a wide variety of seafood dishes to its patrons for more than a decade.

Opinions vary widely on Harry’s. Is it good, is it great or is it awful? It depends very much on who you ask. People’s standards for seafood are difficult to account for. Some seafood aficionado take it very seriously; you half expect them to sniff the shrimp – like a wine cork – when it’s delivered to the table. Or perhaps talk about the Cod’s bouquet after lightly sampling for notes of precisely where in the North Atlantic the cod was harvested from.

I wasn’t ever quite that bad. But my grandparents moved to Florida’s Nature Coast when I was a kid, right next door to a commercial crabber. My expectations for seafood were built on crab claws that hadn’t been off the boat for a couple of hours before they were served. It was magnificent, but it made me hesitant to order seafood from further inland.

But I’ve learned with age that not good is not the enemy of great. Seafood in particular doesn’t have to be the best you’ve ever had to be good, or maybe event great.

Which brings us to Harpoon Harry’s. It’s a jack-of-all-trades seafood restaurant located on the Pigeon Forge strip. Is it the best seafood in the mountains? No. That honor belongs to Chesapeake’s or Pinchy’s or maybe even a trout house. But It also doesn’t matter. Harpoon Harry’s doesn’t have to be the BEST seafood place in the Smokies to be good or worth your time. It just has to be the best version of itself it can be.

What’s good about Harpoon Harry’s?

It’s a big space. Harpoon Harry’s has A LOT of available seating in the dining room, on the decks, all over the place. The restaurant can accommodate a lot of people. That doesn’t mean you won’t wait. Just because they have available seating doesn’t mean they have the staff to support it. But it does mean that it’s a great spot for large parties – especially if you don’t want a horrendous wait. It’s also a good place to target during busy times of the year.

I’ve been in Pigeon Forge in the height of the busiest season with long waits at every place we called. Then I called Harpoon Harry’s and the issue was solved. That doesn’t mean you won’t have to wait. But if you do, it’s not likely to be very long.

Harpoon Harry’s has an extensive menu – which again translates well to a large group. You can get your seafood fix on while others in your party can choose from chops, steaks, chicken and even duck. There’s also some sushi, sashimi and nigiri options available Wednesday through Sunday. It’s not what I would call destination sushi. But it’s nice as an accompaniment to something else on the menu or if you’re a sushi eater and no one else wants it. The majority of the rolls are either fried or cooked and the Nigri or Sashimi options are quite limited. If you’re going out for a night of sushi, you should probably pick a place where the sushi is the main thing.

What are the other positives?

Harry’s original location is out of central Florida and it gets that vibe right, though if it really wanted to go all in on the central Florida thing, some smoked mullet dip would be on the menu. The Grilled Gulf Shrimp and the Cowboy Shrimp – roasted shrimp with blue crab stuffing and smoked gouda chipotle cream – are both quite good. The Seafood Cavatappi is also quite good.

Where could Harpoon Harry’s improve?

Mostly it’s a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none situation. Harry’s does a lot of things well but not a lot of things great. It tried to cover a wide range of culinary styles and executes some better than others. Anything that typically involves a heavy spice can be underwhelming. The sushi is good if you’re not a sushi devotee. If you’re picky about your sushi, there’s a chance you will be disappointed.

What does the internet think?

You’re gonna be shocked by this but internet ratings vary wildly.

Google has Harry’s with a solid 4.0 with more than 7,000 review – Chesapeake’s and Pinchy’s are each at a 4.6. Yelp!, however, has Harry’s at a 3.2. OpenTable has Harry’s at a 4.4 and Tripadvisor a 3.9.

My suspicion is those scores are a reflection of the people doing the reviewing much more than Harry’s itself I think a 4.0 or even slightly higher is correct – though I’d have Chesapeake’s and Pinchy’s higher than 4.6 at well. It may be that I’m an easy grader.

What would Gordon Ramsey think of Harpoon Harry’s?

British Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey has made part of his fame on going into struggling restaurants and providing them with publicity and a little facelift in exchange for content for his show. What would he think of Harry’s? I suspect the Fish and Chips would draw his ire. And I think he would encourage them to cut down on the menu which has a little Florida, a little Cajun, a little Maryland and a lot of everything else thrown in. I can’t imagine they sell enough frog legs or gator bites to keep them on the menu. Also, why are we dabbling in Mexican Street Corn? You’ve got to stand out.

In a town filled with great barbecue, why is Harry’s offering a barbecue sandwich? Pork chop? Meatloaf? Jerk chicken? We can’t do everything. And I suspect Ramsey would be perplexed at the Woodford Double Oak Duck – maple leaf, slow-roasted half duck, semi boneless in a Woodford Reserve Double Oak Whiskey shallot glaze. It just seems so out of place next to the rest of the menu.

Is Harpoon Harry’s worth it?

Yeah, I think it is but you have to know what it is and what it’s not going in. It’s good to better than good dining in the midrange price budget – unless you order the $40 duck. You can get a good meal for under $30, better than most of the comparable chain restaurants in the area, but below some of the other locally owned spots.

It’s a great place to sit out on the deck overlooking the park by the river. This is especially true when the weather is mild. Get a drink or two or three, have an app, an entrée and one of their desserts, which I neglected to mention but are quite good

If you want something specific from the menu – like sushi or lobster roll or Maryland style seafood – there are better (more expensive) options. That said, Harry’s is a nice balance of variety, quality and price.

And, if you call ahead, you’re not going to have to wait very long, which in Pigeon Forge is more valuable than many realize. Harpoon Harry’s is located at 112 Community Center Drive in Pigeon Forge. The website can be found here.

Do you agree with our Harpoon Harry’s review? Let us know in the comments and on the socials!