Happy Holiday Dining in the Smokies

Planning to spend the holidays in the Smokies? These are the best places that will be open on Thanksgiving and Christmas

Fall is in the air in the Smokies, and you know what that means… that’s right! Time to start planning how to spend your holiday vacation in the mountains.

Maybe you’ve got a hotel for Thanksgiving in order to get an early jump on the Black Friday shopping. Maybe – instead of giving each other sweaters or gift cards – you’ve decided to spend your holiday gift budget on a Christmas getaway in a Smoky Mountain cabin.

But whatever the reason you’ve planned for a holiday getaway in the mountains, you’ve got to eat. Sure, if you have a cabin or a hotel with a nice kitchen, you can get the fixings and make your own holiday vacation meal. But, for many of us, hours toiling behind the stove doesn’t make for a very merry holiday.

Luckily, in tourist places like the Smoky Mountains, there are options. Not everyone is closed on Christmas and Thanksgiving. So you can plan for a nice meal without all the work. However, if you don’t mind a slight caveat, if you are going to eat out on a holiday, please make sure to tip extremely well for the service workers who are spending the day away from their families.

Importantly, be sure to verify your place with a reservation whenever possible. While these restaurants are listed as open for the holidays now, things can change. And everyone will be making meal plans early.

With this in mind, here’s some suggestions on where to eat in the Smokies on a holiday.

1. Chesapeake’s – Gatlinburg

It turns out you can eat at one of the premier restaurants in the region. One that I have ranked at the top or near the top multiple times – on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chesapeake’s is open 1 to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. So, you can celebrate with Maryland style seafood right in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. Perhaps on the heated patio.

Frankly, I didn’t know this was the case until I did some research for this article. I didn’t know this was possible. You mean I could have spent the last however many Christmases enjoying a dinner of crab cakes and oyster Rockefeller and fresh sea scallops with succotash and baked Spinach Maria? Can you excuse me for a minute? I need to rethink some of my life decisions.

Chesapeake’s is located at 437 Parkway in Gatlinburg. Follow the website and make your reservations here.

2. Cherokee Grill – Gatlinburg

We continue with excellence. We have consistently ranked the Cherokee Grill among the top restaurants in the region for good reason. It is an excellent steakhouse with a rustic décor that is perfect for couples, families or groups of friends who want to get together for a fantastic meal.

The Grill is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. With offerings like the Prosperity pork chop, a perfectly prepared New York strip or the Maryland crab cake sandwich, your meal at the Cherokee Grill will be the perfect gift to yourself.

Cherokee Grill is located at 1002 Parkway in Gatlinburg. Follow the website and make your reservations here.

3. Calhoun’s – Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg

It turns out you can eat well in the Smokies during the holidays. Both Calhoun’s locations in the area – in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – are open Thanksgiving (from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and Christmas Day (from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.).

That means you can spend you holidays choosing from a variety of delicious barbecue options including hickory smoked ribs, pulled pork or chicken. Am I ready to proclaim it a Christmas miracle? No, but I do think it’s a pretty amazing way to spend the holiday.

Calhouns is located at 1004 Parkway #101 in Gatlinburg and 2532 Parkway in Pigeon Forge. Follow the website and reserve a table here.

4. Song & Hearth: A Southern Eatery – Pigeon Forge

How well does Dollywood do Christmas? So well that The Golden Ticket Awards – which honor theme parks around the world – retired the category and essentially crowned Dollywood the theme park Christmas champion of the world.

But, while the park is closed Christmas Day, Dolly doesn’t forget the guests in her signature resorts. Both the DreamMore Resort – which hosts the Song & Hearth – and the HeartSong Lodge and Resort’s Ember and Elm both offer Thanksgiving buffet meals. There’s a wide variety of meats from the carving block, seafood, pasta and country favorites.

Prices vary depending on which of the resort at which you are dining. FYI the HeartSong’s buffet is a little more expensive – $76.95 per adult 10 and older. However, it is a more robust menu.

Per the Dollywood Website, the DreamMore offers a Christmas Eve buffet and a Christmas Day buffet. The Christmas Day buffet – $59.99 per adult. The meal offers thyme and garlic roasted prime rib and rosemary crusted turkey breast with cranberry sauce as well as chilled seafood and a Jambalaya action station. There’s also a variety of country sides as well as children’s classics like pizza and chicken tenders. Children ages 4 to 9 are $24.95 and children 3 and under are free.

There are currently no Christmas offerings listed at the HeartSong.

DreamMore is located at 2525 DreamMore Way in Pigeon Forge and HeartSong is located at 1210 Dollywood Resorts Blvd in Pigeon Forge. Make your reservation at Song & Hearth here. Make your reservations for Ember and Elm here.

5. Applewood Farmhouse – Sevierville

In years past, the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant has been open Christmas Day – with reservations required. If you’re interested in downhome cooking this Christmas, I’d go ahead and make that call.

As for Thanksgiving, the restaurant has a – perhaps better – option. It’s Thanksgiving to go. For $140, you can get a take & heat family feast, perfect if you’re in a cabin but don’t want the entire trouble of cooking.

The meal includes a 12-lb Butterball turkey, a quart each of mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cornbread sausage dressing, as well as gravy cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, a pumpkin pie and a gallon of sweet tea. The meal is designed to feed up to four people. But, there is also a smaller option for $80.

Applewood Farmhouse is located at 240 Apple Valley Rd in Sevierville. Follow the website and order your Thanksgiving to go here. We recommend you call them early for Christmas reservations, details located here.

Do you have a favorite Christmas go to in the Smokies? Let us know in the comments and on the socials.