KBS Family Restaurants…Best And Worst In The Smokies

From the Greenbrier to No Way Jose’s and everything in between. Ranking the restaurants of one of the Smokies’ most important restauranteur 

KBS Restaurant Group is one of the most fascinating mysteries of the Smokies. The people behind the Greenbrier – legitimately one of the best restaurants in East Tennessee – are also behind an almost bizarrely broad variety themed restaurants throughout the mountains. 

In addition to the fine dining of The Greenbrier, there’s a biker-friendly bar themed place called the Iron Boar, a string of depressingly bland Mexican themed restaurants named No Way Jose’s, a couple of breakfast spots, a really good farmhouse themed place and more. 

And while I know most visitors to the mountains don’t peak behind the curtains – or click on the ‘About Us’ tab on the various KBS websites – I’m fascinated that a single restaurant group can be quite so vast and contain quite so many multitudes. We’ve ranked the 8 KBS restaurant formats in the Smokies, excluding Scrambled Jakes, which is currently only in Knoxville, and let you know which ones are worth your time. 

Ranking the KBS family of restaurants

1. The Greenbrier in Gatlinburg

Simply one of the best fine dining establishments in East Tennessee. A little bit rustic, a little bit elegant, The Greenbrier is daring and elegant and almost always excellent. Apps include pork belly, smoked octopus and foie gras. And also, my favorite, the Bulgogi Empanada – Korean style BBQ beef baked in a flaky pastry dough, pickled salad and gochujang sauce.

Entrees include a rack of lamb, red snapper, pan seared duck and more. They have a variety of steaks and chops, including the classic Wellington. Seafood options are excellent. Along with The Appalachian, Chesapeake’s and The Peddler, this is one of the best dining experiences in the Smokies. 

2. Crockett’s Breakfast Camp in Gatlinburg

It’s a little like siblings who somehow grew up to be diametrically opposed in every way, but somehow both are thriving. Crockett’s Breakfast Camp’s menu is maybe as far away from The Greenbrier’s as you could get. Foie Gras? Korean BBQ? Duck? Get out of here. The Crockett Breakfast Camp menu offers the kind of classic hearty breakfast fare designed to fuel farmhands through their day in the fields of hikers trekking their way up and down the mountain.

Cathead biscuits, skillets of eggs, potatoes and country meats. Heavy omelets. Stacks of pancakes. The closest you get to elevated dining at Crockett’s is the French toast. But yet, it’s all good and frequently great. If they weren’t in the same restaurant group, I’d say the chefs at the Greenbrier would punch you in the mouth if you asked them for a fried cinnamon roll. 

3. Five Oaks Farm Kitchen in Sevierville

Country cooking is maybe the most competitive restaurant category in the mountains. Every other restaurant, it seems, is hawking authentic country classics like BBQ, a variety of fried foods from chicken to country steak to catfish as well as meatloaf or chicken and dumplings and the like. Frequently, these types of restaurants run on a tight margin and will sacrifice quality for quantity. Five Oaks is one of the best farmhouse style eateries in the mountains.

I rate these on a sliding scale based on a few factors, including cost and just how authentic they’re willing to get with the menu. Five Oaks goes the distance in that category offering authentic farmhouse options like fried chicken livers and soup beans. Open for breakfast lunch and dinner, my go to order is the meatloaf with a side of fried okra. While the barbecue here is fine – even good – I typically will go to a more barbecue specific restaurant if that’s what I want for dinner. I also enjoy their open-faced pot roast.

4. Smith & Son Corner Kitchen in Gatlinburg

I consider the next four restaurants in our ranking as fairly close to each other. Smith and Son, Holston’s and JT Hannah’s all have a very similar approach in that the All-American menus feature a wide variety of options. Of course, most are good, but few are great. At Smith & Son, it’s a hodge podge of options including Mexican tacos, fajitas, nachos, or quesadillas right next to fried okra and chicken tenders. The Smoky Mountain Cobb Salad and the Strawberry Chicken Salad appear on other KBS restaurant menus, and there are pasta burgers and sandwiches.

Where the Corner Kitchen zags a little is in a variety of hot dogs that you won’t see on other KBS menus. Fish and chips. Delta Catfish. Ribs. Meatloaf. Shrimp platter. When I think of a Corner Kitchen, I think of a simple menu that does what it does with excellence. This one tries to do too much. 

5. JT Hannah’s in Pigeon Forge

Speaking of doing too much, the good but not great JT Hannah’s suffers the same fate as Smith & Son. It’s a jack-of-all-trades, master-of none, situation. They do a lot of things at JT Hannah’s well, but I don’t think we need the chicken parm or the spaghetti or about half a dozen other choices on the menu. I think KBS would do well to create a little more distinction between Smith & Son, JT Hannah and Holston’s, the next restaurant on the list. 

6. Holston’s in Sevierville and Morristown

We have a Holston’s about 10 minutes from my house. There isn’t a significant wait time most days and the food is fine to good. However, we rarely go. Why? It doesn’t’ really spring to mind. We don’t have anything against it. In fact, the meals there have been good. But when we sit down and ask, “Where do you want to go tonight?” Holston’s rarely is even mentioned.

What does Holston’s have? It might be quicker to say what they don’t have. Mostly the same apps you’d find at any American style restaurant in any town in the country – with the exception of the Tavern Peppers – sausage-stuffed banana peppers. They offer a variety of soups and salads. There are platters of ribs and BBQ and fried things. There are flatbreads and burgers and “sammies.” Can I just say, a menu that calls sandwiches “sammies” makes me irrationally angry.

There’s an extensive list of steaks and seafood. There are so many “signature” entrees – I bet they have to use an auto-pen. They include a shepard’s pie, chicken marsala and chicken cordon bleu, Cajun tortellini, ribs, scampi and a lot more. Too much more. Not to belabor the point but when you’re doing so many things, it can be hard to be great. 

7. Iron Boar Saloon in Pigeon Forge 

In fairness, this is the ranking of which I am least confident. A biker friendly saloon, the Iron Boar is not for me. I like biker culture and I respect it. But I’m not part of it. My early days riding motorcycles quickly indicated that it was a skillset that I did not possess. Dirt bikes were fine, but I lack the necessary spatial awareness to be on the open road on a bike surrounded by people in cars.

So, if I respect biker culture so much, why did I rank it at 7? Well, it’s more bar than restaurant, serving heavy apps, chicken tenders and a couple of burgers. The Iron Boar features live music and a wide variety of beer. The food is an afterthought. 

8. No Way Jose’s in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge  

I have been hard on No Way Jose’s over the years, bordering on rude. In the headline for this story, I called it the ‘worst’ restaurant in the Smokies. It’s not really. But it is the most disappointing.

I am flummoxed that the people who also operate The Greenbrier can’t get a proper handle on Tex-Mex. No Way Jose’s is too often bland and boring with fajitas that are much closer to Applebee’s than any self-respecting Mexican place should allow. All of the above restaurants are at their worst, good. No Way Jose’s is the only one that drops to average or consistently disappointing.

When the Holston’s opened in Morristown, it was a joint production. A single building that shared a kitchen. One side was Holston’s; the other was No Way Jose’s. Holston’s survived and even thrived. No Way Jose’s shutdown in a matter of months. Frankly, a company that does so well in its other restaurants consistently faltering at this one theme is simply perplexing. 

Which is your favorite of the group? Do you agree with the ranking? Let us know in the comments!