Eat here on a regular basis. The beef brisket sandwich is awesome--and Calhoun's bbq is "essential!" (It's slappin!) The service is friendly--and the ambience fits perfectly w/ the lodge/southern decor. It's smackin! read more

Went here today, ordered the trio plate, and a hamburger. First the drink was good, just right from the bar, the server was nice, and friendly. The entire staff was nice. Food came out, pretty typical bbq, not greatest but not the worst either, little dry, but great smoke taste. I would recommend if on the walking part, and want to pop in for a decent lunch. read more

We were unable to get a table next door, so we opted to try Calhoun's. We had been here a few times with mixed results. My wife's BBQ trio was just OK, with good ribs but lackluster pulled pork and chicken tenders. I had the grilled salmon, which had good flavor but could have been pulled from the grill a few minutes sooner. Our server (I do don't catch her name but she was from Jamaica) was very friendly and helpful. read more

Came here for lunch while we were walking the strip. Nice family friendly resturant with good food. My catfish was really good. Flaky and great breading. The dipping tartar had a nice flavor too. Everyone says their food was really good except the burnt ends. I didn't try them but others said the bacon wrapped threw the taste off. Outside of that, the food and drinks were good. We had a really cool server too. I can't recall his name but he was patient with our party and attentive. This is a place I would return to when in the area. read more

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Was here for a work trip & our team came here for the dinner. Service, food and drinks were amazing! It's not pictured but the loaded potatoes skins are reallyyyyy good. read more

Calhoun's - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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Ambiance is good. Food is just not the best. Waiter is a great guy and very fast service.

They make everything, their bread, the dressing etc... the food is rally good, over all, I'd say it is 4.5 out of 5. However Alan K. was our server and easily made it a 5. His recommendations were spot on. I cannot wait to try their other properties, the building is nice clean and comfortable. read more

Solid food and excellent service. Decent price for Gatlinburg as well. The "tall" beer is a mansize offering so be prepared. The Cherokee Red tastes great. read more

Stopped in on whim for dinner. I remember when Calhoun's was the place to eat in the 90s. Thinking how bad could it be, right? The food was mediocre at best. The ribs were terrible, what they're known for...my wife's Caesar salad was the worst I've ever tasted. The only saving grace and reason I give a 2 star was the waiter, he was good. Do not recommend. read more

Local Knoxville based restaurant with several locations. Food is fairly consistent and choices are abundant. They also have some of the best sweet tea around. read more

I had Erica as my waitress, just her in general is a 5 star for me. She is the best in the world EVERYONE needs to request Erica as their waitress. Erica gave me and my friends a really nice response when we asked for help. Over all a 5 star. :) read more

Calhoun's - #meandmybestieatcalhoun's - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Very good food. I recommend the pork chops they taste amazing so did the chicken. Service was really good too. There is also a lot of good vibes it's chill and gives a relaxed feel. If you're hungry you should come here! read more

This is a hidden gem in plain sight! Calhoun's is a wonderful restaurant which hosts a variety of great menu items. I highly recommend the Southern Fried Catfish! Service is attentive but not in your face. I loved the fact that they split the bill for our group and were able to pay table side. What a great safety feature in the world of stolen credit card information. The atmosphere is truly unique to the Tennessee mountains! read more

I thought about this white chicken chili for 20 years. It's so good. I've never had such light fried catfish. The salmon was very good. The strawberry shortcake w ice cream was the perfect ending read more

Calhoun's - Strawberry shortcake w ice cream - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Food was ok, nothing spectacular that would make me come back. Atmosphere was quiet but it's February. LOL Service was wonderful - Waitress was attentive and stopped by often. read more

Calhoun's - Grilled Chicken and Baked Potato - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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Great spot, so convenient and loved the atmosphere, very welcoming and homey to a large group who decided to stop by. Service with our waitress was 5 out of 5 - she was amazing, thank you Janice. Food was hot and arrived in a timely matter, just wasn't my favorite, besides the coleslaw. If you eat the coleslaw with some ribs, tastes amazing together. Coleslaw was very fresh, with a hint of sweetness and creaminess and the saltiness of the ribs makes it delightful. The ribs all by itself were very tender but salty from the smokiness. The catfish was cooked to perfection but lacked seasoning, the batter took me by surprise because it reminded me of fried chicken batter. I would prefer cornmeal. All in All, I give service 5 out of 5 and food 4 out of 5! Nice spot for family and I would recommend for everyone! Great playlist too! Thank you Calhoun's! read more

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We were lured into Calhoun by the 3 hour parking validation and the road sign promising great BBQ. Service was fast and friendly, they also provided bread basket for the table after taking our orders. We ordered the kick back burger and Calhoun's Trio Calhoun's Trio (1/5) - sadly this dish was very disappointing. The chicken tender had a wet texture and batter fell apart the second we took a bite. The BBQ pork ribs was on par with premade ribs you can get at Costco or grocer stores. The smoked pork was bland and close to room temp, which showed they didn't even microwave it long enough before serving. If this is the Tennessee BBQ standard, they got nothing on Texas. Kick Back burger (2/5) - This was the better of the two dishes. The burger patty was cooked medium, and the favor was solid, however the burger buns seem to be smashed and doesn't taste too fresh. Sadly, this place is below my expectation even for a small touristy town, and I would not recommend others to try the place. read more

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The service at this restaurant was terrible. We went at 730pm and walked in with many open tables. Asked for a table at the window in the bar, there were 4 available. We were told the bartender didn't want to pick up another table. There were 3 occupied and 4 people sitting at the bar. So we had to wait for the rude manager to bus a table so we could sit down. Then we were given the absolute worst waiter. We saw him when he took his order and when he brought the check. We went there for ribs because of the rating on TripAdvisor...but Bennetts are so much better. And the staff was welcoming and attentive at Bennetts. Always. It was our most expensive meal in Gatlinburg all week and also our worst. read more

We have wanted to try Calhoun's for a while and we finally did! It will definitely not be our last time. My son devoured his prime rib with loaded baked potato. My husband loved his pork plate with fries and we had to buy some of their bbq sauce because it was delicious! The nachos were yummy too! We all loved their complimentary bread as well. Our server, who has worked there for over 10 years, was very thorough in answering all of our questions and was able to make some great recommendations. The building is also very pretty inside. read more

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I appreciate the consistency of Calhouns - great food and service across all locations. Such a good diverse menu as well - so many delicious options to choose from. read more

Calhoun's - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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This is late review since we visited this place in late August, and now is late February, but - here we come! All the places in this town where we stopped for BBQ back ribs were really good, so this place is no exception. Quite good food, service too. My son got crayons so he had something to occupy himself with while we ate. All in all - all praises, nice experience. read more

Calhoun's - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

All of the food was decent, including the ribs, burger, biscuits, etc. The cole slaw the best thing I think I had. The service was nice and quick. It was pretty casual in there. The only thing I didn't love was that they didn't really have a bbq sauce. There was a catsup and a more bbq-like sauce on the ribs but otherwise, there wasn't a bbq sauce to my knowledge read more

Came to bar just for appetizer and a drink. Apparently happy hour is from 4-7. Enjoy! read more

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Calhoun's was our favorite restaurant from our entire Gatlinburg trip! We chose this for our last dinner on vacation based off of Yelp reviews and we were not let down! First, our server was incredible. Alicia was so busy and running around like crazy yet made sure our every need was taken care of. She has such a light about her and was so bubbly the entire time. We really enjoyed having her as our waitress. Highly recommend asking for her or sitting at the bar when she's there if you decide to visit for dinner. We ordered the sausage plate and spinach artichoke dip for appetizers. They were both good, just nothing special or memorable in my opinion. For our entree, my husband and I both ordered the ale steak with loaded mashed potatoes. AMAZING!! Probably one of, if not the best, steak I've ever had. It far exceeded our expectations and it already sounded great based on the menu description. My favorite part though honestly, were the drinks. Neither of us are big drinkers so I wouldn't call us alcohol connoisseurs by any means. I just feel like Calhoun's holiday drinks are something everyone should experience. My husband ordered the Winter Sea Breeze and I had the Hard Harvest Punch. Both of them were incredible. I could've had multiple! They really tasted like the holiday season! I highly recommend making this a stop on your next trip to Gatlinburg! You shouldn't be disappointed! read more

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Stopped in here because it was raining and other restaurants didn't open till 4pm. Flies inside and food was below average and served rather luke warm. read more

Great experience! They bring you a basket of different breads and rolls that are quite tasty, I was a little hesitant ordering fish and chips because I can be a little picky about fish, but this was huge thick pieces of fresh cod that was awesome! Thanks for a great evening!! read more

Fried dill pickles hit the spot! The ribs seasonings were different than I've ever had and they were delish. My party also ate chicken tenders, steak filet, sirloin, white chicken chili and hamburger. It was 1 1/2 hour wait time but we enjoyed our meals. The dining area is very large, but we were a little confused when we were seated and there were numerous tables needing to be cleaned and also some open tables no one was sitting at. Maybe a little under staffed?! However our waitress was courteous to us. read more

Good food if you're a fan of Chili's or Applebees. Decent but not great service. Beer selection was good. Highly recommend the Smoky Mountain Pale Ale from the local brewery. It's Gatlinburg, Jake. Forget about it. read more

We usually enjoy this restaurant and make it a point to visit every time we're on vacation, which made this experience especially disappointing. We came specifically for the ribs, as they're what the restaurant is known for, only to find out they were out of ribs when we went to place our order. It would have been helpful to know that upfront. Additionally, the restaurant advertises free parking for customers, but it turns out it's only discounted parking, which was misleading. Because of these issues, we decided to leave. Hopefully this was just an off day, but it didn't live up to our past experiences. read more

The food was no where nearly as good as advertised. The ribs were tough, the chicken fingers were bland, the wings were salty and the ranch dressing was water thin. Waste of money. read more

We got seated quickly and the place has a nice atmosphere. Wide ordered the Ale Steak, and I had the brisket plate. Only received one slice of brisket, and it looked ok, had a nice smoke rings and bark, it was tough, and not much flavor. The steak was just all right, nothing to write home about. The fresh tomatoes were excellent. read more

Calhoun's - Ale steak with shrimp - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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Firstly, we chose to eat in town after a long day of hiking in the park. We wanted to avoid a $20 parking fee which is ridiculous on the main strip and saw that the lot adjacent to a few businesses had free 3 hour parking with restaurant validation. We chose to try Calhoun based on the BBQ ribs their road sign was bragging about and the fact that we're in Tennessee. We were seated quickly and the inside is pretty spacious. We ordered a kick-back burger and Calhoun's (BBQ) trio. The burger was cooked well but the bun was premade and had a bit of a funny smell. The fries also tasted a bit stale and a bit Cisco like. The Calhoun trio was very disappointing. The chicken tenders had batter peeling off and looked and tasted like grocery store frozen tenders. They were bland and soft and tasted like lazy college food. The pulled pork they served was actually not hot; they were between cold and lukewarm; which is a great sign that they didn't even microwave it for long enough to heat it up before service. Their supposedly famous ribs were probably one of the most generic tasting ribs I've had in a sit down restaurant and nothing like ribs at a proper BBQ spot. Honestly, expectations in a tourist strip like this is pretty low, but at least cook fresh food if you're going to charge tourist prices and not serve lazy premade tasting stuff to get gobbled down. I would not come back and would definitely recommend something else on the main strip or even in eastern Gatlinburg as you may want to avoid the overly commercial restaurants that probably all have the same corporate owner running them all. read more

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The food was good and we got sat very quickly. We also got our food fast! The waiter was also nice.

This place starts you off with bread, cornbread, and garlic bread each are very yummy. We started with fried pickles. My daughter went with the hickory bbq burger with fries. My wife decided on Hershey hot fudge cake. I chose the strawberry shortcake. Burger was good and desserts was huge. Not a Military friendly restaurant. read more

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Inefficient staff. Waited 45 minutes. Tons of empty tables, some just sat uncleaned. Overcooked, dry hamburger. Prime rib was super fatty. read more

This was our first stop after getting settled in Gatlinburg. The location was not far from the Hilton Garden Inn at all as a result, we walked. We were served a basket of bread. I don't eat burgers but my daughter loved her burger. I told her she should have taken a better picture for me. We were hungry. As for the ribs, they were quite tasty. I couldn't finish them all and this was a half-slab. I also didn't try the bread or slaw (not my favs). read more

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Food was delicious. My girl had the cod and it was delicious and flaky. She swapped her chips for the Mac and cheese. Great call because they were delicious. I had the half rack of ribs. They were smoked and wet. I prefer them super tender to the point in which they fall off the bone. These were tougher but still delicious. Ambiance, rustic setting. Billy Joe (our waiter) was very attentive and helpful with the recommendations plus couple of places to check out afterwards. read more

Calhoun's - Cod Fish And Mac and Cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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The hostess was super friendly as was our waiter. The food took a long time to get it and came out cold We had a steak and the pork trio. The house wine is a steel for six dollars a glass. read more

By far our favorite restaurant during our trip this weekend. Our server was great and very knowledgeable. The atmosphere and decor of Calhoun's kept us talking and busy the whole visit! I got a delicious ale sirloin (best I've had) with Mac and cheese, he got the sweet and spicy wings, and we shared the rocky top potato skins (also to die for). My cranberry margarita was very festive and overall we had a very lovely time. Would happily return very soon. read more

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I think the locals who like this place bumped their heads. Tourist trap for sure, but we dont know better. Freezing cold in the bar area. Vents blowing out A/C like its the middle of summer, but its March. Makes your cold food too. I had to put my winter coat back on. Ribs were tough. Literally not tender or fall off the bone. I have never had to use a steak knife to cut meat off ribs. But I did at Calhouns. If their ribs arent ready yet, they should 86 them instead of serving tough undercooked ribs. The guy they laud as being their Pit Master should ask for his name to be taken off the menu bcuz he's very inconsistent apparently and should be embarrassed. And their "award winning" ribs was an award won in 1984 according to a photo in their lobby. So I think they've been resting on their laurels way too long. Not even the same century anymore. 40 years ago these were considered good. Think about that. And the staff, Tanner, watching a guy struggle to cut meat off ribs with even a steak knife but not saying anything or offering to bring over a manager. Yikes. They know their food is crap. One of the bartenders, Luis, even told us what items not to order, because its not good he said. They have good salads tho. Something they dont have to cook. read more