The view was fantastic. The staff was really good, and very helpful. The food was "OK". This is a very expensive buffet. The restaurant in my opinion, is too expensive for a family on vacation. If the buffet prices were lower, I would eat there more often. For a Georgia State Park, Georgia should either make the restaurant more affordable, or sell the lodge to a high end resort, where you expect high prices. Their are no other places to eat at the lodge. You can either eat at the lodge or drive 10 miles to another restaurant. Given the cost of the restaurant, I am not sure that I would stay at the lodge, even though the views are fantastic. read more

We spent a wonderful Mother's Day. We had a table of 11 service was wonderful. The food was amazing. Can't wait to go next year again thank you for making our Mother's Day very special. read more

The only thing to rave about is the view. The breakfast menu was very limited. I not sure I have ever eaten breakfast where there was so few options. The food was lacked flavor and just wasn't good. They had three waitress working. Our waitress was a very tall slender waitress. Our waitress seemed to always be mia. Two waitress from the other side of restaurant were hustling like crazy to keep customers happy. Sadly at one point we had to ask both of them for help. At one point our waitress was up front even petting a dog while we had no coffee and no water and had been waiting a good while. Again go for the view only read more

Great service, we got a table by the window without a reservation but obviously that is not guaranteed. The view was incredible especially at sunset with the mountains. The wait was a pretty long and even longer for some of the other customers. The food was definitely worth the wait though. I got the fried chicken plate with Mac and cheese and a side salad. The chicken was nice and crisp and the Mac and cheese was very good and creamy. I also got the brownie sundae and it was well worth the 10 dollars. Overall if you are staying at the lodge or camping here I would definitely recommend it. read more

Maple Restaurant - Brownie - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

Hiked all the way up the mountain to find out it doesn't close at 3 but instead at 2:30. We walked in at 2:31 and they said the kitchen was closed. We were starving and there aren't any other food options here. The view was nice tho. read more

I was afraid to come here after all the negative reviews, but there really wasn't anywhere else to go. The restaurant seems to be named Cascades. We chose to sit indoors with the beautiful view, but we could've chosen outdoors as well. The sun shines in the windows, but it really wasn't too bad. It was worth the view. Waitress was incredibly nice and accommodating, and although the service wasn't the fastest, we weren't in a rush. Husband got a buffalo chicken sandwich and I ordered the black bean burger. We both a salad instead of fries. Both sandwiches were very good and I was surprised at the amount of greens in the salad. Plenty of food and we were satisfied with our dinner. Only knocking a star because they had limited condiments. read more

Incredible views! Very good buffet. Fresh. Even with dessert! The wait staff was attentive and the buffet continually stocked. Can't wait to come back. read more

Never ever a good experience. For the love of GOD it is a beautiful space why can't a fine dining restaurant move in there. This place can't even do chicken tenders without burning them. read more

We were camping at the park and decided we would plan for one meal out. There is really nothing else within 10 to 12 miles from here, and we thought we would walk over to the lodge and have the dinner buffet and it would be a little different, since we normally just cook at the campsite. Anyway, it's buffet only on the weekend, as others have mentioned. Fried chicken was ok and there was a pork Wellington that was ok- definitely don't forget to cover it in gravy as it's very dry. Everything else is what you'd get at a Golden Corral and tastes similar- Mac and cheese, a couple soups that were passable, salad bar; sticky mashed potatoes and roasted veggies. There were two adults and two teenagers, they had water, I had one glass of wine and hubby had one beer and the bill was $88. Ouch. Yes the view is nice, but for these prices they should hire a decent chef. I cannot imagine what the people staying in the hotel do for meals 3x a day unless you are willing to drive 30 mins each way? Service was fine- friendly. The campground, on the other hand, is very nice and I shall just stick with cooking our meals from here :) read more

Maple Restaurant - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

The place is dirty and we watched the staff flip two tables and reseat guests without wiping them down. Our own placemats have mustard and ketchup stains. There was old chicken breading all under the table and in the corners where they don't sweep. The waiter ("J") was a rude pompous little high schooler with a big chip on his shoulder. When I pointed all this out to the manager, she became rude and defensive. Unacceptable for the price and besides the fact the menu is a few burgers and salads. Not quite the gourmet experience their literature suggests. read more

We had a wonderful Sunday morning breakfast with an astonishing view. Our waitress, Michelle, was very attentive and the food was delicious! read more

Maple Restaurant - A la carte menu this morning includes two eggs your way with many sides, including fresh fruit and wheat toast. - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

Very clean Convenient Beautiful view Very helpful staff All food and drinks are prepared professionally read more

Maple Restaurant - Dinning area - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

We are in our 2nd of a 3 night stay and have had three meals at the reataurant . It has all been buffet style but good options. I am weary in this current environment with the pandemic to eat buffet style, but the area is kept very clean with the majority of items covered. They have gloves and sanitizer in several areas. So you can clean hands after using serving utensils. I eat plant based and have been able to eat good salads, vegetables, soups and pasta. The staff has been so friendly as well. read more

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This place is crap! Called several times trying to make reservations for Thanksgiving Dinner. Left messages. Received no calls back. One night I decided to call the front desk and I asked to speak to a manager. The manager got in and informed me that they were all booked up. Did not care that I had called on and off for about three weeks, left messages and never got a return call. He didn't seem too concerned that some websites were calling their restaurant Cascades but others were calling it The Maple... and their voicemail called it The Maple. He also didn't seem concerned that Mother's Day Brunch was what was listed for upcoming events on their website. Dude... it's November! Mother's Day was months ago! ‍Get it together, people. With that being said... We did go there a couple of years ago for Thanksgiving. The wait was long... well past our reservation time, service for drinks was a bit slow, but nothing too awful stood out. But now, currently, after reading reviews it appears that this place has just gone downhill and quite honestly I have no idea why anyone would want to go there. I ended up finding a new place. We went there today for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We were seated right when we got there. Our food was plated and brought to us. Our drinks were brought to us right away. The server was attentive. We received good quality food. The Price was the same as the Falls. The Falls did us a favor by not having open availability for us. We won't ever be eating there again! read more

The views are absolutely amazing. The food was buffet style and was fine, nothing special, but we enjoyed the food. The service was good and they have a short list of decent wines and a small selection of other alcohol. You do dinner here for the view. read more

Maple Restaurant - View from just outside the restaurant. - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

So sad that this place just is so sub par Bc the hotel is beautiful and nothing is nearby to eat. Perhaps that is why they just do the bare minimum as far as food goes Bc they have a monopoly on the mountain top. First of all for a luxury hotel on the top of the mountain to have only buffet options is strange to me. We only ate the breakfast but heard bad feedback about the dinner as well as the couple paying when we ordered wine didn't have to pay for their meal Bc they said their food was "really awful". Breakfast for us was around 9am and the buffet style was almost empty and as we picked through cold eggs and a few potatoes and ate them--- we finished and still waited for more than minute for it to be refilled. The selection wasn't horrible with eggs potatoes gravy biscuits bacon and some cold options but the quality was just not great and taste was so bland. The service was good and waitstaff friendly in the restaurant so that was the reason I gave 2 stars rather than one. View is also great but even staying at the hotel we made sure to eat all the rest of our meals by driving over 10 miles to find food. Hope they bring their food up to speed as this place has a lot of potential but I can't recommend eating here. read more

This hidden gem is located in the Amicola Park. The staff was amazing!!! The food was super delicious from start to finish. We thought we were just going get a dry burger and hotdog to crave our hunger but WOW!!!! We were surprised when our taste buds were lit up like never before. The food was prepared wonderfully and staff was warming, friendly, and very inviting. read more

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We stayed here for a few days and gave it two tries- dinner and breakfast. Dinner: The food was decent (kids plates and a dip were all we had), but nothing to write home about. The drinks were disappointing. Breakfast: Rock hard biscuits, almost inedible. The pancakes were good, so I'd pick that if I were you. Service: The waiter had less personality than the white paint on the walls. The view is stunning of course! read more

Had an overpriced low quality supper. Wife had what was labeled as Fried chicken. Turns out it was fried catfish, skin on, full of bones. Absolutely nothing was tasty. Had a salad, but no toppings (bacon, sunflower seeds, etc.) Cakes looked good, taste average. Service? Ok I guess. Got water, never refilled. Went back and the fried chicken was now relabeled as fried trout, which was black. Took my wife there. Next time, we will eat ANYWHERE else. $25 per person to eat food that is lower quality than Golden Corral? No thank you. Live and learn. read more

I hate to give this place such a low rating but I was so disappointed. The day we went they only had the buffet for lunch, and the food was horrible. Stale bread and cake. Pumpkin pie tasted like it had been sitting next to some cucumbers and absorbed the flavors. The pork was tough and chewy. Also, the place was dirty. I was so bummed that the experience and ambiance did not match the beautiful view. I hope they fix these issues. This place has much potential. read more

The only reason that they got a two over one is that their bartender early in the night was fantastic. The food was awful, the wait staff couldn't remember our orders and food was partially not Delivered and partially cold. It was awful. He left hungry and had to buy snacks and the gift store to eat. read more

My wife and I stopped here after hiking. It was lunch time and they did not have menu service, only a buffet. It was not good at all. The "BBQ" tasted of Liquid Smoke- only had one bite. Tried the sloppy Joe, again only one bite. Tried the velvet cake and again, only one bite. So 8-ounces of soup and a very simple salad for $15. We saw A couple we met on the trail heading inside. We recommended they go elsewhere. read more

I should check the reviews before we stayed there. The views are awesome from the hotel but the food is low-grade dog food. I was was hungrier when I left. Not Surprisinly the staff was as bad as the food. read more

We had a great lunch at the lodge the day we visited...it was the first buffet I had seen in over a year. Hand sanitizer & gloves were available. Great salad, jerk chicken, wild rice, rolls, chili & pecan pie. Our waitress was attentive & friendly. We had an excellent visit! read more

You're a hostage and they take full advantage of the fact that it's a 40-mile round-trip to a decent alternative. You are charged a premium for a limited selection of buffet items of low quality, tasteless food items. To add injury to insult there was a older couple providing live music and they couldn't stay on key. It's really sad because they were decent musicians and if they'd stuck to instrumental it would have been nice. If I was only rating dinner they'd be stuck with a single star. But I twice had breakfast here, and it's the better value and more reasonably priced. The staff is also quite nice and there is the nice view and comfortable seating. read more

Service was great but the food left much to be desired. For starters it is all only buffet. Overcooked food. The salad bar was good...included fresh fruit. The only protein for a vegetarian was shredded cheese. Lunch buffet had no sandwiches...only what most would be considered dinner entrees. The vegetable soup appeared to be opened cans of veggies thrown together with water. It was tasteless. This restaurant used to have menus with many choices that you could order from. They need to go back to the menus. read more

The view alone makes this place great. The Maple Restaurant is inside the Amicalola Falls Lodge. The space is very spacious on the inside. A grand lobby, which give you a view to the Springer Mountains. They have this great deck with lounge chairs too! I didn't catch the hours of operation, but the restaurant was open just in time. We arrived at the park around 10am and started the trail to the top of the falls by 10:30am. We finished up around 12 and were just in time for lunch. They had a nice menu, but we opted for the buffet, which had lots of choices. They had some good vegetarian options too. I had a salad, mushroom quiche, and veggie pasta dish with fruit and a chocolate chip. They also offered a salad bar and dessert bar with about 5 options. The staff was on point. I huge crowd came in after us, so they were swamped. There is plenty of parking at the restaurant and throughout the park. A great asset to the park. After hiking or the other activities offered, this is a great place to grab a meal. read more

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Great place to stop for lunch. We all had the buffet. Great selection, lots of choices. My favorite was the jerk chicken. Also had hot dogs, chili, nice salad bar and many other things. Pecan pie and chocolate cake was for dessert. read more

Parked at the visitor center and hiked the mile and ~470 steps to the top. Waved to the lodge and found the maple restaurant with views to die for. The food options are terrible unless you like chicken with everything. Had a drink and wondered how incredible this place would be with a decent menu and a chef. read more

Maple Restaurant - View from patio - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

After reading other reviews, we were skeptical to have dinner here, but ultimately decided we didn't feel like driving 25 minutes to eat somewhere else. I'm very glad we opted to eat at Maple Restaurant, don't get wrong, my five star rating by no means suggests that this is a true "five-star" dining experience. But bang for your buck convenience and view, can't be beat. Perhaps the other negative reviews went in with misplaced expectations...? Maple Restaurant is located in the lodge at Amicalola Falls. It has a beautiful view at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. The dining room has plenty of capacity and tables are well spaced out. The decor is simple, but appropriate for the setting. The cook to order menu is rather limited but we found it to have sufficient variety. I'm not a buffet person, but that food looked adequate to me. I had a cheeseburger with fries. It was really tasty, especially their special sauce - yum! The patty was cooked to order, a perfect medium. Fries were fresh. My wife had the Power Bowl, an Asian inspired rice veggie protein mix. Our server, Ben, proactively brought soy sauce with the meal, which was an excellent complement. Thoroughly delicious. The cherry tomatoes were excellent, yummy! The spinach and asparagus were fresh. Chicken was perfectly cooked and chopped into pieces appropriate to eat in the bowl. We found Ben to be extremely attentive and polite. Overall, excellent service. For those of you reading reviews and weighing this review against all of the negative reviews, I can only speak to my personal experience. I find no reason to drive 25+ minutes to eat somewhere else when this perfectly fine establishment is right at your lodge. Enjoy your evening, enjoy the stunning view, and relax! read more

It's difficult to fully explain how bad of a job this restaurant does. A couple of their buffet dishes are ok but the majority make Golden Corral look good. The service is where they really miss the mark. We literally got our drinks as some of our party began eating dessert. We were told they don't have Red wine while we watched other tables drink red wine. Some people just never got their drink... it's a buffet, the only thing the wait staff does is bring drinks and take away plates... but they don't do that either. We just started piling them up on tables behind us...still, no one removed the dishes. Our server had way too many people to look after and the rest of the staff could have cared less.It got to be comical until the bill came. Grossly overpriced. Do yourself a favor and go anywhere else. read more

Probably the worst food I've ever paid money for. Hugely disappointed as we waited to eat here after a long drive from Alabama. Last time we ate here from the buffet lunch and it was much better. Our avocado had been frozen and thawed. The bowl was completely unseasoned and bland. Skip this place and bring pbnj or eat food from a window on the way. The view is lovely. I'll be sure to find food elsewhere next time we stay here. Ask for another waiter if you get placed with Joe or better yet, just eat chips from the gift shop. read more

Reminded me a food from a zoo or an amusement park. Too bad cause it could be awesome with the views they sport

Breakfast with a view! Buffet. Very nice restaurant. Breakfast came with our room. It is delicious. Lots to offer. View is amazing. Server is great! Low music being played. Atmosphere very peaceful! Enjoyed our breakfast very much. I gave it a four because I understand it is $20 a person. Not sure I would pay that. read more

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Had lunch buffet and was decent. Had pulled pork, BBQ chicken, salad, soup, and a desert. Price was very reasonable for $17 including soft drinks. Service was good too. read more

Amicalola Falls Power Bowl (grilled chicken, sautéed asparagus, spinach, avocado, on rice), non breaded wings, pecan pie, well, everything was excellent. Great service, very friendly people. We started not to eat here based on reviews, trust no one, try it yourself. We enjoyed it. It is a bit laid back, relax and enjoy the Mountain View. read more

Maple Restaurant - Beautiful sunset from the Maple. - American Near Me - Dawsonville, Georgia

We ate here a number of times during a family weekend trip to Amicalola State Park, where we stayed in one of the cottages. While the food itself is relatively uninspiring, the view and service are great, meriting this place 4 stars. SETTING: High ceilings and big screen windows make for a big open feel. The actual fixtures and individual design items are modern enough, but there is something overall that makes the ambiance feel about 15 years outdated. (Maybe it's the patrons, this is a state park after all). Any shortcomings however are overshadowed by the gorgeous view of the valley with visibility for miles. The staff obviously does their best to seat customers near the windows when possible. FOOD: Probably the low part of the experience is the food. It's edible, but no culinary genius is working behind the scenes. Their Sunday brunch featured an omelette bar and some seafood selections in addition to standard brunch fare. Their lunch buffet however had only one true vegetarian entree, amongst a sea of offerings that were unnecessarily off limits for us vegs (like bacon in the baked beans kind of stuff...). To be fair, North Georgia isn't going to be as accommodating as say, Atlanta. SERVICE: The folks that work here are sweethearts, truly. Any mistake will be taken care of right away, removing a botched item from a bill when necessary. The view is gorgeous, but the friendly and well-trained service is what did me in for 4 stars here instead of 3. Average prices for a spectacular view, attentive service and permissible food. read more

The worst food I have ever eaten in a restaurant! Cold, chewy beef, flavorless dry chicken, no rice left... and who still serves buffets during a pandemic! The whole experience was SUCH a disappointment! read more

I detest buffet restaurants, so I didn't have high hopes for this one. The first night we stayed at the Lodge, we drove about 20 miles out of the park for dinner. I just didn't want to eat a buffet dinner. Since breakfast was included with the cost of the hotel room, we had breakfast in the restaurant the next morning. Breakfast was good. The biscuits and grits were really good. Service was excellent. After taking a 10 mile hike, we returned to the hotel and went for a motorcycle drive to Dahlonega. We considered eating dinner in Dahlonega, but we were pretty worn out from the hike, so we returned to the Lodge and had a dreaded buffet dinner. Dinner was surprisingly good. Nothing tasted canned. The smashed potatoes were good, the asparagus was good and I had some delicious trout. The trout was popular, so it disappeared about 2 minutes after they brought out a new batch. I waited for about 15 minutes to get some of the trout, which was a little irritating, since I had everything else on my plate. The dinner was definitely worth $12.99 and it was a lot better than the Cajun Depot in Ellijay. read more

I had some family come in to visit that really enjoys the outdoors. We've been to Unicoi Park in Helen several times so thought Amicolola Falls would be a nice change. We intended to come out for Sunday brunch before walking around the falls. Contrary to what you might think, breakfast went until 10:30am, and brunch didn't open until 11:30am. To me, that's not a brunch. Anyway, we got there in time for breakfast. The spread was decent with some fresh fruit, scrambled eggs (probably carton not fresh), bacon, sausage patties, biscuits, gravy, make your own waffles, toast and bagels. Juice, coffee or tea was also included. Not too bad for $9 a person. View was great as we got to sit right next to the window and see the mountains. Service was friendly and prompt, which was a pleasant surprise for buffet service. read more