I love the atmosphere! It has the true cabin feel hasn't changed in 50 years, HUGE tasty steaks and the best onion rings I've EVER had! Remember cash only at this establishment read more

The Deer Lodge - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

PICTURES ARE worth a thousand words.... And the pics I submit here, for your approval, speak volumes. Heck. The outside character of this li'l red shack shouts "Get ready to eat some meat!" C'mon inside. Join me, and 3 of my whacky friends as we get down and get steak-y. Ian appeared, past the red kitchen partition. With the look of a young rocker or budding rocket scientist. Our Deer Lodge Leader, steak wrangler, master of caremonies. I'm a bit shy, so I....(YEAH, right!) So I inquired of Ian, which cut caught his fancy? He rebounded with a well done response. T-Bone. T-Bones it was! For three of us. That fourth one, no names, Butch, bucked the trend and went for a ribeye. It wasn't long, Ian reemerged from behind red partition, hefting plates of meat and potato magnificence. As a fine tuned Foodie, this charming niche carved into the side of a chunk of Georgia rock fulfilled a tantalizing fantasy for me. A venture into a rarely found world of Med Rare and more. Sizzles on a flat top turned into scent-sational fantasy fare. These huge hunks of meat were T-Bone perfection. The long side, the strip. The smaller side, a much anticipated tenderloin. A cut oh so tender. Fork tender. The explosion of flavors did NOT disappoint! Thoughts of joy ran through my head, 'damn glad I'm not a vegan'. Hey, we tried. As we happily munched on greens & things. Ranch on mine. But bring on THE meat! The draw at this Lodge is clear. Perfectly clear. Meet 'n Greet the meat. An introduction that I believe the beginning of a beautiful, loving relationship. Well done! Cash, or checks only accepted. No cards. Kinda rare nowadays, but I get it. Before we left, we got the answer to an observation we had at the onset. We found out in no uncertain terms, why EVERYONE exiting was swinging or cradling a white doggie bag. HUGE portions. Unbelievable prices. I got the thrilling chance to step into sear central. The Med Rare command center. I got the thrill of meeting the vivacious owner, Sabrina. With a wink and a 1,000 watt smile she welcomed me into her kitchen. Look around. Take all the pics you want!, she said. THAT is confidence in a spotless kitchen and nothing to hide. I felt honored to stand nearby as Sabrina in person, grabbed a spatula. I witnessed a master at work. At her craft. She was 14 the first time she walked through those doors. And now, she transforms a loin of beef into picture perfect choice cuts. Anything that touches flame, cleaved by her knifemanship. (Just made that word up!) A sparkling & bubbly personality to boot. Bravo, Sabrina! I definitely have a thing for The Deer Lodge. I bet you will, too! read more

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Nice place to get a decent steak. Simple tasty food. Prices in menu pics are about $2 more than listed for the steaks. Took a little while to be seated and get food ordered. Otherwise very godç read more

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Best steak ever! Been to this restaurant many times over the years. The steaks are delicious!

The service was very friendly. My food was piping hot, fresh and absolutely delicious. Will definitely be here again with the family.

Great business,wonderful owners,beautiful place in mountains of north Georgia, good value for the money,service is great,food is served fresh and hot , good selection of entrees. read more

Used to have fantastic trout, went under new management and they are using food system fish, such a shame not good fish anymore.

If you're looking for rustic, then this is your place! The deer Lodge is over 50 years old and has served generations of hunters in the north Georgia mountains, with good food and warm hospitality. If you order the T-bone steak, expect it to come with a piece of meat, cut and fied on the top because it's so big it won't fit on the platter. Arrive early if you want a baked potato because often they run out closer to the end of the evening. read more

We were hungry after a hike at High Shoals Falls a few minutes away. This was the closest restaurant around. The reviews were good. Boy, was everyone wrong. I wanted to like this place so bad because the portions were huge and our server/hostess was friendly...but at the end of the day, you eat for the taste and this place was not it! To start off with, the salad (literally just tomatoes and lettuce) was drenched in dressing. It was so saturated, I couldn't eat more than a few bites. You would think I ordered a bowl of dressing with a side of lettuce. My sister and her friend got "coleslaw" as a side, which came out first as a starter, I guess...but it had tomatoes in it. Oooof Gordon Ramsay would be pissed lol. Who puts tomatoes in coleslaw? She let me try a bite. It was bland and just overall disgusting. Nowhere near the taste of normal coleslaw. Her friend kept calling it dog food. They also ordered some chicken livers as an appetizer, and only ate 1 piece. It was too irony and livery to their liking. With barely anything in our stomachs because of the disappointing starters, we were really looking forward to the entrees. As the main courses came to our table, we were excited because the portions were very large and everything looked tasty! Unfortunately that was not the case. I ordered the bone in ribeye and 75% of it was straight up fat. It was also very tough to cut and chewy, even though I got it cooked medium. It had virtually no seasoning, so I had to drench it with A1. Extremely disappointing for a huge steak that took up the entire plate. The only thing that was decent in my order was the fries. My sister and her friend both got the seafood platter, and our other friend got the famous rainbow trout dinner. The seafood platter consisted of frozen butterflied shrimp, stuffed crab, hush puppies, and fried trout. The only thing the trout is famous for is being bland! I don't think this restaurant believes in seasoning. Everyone in our party agreed that all the food was tasteless and had no flavor. However the hush puppies were good, but greasy and one decent thing was the stuffed crab. We were hungry, so we ate what we could stomach. They were also busy, as it was Labor Day weekend. Otherwise, we would have complained and sent some stuff back to the kitchen. When our check came, you have to go pay for it in the front and they only accept cash or check. Good thing I was carrying cash that day (which I never do) or we would be stuck washing dishes in the back lmao. I tried to like this place, I really did. But I would suggest to take the extra 30 minute drive to eat anywhere else but here. read more

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First time we tried this place it was decent. It was several years ago, but this year it seemed to have gone downhill. The sirloin was absolutely terrible. No taste no flavor and all fat. The wife said the chicken was tasty, but the french fries were terrible, soggy and greasy. read more

We drive 98 miles one-way just to eat at Deer Lodge and have done so for many years but our September 2024 visit will have been our last! We found out that Deer Lodge has been sold and apparently the new owners don't have a clue on how to successfully run a good restaurant, all they have done is RUIN A GREAT RESTAURANT! The previous owner ran this restaurant with pride and great food and like the old saying, if it ain't broke then don't try to fix it! The new owners in a short time destroyed the reputation, quality and great service and turned it into a SLOP HOUSE that is nothing short of TERRIBLE! Forget about going to Deer Lodge like you have done for years because Deer Lodge Restaurant is NO LONGER, IT IS GONE! The steak that I had was awful, it was coated in pepper, I had to scrape it off to try to eat it but the heavy pepper was absorbed and ruined the taste. The onion rings tasted like some cheap brand you buy frozen, not like the fresh made and superbly cooked like they had for years, it used to be the best onion rings in Georgia, now they are the worst onion rings in Georgia! The baked potato was so greasy, it dripped off of it and was severly over-cooked. Even the tea was terrible and now to the service, it used to be sweet friendly service, now it is rude and hateful service, which is completely BAD. This restaurant does not get a recommendation, in fact my recommendation to you is DO NOT GO TO DEER LODGE RESTAURANT BECAUSE IT IS TERRIBLE AND A MAJOR WASTE OF MONEY! At the current rate, Deer Lodge will close down is a short time because the new owners has no business being in the Restaurant Business, the only way to save the Deer Lodge Restaurant is to bring back the previous owner and previous employees, otherwise NOTHING ELSE WILL SAVE THIS RESTAURANT!!! Will NEVER again patronize Deer Lodge Restaurant like we have done each and every year for many, many, many years! read more

This place is the bomb Steak place to go when up in mountains of Georgia. Highly recommend and you must get there early to get in, it's always packed and line waiting! read more

The Deer Lodge - TBONE is serious ! Biggest I have ever seen! Delicious! - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

I have been here countless time throughout my life, and it has always been a decent experience. The atmosphere of this restaurant is very neat and mountainous, and the cabin is definitely a neat place to dine in. The steaks are nothing but ginormous, but it is more a quantity over quality restaurant. I have had their burgers, chicken tenders, sirloin, tbone, and ribeye, and it is all "meh". Just about anything you get here is good, but not an exceptional restaurant by any means. I would recommend you give it a try if you have never been before. read more

The Deer Lodge - Chicken tenders - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

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We visited on Friday night in September. I had the trout and it was good. Others in our party had the steaks and were disappointed. The steaks had no flavor and needed a heavy dose of steak sauce. Cole slaw was way to mayonnaise or something. I did not think there was a slaw I didn't like but I found one. Overall its a place to visit once I guess. We heard so much about this place. Don't know that we'll come back on our next trips to the area. read more

Two stars because of good service. Didn't try the steaks because they don't even look good. Chicken livers were so over cooked they were barely edible. We got the catfish next trip and absolutely the most bland food we ever eat. Couldn't imagine trying one of the so called steaks, from the looks of them if the other food is so bad. read more

We've been here before many years ago, I remembered that it was a big steak for the price so I suggested we try it again! We passed up the opportunity to visit Bass Town Bald so we could go eat. Bad mistake! We went in and was sitting close to the bathroom (which I hate). I noticed there were cob webs hanging on my husband's seat and the carpets needed a big vacuum job around the baseboards! That in itself was not appetizing! So we ordered the T-bone steak, salad and baked potato. Total bill was $57.!! Now let me tell you about our meal...the salad was bagged, just opened and place in a bowl with tomato. My salad had rotten lettuce pieces in it! I showed it to the waitress. She just said, "oh I'm sorry". Really? It not the "bagged" lettuce that I minded, but the fact the they didn't even look through it!! The baked potatoes weren't washed, just wrapped in foil and halfway baked! Then the rolls were just taken out of the bag, those cheap kind, not warmed just take them out of the bag. My goodness! My teenage granddaughter knows better than that! And to pay this much for the meal! Now let me say this...the steaks were good, good favor and tender. Which makes this so pitiful! It could have been a wonderful meal with just a little attention. Oh my word, I felt like I was turning into Gordon Ramsey, lol. Beautiful location in the mountains but next time, I will opt for the $15. to go to the top of the mountain, not pay $57. for a disappointing meal. read more

Was not as I expected All menu items Basically fried the food had no flavor whatsoever and we were cramped up in a T tiny room look like at one time a small cramped living room of the house I was not impressed and passed up the last time that our group went... I truly expected a more variety of food and ways to prepare that food but it did not happen beware beware beware read more

We ordered the hamburger steak to go, and honestly, it was as bland as everything else that is served. No seasoning whatsoever, not even salt or pepper. Way too much dressing on slaw. I'm still leaving 3 stars though because the portions are huge and Deer Lodge is a local tradition that apparently hasn't changed a speck sine 1972. read more

The Deer Lodge - Rear dining hall - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

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A hidden gem. Nothing fancy but guaranteed that you won't leave anything shy of full and happy.

Its not open during the winter, but as soon as spring comes around you can come to the Deer Lodge for what they are known for... a steak that covers your plate. The sides are served on seperate plates because theres no room for them with your steak. Its a volume play... its not the best steak in the world but its big and you wont leave hungry. Dont get me wrong, the steak is tender but lacks a little in flavor. It is a steak that needs sauce, which is a bit of a bummer. The sides are slaw, fries, salad or baked potato. They have fish, chicken, hot dogs and burgers... but you go for the big steaks. Theres usually a wait since the hours are 5p-9p, Thurs thru Sunday. Its good but everything is unsalted and you are reaching for the salt shaker with the quickness. read more

The Deer Lodge - Bone-in Ribeye - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

Great food great service a real homie atmosphere I plan on going back a nice restaurant tucked away where you wouldn't expect to find a good restaurant read more

Great service, food was good. Heard people talking about the T-Bone while waiting so that's what I ordered, my mistake. The salad was fresh, good, with lots of dressing. Spouse has chicken livers with fries and they were great. Onion rings looked really good as table next to us had those. Next time I will try something else as the T-Bone was too fatty and tough. read more

The Deer Lodge - The score was 100!!! You don't see that often - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

The last time I ate here it was hugely disappointing. I don't know what the hype is about this place. All of my friends talk it up, but it's really flavorless food that's overpriced and not cooked well, IMO. My steak was supposed to be medium rare. I think it was closer to medium well and after cutting off all the fat there was hardly any meat. In my opinion, a good steak doesn't need sauce but I asked for A-1. I'm assuming the higher prices reflect the portion size, but I'd rather pay the same price for a smaller, better cooked meal. read more

My wife and I had a bad dining experience. Hopefully this is not a common thing with the Deer Lodge. We had just heard so many good things about the restaurant we decided to try it on Sunday afternoon. Seating was quick and service was friendly and pre meal salad was fine. Then it started; wife has ordered T bone medium well and I ordered Sirloin just medium. We were both very hungry and had waited till afternoon to eat so we could enjoy a good dinner. When the steaks and onion rings arrived I started cutting my steak and immediately noticed the serrated steak knife had a hard time cutting through the meat. Hers was the same. Sinew was throughout my cut and I carved here and there to get a bite. When i finally did cut some it was tough as leather. This was the same for hers but I guess the real problem was the steak flavor. Any cut of meat can be tenderized if you have the right tools but since I lacked a Meat hammer and tenderizing powder I was out of luck. But the flavor was absolutely bland. I think the cook forgot to spice it up with anything. My wife gave up on the T bone early since she couldn't cut it but also said it tasted like crap. So I decided to make the best of it and just eat the onion rings. First bite and I knew the evening was in trouble. Our one night out in a long time and this crap happened. Oh well. I actually offered to pay regular price even though I ate almost nothing and so did she. Dog food for our little ones. They enjoyed it! What can you say? Was disappointed in response I got from waiter. He looked at us suspiciously and said no one else has complained and you are the first. That sealed the deal. No more deer lodge. He ended up dropping $20 off price and gave wife free pumpkin pie that tasted bad. It was a bad deal all the way around. And then came up on horrible car wreck on way home. This day was not the best but we count our blessings we were able to go and get back safely home. Hopefully this is an anomaly for this restaurant and management . Good luck to you if you go there. If you do have any problems make sure and post them. I think people aren't saying anything is my opinion bc they don't like to complain. read more

This is the best steak for the price anywhere!! You cannot eat these steaks by yourself!! We always take out of town guests to this restaurant and it immediately becomes one of their favorites!! Enjoy!' read more

Superb, rare gem that you just have to find! Best steaks from T-Bones to sirloins; the cuts are magnificent and the 17-18 oz T is a huge challenge to match in quality AND to finish! For you fish folks The Trout hasn't been equaled in my travels to 5 continents, 45 states, and way-too-many five star establishments experienced in my 55+ years of fine dining! Unfortunately there's no wine; but occasionally a great meal must be enjoyed "on a short wagon journey...." Dine alongside locals, US Senators, retired moguls, and future Supreme Court Nominees. You will enjoy greatly and return as often as you can!!!! read more

Four of us went to the Deer Lodge on September 11, 2023, while renting the Wildlife Cabin in Helen, Georgia. The location is so back to nature and the drive up, around and down the mountain was beautiful. We had been told to be there and in line by four p.m. if we expected to get a table that evening. We waited outside with about twenty others for it to open. The T-bone steaks were so large that they overhung the platter. We found ours to be very good and tender. As others stated, the baked potatoes were huge. The salad was very fresh and perfect size for the entree. The interior was old and charming. Overall, we were very pleased. One note...I would arrive early and plan to be on your way back down the mountain before dark. read more

The steaks are HUGE and soooo delicious! The seafood platter was great too! Awesome customer service and the prices were amazing for such good food. We will definitely be back! read more

The Deer Lodge - Biggest steak I've ever seen - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

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Amazing! If you are looking for where the locals go go here! Get there early because the place fills up fast! Steaks as big as dinner plates! read more

Great local place for dinner. Nothing fancy but the trout was fantastic and the steaks are huge!

The large 12oz steak was tender and cooked just like I ordered it. The service was very fast and the staff friendly.

I have been 2 times and got steaks both times. There steaks are huge to say the least but they have lots of fat on them. Especially the t-bone. The sirloin is the better steak here at the deer lodge. The steaks don't have any kind of flavor. They don't put anything on the steaks to season them with. I prefer a little seasoning with at the least salt and pepper. My wife ordered chicken strips which were good. There onion rings are good and you get a huge portion! There slaw is also delicious. If your expecting a great steak you might just be disappointed. Get here early if your going on the weekends because the wait can get up into the 45 minutes to an hour mark. The place is not very big and looks like an old cabin on the inside. read more

My goodness!! Biggest steak I had ever had! Covers the whole plate! The pork chops are so tender and the grilled chicken too!! Appetizer of onion rings are awesome!! read more

love these ppl. food always good and low prices. Great service. Keep it up Beano and staff............robert and dora sumner , cleveland ga

Got there at 5:22 and got seated at 6:30. I ordered the catfish which was ok, I got three filets on my plate as a single serving. The fries are like steak fries and are not salted which I enjoyed. The hushpuppies are dry in the middle. The steaks are not seasoned AT ALL. Not one flick of salt or pepper on that bad boy. Sauces are not homemade--prepackaged and bottled. I would feel much more comfortable paying $20 for a steak if it had some actual flavor and the sauce accompanying was made in house. Not the case here...would I come here again? Only if my in laws brought me. read more

Ok place if you want basic country food and ok service. Way too much food given that is not seasoned near enough, not a whole lot of flavor. Waitress was upset we came in 20 minutes before closing and it showed the entire service. They swept the floors with brooms and dust pans, three of them at once, making a bunch of noise while we tried to eat our dinner in peace. Waitress never came back after giving us our dinners. I would eat elsewhere. Don't fall for the local hype, nothing special. read more

The Deer Lodge - Trout dinner - Hotels Near Me - Hiawassee, Georgia

I have no idea why people are giving 4 stars, but posting bad reviews about the food. I'm sorry to say, the food is not good. We ate there this evening. The fried trout had zero flavor. My dad's steak was cold, flavorless and grisly. Onion rings- not sure there was onion in them. I guess if you prefer quantity over quality, this is your place. read more

My family and I have been coming here for years. I got my usual, the sirloin cooked medium with fries and a salad with hot honey mustard dressing. The steak was absolutely cooked perfectly, but the seasoning was a little lacking. However, that is usually fixed with some garlic salt from the back! My folks got the hamburger and both said it was one of the best they've had in a while. Heads up, this place does close in the winter, so give them a ring if you are concerned about them being open. read more

The food was over priced, over and undercooked. There is no seasoning on the food at all it is just fried and sent out. If you order something be prepared to wait a while and to also remind them about it, an example being we ordered the onion rings as and appetizer. We watched as three tables that were sat do after us got their onion rings before we had to remind them. Their responce oh they must have served them to one of the other tables. Then they tried to serve them to another table again. The one that they served us was the same size as the side order instead of the appetizer size, understand there were five people at our table. One 'onion ring' was nothing but fried dough! There was hardly enough of them for each person to have any. There the place is cramped to a point that it is uncomfortable if you are placed in dinning room 2. To show this my mom was squished about three times by the people behind her. You couldn't even get a sheet of paper between the chairs. It was so loud in the back dining room that you could only hear the person beside you. If you need to get out you might as well just hold it because of the pain it is to get in and out. They have also started taking only check or cash, which was not the case a couple of years ago so good luck if you don't see the sign when you walk in because they will not tell you. By the way the sign is located towards the top of the front door and the bottom of the number stand thing outside. Luckily we did see this and had checks. I'm not sure if it is new owners or people just thinking that they have now made it big, but don't waste you time or money until they get their act back together. read more

Now this is just my take and there are folks with all kinds of taste. I will start off by saying that I kinda expect a place that is supposedly known for steaks to know how to cook them. Well they don't unless you like undercooked tasteless meat. The steaks are big but half is nothing but FAT and I mean plain fat not a fat line or marbling. I will say this if you want medium ask for well then it will be medium not rare. The baked potato has was big but I like my skin oiled and seasoned. The best looking and tasting thing our party got was the Beef burger and fries. Other than that I will not waste my time. The worst cut of meat I have ever seen and the most tasteless food I have ever had. I gave it 3 stars because the burger where good from what the others said. read more