We chose Smith House for our son's groomsmen's brunch before heading to Frogtown for the wedding. Also we chose Smith House for accommodations for the wedding party - the girls stayed in one big apartment suite and the boys in the other. Family stayed at the Smith House hotel. Great wedding weekend - love the Smith House! read more

We haven't been here in more than +20 years but it was a nice step back into southern comfort food. Everything was yummy. They didn't bring us rolls or cornbread until the very end when we asked for it. We didn't know you could get those until we saw other tables get them. The dessert was just okay and not a good finish (strawberry shortcake)...it felt a little cheap. I wished they gave us this home-cooked tasting cobbler or something...it must have been another day. Their shortcake needs more "home cooking feel". read more

Wonderful hotel!! Excellent service from check in with Adam to checkout with Bessie. Super comfy beds, great location walking distance to the square. We stayed during the holidays & we had lights on the balcony with a great view of the lights in the square at night. I highly recommend this place!! Want to come back in the Autumn. read more

Top notch everything. Food was awesome, and plenty of it. The servers work together for the most part, so you never really had to search or wait if you needed something. I like the fixed price, seems expensive at first, but for what you get... totally worth it. I try and stop here whenever im in the area. read more

Nasty. Get a new cook !! None of it was good. Gross. Worst southern food in GA Bland read more

The Smith House - Yuck this place is about the worst in all of GA !!! Hire some people that can cook !! Nasty. Not worth the $$$ - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

I'm so sorry this was just nasty! We went to something similar at Dollywood and thought maybe this would be good like that one. NOPE. Why does anyone like the food here?!? Pros: servers and employees are super sweet and kind. Cons: FOOD. It was just disgusting. Fried chicken was like leather. Cornbread was SUPER DRY and like sandpaper. Creamed corn was gritty. "Mashed" potatoes were chunky and hard. They were just some crushed up barely cooked potatoes. Gravy - overly peppered and not good. Ham- so so and not flavorful. The only thing that was semi edible was the black eyed peas and the rolls. They serve "butter spread" and had to ask for regular butter. Mac and cheese - mushy and greasy. Lemonade was ok, but we've had way better. I'm so sorry, but we have traveled all over the US, and coming from CA where food is amazing, this place is just bad!! Save your $25+ and go elsewhere. read more

Four of us for Sunday lunch. As we were a bit leery of trying it because some of the reviews were not up to our standards. Contrary to several reviews, the food came out hot in every side dish & chicken. Service staff were efficient & pleasant. No complaints & I, this reviewer, was happy to have Lima beans & collard greens for a change! read more

A wonderful restaurant where you can enjoy a large and delicious southern meal with kind southern hospitality. This restaurant gives you fried chicken, and a host of sides that will surely fill you up and leave you smiling. Feels like you are visiting a southern family that specializes in all the southern favorite foods such as creamed corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried okra, collar greens, green peas, and several more. Drinks are included in the price and you get an option of lemonade, sweet tea, unsweetened tea, and water. You can ask for an Arnold Palmer and they can make that as well. Parking is a little confusing as the allowed parking spots for the restaurant is on the left as you enter the parking lot, and the entire right side of the parking lot says the spots are reserved for the Smith House hotel. There is a neat gift shop on the upper floor which is where you pay for the wheel and an old gold mine on the bottom floor where the dining hall and restaurant are. Coming to the Smith House has become a family tradition and we hope they stay around forever. Thank you to the staff and a solid high five and five stars for them. read more

The Smith House - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

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Gross. Gravy tasted like Vienna sausages. Green beans were bland like out of a can. Not the same place as 15 years ago.

Amazing service, feels like a old times family table, the lemonade is amazing, gives you free desserts make you feel welcome, it is a hotel

I've lived here for 30 years and have always wanted to try the Smith House! Today my friend and I enjoyed lunch there! Due to Covid restrictions, you no longer eat family style together with other guests, the tables are set up for separate dining with just your intimate group. Our waitress was very hospitable. You place your drink order and then wait for your meal to arrive! I believe the selections may change slightly, but the day we went it was - Fried Chicken, country fried Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, lima beans, okra, etc. They definitely gave us plenty of food food for just the two of us (i took a doggie bag home). She mentioned you cannot ask for seconds on anything (we didn't need it regardless). :) A very tiny strawberry shortcake was the dessert. I wish there would have been options for the dessert. I guess I had this built up in my mind for so many years, that I had extremely high expectations, it was good (but I was expecting over the top). I cook a lot of these items at home already, so for me personally there wasn't anything extra special with the food. It was nice to walk around and see the old photos of the location and how it has changed over the years. I can check this off my list now. :). read more

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I had been waiting for quite a while to eat at The Smith House. We ate lunch there this past May, and we were practically the only people in the restaurant at around noon. I figured it would be packed since there was a very well attended festival on the square. While the fried chicken was tasty, we would have liked more than one piece. Evidently in the past, you could request more of an item. That is no longer the case. The lunch was really nothing special. No gravy for the mashed potatoes, the mac and cheese had little taste, the green beans were not as good as they could have been. The okra was really good though, as was the stew; we did not eat the black eyed peas. We really wanted to like it, but it was disappointing. The young man who brought the food was very nice, but the food was slow to come out I'd the kitchen. Hopefully we visited on an off day. read more

The Smith House - Great chicken (but you can only have one piece). - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

The Smith House was at one time an excellent family style country food establishment. I guess due to the pandemic, they have eliminated the AYCE servings. Last time I checked. chicken breasts (bone in) sold for $2.99/lb or less. We aren't talking a Las Vegas buffet with lobster and crab legs. There is no reason for the price they charge to limit the amount of chicken. The home cooked vegetables also had no refills and I wouldn't have been upset with the minimum on chicken if we could have had more sides. As a suggestion, why not use a set menu during the weekdays and AYCE on weekends? Some of the vegetables weren't up to par and had been sitting around. I won't be coming back but I will fondly remember when The Smith House was worth the drive from Atlanta. read more

Disappointed. Haven't been to The Smith House for about x10 years. Planned a Thanksgiving trip around them being open today. Arrived at 11:20am, seated at 1:30, party of x2. They were very busy, the wait was expected. Staff all were busy & hustling. Our drink order was taken quickly, but took a while to be delivered. The food was a longer wait (30 minutes) after being seated. Still patient & said nothing. The fried okra, corn bread, cream corn, homemade pickles & collards were all excellent. The dressing- so so & dry. Gravy was a white gravy that looked like a non scratch made addition. Turkey was not dry, needed seasoning. Ham, nothing to brag about. Standard fried chicken. Dessert was pumpkin & pecan pie thinly sliced. We still had food in the dishes brought to the table & expected to take a to go box so as not to waste food & for dinner. No go. One of the servers explained the owners made it CLEAR no carry out containers for anyone. She seemed defensive about explaining the owners mandate. Each table had a sign on it stating, "No extra food can be delivered". Ok, if that's the rule, then why waste the food that wasn't eaten? Or, post online to bring your own container? The meal was $69.01 for x2. That's expensive not to be able to finish the food that we had paid money for. Wasted or thrown out perfectly good good is one of my peeves. We will not return. Two stars are for the food was excellent- nothing else. Too much money for a meal and then told what we could or could not do for a paid for experience. Customer beware and shame on the owners of The Smith House. read more

I'd hoped for better. But the food is bland. The portions are ungenerous. the quality of some of the ingredients is highly questionable, Fake butter, fake whipped cream, really lousy weak coffee. Very disappointing. The Dillard house north of here is far superior. Way better food. With the exception of the fried chicken, which was quite good. All the side dishes were very bland, and oddly under salted. read more

Stayed 3 nights - 2 in the main house and 1 in the lodge. The accommodations are very nice, especially the room with a king bed in the main house. The lodge is more modern and very comfortable. It's a quiet place. (You have to sign an agreement to be quiet.) Loved being able to walk to the town square with the shops and Gold Museum. The family-style fried chicken dinner in their restaurant was terrific, and our server was friendly. "Southern Hospitality" does not really exist here. The staff is not very friendly, but we found that attitude throughout Dahlonega, so this was not an isolated event. All but one of the staff at the registration desk acted disinterested. One was actually scowling. Not hospitable. We'd go back because it was comfortable and the location was good. But don't expect them to be friendly. read more

The Smith House - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

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Family style dining. Really beautiful setting in the heart of the town. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful! Will come back read more

Food was honestly okay. Especially for the price you pay it's not worth it in my opinion. Yes, you get a lot of food but everything is pretty over cooked. But I did like the fried chicken it was pretty good and the dessert at the end the strawberry shortcake was really good. The staff were very friendly as well. But it was a one and done thing. read more

I stayed at the Smith House for a friends wedding. We had a room with two queen beds. The room was a good size and clean. The bathroom was good as well. The only thing I don't like about hotel bathrooms is they usually don't have vents so the bathroom steams up after a shower. The staff was very friendly. There was plenty of parking in front. read more

I'd love to rate the Smith House higher but unfortunately we cannot. We reserved room 6 in the original building (see confirmation pictures) but when we checked in were placed in room 38 in the new building. I see in previous reviews that the 'owner' answered the reviewer and said they should have gone to the front desk and asked for it to be made right. We did that. I asked for the room I paid for and was told it was not available. I then asked could we have any other room because the room we were given was very small with the smallest window I've ever seen. It was similar to a dorm room. The small room was clean but that is all I can say for it. There is no air conditioning in the bathroom unless you leave the door open and no wants that. I would not recommend this hotel if you think you are going to get what you paid for because you are not. read more

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This place serves up some serious southern cooking on Sundays! Yesterday after running all around Dahlonega looking for a wedding venue the bride, future in laws, and myself were starving for lunch and no one could really make up their mind where they wanted to eat. After doing a quick search on the Yelp app we decided on Smith House due to their good reviews. Boy am I glad we did! On Sundays Smith House offers an all you can eat southern lunch served family style which worked great for us. Of course they like to fill up the table so we got stuck sitting with another family which I felt sorry for as we aren't the most sophisticated people to dine with. Our servers here were very attentive to our needs and brought out more food than could feed an army; just hope that they take all the leftovers to a homeless shelter or something. The all you can eat meal included cornbread muffins and dinner rolls to start, then out comes fried chicken, pot roast in gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli casserole, fried okra, creamed corn, and yams. Everything was so great, but I really give kudos to the pot roast in gravy as it was so tender you could cut it with a fork and it melted in your mouth. After lunch we noticed this place also had an attraction to visit. They have an old gold mine in the restaurant. Not really much too it, looks like a big well; but still cool none the less. read more

The Smith House - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

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The Smith House is a family-style restaurant that serves basic food to large groups. We arrived with 12 and were seated immediately with our reservation. The food is served family-style in bowls and on plates to be passed around. We had more food than 12 people could eat. The food is very basic. Fried chicken, pot roast, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, fried okra, lima beans, and green beans. Strawberry shortcake is served for dessert. It's just simple, straightforward home-style food. There is nothing fancy about the food or surroundings. The fried chicken was tasty. I liked the fried okra (one of my favorites). The green beans were good because they tasted fresh, not canned. I cannot stand canned green beans. The service was fast and friendly. If you just want to put on the feed bag and dive into the kind of food your momma served at home, this is the place. read more

One of my favorite family styled restaurants ever! I've been dining here over the course of the last 20 years. It's always tasty and fresh. Highly recommend. read more

Really nice staff and cool set up. We had a large group and we all sat at large tables and ate family style. Staff was very attentive and refilled food immediately. The food. Chicken tenders were delicious. Mac and cheese and green beans were over cooked. The rolls were okay. Everyone loved the fried okra. The corn was good and buttery. All in all it was a nice place but I wouldn't come back. read more

The Smith House - Inside - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

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Speaking of the family-style meal, the food was much more "just okay" than I swear it used to be. The vegetables--specifically the GREEN BEANS--seemed watery and slightly mushy, almost over-boiled, which might explain why they didn't have a ton of flavor. We were part of the later crowd (after 2:00 pm) so I fear the vegetables were just "kept cooking on the stove" so to speak--just keep 'em cooking and keep adding water so they don't stick to the pan--and not freshly prepared. And it wouldn't matter if the CREAMED CORN were indeed cooked from scratch using a generations-old recipe, it tasted JUST like canned creamed corn. Maybe the recipe needs tweaking or seasoning so as to add some distinctive flavor. Maybe the CORNBREAD MUFFINS were supposed to be served at room-temperature but what's appealing about that? The flavor of the MASHED POTATOES was actually good, but for $24.95 a head they should've been much better. You know how you can really "richen up" mashed potatoes and make them creamy by whipping them with milk or, well, cream, and it makes them sooo much better? These seemed to be whipped with...water. The FRIED OKRA was okay, but also served at room temperature! The FRIED CHICKEN was good, probably a favorite food on the table, but you know how there's a "whiff" you can catch when frying oil has gotten too old? Well that was the whiff. Having said all of this, the fact that we paid $24.95 per person, and couldn't even ask for "more" of anything, including the fried chicken that was the one thing that was universally eaten, is embarrassing to the Smith House. Our server blamed people who have asked for seconds and then "boxed it up in to-go containers" for this new and off-putting policy. How do other AYCE restaurants deal with this? There's no more creative or customer-friendly policy than "no seconds at the Smith House" that can be imagined? For $24.95 a head, I want some dang seconds of chicken for my hungry teenager. Honestly if I'd known the totality of what I'd be writing in this review, we would never have gone, and we certainly won't go back. Which is sad considering it was the "treat" experience when my family would come and visit me at school at UNG back in the day, and for other celebration meals in the years after. Bygone days, sadly. They seem small and money-grubbing now. The price...for the food...was NOT worth it. read more

It was a nice stay overall. The restaurant wasn't open while I was there. I didn't realize that the restaurant is only open certain days and hours per week. The Smith House does have a bed and breakfast feel without the breakfast part. That said, it's a little pricy for the amenities that aren't included. Luckily, it's within short walking distance to downtown where there are some different places to eat. The room itself was clean and it was fairly quiet most of the time. Please feel free to check out my blog post for The Smith House: https://practicallystacy.com/?p=324! It was a nice stay overall. The restaurant wasn't open while I was there. Luckily, it's within short walking distance to downtown where there are some different places to eat. The room itself was clean and it was fairly quiet most of the time. read more

If I wanted a canned Thanksgiving dinner I would have went to my Mother-n-laws. Thanksgiving dinner was very disappointing. For the wait and money I expected a lot more. Won't be back. read more

$48 for two people. With that you get ONE chicken breast each. Not busy at all snd we never received a drink refill.

Country family dining at its best! We went for a drive through the mountains and ended up at the Smith House and could not get over the overwhelming amount of food that kept being put on the table. We'd finish one bowl and another would magically appear. I have been here several times since and I enjoy everything from the strangers we sit with that become great company, the food that literally sticks to your bones and the ambience of being in the basement of this beautiful old house. The sweet tea could have been used to fill the humingbird feeder or throw you in to a diabetic shock but we kept on smiling and nodding every time the waitress offered a refill! Fried chicken, pot roast, creamed spinach, potatoes, sweet corn, squash casserole, macaroni and cheese and strawberry short cake for dessert. Thank God the stairs are the entrance and exit to this place or I'd never burn off the delicious calories! read more

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Nice place right on the edge of the square. Can walk to all the downtown shops and restaurants. The night clerk was hilarious and made check in fun. Even when we had to have her come back to our room to unlock the connecting rooms. Was disappointed their restaurant wasn't open Monday thru Wednesday. But just a reason to come back. The rooms were clean and came with soap, shampoo and other things. The Air Condition was cold just make sure you follow instructions. The television was a little weird to navigate at first used streaming service on it. But again follow their directions. read more

Heading up to Dahlonega soon and always remember we can always eat at the Smith House for some great fried chicken and greens. We've been coming here once a year for 30 years if given the chance and its family style country that's damn good. My mom likes chicken legs and thighs and likes the mix of the chicken here and the sweet potatoes and cream corn are her favorites. I love the collard greens, green beans and mashed potatoes ( yes, fresh) and the fried okra is best when its hot and hits the table. The place is always crowded and the deserts are fresh and good- ( strawberry shortcake, banana pudding)... so expect a bit of a crowd so I always call ahead to check how busy then time it so we get there on a slower rush. From pot roast and fried chicken to all the great veggies and mashed potatoes, Smiths has been a staple for many, many generations of N Geogians. Highly recommend you give it a try. Its southern, super sweet tea and all but some good home cooked comfort food. read more

Lots of food, not good quality. 2 stars for friendly and attentive servers and the quantity of food. Cracker Barrel has better country fare. Skip this place unless you want to visit for the historical inside, which isn't much downstairs in the dining room. Convenient location, pricing was $17.95/adult and our 3 year old was free (thank goodness). Seek elsewhere for true home cooked country food. The okra and creamed corn were the tastiest of the spread. read more

The Smith House - The spread - lots but not worth it - all over cooked. - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

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If you're familiar with the fairly famous Dillard House, The Smith House is an almost identical setup. It's classic Southern food, where they simply bring you an enormous array of dishes to the table - minimal choices to make, if any. I'm not a big fan of classic Southern food, but I do like the Smith House (it's definitely better than Dillard, IMO). Service is solid, and the food generally ranges from solid to very good. Specifics: -Fried Chicken - very good. Flavorful and moist. Just what I want in a classic fried chicken. -Pot Roast - not something I would ever order at a restaurant, but it's pretty good. -Mashed Potatoes and Gravy - meh. OK, but save room for other sides. -Squash Casserole - I'm not a big squash fan, but this is more like stuffing/dressing than what I think of as a casserole, and it's really good. -Creamed corn - hard to mess up and it's great here. -Fried Okra - above average. -Green beans - I usually think of southern style green beans as limp, overcooked, and salty. Here, they looked as expected, but the flavor was quite good - nicely done. -Mac & Cheese - disappointing. Not bad, but below average. I prefer a creamier M&C. read more

So, I come to this restaurant every time I am in Dahlonega and it never disappoints!!!! The family-style meal arrangement is fantastic! They are always very accommodating! Their okra is my favorite!!! They have fantastic decor! Beautiful!!! They even have a little mine decor by the bathrooms, check it out!!!!!!!!! read more

The Smith House - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

Went out to lunch for Father's Day, bathrooms were nasty, the ladies room smelled of urine, bathroom floors were sticky, upon leaving it was brought to the staffs attention, we got attitude about it, and were followed out of the restaurant by staff members, fussing us out and running their mouths at us, we were then told not to return to the restaurant ever again. read more

Do not recommend the hotel at all. We stayed in the "bridal suite" last night, and as soon as we walked in to get changed after our wedding, my wife cut her foot on a broken glass that hadn't been cleaned up at all. The glass was in the bathroom and on the carpet in the hallway. It was cleaned up by staff, but we still found pieces this morning. They also don't have any water bottles at the hotel. What hotel doesn't offer water?! If you're looking for a place to stay in Dahlonega, don't pick here, you will be let down. read more

The Smith House - Broken glass - Hotels Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

Really great lunch spot! It was $15.99/person, you pay first. We had a wait, though when we were seated our dining area was completely empty so I wasn't sure why. Once we were seated, everything was served family style. I was having a work lunch and it felt weird to have two strangers sharing our table, but we made it through. The food didn't take long to be served, and there was plenty of it. The fried chicken was my favorite, and I had samples of the mashed potatoes, creamed corn, collard greens, and green beans, all of which were good. If you run out of anything, the servers will bring you extra. Dessert was a strawberry shortcake, also delicious. Good southern style food, all you can eat. If you have the time to wait, probably worth it! read more

I've been going to the Smith House every year or so for years and years. It's still good, but it's not what it used to be. Now, don't get me wrong - it's still definitely worth going - and still a good place to take out of town guests, especially those from Yankee land who may not know good Southern Cooking. That's why I'm still giving it 4 stars. But it's dropped from 5 stars . . . First off, they used to sit you at these LONG family style tables. Now they have much smaller tables, and if they are not busy they will even seat you alone. Frankly, that results in a HUGE waste of food and takes away a social atmosphere (Sadly I can't help wondering if the health department had something to do with this change). I know some reviewers stated a dislike for Family Dining but I think it's fun to sit and chat with people from all over. If you're anti-social, buy takeout and eat at home :-). Now (since the Dillard House uses the same seating model) the only restaurant in Georgia that still truly seats family style is Buckner's Family Restaurant of i75 north of Macon. Second - the food was good, and definitely southern, but not up to old standards. The Fried Chicken breading was soggy and falling off. The Okra was over cooked, other dishes were just OK. The Fried Shrimp, green beans, creamed corn, pot roast were all still excellent and the cinnamon rolls in the bread basket were still to die for. I hope this was just a transient problem but I doubt it. I think their volume has fallen off (perhaps due to the $20+ price tag? And with lower volume it's hard to keep fried foods fresh in this type operation. I think somebody needs to do a supply and demand analysis and check that price point. read more

Just wanted to say that in November of 2021 My Wife and I along with Our Families, Had our Rehearsal Dinner there at the Smith House, the atmosphere was wonderful as was the service and the food. 2 years later, Yesterday we went back to celebrate our 2 year Anniversary and enjoy dining there again, we also had Our Friends join us. We were really looking forward to it, we checked in at the front desk and paid for ourselves to dine, we were then seated shortly after and our server asked us what we would like to drink and what chicken we wanted, white or dark meat? few moments later our food came out, the only thing that was really properly filled was the bowl of chicken, everything else wasn't even 1/4 of the way full, we thought Ok, no big deal, they'll re-fill it for us, then we asked for more and our server said "Oh I'm sorry we no longer refill the food" we then looked over and saw a very small sign on the napkin dispenser.... That all being said, it would've been nice to know that At the front Desk before we all paid for our meals. It honestly wasn't worth the money and we were embarrassed and very disappointed. I highly doubt we'll go back. read more

I hate it when "you can't go back". I first ate here over 25 years ago and it was memorable. I have looked forward for a long, long time to this return. The disconnect between my experience yesterday and my memory of it was appalling. First, we got in and seated immediately because there weren't many folks there. A good start. Then, we put our order in and waited. And waited. For as few people as there were in the dining room, I wonder what took them so long. But it wasn't that big of a deal. What WAS a big deal, however, was when the food finally came out, most of it was cold. My guess is our server forgot us and the food sat there for a while. The fried chicken was pretty good, once we got the second batch hot as we had to specially request. The pot roast was good. The green beans were OK. The mac and cheese OK. The fried okra was below average, as was the creamed corn. The strawberry shortcake was pretty good. The servers, while very nice and friendly, were average overall. For the price and based upon past experience, I expected much, much more. Good bye, Smith House, I hardly knew ya! read more