Delauder's BBQ — Restaurant in Gatlinburg

We were looking for a little BBQ and found this via Google. Their current COVID protocol is to have guests wait just I side the door to be seated to limit the amount of folks in the dining room, which isn't huge, so that was smart. They seated us after a few minutes and gave us menus, then we went up to the counter to order. The gal who took our order was pleasant and friendly. Once your order is in, you sit down and they bring your drinks and food to you.

Note: You pay after you are done eating.

We waited about 25 minutes for our food, which a few other reviewers complained about. Not sure why they are upset. It isn't "fast food", and if they got their food at a chain sitdown restaurant they'd wait that or more. We used the time to chat at our table and watch as the place got busier, enough so that a few were waiting outside.

The brisket was tender, moist, and very tasty. It paired well with the baked beans and tater tots I ordered as my two sides. The chicken sandwich had a nice seasoning and my wife enjoyed her side of fries. The staff circled around the room to check on folks when they weren't hustling behind the counter making food to order. All were friendly, but busy, as they had 4-5 of them filling all the roles. A family run restaurant all the way and you could tell they cared about taking care of their customers.

I'll be sharing this place with my friends in TN as a Smokey Mtn must.

Last Comment: To those leaving negative reviews about silly, petty things like wait time, lack of enough tables, and (of all things) running out of food, it is likely you have never worked in a small restaurant setting. You rarely run out of food from a lack of planning, but more because of high demand for customer favorites (or current COVID supply issues). In a touristy area, it's hard to gauge that demand so you do the best you can. If they didn't have what you wanted, consider the fact that it must have been good enough that you may need to come earlier next time. And if you have never had to cook to order for more that 6 people at a time in a small kitchen, be careful complaining about "how hard can it be to..." when you are sitting behind your smart phone. Want a taste of what it is like? Every restaurant in the US is looking for folks to work there, so grab your apron and spend a shift learning how hard it really can be. Want to make it even more real? Open your own restaurant, staff it with your family, work yourself to exhaustion to serve your customers, then check out the Google reviews that come in because Karen didn't get enough ice in her drink and her husband Glen didn't like the brand of ketchup you used.

Delauder's... Keep on keeping on. When we are back in the Smokey Mtns,...

We saw that this bbq place was highly ranked, so we decided to give it a try. We love bbq and frequently eat it, as our local area has a bbq joint. The fact that it shares a building with a mechanic shop was a non-factor for us. Some of the best food can come out of an "ugly" building. Their site stated that they opened at 12:30. We arrived within 10 minutes of opening and 2 families were ahead of us.

It took ONE HOUR to receive our food: a kid's hot dog meal with macaroni, a pulled pork sandwich and another pulled pork sandwich topped with slaw and a side of baked beans... ONE HOUR. As we sat waiting, we watched every table fill, a large line formed and people were standing along walls, outside, etc. There was nowhere for anyone to go, due to the amount of time that it was taking to prepare meals.

There were teens working there, some might have been related (I'm not sure), but the one taking the orders was introduced as the "new boy".

The food finally arrived and my husband and I just stared at each other, while about 10 hungry patrons stared at us. The wrapper was wet with grease. Our hands got drenched, just trying to unwrap the sandwich. I've never seen a sandwich look like that and that says a lot. I soaked a paper towel, from wiping my hands off. I'm recovering from pancreatitis (random gallstone), so all of that grease is the last thing that I wanted to see.

I honestly couldn't taste anything while eating the sandwich. I could only taste a heavy smoky flavor and not the actual meat. The beans tasted like they were from a can, so I didn't eat them. Our daughter also refused to eat her hot dog. My husband ate his sandwich, but said that he was put off by the grease and the overall hype online.

We were quite disappointed. We expected a stellar meal and we received a mediocre at best meal. The kids working there then didn't know how we paid, so they told my husband to get back in the line. He expressed his concerns to the female working and she told us that it was on the house.

Clearly, people are reading these reviews and they're stopping by in large numbers. They need to work on time management and find a way to reduce the oil that's sitting on...

Don’t let the outside appearance make your choice for bbq for you. Delauder’s BBQ has outstanding food including their entire barbeque selection. Three of us ate dinner there 7/25/25. The smell alone outside this old gas station building should have been our first clue this was going to be an outstanding experience. The Smokey smell of meat was intoxicating. I love the smell and immediately knew this little place was going to be great. It looks small from the outside but there’s a bit more room inside than I imagined. We were greeted inside the door and the process for placing our order was explained. CAUTION: they only accept cash. The great news is that they have an ATM machine right there where you walk in. We placed our orders and were given a table. Between the three of us, our meals together consisted of sausage, ribs, pulled pork, brisket, green beans, baked beans, potato salad, baked potato, and okra. We each had fountain drinks. But all I can say is that there has been no better bbq restaurant in my life. The brisket was fork tender and juicy, the ribs were pull of the bone tender, the sausage was delicious and the pulled pork was juicy and tender. The smokey flavor was delicious and the aroma of the smoked meats was heavenly. The portion sizes were very generous. The baked beens and green beans were delicious as was the fried okra. The potato salad was out of this world (and I’m really picky). We cleaned our plates and were stuffed to the limit when we finished. The service was excellent. The atmosphere was very friendly. No better bbq can be found in Gatlinburg,TN. It’s just a few miles on the outskirts of Gatlinburg and was well worth and beyond the few minutes it took to get there because they are only a few minutes from downtown Gatlinburg. Do yourself a favor. Give Delauder’s BBQ your business and see if I found the best BBQ in town. You’ll agree with me. Thanks and a well done to the crew at Delauder’s BBQ.

RB...