Howard's Restaurant Gatlinburg's Oldest Restaurant — Restaurant in Gatlinburg

I have been coming to Gatlinburg for 40+ years but have never eaten at Howard's. It just doesn't jump out at you like some of the other themed restaurants on the "strip". Not that they have gotten my business either. I like the smaller, family run establishments. Howard's is one of those kinds of places. The owner talked to us during our visit. Seems Howard's is one of the oldest restaurants in Gatlinburg, news to me.

What caught our eye was the outside dining area with umbrellas that we saw from the street, as my husband and I approached from The Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance end of town. We entered a small lobby, met the staff and asked for outside seating. Our brief walk through the restaurant revealed a dimmed, cozy atmosphere with almost completely full tables (a good sign that it's a popular dining location). The aroma of delicious food filled the air.

One step out the back door had me smiling one of my biggest "I'm in heaven!" smiles. There is a "babbling brook" running right next to the patio and we were being seated at a table on the water side of the patio. (The "babbling brook" is actually LeConte Creek coming through town from the mountain above.) I LOVE the Smoky Mountains and couldn't have had a better dining location for feeling a part of the mountains that evening.

Service was professional yet comfortable and friendly. Our server helped take pictures of us at our table. There was also a professional photographer strolling through the restaurant, taking pictures and providing everyone with an opportunity to purchase a souvenir photo at the end of the meal.

My husband has back issues and the staff was more than willing to help him find a chair that would keep him comfortable throughout dinner. The owner even came by to double check on his comfort level, then spent a few extra minutes chatting with us about the history of the restaurant.

The food was delicious. My husband had a burger and I got the catfish. Mine was "perfect". We were tempted by the dessert menu, but we knew we were going to do a little more walking around town and the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen was on our "must stop here" list, so we passed on dessert....

This was an amazing lunch with our sister from another mother who lives in Gatlinburg year round. She always finds new places to bring us, and they are usually good. Howard’s had it all today.

We came for lunch, and Carly was our waitress. Even with a boot on one foot, she hustled for us. Our waters stayed full, and she brought a cup of lemons for all of us to enjoy. Husband had his usual ice tea, and she brought him his favorite sweetener - Sweet’n’Low.

Sister ordered the Nachos Supreme with chicken. It was huge. We never thought she’d finish it, but she did. It was her breakfast & lunch! She enjoyed every bite.

I ordered the Steak Burger with lettuce & mayonnaise and coleslaw instead of fries. The burger was hot, super juicy, and bigger than the bun. I would have liked another piece of lettuce, but I didn’t ask, and it was fine. The coleslaw was a generous portion, creamy, and sweet. I finished every delicious bite of my lunch.

Husband had the Buffalo wings, and even though it said “cooked to order,” Carly didn’t ask him how to cook them. They came with celery sticks and the requested ranch dressing. The wings were dry, cold (temperature) and super spicy (way they were cooked). He ate one, and his eyes started watering. Carly offered to bring him a new batch of 10, but he asked for a side salad instead. When she brought it out, it was cool and tasted great. He asked for, and got, potato sticks, hard boiled egg, cheese, bacon, and tomato on iceberg lettuce. That he enjoyed immensely.

After lunch we walked out back to the patio seating, which is being redone. The view is beautiful! We will definitely be back to sit on the patio & eat. Also, we’ll come for the incredible service, excellent nachos, salad and burgers, and an opportunity to try other menu items that make our...

Howard’s is always our go-to place for a nice dinner on the last night of our annual Gatlinburg trip. We’ve always had great food and service there, and they have best bourbon selection around. The wait usually isn’t too bad (we were quoted an hour wait this year, but it actually ended up being only about 30 minutes). This year, though, the food experience didn’t live up to our usual expectation. First, they tried to bring out one of our sides by itself before the rest of our meal. We told them we’d prefer to wait until the rest of our meal came and get everything at once. I’m glad we said that because it ended up being about 10 minutes later before the whole meal arrived. I ordered a filet cooked medium. You can see in the attached photo that it was much closer to well done. Our server never asked me to cut into the steak to check it when she brought it. An older man who I assume was a manager came by a couple minutes after we got our food and asked me to cut into the steak. I did, and apparently I made an unimpressed face and said “Eh” when I saw how done my steak was, because the guy said, “I’ve been doing this for a long time, so is that an ‘Eh, no’ or an ‘Eh, I’ll deal with it’?” Then he kinda laughed and walked away before I could show him how overdone it was. But I hated to waste it or wait any longer for them to remake it, so I just ate it anyway, dry and charred without ever being offered any sauces. Strangely, the mushrooms ended up being the best part of our meal. We didn’t see the waitress much the rest of the night, but it was pretty busy. I’m sure we’ll probably be back again, but I miss the excellent experience and great food we used to have here in the past. I guess this was just an off...