The Peddler Steakhouse — Restaurant in Gatlinburg

After years of passing The Peddler Steakhouse on many visits to Gatlinburg, my mother always dreamed of finally dining there. On our most recent trip, we decided to make that wish come true, especially meaningful since, due to her declining health, this may very well have been her last visit to the Smoky Mountains. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a special evening of good food and cherished memories quickly turned into a disappointing and frustrating experience. The restaurant no longer accepts reservations by phone, directing guests to an online system that was down for two days. Once it finally worked, our reservation was confirmed, but the challenges continued. Parking was difficult, particularly for handicap access, and the cramped lobby was chaotic with people waiting both inside and out.

Upon check-in, our reservation was for four, but I had my seven-month-old daughter with me. When I informed the host, he seemed irritated and told me that my infant counted as a person, even though she did not require a seat. Because they do not add chairs or highchairs to tables, we were told we could not be seated at our reserved table and were placed on a waiting list for a larger one. After some back and forth and explaining that our baby could sit in her car seat or our lap, we were finally seated about 45 minutes later. What made this more frustrating was that once seated, both the tables directly in front of and behind us added an extra chair to accommodate an additional guest, clearly showing that making an exception was possible, just not for us.

Once at the table, our server was the bright spot of the evening, polite, attentive, and patient. My wife and I both ordered ribeye steaks, which were cut tableside before being grilled, while my mother ordered a petite filet that was not cut in front of us. The salad bar was basic but clean. When our entrées arrived, the steaks were cooked correctly, though the baked potatoes were small and came only with sour cream unless we specifically requested butter or went to the salad bar for cheese. The ribeye steaks were served on very large plates that made the steak and potato look small, leaving the overall presentation feeling incomplete. Adding an additional side or garnish could easily help balance the plate and improve the experience.

The biggest disappointment came with my mother’s filet. She ordered it medium, but it arrived well done and dry. When she politely mentioned this, the waitress offered A.1. or 57 sauce to help with the dryness, which was surprising and unacceptable for a steakhouse of The Peddler’s reputation. After requesting a replacement, the correctly cooked steak took another 20 minutes to arrive, long after the rest of us had finished eating. What should have been a heartfelt dinner for my mother’s long-awaited visit became a stressful and underwhelming experience. Between the unaccommodating reservation system, lack of accessibility, dismissive host, and uneven food quality, The Peddler Steakhouse did not live up to its reputation. For the price and prestige it carries, I expected far better, especially for a family simply trying to create one more special...

Great job on the food but our server (Jenny) was not a happy camper. Whether she meant to be so rude, I am not sure but she definitely was. What is so funny is she started off nice when helping me pick out a drink but soon after she appeared bothered by us. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt because I work with the public but it really wasn’t acceptable. I know we all have bad days but you’re not supposed to bring it to the table with you. I’ve had bad people good people and in between people and I just gotta roll with it- this lady made it obvious she was not interested in us. Before eating we did have a moment of prayer and she continued pouring water into our glasses…..very weird but ok whatever. Guess we stirred something up inside. I’m not sure because she didn’t have any interest in small talking with us after that. I did over hear her conversation with the table behind us and she was completely different with them even offering up a small piece of cake for their birthday. I know that’s the norm but it was just the tone she used with them compared to us. Maybe we looked like we weren’t big tippers- we weren’t dressed up but we definitely can and do tip. Having said that, she was not ugly to me personally but the way she spoke to my husband and mother in law was way way way uncalled for. I’m serious about that too. Now the gentleman cutting our steaks and the front staff were awesome but our waitress left something to be desired. Excellent customer service should be given in a restaurant like this especially for the price. We literally just paid someone more than $100 to be rude to us…..I thought that’s what they do at Dick’s? * I edited this review to add my servers name so the owner would know this wasn’t a made up review. He never responded to mine guess he thought it was just a random comment but oh it definitely happened and you can review your cameras and see we did not cause a scene nor NOT leave a tip. She actually got a fair tip considering the situation. Thanks for ruining a special moment with my mother in law (she was a first time customer). We honestly won’t be back and even though you have enough business to carry on as normal, I really hope you can get to the bottom of this so nobody else has to feel this way. If you read this far, thank you and please understand I never leave reviews especially nowadays to hurt anyone’s business but this was necessary. Be nice to people because you just don’t know what they may be going through. Thanks...

We chose this location for our Valentine's Day dinner which we had on 02/16/2020. Prior to our trip, we had read reviews all over the internet swearing that The Peddlers Steakhouse was the best place you could visit. Call ahead seating begins 1 hour before the business opens, so we called starting right at 4:00pm because they open at 5:00pm. Their phone system is extremely messed up and they acknowledge this on their Facebook page. It took us over 30 minutes due to the phone hanging up multiple times when you call or receiving a busy signal. Finally we were put in a cue of about 8 and eventually got a hold of someone who told us it would be between 6-6:30. We showed up about 5:30 due to trying to find a place to park which is it's own mess of a parking lot with people making up their own parking spots. We were actually able to get a seat about 10 minutes after coming in leading us to think the call ahead seating thing can sometimes be a scam. The decor in The Peddlers Steakhouse is very typical for the area, however the waiting area looks extremely worn down and dirty.

On to the actual food, they provide an all you can eat salad bar and there are a ton of options for you to build a mega salad. We ordered cheese sticks aka mozzarella sticks, honestly there were comparable to what you buy from the frozen section in Wal-Mart. Shortly after you sit down with your salad they come around with a cart to present you with options of cuts you can have for your steak. I personally am not fond of this because the steak is barely covered by a table cloth, with flu season I just picture someone sneezing on it. I get it, it will be cooked away but still gross to think about. The other thing that bothers me is they are touching the steak with their bare hand and then touching the cart after. Now there is cross contamination.

With the actual taste of the food it's just average. There is absolutely nothing special about it, I've had better at comparable places or cheaper. It lacked seasoning, I asked for medium rare and received medium well. I can understand the view is nice, but again only my personal opinion but we did not enjoy it. I ordered the twin filet's and he ordered the ribeye. Dessert was good but the piece of cake was HUGE and we barely finished it, you for sure got your money worth for it.

To summarize, it was only average and for over $100 for two people with the tip it simply was not worth it. See...