The Rampant Lion — Restaurant in Gatlinburg

I think this place prefers locals and regulars over out of town explorers in search of the everyday charm of the Gatlinburg area. The warm, inviting feeling expected from a pub was lacking. We sat at a table and were acknowledged by being told someone would be with us. Great start but from there on out our experience was unwelcoming and as if we should eat and be on our way. It took at least 20 minutes before someone finally came and checked on us after we were told someone would be with us. I assume the gentleman who told us that never relayed to anyone we needed to be taken care of. It got to the point of waiting where I though I might need to order at the bar. Anyways after sitting and patiently waiting someone finally made eye contact and came to the realization we were looking to partake in a beverage and some food. So we finally ordered a drink and some food. The fish and chips were tasty but the meat pie was mediocre. After we got our food the bill was dropped to us without asking and we wanted another drink. So we just asked to add another drink to the bill. Much to our disappointment our st Patrick’s day meal there was an awkward and uncomfortable feeling like we didn’t belong there. However I will say The Rampant Lion Pub itself is quite nice it terms of decor and ambience.

In response to the owner: Not sure what the relevance is of writing a review 10 days after visiting. Look at all of my recent reviews from Gatlinburg. They have just been done after my trip there. When we were there it was not inundated with masses of people at the rampant lion. Frankly we were surprised by the lack of people there especially when we realized it was St. Patrick’s day. Several people who could have helped us walked past us many times without ever acknowledging us. Even taking their time to converse amongst one another. We actually had been to another restaurant similar to your situation. They had one waiter for 8 tables with just the manager to help. The service was fine because at least their they acknowledged us and did not completely ignore us. At your pub it was like being invisible and if the lady did not come to us and ask if we were being helped who knows how much longer we would have waited there. I mean people in the front room, the back room, and by the bar everyone else was being acknowledged except us which is why we were so confused. I’m not sure how you all do service there but a simple hey can I get you a drink after when I get a minute would have sufficed. Are you hungry do you want a bite to eat and after that would you like another drink or is the check fine would have gone over great. Both the red oak bistro and wild bear tavern were busier than your place and understaffed just like yours but were immensely better at taking care of us. Feel free to be dismissive and in denial over your places inability to provide minimal service to a handful of tables and two...

This is a Celtic pub that doesn't bear any resemblance to anything you'd find in the British Isles but is a really great place to escape from the nearby tourist traps. I was there on a late May weeknight, easy to park and find a seat on the outdoor patio. I very much enjoyed sitting there by myself for an hour or so. There's a very impressive drinks menu, lots of whiskeys but I am a beer drinker. I started with a Scottish ale on draft, pleasant but a bit watery. It occurs to me that the longtime British slur about American beer (like making love in a canoe) has been reversed in recent years. I moved to an Atlanta IPA, Sweetwater Day trip, much better. For food I tried their scotch egg appetizer, very tasty although needed some Worcestershire sauce to make it a little less bland, then bubble and squeak. My mother used to make it, and I think Google bears me out, this is supposed to be a frying pan dish, corned beef, cabbage and potatoes and anything you have leftover in the fridge. For some reason this was served in a bowl, very soupy. Tasty but not great. But to end upbeat, the service was excellent, I chatted to one of the regulars who was friendly and I am pretty sure if I come to this part of TN again, I'll make an effort...

We called ahead to make sure we could get a table and Roger was super friendly on the phone. We arrived and there was plenty of seats. The bourbon list is EXTENSIVE. At least 350. For a small pub in Tennessee it was amazing. We had pretzels and beer cheese, curry fries and a sausage roll (just added to the menu) for starters and all three were so good but the curry was outstanding. The chef - Covy - used his own recipe and after tasting it I had the chicken vindaloo for my main so I could have more curry sauce. The fries were homemade and perfect. For mains we had the aforementioned chicken vindaoo, sausage rolls and fries, fish and chips and shepherds pie. My husband is British so he’s a bit of a snob about everything (LOL) but especially about British food and he stated that the shepherds pie was as good as any he’s had back home. The chicken in the chicken vindaloo was so tender. The fish and chips were perfect and again, the sausage roll was just like you would get in England or Scotland - if a little bigger. We are so glad we came across it when we were looking for places to eat. We were too busy digging into the food to take pics but we did snap some of the...