A Review of My First Visits to Jason Aldean's Restaurant & Rooftop Bar

I had mixed emotions when this new celebrity-themed concept restaurant opened in Gatlinburg, days before we moved here last summer. Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. My feelings were strongly against it. Not only was this new restaurant group taking over the area where one of my favorite shops was—All Sauced Up, which is now out of business completely; it also was another tourist-attracting place with high prices and little regard for locals, other than the creation of more jobs. Eventually, I knew I was going to give it a fair shake and test the vibe, and of course, the food. This review is based on our experience on the rooftop bar and the main dining area on the second floor. I’m going to tell you if this was “My Kinda Party.”

As I briefly mentioned, Jason Aldean’s Restaurant and Rooftop Bar in Gatlinburg had their official grand opening in early August 2023. They now have 3 locations—the first one in Nashville and the newest location in Pittsburgh, which opened this year. The building underwent a complete gutting next to Ole Smoky Whiskey. All Sauced Up was here and they closed, and not long after, they shut the Pigeon Forge doors down for good as well. The Tin Roof survived a lengthy shutdown before they reopened after Labor Day in September 2023. Next to them is another restaurant, Sun Diner, which opened a few weeks before Jason Aldean’s.

Last week we made our first visit for food and some entertainment…finally. This was at the Rooftop Bar section where live bands perform. They also have a different variation of bar foods up here, in contrast to their main eats on the second floor dining area. My wife ordered the Loaded Fries with queso, bacon bits, and chives. I didn’t order my own, since I had already eaten, and I was just meeting her after work. First impression: They were better than I anticipated. I’m not going to get super-descriptive, but we both enjoyed them. I mean, it’s not fine dining you’re going to find up here. The fact they were only $7 and quite shareable was also a positive.

The inside is dimly lit with a large bar area and seating that provides an intimate venue for the revolving list of entertainment on a nightly basis. The outdoor patio is great for some fresh air and lovely views of Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains. The sound system is outstanding. You almost feel like the band is playing outside, instead of inside. That is worth applauding as well. Overall, once we figured out the system for ordering up here, we really liked it. The bench seating includes an umbrella at each station for protection from the sun. This whole set-up was a thoughtful and extensive endeavor where corners weren’t cut, at least from this first-timer’s perspective.

Recently, my wife and I made our first visit to the main restaurant area on the second floor, completing my full review. Don’t be deterred by the steps as you enter the gift shop on the bottom floor. There is an elevator as you make your way to the back of the first floor gift shop. Once you arrive on the second floor, you’ll find another tiny souvenir shop on the right, facing another large bar area. Various Jason Aldean memorabilia and pictures line the walls, as well as plenty of television screens, and a tractor. That’s right, a vintage John Deere tractor sits in the middle of the bar on this floor. Pretty safe to say this is a reason why this structure was a total rebuild.

As you’re probably tired of me bringing it up, but I’m going to anyway. I’m a salad guy, and that’s mainly because of my diabetes, so I had that in my sights beforehand. Specifically, I ordered the Spring Chicken Salad, which contained a solid mix of greens, cucumbers, red peppers, grilled chicken, and topped with wonton crisps, lime sesame dressing, and peanut sauce.

What did I think?

The salad was $15, and while it came with a heavy dose of skepticism, it lived up to its price tag. I thought it was actually pretty delicious! Normally, I like my dressing on the side, so I can control how much I put on it, but since it was my first visit, I wanted to get the full effect. I’m not mad at how it turned out. If I’m going to take off points, I would say there wasn’t many peppers, and I would’ve preferred it not have so much dressing glopped on. But overall, I was pleased with the serving size of the salad. Who would’ve thought value would be used to describe anything in a tourist restaurant?

Along for the ride was my wife, and while she wasn’t as enthusiastic about her Pulled Pork Sandwich ($16), she still liked it (Her favorite and mine is Calhoun’s, which is some of the best melt-in-your-mouth pork you’ll find in Gatlinburg, in our opinion). They use a dry rub (actual sauce is on the table) and top it with pickles—which she held off—crispy onion straws, with a side of fries. It’s good pork, for sure, but we both have our eyes on two other items we may try if there’s a second time.

The only slight knock on our service was that it took a few minutes for our server to come with our drink order. No big deal. They looked a little busy, but we waited barely 5 minutes for a table. Heilyn, our server, did a nice job of checking on us and making sure our food was to our liking. She was friendly and answered one of my wife’s questions with aplomb. She also offered us dessert which we politely declined after a decently filling meal.

The total for our meal for two after tip and tax came to a shade over $40. I thought that was more than reasonable, even though we didn’t splurge on any alcoholic beverages. If I’m being honest, the prices for alcohol are the most ridiculous charges on the menu, so in case we were forgetting we were in a tourist-driven place, this should be a wake-up call. $9 for a draft pint or can of substandard domestic swill? No, thank you. Give me great local microbrews at Gatlinburg Brewing Company AND Smoky Mountain Brewery for at least $2-$5 fewer…any day!

What would I rate our first experiences overall at the Rooftop Bar and the Restaurant area? I’m going to give it a 4.1 out of 5—a solid but not exceptional score. There is definitely room for an increase in the rating, seeing that we have yet to try a couple more of their signature items like Jason’s Mac and Cheese and my likely next choice—while not considered a “signature”—the Avocado Chicken Melt, because I’m a sucker for a sandwich with toasted bread, instead of the typical boring bun. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with how well our experience turned out. I think we will eventually return. And when we do, I will be sure to let y’all know about it!

Thank you for reading and subscribing to A Gatlinburg NOW Publication! If you liked this review, be sure to share it with others on Substack and Facebook. I want to spread the word on all the great—and maybe not so great—places to eat here in the beautiful tourist town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee! Stay tuned!