A Review of The Park Grill Restaurant in Gatlinburg: Our Anniversary Dinner

You want to have a special date with your wife on that special day that celebrates your matrimony, and my better half and I (plus our son) decided to spend it at a place we had never eaten before, even though it was a week late. Yes, The Park Grill was our choice. It opened in 1995, and I would describe it as a dimly lit park lodge that is the sister restaurant of another popular eatery, The Peddler. This is another place we haven’t visited and considered for our dinner, but we figured TPG was a better fit for us.

The Park Grill has a bigger menu than The Peddler, and the things that elevate the latter, you can also find at the former. There are burgers, steaks, chicken, and seafood entrees, and a salad bar which comes with each entree. It’s a pretty impressive salad bar that my son and I went up twice to pluck peppers, cucumbers, and various items you may not find at your standard salad bar. I couldn’t bring myself to try the oysters they offer. That’s a bridge too far for me.

My wife was dead set on steak; the only question was whether she was getting Rib Eye or New York Strip. No sirloin options here, so that was the wrinkle for her. In the end, she chose the Rib Eye. I was either ordering the Moonshine Grilled Chicken or just the salad bar. While I could’ve done just the endless salad, I chose the Chicken. My son chose the Grilled Atlantic Salmon.

So, did we like it?

Yes, we liked them all a great deal with some minor quibbles about one, but the person who ordered it had none, so no biggie. I’ll get to it now. The salmon was really good, but had a slight fishy flavor. Yes, it’s expected. It’s fish after all, but Chesapeake’s stands as the best salmon you can find in Gatlinburg in my opinion, so that’s tough competition it couldn’t topple. My wife loved her steak, but I don’t think it was the best she’s ever had (I didn’t ask). My chicken had a slight moonshine flavor I enjoyed with the sweetness of the pineapple. Again, it was very good, but I would stop short of saying it was my all-time favorite. I’m not being harsh; I have a high bar for extravagant meals.

The price is going to be high, considering it’s the second version of another steak place you’re going to pay the price for, The Peddler. Is it worth the price? I would surely say yes. They give you fresh—and I do mean fresh—bread with butter to start your meal. Combine that with continuous trips to a fantastic salad bar along with your choice of a side with your main course, you won’t find me whining about the cost.

Dessert was a spur of the moment decision that I only participated in for a few bites. The $14 Peanut Butter Mud Pie was worth every penny. It is a gigantic ice cream cake with peanut butter and chocolate on top of a chocolate cookie crust. Throw whipped cream and a light dousing of chocolate sauce and you have a work of art that I believe no average person can finish on their own, especially after three previous courses.

Did I mention service? Oh, yeah. Once again, it was timely, friendly, and everything you expect at a sit-down restaurant. We were given regular refills, and the staff was great at retrieving our empty salad and entree plates. I would rate it as some of the most efficient, most excellent levels of service we hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Would we return? Heck yeah, we certainly would. Will it be anytime soon? Probably not. Why? It’s a place for special occasions only with us. We spent a hair over $140—tax and tip—for the 3 of us, which is easily the most we’ve spent at a restaurant.

What would I give it as a ranking? After much thought, I’m going with a 4.6 out of 5. It’s a perfect anniversary or special occasion dinner. I only wanted to give it a 4, but after writing this, I thought that would be an insult to how we were treated here. I’m only docking them for the entrees not being the best we’ve ever had, based on the price. That’s no knock on them, honestly. I haven’t ranked any restaurant in Gatlinburg a 5, so this is a high bar that’s reserved for the ultimate restaurant experience I hope we can have someday. With that being said, it gets a high endorsement from yours truly. I don’t think this will disappoint most people wanting a great meal.

Thank you for reading my review of The Park Grill restaurant in Gatlinburg! If you’ve had a good or bad experience here, feel free to agree or disagree with my rating of this dining encounter. I appreciate you following and subscribing to my publication of all things Gatlinburg!