Cumberland Jack’s opened their doors in 2022, replacing the home of the popular Texas Roadhouse chain steak restaurant in Gatlinburg. What’s interesting is that their sister restaurant, Crockett’s Breakfast Camp, is located right beside them, separated only by a side street. It was my first visit, and its parallels to Crockett’s are quite apparent once you walk inside. So, will the food match up with the ambiance and history it imbues? Well, I’m about to detail the experience I shared with my son.
To briefly preface my review, Cumberland Jack was the German Shepherd companion of Paul Adams in the 1920s. Adams is known as the first caretaker of the LeConte Lodge, the iconic overnight shelter only reached by hiking to it. This dog was responsible for helping fetch groceries from the Ogle Store in Gatlinburg back up the mountain to feed guests. The inside of Cumberland Jack’s is meant to replicate the atmosphere of this century-old lodge.
My son and I were trying to decide on a new place for dinner on our day off. We narrowed it to two, with New Orleans Sandwich Company coming in a close second. I recently ate here and reviewed it very positively in a previous post, but the pleasure of eating here is yet to be experienced by him.
It was a busy Friday before Easter, so we were a little nervous about our prospects of not waiting. Once we walked inside, it was pretty evident we would be seated promptly. After an awkward introduction, we were shown to our table, awed by the atmosphere, layout, and size of the restaurant. When you walk in, the bar is straight ahead on the right, inside a large dining area. There are two separate screened-in rooms additionally—one in front and one to the left of the main area. We were seated in the large middle section.
Service at the start was slow. It took a good five minutes before we had our server come ask for our drinks—just water. Mind you, it wasn’t busy with the exception of one large group. Other than that, actually, pretty slow. I don’t want to make assumptions as to why—obviously, lots of factors can be at play. Speaking of which, I saw a familiar face walk by after ordering. After a few moments, I realized it was Moonshiner, Mark Rogers. He’s the unmistakable face on the American Peach Moonshine from Sugarlands Distilling Company. I only learned later he had a meet-and-greet there from 10-2 earlier that day.
After some debate over whether I wanted to carb it up or stay smart with my health, I chose the latter by ordering the Cades Cove Grilled Chicken Salad. This looked pretty good on the menu, containing avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, grilled corn, black beans, tabasco onions, with a barbecue ranch dressing. I decided to hold only the grilled corn—the least healthy vegetable. My son opted for the Hangover Cure, which is dripped in irony due to his underage status, still. It is a half-pound patty with bacon, pimento cheese, fried egg, and garlic aioli.
I’ve become leery about food coming out of the kitchen too quickly—a commonality of Crockett’s Breakfast Camp. But on this occasion, it seemed to take a little TOO long. I’m not one to care about how many minutes it takes; I’m actually quite patient. For what we ordered though, this wasn’t necessarily worthy of a long wait—especially with a small occupancy of guests. Would the more than 30-minute wait be justified?
When our food was brought out, I was ready to really critique it. At first glance, my salad looked pretty good. After further inspection and tasting, it was missing something. There was no evidence of wilting of leaves, but it just felt a bit off, taste wise. As I poured my barbecue ranch dressing—very good, by the way—I noticed a missing ingredient. I saw none of the tabasco onion straws, and there certainly was minimal inclusions of just about every ingredient, including the grilled chicken. Even that was flat tasting and dry. The best thing about a salad should not be the dressing, but sadly, this was the case.
My son had a better tasting experience, but it wasn’t without a few flaws. He said he liked his burger a good bit, even if it did have the appearance of a frozen patty. He was warned by the server about how they put an over easy egg on it, but it seemed they cooked it past a medium. Not a big deal to him. The bacon he loved, and the pimento cheese—which I also tasted—was pretty good as well. His side order of mixed vegetables he said was not warm, not cold, just lukewarm. Part of this is likely attributed to the fact it was sitting out too long; hence the dry, barely warm chicken on my salad.
In conclusion, my son’s burger was this visit’s only saving grace, except for the kind service. While it was a bit slow, I didn’t dock our server. I always tip at least 25%, unless the server is just plain rude. My salad was barely worthy of $10, much less the $16 I paid for it. There’s too many other good salads on this side of town alone…and cheaper, with better value (Calhoun’s, Smoky Mountain Brewery, Cherokee Grill). In fact, I can go to the opposite end at Gatlinburg Brewing Company and get their Brewpub Salad for less than $10 with my local discount. And it is SO much better! It’s just as large, and that fire-roasted chicken on top is always warm and delicious.
If I was rating it on my salad alone, it would get 2.5 stars out of 5. However, my son’s burger brings it up to just a 2.8. That’s my final rating for this visit; I’m not rushing back. There’s just too many other good restaurants on this side of Gatlinburg serving consistently superior food, along with a great atmosphere and service. I hope it was just a one-off. I would love to know what you thought if you’ve eaten here with the new menu in place. I wish I would’ve visited earlier, when you were given complimentary bread and soup. Sadly, the atmosphere was the best thing about our experience. I’m disappointed, but hopefully one day I can say better things about this restaurant in the future. It just wasn’t to be this time.
Thank you for reading my latest food review in Gatlinburg! I hope you all know this is just my opinion, and I encourage you to form your own if you visit Cumberland Jack’s. I hope you continue to follow my Gatlinburg journey on future posts, and don’t forget to subscribe so you’re not missing out! Thank you!
We ate there last night we had the taco trio with brisket and pulled pork . It was okay just really no taste. We was in there for over an hour and half maybe 2 . And it wasn’t even crowded. They are going to have to do better with handling a crowd in gatlinburg. And putting more flavor in there food.