Gatlinburg Restaurant Review: Did Chesapeake's Change My Mind About Seafood?
Before I review Chesapeake’s in Gatlinburg, let me briefly give you some background on my food preferences. None of them involve seafood. It’s always been low on my radar of foods I seek out. I’m always curious, though, when I see advertisements, read, reviews, and hear people fanaticize about their fishy food finds.
My wife in recent years and my childhood both have kept me away from these so-called delicacies, for the most part. Unfresh frozen fish and breaded shrimp bring back not-so-tasteful memories of my younger years, but my wife has been more influential in my adult life avoidance. She and many others say the best place to eat seafood is near large bodies of water where they can be caught and served much fresher than in landlocked states.
Enter Chesapeake’s.
I can’t say I wasn’t intrigued when I researched this Copper Cellar restaurant that specializes in serving up the various creatures of the sea. When I lived in Knoxville for a month and a half, I actually had one less than two miles from my hotel. According to their website, they fly in the seafood daily from the Atlantic, and they do not freeze it. This ensures you’re getting seafood you’ll likely find just as flavorful if you’re dining seaside. Well, I guess I’ll have to find out if it lives up to expectations.
Since my wife wasn’t quite convinced nor enthusiastic about it, I made Sunday brunch reservations for two with my son, Zach, who also wanted to see what the fuss was about. I had never made reservations at a restaurant before, if that tells you the kind of places we normally frequent. I set aside the intimidation factor by dressing business casual, but I compare the ambiance to another Copper Cellar restaurant, Cherokee Grill, which looks more formal than it really is, but Chesapeake’s does have a more romantic feel to it, since they have window seating and a patio with sterling views of the river.
The brunch started off on the right foot with a small basket of rolls and croissants. The latter was melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious. Best before-meal rolls that share a place with yet another Copper Cellar place, Calhoun’s. But the moment of truth was fast arriving, and we already knew what we were planning to order.
We were both going to get the Boiled Seafood Platter, but I diverged and selected the Filet and Wild Alaskan Salmon combo. The verdict? My son was a bit disappointed, but he really liked the cod and scallops. He won’t be eating shrimp and crab cakes anytime soon, but it was all consumed, with a little help from me. I also won’t be a shrimp and crab cake convert, but I found the former much better than remembered, and I actually didn’t mind the crab cake. Now my Filet and Alaskan Salmon were positively delicious. There was something different I could appreciate from eating fresh seafood. I get it the hype. It wasn’t fishy like you almost expect when you taste it. It’s all about texture, and I found most of it very pleasing to my taste buds.
The price was a pleasant surprise. Even though we looked at the brunch menu online, the cost of the Seafood Platter was less than $20, and the combo I ordered was a reasonable $23—a few dollars less than expected, based on what we viewed from the menu. Not including tip, we paid less than $50 for two at one of the fancier restaurants we normally visit.
To sum it all up, service, ambiance, feel, and food exceeded expectations but didn’t obliterate them. Would I return? Absolutely! I now know which types of fresh fish to gravitate toward and which to stay away from. Obviously, there’s many more types of seafood I’ve yet to try, and who knows, maybe I will explore the waters further on my next visit. Chesapeake’s has my stamp of approval and recommendation. Granted, I don’t have much to compare it to in the world of ocean fare, I’ll still give it a 7.5 on a scale of 10, based on experience and food.
Stay tuned for more reviews and a redo of my Top 4 Breakfasts in Gatlinburg. If you’ve read my latest trip report posts, you may have an idea which place made a jump on my list. Here’s a hint: One place dropped off. Anyway, watch out for that, and as always, thank you so much for subscribing and reading my exclusive Gatlinburg content. I love this place and hope it can be home sometime this year.