My First Time Trying Thai in Gatlinburg: Restaurant Review of The Baht

While I’m mostly a meat and potatoes (and salad) type of guy, lately, I’ve been hankering for something a little bit outside my own traditional norms for food. My palate has surprisingly changed over the past 5-10 years. I thought Ranch dressing was gross as a teenager; now, I love it. I used to be repulsed by mushrooms, but if it’s in or on something now, I’ll eat it. That’s not to say I love the fungus; however, the fact I don’t have a problem with it anymore is quite shocking to me.

About the most adventurous I normally go is Mexican, due to the sheer number of restaurants around. I enjoy it—like many of you—but I have to be cautious, as the flour is flowing freely in different ways, and fried foods in this category. While delicious, they are a detriment to my well-being, but I digress.

Thai food as a cuisine was never really on my radar, and the one that is in my Ohio hometown isn’t really in a good location, further preventing me from trying it out earlier. The Baht is about a 15 minute walk from my apartment, so I have no excuse not to check another new restaurant off my Gatlinburg checklist. The Baht opened in early 2024 and is located on Spruce Lane, which is off 321 from light #3 in Gatlinburg.

Authenticity is always one of the first things most Americans desire when they go off the board a bit—I know I do. Sure, Taco Bell and Olive Garden are super successful chain restaurants, but no one can seriously claim either are “authentic” Mexican and Italian joints.

My son joined me as we walked down from our apartment unit early Friday afternoon. Specifically, The Baht is located at 122 Spruce Lane, which is located about a quarter-mile down 321 on the left behind the Sleep Inn & Suites. Its placement by a creek gives it a pleasant ambiance, in addition to the glass windows that make up the full exterior of the building, allowing for full viewing of the outside. We loved that aspect. I thought it was larger from the pictures I saw prior to visiting, but that’s not a critique.

We were greeted and promptly seated upon arrival. Kanpicha was our server, and—after a few minutes—came to take our drink order of plain old tap water, which tasted like it came from a mountain stream…no lie. She poured it from a pitcher into the cups that were already on the table, which I thought was a nice touch, since it was clear they were clean.

Beforehand, we decided to order their steamed Pork Dumplings appetizer, and this did not disappoint. Along with their soy vinaigrette dip on the side, it wasn’t much, but the quality was amazing. There was something we couldn’t identify sprinkled on top, but no matter, it added more depth of flavor to the small plate of 4 dumplings.

I was still deliberating on my entree until my son decided he was ordering the Pad Thai. This made it easier for me, as it dropped my choices down to two—Thai Style Basil and the Red Curry. I selected the former.

The Pad Thai arrived along with my dish in about 5 minutes. His featured sauteed rice noodles with egg, scallions, bean sprouts—not his favorite—and shrimp, which was an extra $3. The Thai Style Basil featured no noodles, but comes with a bowl of white sticky rice, a pleasant diversion from the traditional American rice. The dish itself was a low-carb bonanza of ingredients—a spicy stir-fry with chili, garlic, basil, and my meat choice of chicken. When I say spicy, they don’t mess around. I happen to like spicy foods, but I wouldn’t dare try their hot. I felt medium had a nice heat that created a few sweat beads on my skin. You can thankfully try mild, which would be a good first step if you’re a beginner to Thai and spicy foods.

My Thai Style Basil on the left; my son’s Pad Thai on the right.

Both dishes were…yes, delicious! My son received a heaping pile of noodles in his Pad Thai, but he also permissively helped himself to my bowl of rice—which I modestly sprinkled on mine to soak up the spices a tad. I think we both agreed my Thai Basil was easily spicier and somewhat different, flavor-wise, than his. Even though I have never had Thai food before, I believe they truly are authentic. Everything tasted amazingly fresh, and the restaurant itself appeared very kempt, giving us every indication the food was going to be of the highest quality as well.

Overall, I feel that the prices were more than fair for the quantity and caliber. Both of our dishes cost $16, and our Pork Dumplings were $8. The service was pleasant, not fake, and no, there was no language barrier. I don’t like mentioning it, but I know plenty of people who are apprehensive about visiting places where you know you’re getting authentic food, but there’s potential for a mistake or misunderstanding on both ends. I even saw an employee at The Baht who also is a co-worker of mine at Anakeesta. She is a super nice girl, and it was nice to know she is at another front-facing job where guests can be delighted by her smile.

My “half” of the check at The Baht…lol.

All of these things are enough to give it a high rating, and after seeing a bear heading past us down to the creek, it was an even more memorable experience for us. This is so close to perfect, but it’s not quite deserving of The Peddler’s full 5-star review I gave the popular steakhouse in Gatlinburg. I am giving The Baht a 4.9 out of 5—a superior rating! Subsequent visits could very well make me bump it up, but since it was my very first foray into Thai food, this is obviously nothing to be shameful about. We will definitely be returning, and I really think my wife would enjoy it too, so I am looking forward to a family visit, or a nice date night. It looks very elegant at night, so this would be great with your special someone.

Thank you for reading my latest restaurant review of The Baht! I hope you will give this restaurant a try when you are visiting Gatlinburg. It was cool checking another restaurant off my list which is dwindling with every new visit. So…what’s next? You’ll have to wait and see. I’m not even sure, although I do have a few in mind I would love to visit soon! Stay tuned!