Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, Sevierville’s oldest restaurant, welcomes each guest with the opportunity to taste the No. 1 best-seller throughout the entire Apple Barn Cider Mill & General Store complex: its signature homemade apple butter. Every breakfast, lunch and dinner starts with a complimentary single serving of fluffy fried apple fritters paired with the popular apple butter. Looser than jam yet spreadable, the apple butter balances sweet-tart fruit flavor with cinnamon spice. Similar to hushpuppies, the fried apple fritters are tender-crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and served warm. The duo is a match made in culinary heaven. Apple butter is also available in the general store by the half-pint and pint jar for easy transport home. The restaurant also sells apple fritters by the half- and full dozen, perhaps knowing that once you own a jar of apple butter you won’t want to wait until you get home to start enjoying it. Among the entrées at Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, don’t miss the Applewood famous Southern fried chicken that fries juicy meat to a crisp golden brown.

Big Daddy’s Pizzeria, marries hand-crafted dough with fresh, never-frozen ingredients to craft what’s accurately billed as “the best pizza in the Smokies.” The Mamma Mia pizza, the restaurant’s answer to traditional supreme, is the best-selling menu item and available in both 10- and 14-inch pies. Fresh-pulled dough is topped with marinara sauce, a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheeses, pepperoni, Genoa salami, Italian sausage, prosciutto, green peppers, red onion, black olives and mushrooms. Each bite delivers a chorus of flavor. Every pizza is cooked at 550 degrees in the wood-fired brick oven for a crisp crust that puffs up to medium-thick so it’s strong enough to hold the ingredients yet with a tender Neapolitan-inspired bite. Over 12 other pizza creations are available, with culinary influences ranging from Mexican to Hawaiian to Florentine, plus you can build your own pie among the list of 40 possible ingredients.

China 1, offers 110 numbered menu items plus several additional options, but its reigning best-seller is General Tso’s chicken. Lightly battered chicken is quick fried then coated with a sauce that is at once sweet, salty, spicy and sour with crave-worthy results that make tongues dance. It’s so tasty that it’s no real surprise that the second-favorite dish is sesame chicken, which is General Tso’s chicken topped with sesame seeds. While ordering, choose the spice level that suits your palate. The chicken is served with soup and pork fried rice at lunch and with a pork egg roll and fried rice at dinner. China 1, which is ranked among the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., is a local favorite where you can expect generous portions of quality food and attentive service. Sit down, dig in, and be ready to say yum.

Chubby’s Restaurant serves up authentic country cooking with a healthy side of southern hospitality and top notch Trip Advisor ratings. Owners Clyde and Chubby say the restaurant is nothing fancy, but your tastebuds will love it. Show up for a hearty breakfast of biscuits and gravy, come back for Chubby’s famous burger at lunch, and dig into specialties like fried chicken livers or country fried steak for supper. Diners rave about their banana pudding as well as other dessert specials.

The Diner , has an extensive menu to satisfy any craving. Breakfast is available all day and the Sevier Skillet is a perennial favorite. It’s packed with so many ingredients that digging into it is almost like taking a tour of the menu, as hash browns and veggies arrive topped with sausage, thick-cut bacon and fresh cooked-to-order eggs plus the option of a pancake alongside. At lunch and dinner the New York City deli style Rueben is a best-seller, and it’s a staff favorite, too. The sandwich arrives with a high pile of corned beef that is cooked and sliced in-house, then topped with Swiss cheese, fresh sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing nestled between rye bread.

Flapjacks, serves up piles of fluffy pancakes each morning. The popular local breakfast restaurant (there are six of them located throughout Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg) is designed to look like a rustic log cabin and features menu items reminiscent of Great Smoky Mountains history - like Walker’s Cabin Skillet and Wonderland Eggs Breakfast. Dig into hearty fare or select asweeter favorite like Sticky Bun Pancakes or Fresh Fruit Crepes.

Healthy Balance Meals is where good-for-you food also tastes great. Because it offers dine-in and take-out options, the restaurant also makes healthy eating convenient. Every menu item has zero trans-fat and no refined carbohydrates plus all meats are lean, cheese low fat, and produce organic. Among the range of available soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, paninis and burgers, the top seller is the strawberry spinach salad. Served in a satisfying portion, fresh spinach leaves are topped with fresh strawberries and mandarin oranges plus dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, fat-free feta cheese, and hormone-free chicken. While poppy-seed dressing is the recommended and most popular choice, other options include fat-free ranch, raspberry, and Italian, among others. Order whatever sounds good, guilt-free!

Pinchy’s Lobster & Beer Co., in Downtown Sevierville brings the tastes of New England to the Smoky Mountains. The menu presents fresh Northeastern favorites like lobster rolls, clam chowder, fried clams, and lobster mac & cheese alongside New England-style beers from Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island plus a selection of regional brews. Be sure to also check out their fantastic sushi menu! Their large outdoor patio offers cozy fire pits, cornhole boards, and plenty of space to enjoy a nice meal under sunny skies - or starry nights. Catch some live music, dig into a plate of raw oysters, and get pinched by a great time in downtown Sevierville.

Red’s Soda Fountain and Ice Cream, is a charming 1940s-inspired soda fountain that pays homage to Red’s Cafe, which previously operated in the building across the street from the current establishment. For ice cream connoisseurs and Dolly fans alike, Red’s Cafe is often connected with Dolly Parton, who frequented the cafe as a small child. Today, Red’s Soda Fountain offers delicious hand-mixed sodas, phosphates, milkshakes, malts, and sundaes. Try hand-dipped scoops in classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, or try specialty renditions including cinnamon bun, cotton candy, or amaretto chip. For a truly unique treat, try an ice cream float with one of their non-traditional house-made soda flavors like nectar (strawberry pineapple), blackberry, ginger ale, coconut, vanilla, orange, and many others. 

Seasons 101, helmed by Chef Deron Little, offers a comfortable dining atmosphere with upscale cuisine at moderate prices. The curated menu varies based on which fruits and vegetables are in season and that creativity also spills over into the ever-changing selection of signature dishes and cocktails available. Book a reservation for lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch.