Finding the best place to eat American seafood in Gatlinburg can be a difficult challenge. However, at Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar they serve the seafood style of food that you are looking for. With that being the case, though, you want to know if the restaurant is a good place to eat at for American seafood or not. With that being the case here is our review of Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar.
Location Of Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar
Knowing where the restaurant is located is half of the battle. Well that half of the battle will be solved here for you as we are going to give you the address and phone number of the place. This way you can easily locate the restaurant on your map and reach Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar in time for your meal.
437 Parkway
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Features Of Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar
- Fresh seafood in the Smoky Mountains.
- Has options for land based food for non-seafood lovers.
- Takes reservations to help decrease wait time.
- Wide selection of side dishes to enjoy eating.
- Great seafood bar that has a decent selection of dishes.
What Is The Best Meals To Order
The best meal to order really depends on the personal preference of the individual. However, as a family of 5 here, I will let you know the top meals that my husband and I tend to order. That should give you a good idea on what we prefer when we eat out. I will also include the food that my kids like as well, which should give you a variety of options on what works best.
For my meal I am on a diet, no not a seafood diet at a seafood restaurant. So I tend to gravitate more towards the salads here and something that is not overly heavy. The main salad that looks great here to me is the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad. This is a salad that has the perfect size for my meal, but also has plenty of food for me to eat.
The Park Vista Hotel
My husband on the other hand will not stay on a diet with me and still likes the fried food. For him, the fried seafood platter works great and definitely works when it has the cod on it. Out of all the side dishes he tries to make it into a fish and chips type of dish by getting the french fries to go along with it.
The kids tend to be the hardest to find a good menu option for. My daughter loves shrimp so it is very easy to pick for her, but she really loves grilled or fried shrimp mainly so its one of those two items for her. My oldest son he tends to follow along with his dad or he goes to the land and gets a steak with a baked potato. My youngest, though, is my picky eater. For him he tends to gravitate towards the hamburger or the chicken breast.
Best Appetizers To Order
Finding the appetizers are definitely a challenge and if the menu options above did not tell you my family all has their own taste. Let me tell you that tends to drive this mama crazy because they can never agree on where to eat, but at the restaurant want to even eat!
The one dish that almost everyone, except for my youngest likes as an appetizer is fried calamari. This is one dish that if we go to an Italian restaurant and it is on the menu is ordered. So this is definitely a great option and one that everyone in my family, except the youngest can agree on that is good to eat.
To help appease my kids, mainly my daughter, I do like the bay BBQ shrimp. The shrimp is good and with the BBQ it tends to add a different flavor and as long as it is not overly spicy even my youngest and pickiest eater will try a piece.
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Is A Kids Menu Available
With most of the restaurants they are very kid friendly. The restaurant does have a kids menu available. However, the kids menu is not available online. Since that is the case and since I like to try to figure out what to eat at a busy restaurant before eating at the place I have come up with a couple of solutions that has worked for me in the past.
One of the first solutions that I have worked out is to look at the appetizer menu. Generally the appetizers at some of the restaurants are coming in a little bit better in the price and cheaper, if your kids don’t eat the food, but also smaller portions. This has worked for me in the past, but only if the appetizer is something that my kids will eat.
The other solution that I have found is to find a meal option that I will eat as well. Then I will order that plate for my child or children and either have them share the dish with each other or save the rest. What is saved, because it is a meal that I would enjoy as well, I put in refrigerator at the motel and heat up later on for my snack later on.
What Is The Atmosphere Like
As you can imagine any place in Gatlinburg can be ruined if the atmosphere is not that good. Thankfully, that is not the case at Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar. That is stemming from the fact that the place is upbeat and the staff, even if they are having an off day go the extra mile to make sure you are having a good meal.
If you choose to eat inside the restaurant it can be noisy at times, but that is because people are enjoying themselves. The conversation is typically all family related and definitely is going to be the same type of conversation you have with your own family. Now, a great option is to ask your waiter or waitress what they would do if they had the time and that can give you the insight of a local.
Sometimes the inside of a restaurant, definitely a popular restaurant like Chesapeak’s, you can enjoy an outdoor patio area. As a side note the patio area does fill up quickly and if you are making a reservation and want to eat outside, you may want to try to make a note of that when you reserve your table.
What Is A Main Drawback To Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar
The main drawback that is found at the restaurant is the fact that it is a very popular restaurant. That popularity means the restaurant is very busy and busy means having to wait.
Now, I will tell you that when the restaurant is busy it also means delays in how long it takes to get your food. The good news is these delays are not horrible compared to what I have seen at other places and when you do get the food it is at the proper temperature.
To avoid a lot of the crowds I would recommend getting a reservation. This is going to be invaluable at helping you get the table right away, but also avoiding a lot of the crowds that you may run into depending on when you are going to the restaurant.
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Pros And Cons
- The seafood is very fresh.
- Has a land based menu option as well.
- The seafood bar provides plenty of options.
- Appetizers are done right and quickly.
- Staff and overall atmosphere is great.
- The lack of a kids a menu online can make it difficult to find a food for your kids to eat.
- The wait, if you do not have a reservation, can be very long.
Who Would Like Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar
The first answer is obviously people who love seafood. If you like seafood and want to get a good quality meal while in Gatlinburg, then you cannot really go wrong here. Not to mention the food tends to come in mountains on the plate.
People who like to eat a lot of good food is the second group that would like the seafood restaurant as well. Now, this only comes if you like seafood, but the service size at Chesapeake’s tends to be generous compared to some of the other places that you can go to.
Who Would Dislike The Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar
The first response would be people who do not like seafood. Yes, the restaurant does have land based foods available and they are good, but it is not their specialty so the food is not as high of a standard as what you would find at a place that specializes in chicken, steak, or other dishes.
As mentioned several times the restaurant has gained in popularity and often that means a wait can start to happen. Well, if you are eating out and do not want to wait or if you have impatient kids, like I do at times, then this restaurant would not be the place for you to stop at either.
What Others Are Saying
While I do try to provide you quite a bit of information about the restaurant you may want to know more about it from other people. With that being the case, here is some great information that is from other people who have eaten at the location.
Tracey A left a review on TripAdvisor and had this to say. ”Our server, Kaitlyn, was fantastic and made sure we had everything”. This goes back to what we mentioned about how helpful the staff is and how good the staff is to the customers who are coming in to get their food.
Another reviewer on TripAdvisor named 623mistyp has this to say. ”Best fried shrimp ever”! This harkens back to the food quality that we mentioned before and definitely makes it easier for you to see that the food is among the best in the region and by far one of the best seafood restaurants in Gatlinburg.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Restaurant Have Parking?
Parking is available around the restaurant, but it is not owned by the restaurant.
Are Reservations Required?
While reservations are not required if you are going to eat at busier times of the day it is important to get a reservation to avoid long waits.
Is Their Outdoor Seating?
Yes, the restaurant has an enclosed patio that overlooks the river.
Does The Restaurant Have A Kids Menu?
Yes, a kids menu is available, but it is not easily found online as far as we have seen.
What Is The Best Place To Park?
The best place to park from all reviews is at the parking garage at East Parkway and Parkway which is located at light 3.
My Final Thoughts On Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar
Seafood is a delicacy type of food for a lot of people, but it is also a food that if the recipe is off by a small amount can be horrible. So finding a good quality seafood restaurant in Gatlinburg is a very rewarding thing to do. With Chesapeake’s Seafood and Raw Bar, you are not really going to go wrong and if you love seafood and large portions then you will love this place and make it a stop each time you come to town. If seafood is not your dish, then you can enjoy the food from the land, but it is a limited selection on what is available in that regard. Overall, the restaurant is one that you can enjoy and have a good time at with great service while eating amazing food.
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