Bones BBQ Joint is a cool little barbecue restaurant in Gatlinburg that claims to celebrate “authentic regional barbecue from the American South.” Your humble restaurant reviewer here from the Historic Gatlinburg Inn is a bit of a barbecue connoisseur, so we are doing the heavy lifting here (and by “heavy lifting” we’re talking about lifting of a fork) to bring you the truth.
Bones is located a little bit off the main strip, but it’s still quite easy to get to. From the front porch of the Historic Gatlinburg Inn, take a right-turn onto Parkway, then turn left onto Historic Nature Trail intersection (where the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is). After a short walk up the street, you will find Bones on the left side of the street.
Bones is a cafeteria-style restaurant, so you place your order at a front counter and then pick up your tray of food when it is ready. So it’s a “barebones” kind of establishment (get it?). It has standard Gatlinburg barbecue shop styling, with hardwood flooring and checked tablecloths. If the weather is nice, the restaurant has an outdoor seating area so you can enjoy the sunshine. All good.
My party and I all had the pulled pork sandwiches, with baked beans, fries and macaroni. The beans are made just like I like them, with a nice tanginess and little chunks of barbecue. The macaroni is standard American macaroni and tasted like it should. The fries were the crinkly type, were well-seasoned and had a nice crunch.
The barbecue was perfectly cooked and had a pleasing smokiness to it. It was moist and tender. The Bones sauce complimented the meat nicely. I would have liked a sauce option with a little more heat, but the taste was excellent.
The staff was friendly, the service was efficient, and the food was very good. Bones BBQ Joint is a good mid-price option for feeding your family located a very short walk from the main strip.
Recommended.
Bones is located at:
231 Historic Nature Trail
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
865-325-1350
