Gatlinburg, Tennessee is not short on dining options. From busy strip joints to quiet corner spots tucked between souvenir shops and mountain attractions, the city caters to millions of visitors every year. But somewhere in the middle of that noise, sitting quietly in Elks Plaza with a creek flowing beside its outdoor patio and the smell of fresh-baked garlic rolls drifting out its doors, is a restaurant that locals and returning visitors keep pointing back to: Best Italian.

And now, after a complete renovation that preserved five decades of heritage while bringing the space firmly into the modern era, Best Italian at Elks Plaza is arguably better than it has ever been.

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This guide covers everything worth knowing before visiting: the story behind the renovation, every section of the current menu, what to order, how to get there, parking options, operating hours, and the kind of honest detail that helps you actually plan your meal rather than just feel inspired by one.

Best Italian at Elks Plaza

Before getting into the food, the context matters. Best Italian is not a chain restaurant that opened recently to capitalize on Gatlinburg tourism. It is a family-owned establishment with roughly fifty years of history behind it the kind of place where the current owner grew up tying garlic rolls in the kitchen at five in the morning before school, because that was how his father punished him for getting into trouble in high school.

That story, told with a laugh by Clay, the owner who guided the renovation, captures something important about Best Italian: the food here is not outsourced to suppliers or simplified for speed. The dough is made in house. The garlic rolls are baked in house. The sausage for the pizzas is sliced off an Italian rope. The ranch dressing, blue cheese, Italian vinaigrette, and honey mustard are all made from scratch in the kitchen.

The renovation was not about new ownership, a rebrand, or a pivot in concept. It was about preserving what worked for fifty years while giving the systems and physical space the capacity to keep going for another fifty.

What Changed: The Renovation at Elks Plaza

The Best Italian location in Elks Plaza underwent a full renovation that touched nearly every part of the space. The kitchen was expanded significantly, creating more prep area and allowing the team to bring back dishes that were previously impossible to produce consistently, including the signature housemade cheesecake.

The bar was relocated and upgraded. It now serves eight beers on tap, including a custom lager called Creek Side Logger, brewed specifically for the restaurant by Black Horse out of Morrisville. A sparkling wine tap has been added for Bellinis and similar drinks. The standout new bar item is a nitrogen-pushed espresso martini described as Guinness reimagined as an espresso martini, with a smooth, cascading pour and a thick, creamy head.

The outdoor patio received the most dramatic transformation. The restaurant now features creekside dining with a retractable pergola system imported from Italy. The system is controlled electronically and can open or close based on weather conditions. Each panel rotates to allow indirect light or full shade as needed. Heaters have also been installed throughout the outdoor space, making it usable even during the cold peak seasons of Christmas week and New Year’s historically the two busiest weeks of the year for the restaurant.

A fire pit anchors the center of the outdoor area. The entire space was designed to feel welcoming and connected to the natural Smoky Mountains environment rather than a standard enclosed dining room. Visitors can hear the creek from their tables, which, combined with the mountain air, gives the outdoor seating a quality that stands on its own as a reason to visit.

The interior has been updated with a modern color palette while retaining the core visual identity of the original restaurant. Chef Paul, a notable figure from the restaurant’s earlier decades who was known locally as the “Soup Nazi” in the style of the Seinfeld character, still has his photo on the wall, surrounded by awards and memorabilia from the restaurant’s history.

A dedicated to-go area with a hot box has also been added, allowing large party pickups of fifteen to twenty pizzas to be managed efficiently without disrupting the flow of the main dining room.

Getting There: Location, Parking, and Transportation

Best Italian at Elks Plaza sits inside Elks Plaza in downtown Gatlinburg, just off the main Parkway and shortly before the turnoff toward Ober Mountain. There is a second Best Italian location on the main Parkway itself, visible just past Bird’s Cookies and before Tennessee Stud Cider Company. The two locations currently share the same name, though the Parkway location may undergo rebranding in the future.

For visitors headed to the Elks Plaza location, parking is available directly in the plaza. The restaurant validates or includes parking as part of the dining experience, making it one of the more convenient dining destinations in a city where parking can otherwise be a significant headache.

For those staying on the main strip or near attractions like Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies or Anakeesta, the free Gatlinburg trolley runs nearby and can drop visitors within easy walking distance of the restaurant. This is particularly useful for groups or families who would rather avoid dealing with parking on a busy evening.

The restaurant shares Elks Plaza with a few other businesses worth noting. Howard’s Restaurant, established in 1946 and one of the oldest restaurants in Gatlinburg, is a sister establishment and sits in the same plaza. The Coffee Syndicate, also owned by the same family, is attached to the plaza and operates as a coffee shop, espresso bar, and dessert bar. And for those who enjoy a more adventurous evening, there is Alibi, a speakeasy accessible through a hidden door in the back of the plaza.

Hours and Reservations

Best Italian opens at 11:00 in the morning for lunch service and typically closes at 10:00 on weekdays and 11:00 on weekends, though these hours shift slightly by season. During slower periods, the restaurant may close at 9:00 on weekdays. Current hours are always posted on their Google listing, which is the most reliable place to check before visiting.

The restaurant does not currently take reservations. Walk-ins join a waitlist upon arrival. An online waitlist system was in development at the time of the renovation’s reopening, with the expectation of being available within roughly a month. For larger groups, it is worth calling ahead to ask about current waitlist procedures and peak time estimates.

The outdoor waiting area has been improved significantly as part of the renovation, making the wait more comfortable than it would have been previously.

The Full Menu Breakdown

The menu at Best Italian is divided into clear sections. What follows is a detailed walkthrough of each, based on what the current menu offers.

Appetizers

The appetizer section opens with the signature garlic rolls. These are baked in house daily and come in orders of three, six, or twelve. A dozen rolls costs six dollars, making them one of the better values on the menu for groups.

The rolls are soft and light, generously coated in butter and garlic, without the heaviness that can sometimes come from lesser versions of the same item. They are the kind of thing that disappears from the table before anyone notices it happening.

Two dips anchor the cold and hot sides of the appetizer section. The spinach and artichoke dip is a hot version made with a focus on achieving a genuinely creamy texture. The owner noted that early feedback from friends and family described it as among the best they had ever had high praise for a dish that many restaurants treat as an afterthought.

The standout appetizer, however, is the bruschetta dip, served cold. It is built on a three-cheese whip base, topped with fresh bruschetta and a balsamic drizzle, and served with pita points arranged around the outside. The owner himself admits to preferring hot dips, but acknowledged that the bruschetta dip had become the most talked-about appetizer on the menu in the early days after reopening.

The mozzarella sticks are hand-cut in house, with one full ounce of cheese in each stick. They are hand-breaded and never frozen, which places them in a different category from most restaurant versions of the dish. Orders come in fives. The fried mushrooms follow the same philosophy fresh whole mushrooms, never frozen.

A shrimp skewer has been added to the appetizer section as part of the renovation’s menu expansion. A Caesar salad now appears on the menu as well, following frequent customer requests over the years.

All dressings ranch, blue cheese, Italian vinaigrette, and honey mustard are made in house.

Old World Classics

This section covers the traditional Italian pasta and entree dishes that form the core of what Best Italian has been known for over the decades.

The homemade lasagna is baked fresh every day. Fettuccini Alfredo is available with any protein add-on; the shrimp version is a strong choice, with the pasta cooked al dente and a cream sauce that is rich without becoming overwhelming. Cheese ravioli, manicotti, stuffed shells, and three variations of pasta with cheese and sauce round out the more traditional offerings.

Eggplant parmesan remains on the menu. Chicken parmesan is described as the top seller by volume on the menu, consistent with its reputation from previous years.

The shrimp linguini is a newer addition to the pasta lineup.

The dish that receives the most attention in the current menu, however, is the spicy rigatoni with crispy chicken cutlet. This is a new preparation built around a chili-infused oil that provides adjustable heat. Diners can request it mild, normal, or with extra chili oil for those who prefer genuine heat. The sauce itself is described as a vodka sauce, combining elements of red and white sauce in a way that produces something flavorful and slightly complex without being heavy. The rigatoni is paired with a chicken cutlet that is crispy on the outside and moist inside. The heat level at normal is noticeable but approachable for most palates.

The chicken marsala is the owner’s personal favorite dish on the current menu, a distinction he takes seriously given how long he has been eating from this kitchen. The key change that elevated this dish for him: it is now served with mashed potatoes instead of pasta, something he had wanted for years but was unable to offer until the kitchen expansion made it possible. The chicken florentine, which was his previous favorite, is also still on the menu.

New additions to the menu include a flat iron steak served over the same mashed potatoes with broccolini and a chimichurri topping, and a bone-in pork shank slow-cooked in a savory white wine sauce. A short rib dish with a red wine preparation has also been added.

Pizza

Best Italian has won best pizza in the area for seventeen consecutive years by the time of the renovation’s reopening. The pizza program uses dough made fresh in house daily and sausage sliced from an Italian rope.

The menu offers individual slices as well as full pizzas in multiple sizes. The largest size is genuinely large, suitable for groups or families who want to share a single pie across the table.

The pizza recommended by the owners themselves is the Black Bear pizza, a meat pizza with sausage balanced carefully against a generous cheese layer. The crust achieves a well-charred bottom without becoming brittle, and retains enough chew to hold up through each slice. The sauce carries strong flavor that comes through even against the toppings. The balance between meat, cheese, and sauce is a particular strength: the meat does not overwhelm, and the cheese does not disappear.

For those interested in vegetable options, the veggie pizza has been noted as visually striking with its load of colorful toppings. The full menu includes a range of topping combinations to suit different preferences.

A cauliflower crust option is available for those with gluten sensitivities or intolerances. The restaurant is transparent about the limitation: the cauliflower crust is gluten-friendly rather than gluten-free, since the kitchen operates with gluten in the air from regular dough preparation. The restaurant is also working on identifying a preferred gluten-friendly pasta option. Specific allergy requirements beyond gluten can be discussed with staff.

Drinks

The bar at Best Italian now operates with eight taps. The Creek Side Logger, a custom lager brewed by Black Horse in Morrisville, is the house beer and the most distinctive option. A sparkling wine tap rounds out the dedicated lines.

The nitrogen-pushed espresso martini is the current featured cocktail and the most interesting drink on the menu for those who enjoy coffee-based cocktails. The nitrogen infusion gives it a texture similar to a Guinness pour, with a smooth body and a thick, creamy top layer. It is strong and well-suited to the cooler evenings that come with outdoor dining beside the creek.

Orders can be placed at the bar or from the table while seated on the patio.

Desserts

The dessert section has been rebuilt as part of the renovation. Two items anchor it, and both are made in house.

The housemade cheesecake is a returning item that the restaurant had stopped producing when the original kitchen was too small to prepare it consistently. The expanded kitchen has made it viable again. The base recipe is a New York-style cheesecake with a deliberate twist: extra air is whipped into the batter during preparation, producing a texture that is lighter than the dense, heavy versions common elsewhere. The result still reads as cheesecake in every meaningful way but finishes without the lead-weight feeling of a more traditional preparation. A chocolate Oreo variation is available as part of a rotating seasonal cheesecake program that may also include flavors like pistachio and strawberry depending on the season.

The olive oil cake is the other dessert and arguably the more surprising of the two. It came to the menu after the owner and a colleague encountered it at a pizza expo and consumed the entire portion before others at the table could try it. It is served in a very large slice, described most accurately as resembling a pound cake in appearance and structure, but lighter in texture despite being dense in a different way. There is a faint lemon note to it, along with a browned, slightly crunchy crust from the baking process. It is served with homemade whipped cream. Both desserts are clearly shareable for two or more people.

Gelato is also available at Best Italian, sourced from the same supplier used at the Coffee Syndicate next door. It is the coldest option on the dessert menu and the favorite of those who, as the owner put it, believe desserts should always be cold.

Kids Menu

The Outdoor Dining Experience

The creekside patio at Best Italian is worth planning your visit around if the weather cooperates. The dining area is positioned beside a creek, and the ambient sound during a meal is almost entirely the water and a gentle breeze rather than music or street noise from the surrounding city. This is a notable contrast to many Gatlinburg restaurants that rely on loud background audio to fill their spaces.

The Italian-imported pergola system manages sun, rain, and temperature across the patio. During a visit in warmer months, the shade from the adjusted panels can drop the perceived temperature meaningfully, making outdoor dining comfortable even in the Gatlinburg summer heat. If rain begins during a meal, the pergola can be fully closed from a phone application by staff, keeping diners dry without requiring a move inside.

The patio is dog-friendly. For visitors who travel with pets, Best Italian and Howard’s next door form a two-night rotation of dog-friendly creekside dining in the same plaza.

The fire pit in the outdoor area adds warmth during cooler evenings and serves as the central gathering point for the outdoor waiting area, which has been upgraded to make pre-meal waits more comfortable.

Practical Tips Before You Visit

A few details worth keeping in mind before planning a meal at Best Italian:

The restaurant is located in Elks Plaza, not on the main Parkway. Visitors following GPS directions should confirm they are heading to the Elks Plaza address rather than the Parkway location, as both operate under the Best Italian name.

Parking in Gatlinburg can be difficult on peak weekends. The free trolley is a practical alternative for groups staying near the main strip, and it avoids the need to find parking in a busy plaza.

The menu is extensive enough that first-time visitors may struggle to decide. For a practical starting point: order the garlic rolls as a matter of course, let the server recommend between the bruschetta dip or spinach artichoke dip based on the day, and for entrees, the spicy rigatoni and chicken marsala are the two dishes the owners point to most directly. For pizza, the Black Bear is the house recommendation. For dessert, both the cheesecake and the olive oil cake are worth ordering and splitting at the table.

The restaurant gets busy, particularly on weekend evenings and during peak tourist seasons. Arriving early for lunch, when the restaurant opens at 11:00, offers the best chance of immediate seating without a wait.

Is Best Italian in Gatlinburg Worth It?

Gatlinburg has no shortage of Italian restaurants, and the competition for tourist dining dollars in a city that size is genuinely fierce. What separates Best Italian from the alternatives is not any single dish or a particularly dramatic design choice, but rather the accumulation of decisions made at every level of the operation: the dough made from scratch, the sausage sliced by hand, the dressings prepared in the kitchen rather than poured from a commercial bottle, the cheesecake recipe kept alive through a happy accident fifty years ago.

The renovation has not changed what Best Italian is. It has given the restaurant the space and infrastructure to be more of it.

For visitors looking for the best Italian restaurant in Gatlinburg near Ripley’s Aquarium, a family Italian dinner in the Smoky Mountains, or simply a reliable, high-quality meal in a setting that earns its place, Best Italian at Elks Plaza is a legitimate answer to all three.

Quick Reference: Best Italian Gatlinburg at Elks Plaza

Location: Elks Plaza, Gatlinburg, Tennessee (near Ober Mountain turnoff)
Hours: Open daily at 11:00 AM; closes at 10:00 PM weekdays, 11:00 PM weekends (seasonal variation check Google listing)
Reservations: Walk-in waitlist only (online waitlist coming)
Parking: Available in Elks Plaza
Dog Friendly: Yes, full outdoor patio
Must-Order Dishes: Garlic rolls, bruschetta dip, spicy rigatoni, chicken marsala, Black Bear pizza, olive oil cake
Gluten Options: Cauliflower crust pizza available (gluten-friendly, not gluten-free)
Related Venues in Same Plaza: Howard’s Restaurant (est. 1946), Coffee Syndicate, Alibi speakeasy

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