Richard R.
Yelp
Ever since my first visit to The Wild Plum Tea Room back in Spring of 2014, I've been dying to return! It was an incredible experience that has stayed on my mind for 6+ years. So when recently visiting Gatlinburg to hike Mount LeConte with my wife and a group of ladies, I simply could not wait to take them here!
Let me be honest, it's not my typical kind of place. Why? Well, it's filled with all the girly things you might expect to find at your grandmother or great grandmother's house, including lace table linens, frilly seat cushions, curio cabinets, fragile tea cups/saucers and furnishings that have stood the test of time. But I thought it would be an absolute delight for the ladies in our group, all of whom I raved to about the lobster pot pie, bread pudding, wild plum tea & warm service for weeks prior to our visit.
I feel almost embarrassed by this visit. So much so that I've spent the last few days wondering if maybe the restaurant has changed ownership since my first visit. How could it be so different?
[ THE EXPERIENCE ]
I started a week prior to our visit trying to call to make reservations as the pre-recorded greeting recommended. Took a few calls to get someone to call us back & confirm, but eventually they did.
Next we arrived on a rainy Saturday afternoon. My wife & I arrived early while the rest of our party were about 5 minutes behind us. Gatlinburg traffic was INSANE this particular weekend! Since our party was not complete, the lady told us the policy is to wait outside, which to some degree I understand; But not when it's raining and especially not when all the tables are reservation only... which meant we weren't stopping anyone else from being seated. I insisted we be seated inside and she reluctantly accommodated. I'm going to skip to the meal for the sake of not wanting to nitpick other unsatisfactory details.
[ THE FOOD ]
The LOBSTER POT PIE from my 2014 visit was one of thee most delicious things I've ever eaten! I've been dreaming of it since, but my 2020 LPP ($23) was not nearly as delicious. The creamy broth was not as flavorful and the lobster meat seemed a bit chewy. Salt helped, but overall I was less than thrilled + the cost seemed considerably higher than I remembered. (3 stars)
My meal included a cup of the HARVEST PUMPKIN, which I thought was awful and so did others at our table who ordered it. Bland, flavorless, slightly bitter baby mush is what it tasted like to me. (1 star)
My wife seemed to enjoy her STRATA OF THE DAY ($11) but didn't really care for the included quinoa salad. (3.5 stars)
One of our guests described the CHICKEN SALAD ($12) this way: "Well, at least a got a little chicken with my apples", referring to the lack of meat in the mix. (3 stars)
[ THE ISSUE ]
Others at our table seemed to enjoy the Salmon Burger ($19), but the real issue came with the IMPOSSIBLE BURGER ($19) ordered by our 11-year-old guest, the only other male in our group.
* 1) They didn't have ketchup available and failed to mention this when ordering.
* 2) The burger arrived completely pink in the center, which our server explained is how they prepare them here "because otherwise they are dry", which isn't true! I've had many, many impossible burgers & never have they been dry (except the thin ones @ White Castles), nor have they ever been pink inside.
* 3) There was no convincing this 11-year-old to eat a pink burger (with no ketchup) no matter how hard we all tried to convince him to try it. Finally, the server took it back and brought a grilled cheese instead. The burger came with fruit (no fries), to which the mom shared with the 3-year-old. However, when they received their individual bill, the mom was surprised to see the Impossible Burger had not been taken off. Instead the grilled cheese was given @ "no charge".
The server claimed the owner MUST charge for it because the 3 y.o. ate the fruit, fruit that would have also come with the grill cheese as well. The server insisted he couldn't take it off the bill, so I insisted the owner come to the table. A few minutes later the server comes back without the owner and says it had been taken off the bill, but by this point our entire party of 9 were in an uproar and the experience I'd hoped for was lost.
~
FINAL THOUGHTS
I forgot to mention the parking area is tiny, and the same server whom originally wanted us to wait outside in the rain also, according to my guests, approached them not long after arriving with a slight attitude about an improperly parked car that she thought was theirs, but it wasn't.
My 2014 experience was amazing, so I'm hoping this latest visit was just an unusual day. I do believe someone mentioned they were short-staffed even though they only recently reopened a few days prior. Sadly, the wild plum tea & wild plum muffins were the only menu items as good as I remembered.
2020 / 69