McAlister’s Deli

My family and I arrived at 8:57 PM, three minutes before closing. The staff welcomed us, all eight of us, and said it was no problem coming in so late.
After eating heavy foods for a week we were looking for salad, soups and spuds. The food was fresh as if it were the middle of the day.
We appreciated the staff being happy and friendly. We return for lunch and dinner the next day.

Great atmosphere and food. The veggie club is great and so are the steamed veggies. The pasta salad is so so

Had the French dip and it was amazing! The bread was fresh and the sandwich was full of flavor. Highly recommend eating there. Dining room was clean and service was quick.

Good place for a quick bite, fresh sandwich tasty good amount of meat in sandwich. Good portion for price. Quick service

After several days in Pigeon Forge, we could not handle another all you can eat fried buffet. I went there for one word-​salad. I was desperate for a salad. I had the cup of squash soup and the half salad. It was nice and fresh, but I was hoping for more lettuce and less cheese, but that might just be the grease of the week talking. My husband had the muffalata. It was fine. It’s very similar to a Jason’s Deli if you know those. My one complaint was the size of the kids plate. My 10 year old is a light eater, but was dismayed at the ice cream scoop size of the mac and cheese. She ate it in about 4 bites. She ended up eating off both our plates. I hope I don’t ever have to go back to Pigeon Forge, but I would go there again and get the salad. It’s one of the only places on the strip that serves fresh food.

Having been to several dozen McAlister’s across the Midwest/​South, I wondered if this location is trying to buck the trend of quality soups and sandwiches we’re used to when coming here. The flavor and freshness seemed to take a step back, even in this area which is littered with an endless amount of chains.
While the service was fine, the pastries tasted like they were bought from the 3-​day old special price section at Publix. They didn’t taste fresh baked, which they normally do. And, the lemonade was sour. What also surprised me was the quality of their strawberry lemonade. If you’re a chain that prides itself on having «legendary» sweet tea and lemonade, then brew it on site and make it special, rather than pouring a purée into the lemonade and calling it strawberry. Very disappointing.
Still, if you’re in town for a quick lunch and are craving a sandwich, soup or loaded potato, you’ll be contend here, just don’t expect to be wowed. And, with no Jason’s Deli in town, this is the best quality you’re going to get.

The French dip was excellent. Entire order was made correctly. Squash soup was great. It is a good concept food made to order fresh with no waitress.

Since we got to Gatlinburg, all we had eaten all weekend was fried, buttered, everything covered in gravy. Once Sunday afternoon came around, no one was even sure we wanted to eat. We ended up settling for a late lunch and, although we tried to avoid chains, we opted to get something light at McAlister’s. I got the half-​club sandwich and half-​chicken Caesar salad.
The food was exactly what I expected. The Caesar Salad was particularly interesting… It had a slight fishy smell to it (which with Caesar dressing is technically how it should be… Although it may have still needed some more lemon to tone it down).
The only thing that was somewhat concerning was that there was no one bussing tables. I assume that someone called in, as it was a busy holiday weekend. It was just a little annoying having to clean off my own table just so my group of six could have a place to eat our food.
I would visit again.

Since we don’t have these in Maryland and they are such a reminder of living in MS (or the South in general), this was a required stop.
Get the nacho appetizer and everything here is delish!

The food was good, but the service was very poor. We were with a party of 7 and they brought the food out over about 20 minutes. This was made worse as it took 30 minutes to get the first meal out. They also took drinks away for refills and never came back. Very disappointing as I am normally very impressed with other Mcallister locations.

Waited for about 20 minutes for 2 deli sandwiches and a kids nacho plate. The service was SLOW and there was no one else there so there was no reason for us to have been there for 30 mins total for sandwiches. And maybe if they were better than average it would have been worth it but they were not… I would not go back if I had other options.

Sandwiches and tea great as always. Service was good and friendly. Doesn’t matter which one you order they’re all great. Never been disappointed

I was thrilled to find a McAlister’s in the area as I haven’t had their yummy food in forever and unfortunately they are nowhere to be found in Orlando.
This location was located right as we were driving back from a morning of hiking so it made for the perfect post hike meal! And since it was after 2pm we must have missed the lunch crowd because it was fairly empty. Both my husband and I each ordered one of their signature spuds. I went with an olé faithful– the spud olé’ which is topped with chili (I opted for veggie chili), melted cheese and jalapeños. And no meal can go without a refreshing sweet tea to wash your meal down! Our meals were brought out to our tables and the employee asked if I would like extra jalapeños to which I said Yes! The meal was delicious, more than filling and just like I remembered. They have other menu options like salads, sandwiches and pasta but the spuds are always my go to if I come across a location.
Once you’re finished dining, you can leave your plating and silverware for employees to clear. It felt a little awkward like we were lazy diners but there were no trash bins to take our plates to.
This is a solid casual food option in the area when you’re tired of pancakes and southern fried food. There are even some, gasp, healthy options!

I always have a great meal here, and the employees are very personable and fun to be around. I would recommend anything on the menu, and this particular location is a great one to have it. For the area, this is a change of pace. Most of the other restaurants are down-​home cooking or ribs or pancakes.

Food and price were good and as expected, the staff was actually more attentive than most waiters and waitresses that I’ve had in recent history! No lie, I actually had someone come by 4 different times to ask if we want our drinks refilled and we were only there 20 minutes! Near the end between the drinks and asking to take a plate away every 2 minutes it actually was kind of comical.
Overall a great experience though!

Not bad for a quick lunch. I hate eating fast food when I’m on vacation, but this hit the spot. The spuds are pretty good.

Always the best. Great food and service at every location. We always get a gallon of tea to go.

OMG! This place is a GEM! If you’re looking for something like Panera, but better, go here! Fantastic menu selection. Incredible freshness and flavor! The chili is superb! The grilled sandwiches are amazing; we had the Sweet Chipotle Chicken and the Spicy Southwest Chicken Griller. In this touristy town, the prices are very pocket friendly!

Great place to grab a quick light lunch. They have excellent sandwiches and salads. This place is an oasis in a sea of BBQ and rib pits.

Just great, I add this business, and while I am waiting the obligatory 24 or 48 hours for them to verify it exists, some choad muncher beat me to the review first punch. Anyhow…
I hate chains typically, but McAlister’s is proving to be a rare exception to this rule. Their portions are freaking huge, just order one thing, don’t try to be a hero. I split the following three things, spud olé, Italian sub with potato salad, and a savannah salad.
First off, I don’t know what kind of steroids are injected into these potatoes, but I am not kidding when I say it was 12″ long and 4.5″ wide (that’s what she said!) and it came topped with their great chili, jack cheese, and jalapenos. Tasty, and a meal in itself.
The Italian sub and potato salad were both good and straightforward. Fresh food, pretty much what you’d expect ingredients wise.
The salad was also nice and fresh, with gorgonzola, spiced pecans, cranberries, and a good dressing.
Washed it all down with some of their signature sweet tea.