Azul Cantina

Why go: Azul Cantina put the first rooftop bar in Pigeon Forge, and it backs the view with a scratch Tex-Mex kitchen and a tequila list deep enough to order by flight.

About Azul Cantina

Azul Cantina runs a Tex-Mex menu with traditional Mexican plates alongside it, and the recipes are made from scratch, from the salsas and the queso through the sauces on the enchiladas. The cooking picks up South American and Texan influence, which is how one table ends up with birria tacos, a ribeye skewer, and a plate of shrimp and grits without any of it feeling out of place.

The rooftop is what the restaurant is known for. It opened in August 2023 as the first rooftop bar in the city, and it faces the mountains rather than the traffic, which is a rarer thing in Pigeon Forge than it sounds. The rooftop can be reserved for large parties and private events.

The menu is broad enough for a table that cannot agree on anything. There is a kids menu with chicken tenders, beef tacos, and quesadillas that comes with a side and a drink, a full run of mocktails, aguas frescas, and horchata for anyone skipping the bar, and vegetarian and gluten-free items marked throughout.

Getting to Azul Cantina

Azul sits on the upper level of the Tower Shops at The Mountain Mile, the shopping and entertainment complex off Teaster Lane behind the Parkway, near the event lawn. Coming from the Parkway, Teaster Lane runs parallel and takes most of the light-to-light stopping out of the trip, which matters in summer. The complex has its own free lot, and the rooftop entrance is reached from inside the building, so plan on a short walk and an elevator ride once you have parked.

Why Choose Azul Cantina

Pigeon Forge is not short of Tex-Mex, so the useful question is what Azul does that the rest of the field does not.

• The grill does the work. Chicken, skirt steak, and shrimp come off a wood fire rather than a flat top, and the char carries into the fajitas, the alambre, and most of the taco fillings.
• A tequila list built to be explored. Pours are sorted by age from blanco through extra añejo, and flights let you taste across a category instead of committing to one glass.
• House tequila with a local address. The blanco, reposado, and añejo behind the bar are made by Junction 35, which distills in Pigeon Forge, so the well pour is not shipped in.
• Its own beer. Azul makes cerveza-style lagers in house, which sit next to the usual Mexican imports on tap rather than replacing them.
• Dietary needs are handled on the menu, not off it. Vegetarian and gluten-free dishes are marked, flour tortillas swap to corn, and the kitchen will adjust plates on request.

Menu Favorites

The kitchen is at its best where the wood fire and the braises meet, so the dishes worth building an order around tend to come from those two ends of the menu.

• Birria Tacos. Braised beef in griddled tortillas with a cup of consommé for dipping, and the one order to make if you have never had birria.
• Beef Birria Empanadas. The same ancho chile braised beef folded into a fried shell, which makes it the appetizer version of the above.
• Tres Carnes Fajitas. Wood-fired chicken, skirt steak, and grilled shrimp on one skillet, finished with Mexican butter.
• Ribeye Alambre. Cubed ribeye skewered with vegetables, and the closest thing on the menu to a steakhouse plate.
• Mexican Diablo Shrimp & Grits. Shrimp over queso grits with chorizo, the clearest example of the Southern and Mexican crossover the kitchen is after.
• Nachos Azul. Built with Mexican cheese, beans, corn relish, and queso, and sized to share on the rooftop.
• Blackened Salmon Tacos. A lighter specialty taco for anyone who does not want a heavy plate before an afternoon out.

What to Expect

A few operational details are worth knowing before you drive over, particularly on a summer weekend.

• Reservations are recommended but not required. Book online ahead of your visit. Same-day reservations are not accepted, so if you are deciding that afternoon you are joining the waitlist or walking in.
• Parties larger than eleven need a phone call. Groups above that size, and any special accommodation, are arranged by phone rather than through the online system.
• Take-out and delivery are not published. The restaurant does not list either on its own site, so call before you plan on ordering to go.
• No pets, including on the rooftop. The outdoor seating is not an exception to the rule, which catches people out.
• The rooftop follows the weather. It is an open-air deck, so a storm or a cold snap can move your table inside. Ask when you book if the rooftop is the whole point of the trip.
• Catering is available. Trays run from appetizers through fajitas, tacos, and sides, arranged through the catering request form or by phone.

Nearby in Pigeon Forge

• Junction 35 Spirits. The distillery in the same complex, where the tequila behind Azul’s bar is made, with tastings and a cocktail lounge of its own.
• Cookie Dough Monster Burgers & Shakes. A short walk away for smash burgers and cookie dough shakes, and the obvious dessert stop if you skipped the tres leches.
• PizzaRio Brazilian Pizza & Wine Bar. Brazilian-style pizza and a wine list a couple of minutes off the same stretch, and a good answer when half the group wants something other than Mexican.
• Brick & Spoon. A Louisiana-leaning brunch house nearby, best known for its build-your-own bloody mary bar.
• Ole Smoky Moonshine. Free tastings and live pickers at the moonshine distillery on The Island, a few minutes down the road.

Explore More

My Smoky Mountain Guide Pigeon Forge is a great resource for finding places to eat and things to do.

• Pigeon Forge Food & Beverage Guide. Restaurants, dinner shows, breweries, distilleries, and eateries throughout Pigeon Forge, from sit-down meals to grab-and-go stops.
• Pigeon Forge Outdoor Adventure. Mountain coasters, UTV rentals, rafting, helicopter tours, and other ways to experience the Smokies from outdoors.
• Pigeon Forge Attractions. Museums, escape rooms, mini-golf, arcades, and other family-friendly stops across the city.
• Pigeon Forge Entertainment. Dinner shows, live music, comedy, magic, and theater experiences throughout Pigeon Forge.