Paloma Scratch Kitchen

Why go: Paloma serves chef-driven Mexican out of a kitchen attached to a vintage Airstream bar and a poolside patio, with a tequila and mezcal list you can work through by the flight.

About Paloma Scratch Kitchen

The name works twice over. A paloma is Mexico’s national cocktail, tequila and grapefruit soda, and paloma is also Spanish for pigeon, which is about as tidy a fit for this town as a restaurant name is ever going to get. The cooking follows the same instinct, traditional Mexican rooted but given a chef-driven spin rather than a museum treatment, and the menus shift with the season.

The room is built around a vintage Airstream bar, and the seating carries on outdoors to a poolside patio at the property’s Swim Club. The register is funky rather than formal, which is a deliberate contrast with the price of the plates.

The kitchen takes dietary requirements seriously rather than grudgingly. Gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian items are marked across every menu, and several of the headline dinner plates happen to be gluten-free without being sold that way. Breakfast is served every morning, and there is a Young Diners menu for guests 8 and under.

Getting to Paloma Scratch Kitchen

Paloma sits inside The Wayback, the Tribute Portfolio hotel on the Parkway, and it is a public restaurant rather than a hotel dining room, so you do not need to be a guest to eat there. Coming along the Parkway, the hotel is the landmark to watch for rather than the restaurant, which does not have its own street frontage. Diners park free of charge in the hotel lot, and the restaurant, the bar, and the pool deck are all reached from inside the property.

Why Choose Paloma Scratch Kitchen

This is the most ambitious Mexican cooking in Pigeon Forge, and the things that set it apart are mostly the things a chain would not bother with.

• The agave list is the point, not a garnish. Tequilas and small-batch mezcals run deep enough that flights are the sensible way in, and the mezcal flight is built to be tasted side by side.
• Scratch cooking that changes. Sauces, salsas, and the mole are made in house, and the menu moves with the season rather than sitting still all year.
• The bar seats you without a booking. Bar seating is first-come, first-served and carries the full menu, which makes it the move on a busy night.
• A poolside option most restaurants in town cannot offer. The Swim Club deck puts outdoor tables next to the water in summer.
• Vegetarians get a real entree. The wild mushroom mole is a headline plate rather than a pasta dish parked at the bottom of the menu.

Menu Favorites

Dinner is where the kitchen makes its case, and the braises and the mole are the dishes that show what the place is actually doing.

• Short Rib Birria. Short rib braised in birria spices over roasted corn puree, with consommé alongside for dipping and drinking.
• Braised Pork Yucatan Style. Achiote-marinated pork shoulder wrapped in a banana leaf, set over a citrus black bean puree.
• Wild Mushroom Mole. A grilled portobello cap under a long-cooked mole, and the plate to order if you want to taste what the kitchen can do with a sauce.
• Grilled Beef Tenderloin. Marinated carne asada style with cilantro lime rice and grilled chayote squash.
• Breakfast Burrito. Bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, and fried potatoes with a house-made hot sauce.
• Blueberry Pancakes. Buttermilk pancakes with fresh blueberries and cinnamon maple syrup, the pick for anyone at the table who is not ready for chiles at breakfast.
• Café de Olla Chocolate Mousse. Dark Mexican chocolate with burnt cinnamon chantilly cream and fresh fruit.

What to Expect

Paloma runs on a slightly unusual schedule and a split between the dining room and the bar, so a little planning helps.

• The kitchen closes in the middle of the day. Breakfast ends late morning and dinner does not begin until late afternoon, so this is not a lunch stop.
• The bar and the dining room keep different hours. The bar opens earlier and stays open later than the dining room on every night of the week.
• Reservations are accepted and walk-ins are welcome. Booking is worth it for a larger group or an occasion; otherwise the dining room seats first-come, first-served.
• Take-out yes, delivery no. Orders are placed by phone or in person, and there is no delivery service.
• The Swim Club is booked separately. It does not take dining reservations. Pool passes and cabana rentals are arranged with the team directly.
• Private events are accommodated. Group celebrations and rehearsal dinners can be built on a customized menu, arranged by contacting the restaurant.

Nearby in Pigeon Forge

• Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que. Hickory-smoked ribs and a soup and salad bar a few doors up the Parkway, and the easiest pivot if someone at the table wants barbecue instead.
• Puckett’s Restaurant. A Tennessee grocery turned restaurant with live music most nights and a Southern menu built around slow-smoked meats.
• Alamo Steakhouse. Hand-cut steaks and prime rib in a dark-wood dining room, the closest thing on this stretch to a special-occasion steak dinner.
• Big Daddy’s Pizzeria. Brick-oven pizza with a build-your-own list long enough to defeat a picky group.
• Azul Cantina. The city’s other serious Mexican kitchen, one block over on Teaster Lane, with a rooftop bar and a wood-fired menu.

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.