Harpoon Harry’s Crab House

Why go: The crab boils come by the pound in Cajun, Old Bay, or lemon pepper garlic seasoning, and the kitchen backs them with hand-cut ribeyes, a weekend brunch service, and a full sushi menu served Wednesday through Sunday.

About Harpoon Harry’s Crab House

Harpoon Harry’s is the Tennessee arm of Smuggler’s Restaurants, a Punta Gorda, Florida company that folded two of its Gulf coast concepts into one operation and opened here in 2015. Seafood buying still runs through that Florida side of the business, which is the reason a crab house works this far from salt water.

The building carries as much of the identity as the menu does. It runs two stories of hand-carved reclaimed barn wood, milled and finished on site, with an upstairs open-air dining room and the Truck Bar, a 1926 Chevy converted into a working bar.

The menu is wider than the name suggests. Alongside the boils there are seafood plates, chargrilled steaks and a slow-roasted duck, pastas, a page of sandwiches and burgers, and a separate sushi list with rolls, nigiri, sashimi, and sake.

• Smoky Mountains Jeep Tours. Guided jeep runs on backroads and mountain routes above Pigeon Forge. Located inside Harpoon Harry’s.

Getting to Harpoon Harry’s Crab House

Harpoon Harry’s sits at 112 Community Center Drive, a short turn off the Parkway, with its own lot right at the door rather than a shared overflow lot down the block. The building backs onto the Little Pigeon River.

Why Choose Harpoon Harry’s Crab House

A handful of things set this apart from the other seafood rooms working the same stretch of Pigeon Forge.

• Crab is the whole point. Boils anchor the menu, and both snow crab and Alaskan king crab run year round rather than showing up as a seasonal feature.
• A real sushi program. The rolls, nigiri, and sashimi are made in house, with hot or cold sake alongside, and the restaurant has taken a local award for it.
• Room for a crowd. Two floors mean a large party fits without weeks of notice, and private events are arranged directly with the restaurant.
• Gluten-free is marked on the page. GF items are flagged throughout the menu instead of being left for the server to work out at the table.
• A different deal every weekday. Local Deal Days runs one feature per day, from an all-you-can-eat fish fry at the start of the week to a midweek prime rib dinner and a Sunday shrimp boil.

Menu Favorites

The menu is split into sea, farm, pasta, and handhelds, with the boils on their own page and sushi on a separate list. These are the dishes that define it.

• Snow Crab Boil. Steamed and served with red potatoes, andouille sausage, and corn on the cob, in your choice of Cajun, Old Bay, or lemon pepper garlic.
• Captain’s Boil. Alaskan king crab leg, a snow crab cluster, and lobster tail together, for anyone unwilling to pick just one.
• Cajun Shrimp & Grits. White shrimp sauteed with andouille, bell peppers, and caramelized onions over stone ground Wisconsin cheddar grits.
• Blue Crab Stuffed Flounder. Alaskan flounder filet wrapped around blue crab stuffing, set on rice pilaf and baby spinach with lobster sherry cream.
• Lobster Macaroni & Cheese. Cold water lobster, applewood smoked bacon, and gouda in cavatappi with a lobster sherry cream sauce.
• Short Rib Brisket Meatloaf. Fresh ground brisket, short rib, and sirloin with garlic mash and a red wine demi-glace, and the reliable order for whoever at the table does not eat seafood.
• Death Valley Roll. Crawfish, crab mix, cream cheese, and tempura shrimp under eel sauce, spicy mayo, and roe.

What to Expect

It is a walk-in restaurant for most parties, but a few things are worth knowing before you plan the visit around it.

• Weekend brunch is its own service. Saturday and Sunday bring a separate late-morning list through mid afternoon, including chicken and waffles and a brunch burger built on a colossal English muffin.
• Large parties and private events go through the restaurant. Group bookings and private parties are arranged by phone rather than through an online form.
• The front lobby doubles as a tour desk. Smoky Mountains Jeep Tours runs its booking office just inside the entrance, so a jeep run can be sorted out while you wait on a table.
• Take-out yes, delivery no. Pickup orders are placed over the phone.
• Raw and undercooked items are marked. The menu flags them, which is worth a look on the sushi list and the seared tuna.

Nearby in Pigeon Forge

• Brick & Spoon. A Louisiana-leaning breakfast and brunch house a few doors up the same street.
• Bullfish Grill. A Parkway steak and seafood room that runs fresh rainbow trout alongside the usual cuts.
• Alamo Steakhouse. Hand-cut steaks and a seafood side of the menu in a quieter Parkway dining room.
• Puckett’s Restaurant. Southern plates and live music from the Middle Tennessee grocery that grew into a restaurant group.
• Junction 35 Kitchen & Bar. A Teaster Lane distillery bar with a full kitchen behind it.

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.