Smith Creek Tavern - Helen (GA)

3 /5 Madarha Harris: We were staying at the lodge so we went in to have a drink and it took around 20 minutes for someone to come greet us. It wasnt that busy at the time and we saw about 5 servers and the manager. The manager finally came and brought us water and said someone would be right with us. Well, we waited another good 10 to 15 minutes before someone came and asked had anyone taken out order. We said no and so she took it. We got our beers and they were hot, then she brought what was supposed to be a cold mug but it was room temperature. She went to check the cooler and it was off. They put beer and mugs on ice to get them cold but really never got there. We drank 3 a piece and they charged us for 4. I let them know we only had 3 so the bill went from $77 to $54. We didnt eat just had beers. $6 a beer was a little much for domestic. Went back the next night to meet up with friends and they had already eaten but complained about the beers being hot and service being bad but the food was really good. We sat there for 15 minutes and nobody ever greeted us until one of us went to the bar to let them know we needed service. We got waters but didnt stay to eat because we knew it would take forever and their cooler was still messed up even tho they said they got it fixed. Ive worked in food service before and they definitely need some work and training. Seems they dont have 1 designated bartender, they were all behind the bar making their own drinks and very disorganized. We saw drink going back because they werent properly made. They need to greet the tables within 1 to 2 minutes at most when they sit down and acknowledge them. Its not that big of a place and they had plenty of people to cover but were just not trained properly or organized. It could be a very cool place to hang out, the atmosphere was great but service not so much.

1 /5 Alice Kerr: I would rate the food but we never received it. We came in around 5:30 to have a couple drinks and order food to go. First beer was a little slow to be served though they were practically empty. Even though it was quiet, it took effort to be served again. Think sitting in front of empty glass feeling invisible. They got busy very quickly. We ordered food to go and then managed to get one more beverage but not easily. We waited for an hour but nothing. We saw some people getting food and some, like us, just waiting and looking pretty helpless. When we finally got a chance to flag someone down about our food we were told they were backed up. The bartender did not actually check on our food. We were sick of waiting and almost no service so we asked for the bill. Had to wait a really long time and give a second reminder for that as well. Bartender said he applied a discount but we had to ask to have the food we never received removed. It was a club sandwich and a salad. I doubt we would have ever received them. Never going back and literally afraid to eat at their italian restaurant.

5 /5 Eve Heaton: A group of.us came in yesterday a little too early for our reservation. It was raining out and we decided to hang out at the Smith Creek Tavern. We managed to hit happy hour which was nice. I really liked the friendly staff, Brooke R, Brooke B., and Andrew. They were very helpful. We are all newcomers to Helen and they were made us feel welcome and answered our questions. Since we were going out to dinner later we stuck to the bar food as snacks. I really enjoyed the pretzel bites with beer cheese. We had another pretzel out in town and I was disappointed the cheese wasn’t nearly as good as the Smith Creek Taverns. We loved having someplace we could go so close to our rented cabins at Unicoi State Park that had exactly what we needed drinks, food, and friendly staff.

4 /5 James W.: Food was excellent, but damn did it take forever to collect the order. We were told 30 minutes for pickup, we ended up waiting an additional 30 almost 40 minutes after that. Then they forgot to charge us, luckily for them the wife is honest and flagged down a server to pay.

1 /5 Henry Lewallen: I want to start this review by saying that my grandparents have been coming to the Unicoi Lodge for anniversaries and special occasions for DECADES. The way that we were treated this past Sunday is unacceptable. We had a great afternoon around town and decided to pass on going back into town for dinner and go to the lodge instead. We were seated right away with no issues, but after it took over 15-minutes for the server to come around to place our drink orders, he apologized and brought us our waters. However, 3 people in our party had ordered beer.. after waiting over 30-minutes and having placed our food orders, one of the people in our party decided to go and ask why the beer order hadn’t been placed. They were then informed by the SERVER (not even the manager) that they weren’t serving anyone that had been in town. 1. We weren’t being loud or rowdy. We had a toddler with us. And they literally ordered it with our waters. Why did it take over 30 minutes for someone to inform us of this “policy”. 2. To have a policy like that just doesn’t seem enforceable. How do you know we had been in town other than the ONE Oktoberfest outfit at our table….4 people out of our party of 7 were stone cold sober and absolutely disturbed by the way this whole situation was handled on the Tavern’s end…. The server then laughed when we asked to speak with the manager. While I understand nervous laughter can be a thing, this was just inappropriately handled all around. This was my grandmothers first time coming back since my grandfather passed away and I can assure you, we won’t be back. Decades of memories with your establishment tarnished because your bar manager made a decision they refused to tell us about before we placed food orders. You best believe we walked out and won’t be back. Highly disappointed, and will likely share on other social media platforms as well…