Dolce Uva Wine Bar Cafe

While visiting Gaitlinburg, we wanted to stop by a place to great a drink and not be covered up with tourists.  This is the spot!  We had a local recommend to visit this spot and it was very nice!  We didn't get any food while we were there so I cannot review the food.  The service was great here and loved the atmosphere.  There is a patio located at the front of the cafe, but the real treat is sitting by the river on the back patio!!  Very charming place!

So much different than anything else in Gatlinburg. So much better!
When I visited this place the first time, it was only because my boyfriend and I need a potty break and a drink. But then we fell in love. We ate. And we were hooked.

Gatlinburg has long been a family vacation spot - I'm pretty certain that until I moved to California a year or so ago, not a season passed that I didn't wind up here for some reason or another. For most of those years, I would thoroughly enjoy almost every part of the trip except one: the food. Almost all of the restaurants in Gburg are chains and they all seem to be missing that je ne sais quoi that make restaurant experiences fantastic.

Dolce Uva changed all of that.

I have been here at least half a dozen times since they opened and every time it has been absolutely wonderful. They have expanded and taken over a retail space that was next door, so now the restaurant opens up into a lovely, open dining area with a patio on the sidewalk for all of your people-watching needs and a deck in the back overlooking the river. It's run by a couple, Glen and Lisa, and they are two of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet. I read Ellenphant's review and find it unfortunate, but I can say that in all of the times I have been there, those two have never been anything but warm and caring and a total delight. They always make a point to stop by your table and chat and seem genuinely interested in your life and story. Lisa cooks all of the food from scratch, every meal made to order, so every bite is phenomenal. I can't help myself... every dish I have sampled has been amazing but the only thing I can ever bring myself to order us the ravioli di formaggio. From the perfect pasta pillows stuffed with a silky mixture of cheeses to the delicious, fresh tomato sauce with huge chunks of tomato so you know it's fresh to the fresh cheese and basil leaves on top, it's simply sublime.

I absolutely cannot speak highly enough of this place, nor can I wait until the next time I find myself in East Tennessee so I can go back.

Do yourself, your soul and your stomach a favor and go.