Restaurants on and Around Smith Lake

Lewis Smith Lake straddles parts of Cullman, Walker and Winston counties, which means a good meal is rarely just around the next cove. Alabama Power describes the lake as about 35 miles long with several hundred miles of shoreline (its own pages give 713 and 642 miles), so the restaurant you want may be a short boat ride or a drive on county roads. This guide sorts out where to eat on the water, where to find barbecue, and where to look when you are in the towns around the lake.

We built it from the businesses in our directory whose facts our team has checked, then looked at each one's own website. We also looked at a few other places we could confirm from their own sites or from an official local source. Where we could not confirm something, we say so instead of guessing.

How to read this guide

A Verified badge on a Smith Lake NOW profile means our team compared the listing's name, address and contact details with the business's own sources on the date shown. It is not an endorsement, a ranking or a quality rating, and it is not a statement about health inspections, licenses or insurance.

A few ground rules we followed here:

• Restaurants with a Smith Lake NOW profile link to it. Places without a profile are named plainly, with no link.
• We quote hours only when the business's own website lists them, and we give the date we looked (October 24, 2026). Restaurant hours change, especially around the lake, so treat them as a starting point.
• We do not say a place has a dock, serves alcohol or takes reservations unless its own site says so.
• We do not rank anything. Nothing here is "the best."

Quick look: the restaurants we could confirm

• Lakeshore Inn, Restaurant & Marina — Town: Double Springs; What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Restaurant, inn, marina and boat rentals; a covered deck; an attached bar; a dock to tie off while you eat; Profile: Profile
• The Grille at Trident Marina — Town: Crane Hill; What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Restaurant at a family-owned marina; live music Friday and Saturday nights; Profile: Profile
• EG's BBQ — Town: Bremen; What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Wood-smoked barbecue plates and sandwiches; Profile: Profile
• Smokin' Pig BBQ — Town: Double Springs; What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Smoked barbecue, ribs and smoked chicken on Highway 278; Profile: Profile
• 412 Public House — Town: Cullman; What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Gastropub with steaks, burgers, seafood and brunch; Profile: No profile yet
• All Steak Restaurant — Town: Cullman; What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Steaks, prime rib and seafood; Profile: No profile yet
• Drifters on the Lake Bar and Grill — Town: Cullman (County Road 312); What its own website shows (checked Oct. 24, 2026): Listed by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce as a full-service restaurant with lakeside dining; Profile: No profile yet

Dining on the water

Lakeshore Inn, Restaurant & Marina (Double Springs)

On the Winston County side, Lakeshore combines an inn, a restaurant and a marina in one spot near Double Springs. Its website describes indoor and outdoor seating, a covered deck for warm weather and a view of the lake from every table. It also describes a banquet room for 150 or more people for weddings and reunions, with details handled by phone.

Two details from its own pages are useful for boaters. The marina page says, "Just passing through? Tie off your boat at our dock while you visit the restaurant." And the site says it serves alcohol seven days a week at its attached Goldiggers Bar & Grill, where you must be 21 to sit at the bar but all ages are welcome in the dining areas.

Its contact page lists separate restaurant and marina schedules, and they change with the season. As posted on October 24, 2026:

• Restaurant: Monday and Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to midnight; Saturday 8 a.m. to midnight; Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in summer. The site notes a condensed menu after 9 p.m.
• Marina: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in winter; in summer, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.

The street address on the restaurant's own page is worded slightly differently from the one in our directory, so if you are navigating by GPS, confirm the location by phone first. Details are on the Lakeshore profile.

The Grille at Trident Marina (Crane Hill)

Trident Marina is on County Road 222 near Crane Hill, and its website describes it as a family-owned, full-service marina on Smith Lake. The Grille is the restaurant there. The site describes it as a place to meet, eat and hang out with family and friends, mentions live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and says it hosts retreats, anniversaries and birthdays indoors and outdoors, with reservations by email.

Visit Cullman, the area's tourism site, also describes Trident as a lakeside hub with dining and live music. The marina's site does not say whether diners can dock at the restaurant, and it does not mention alcohol, so call before you plan a boat-in meal.

We are not quoting Grille hours. Trident's Grille page and its marina page list different hours for Friday and Saturday, and neither is dated. Call or check the site the day you go. Trident's pages also show two different phone numbers, so confirm which one is current. More on the Grille profile.

Drifters on the Lake Bar and Grill (Cullman side)

The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce lists Drifters on the Lake Bar and Grill at 173 County Road 312, describing it as a full-service restaurant on Smith Lake with lakeside dining. We could not find a website for the restaurant, so we could not check anything else, such as hours, menu or boat access. Smith Lake Marina's website (175 County Road 312) links to a "Drifters Bar & Grill" menu, and a December 2025 Cullman Tribune feature uses the shorter name "Drifters Bar & Grill" for the family-run restaurant at 173 County Road 312, so the shorter name is likely the one the restaurant uses; we have not confirmed who operates it. If you are headed there, treat the chamber listing as a pointer and phone ahead.

Barbecue

EG's BBQ (Bremen)

EG's BBQ, on County Road 57 in Bremen, describes its food as wood-smoked barbecue, with sandwiches, meat plates of brisket, pulled pork, chicken and ribs, loaded nachos, sides and desserts. Its site lists drinks such as tea, cola products and lemonade. On October 24, 2026 its site listed Friday and Saturday hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., plus a special Labor Day schedule. A weekend-only schedule is a good reminder to check before you drive from the lake. Read more on the EG's BBQ profile or browse Bremen.

Smokin' Pig BBQ (Double Springs)

Smokin' Pig is on US-278 in Double Springs and its website lists smoked barbecue, ribs and smoked chicken. As of October 24, 2026 the site listed Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday were not listed. The site points visitors to its Facebook page for weekly specials. See the Smokin' Pig profile.

In town: Cullman

The city of Cullman is a practical stop on the way to or from the Cullman County shore. Visit Cullman keeps a multi-page directory of local restaurants that is worth bookmarking. Two places we confirmed on their own websites:

• 412 Public House at 412 2nd Avenue SE describes itself as a gastropub, with steaks, burgers, seafood, brunch and cocktails. The site listed Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday closed, and Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., though its hours widget was still loading when we looked.
• All Steak Restaurant at 323 3rd Avenue SE lists steaks, prime rib, seafood and signature orange rolls. Its site (copyright 2025) listed Monday through Thursday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and closed Sunday.

Neither has a Smith Lake NOW profile yet. See the Cullman side of the lake for what is nearby.

Jasper, Haleyville and the rest of the lake towns

We could not responsibly confirm individual restaurants in every town, so here is how to find them yourself:

• Jasper: Jasper Main Street, the downtown revitalization organization, publishes a food and beverage map covering restaurants, bakeries and breweries downtown. See also Jasper.
• Arley, Houston and Haleyville: Our directory lists a few more places in Arley and Houston, such as La Plaza Bonita in Arley and Chef Troy's Talk of the Town in Houston, but their details are not yet verified, so we do not describe them here. Whitlock's General Store and Cafe on County Road 222 in Cullman is in the same position. Browse the full list on our restaurants page and in the restaurant category.

If you run a restaurant near the lake and are not listed, you can add or claim your business. The help article on finding a business explains how listings and verified badges work.

Arriving by boat

Boating to dinner is one of the real pleasures of Smith Lake, but dock access is never something to assume. A few practical rules:

1. Ask first. Only one of the places above says on its own site that you can tie up while you eat (Lakeshore). For the others, phone and ask where to dock and how long you can stay.
2. Think about water level. Alabama Power says Smith Lake begins lowering on July 1 and ends on November 30, and that levels can also rise quickly after heavy rain. A dock that was easy in June can be a long step or a shallow approach in late autumn. See Understanding Smith Lake water levels and our lake page.
3. Plan your daylight. Marina and restaurant schedules often differ, as Lakeshore's does. Tie up with enough time to be back on your own dock before dark.
4. Know your fuel. If you need fuel on the same trip, see marinas, fuel and boat services. For ramps if you are trailering, see boat ramps and public access.

Seasonal hours and calling ahead

Lake restaurants live by the season. Lakeshore's own site shows winter and summer Sunday hours for the restaurant, and its marina follows a different winter and summer schedule. Weekday lunch traffic in town is not the same as a July Saturday on the water. Before any trip longer than a few miles:

• Check the restaurant's website or social page the same day.
• Call if the hours are not dated, as with several sites above.
• Ask about holiday schedules. Lakeshore posts special Sunday and marina hours around Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day, and EG's lists a special Labor Day schedule.
• If you need a table for a group, ask about reservations. Trident's site says to reserve its event spaces by email.

Where this fits in your trip

If you are building a whole weekend, our visitor's guide to where to stay, eat, shop and explore ties these stops to lodging and activities, and the complete guide to Lewis Smith Lake covers the lake itself.

*This guide reflects what the businesses' own websites and official local sources said on the dates noted. It is not a recommendation or ranking of any restaurant. Hours, menus and ownership change, so confirm with the business before you go.*