Cassie at Sites & Bites published a post last month about fun stuff to do in North Alabama. One of the things on her list was eating at Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia.
I’d added it to our list of possible things to do for when we’d be up in that region a couple of weeks later. A few days after that, I got chatting to a guy in Birmingham while getting our oil changed. He also said the Rattlesnake Saloon was somewhere we needed to eat, so it went from being a maybe to being a definite.
I’m glad it did.
We visited the unique restaurant and bar while staying at the nearby Radisson Sheffield and it was such a fun experience. Here’s our review showing what you can expect from a visit to the Rattlesnake Saloon.
(n.b. This isn’t a sponsored post. We paid for our meal and The Rattlesnake Saloon didn’t know who we were or that we’d be writing a review.)
Getting There
We plugged their address into Google Maps and set off. The journey took about 30 minutes from our hotel and ended up in a giant parking lot near a bunch of RVs and motorhomes.
At the end of the parking lot is a shelter where you can wait for the Saloon Taxi.
We didn’t have to wait though as our chariot awaited us just as we got there.
It reminded me of the Songthaew buses we used to catch when living in Thailand, albeit an uncovered version of them.
After a quick stop at Sidewinders Trading Post to pick up a few more guests, we made our way down to the saloon. The reason you travel down in the back of the pickup truck is because it’s a steep, unpaved hill and there’s no parking lot below (other than a couple of handicapped accessible parking spots).
The Restaurant
When we arrived at the bottom and got out of the pickup truck, we were immediately struck by how cool the restaurant seating looked set beneath the rock.
As you can see from the above photo, half the floor was wet as there was a mini waterfall cascading down. It looks like it can be more torrential when there’s been heavier rain.
There’s some additional seating out back, although that section was marked as being closed. There were a few people sitting there, so it might’ve been reserved for a larger party.
If you didn’t want to sit underneath the rock (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t unless it’s freezing outside), there’s a traditional saloon bar.
There was no way we were passing up the opportunity to eat beneath the rock though. You seat yourself at this restaurant, so we found a small table for two. These smaller tables are fun as they’re made from a thick slice of tree trunk, so each table is unique and unevenly shaped.
The Food
Our very friendly server Jules brought over a couple of menus:
It was tempting to order the Gigantor between us, but that would’ve been far too much food for the two of us, let alone one person. We saw it being taken to another table and it was ENORMOUS!
Shae and I decided to play it safe, so we both ordered regular burgers. I got The Duke which came with bacon, fried sliced jalapeño peppers, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles, but minus the cheese. There are five sides you can choose from, so I went for onion rings.
That photo doesn’t show the burger so well, so here’s a closer look at it.
Shae went for The Rustler burger which comes with cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato and pickles.
We both really enjoyed our burgers, so we can both recommend those. I tried a few of Shae’s fries and they were excellent. Their onion rings were pretty good (and there was a ton of them), but I prefer breaded onion rings so they weren’t as great as they could’ve been.
The portion sizes were very big so as much as we wanted to try their desserts, we had to decline.
The Extras
That wasn’t the end of the Rattlesnake Saloon experience though. If you follow the dirt track down past the restaurant, you’ll come across even more waterfalls, one of which you can even stand behind.
On the way back up the path, we noticed a couple of deer behind a fence. One of them was incredibly personable and came over so that Shae could pet her.
After petting the deer, we decided to walk back uphill rather than taking the pickup truck taxi back (it’s a very short walk). At the top, we popped into Sidewinders Trading Post.
Opposite Sidewinders was an art gallery, although we didn’t go inside.
If you visit at night, it might be worth hanging around to take advantage of their large campfire.
And that still wasn’t the end of the experience! On the way back to our car, we passed by some open stables with several horses, most of whom were happy to be petted.
One of them in particular took a shine to Shae.
Final Thoughts
We had a great time at the Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia, Alabama – even better than we’d expected. Riding down in the back of the pickup truck was fun, the setting beneath the rock face was beautiful, the food was good and the waterfalls, deer and horses rounded it off for an incredibly memorable experience.
Our Rating
Food = 4.3 / 5
Price = 4.4 / 5
Atmosphere = 4.8 / 5
Decor = 5.0 / 5
Service = 4.6 / 5
Total = 4.62 / 5
Address
Rattlesnake Saloon, 1292 Mount Mills Road, Tuscumbia, AL 35674
I’m surprised you didn’t go into the art gallery – aren’t you kind of “artsy?”
Not too much – we love public art displays like the mermaids in Norfolk, but we’re not generally art gallery people. Having said that, we have a couple of artist friends and we love their work.