We almost didn't stop at Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grill in Punta Gorda, Florida because it wasn't very busy, but it's the off-season in Southwest Florida, and just about every business is feeling the slowdown. We're so glad we decided to go in! From the moment we walked through the door, Katherine welcomed us with a smile. She was not only our waitress but also the bartender, and she made us feel right at home. She was friendly, attentive, and an absolute joy to chat with throughout our visit. The menu is packed with so many items that it was hard to choose! We wanted to try them all. We decided on the Philly cheesesteak with mushrooms, onions, and peppers on the side. The sandwich was delicious, and the seasoned French fries were great! The bun was toasted, the meat was cooked well, and the cheese was melted to perfection. While we were there, karaoke was happening in the outdoor bar, creating a fun, lively atmosphere. Please take note that smoking is allowed in the outdoor bar area. Inside the restaurant, They also have two pool tables and a little game room, making it a great place to hang out with friends or family. Everything about our experience was enjoyable, from the service to the great food and relaxed atmosphere. This was our first visit, but it definitely won't be our last. If you're looking for a friendly local spot with great food and a fun vibe, Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grill is well worth a visit! read more

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What a great "local" place. Great food, great staff, great atmosphere. This is. Local hang out. Come for the food, stay for the people!!! read more

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This place has gone down hill. Walls are filthy, Service is terrible. Food was horrible, dry and way over cooked. Will not return.

First time here and I liked the atmosphere and menu. Our server was super pleasant and running the whole outdoor space by herself. I settled on a chicken cheesesteak sandwich with no sides. We did wait a while, but the food came out hot. My sandwich looked nothing like I expected. Normally it is shredded chicken, but this was big chunks, which made it very hard to eat. The flavor was just OK, not my favorite. They gave me fries, which I hadn't ordered but she said to keep them. The fries were good. Overall, just ok. read more

Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grille - Chicken cheesesteak - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Place sux. Food is terrible service sux. Everything is over priced. Do yourself a favor and go someplace else. Only left one star because you cant leave 0 read more

"Hands down, the absolute best spot in town! Every time I walk through the door, Denise lights up the place with her huge, genuine smile--it instantly makes my day. She's a total rockstar: my food always arrives piping hot, my beer stays ice-cold and gets topped off before I even have to ask. Seriously, the service is flawless because of her. As long as Denise is working here, count me in as a permanent regular--and I'm bringing my crew of twenty friends with me! We meet up here all the time, and they love it just as much. Denise, you're incredible--thank you from the bottom of my heart. And thank you, Gatorz, for having the best team around!" read more

Great place to stop for a lunch break and cold beverages, friendly staff and fast service

I love their chicken wings. Also their burgers are great. The servers and bar tenders are spot on. We go outside because I can bring my dog. They have karaoke some days. They have shades on the patio in case it starts raining. read more

I have been going to this place for 5 yrs just to get bared from them for talking loud Brittany is the on that did it but she served me twice before then told me she wouldn't serve me again read more

Husband & arrived to outdoor bar 3:30pm on Friday! We really enjoy music & fun but the DJ was overwhelming loud & couldn't hear conversations with others at the bar! Sang mostly part of songs! Sometimes just yelling HEY not singing! Several customers were saying he was too loud & turning their hearing aid down! Wish I add had that option! Lol! Bartender said he is always too loud & have had several complaints in the past! We had planned on drinks & dinner but left after 1 drink! Several others we spoke with left as well! I go back but not when he is there!! read more

I came with a large birthday party .... We haven't been to Downtown Gatorz since pre-Hurricane Ian. What a positive change! Not only is the food better, still with good prices, the staff is so helpful, professional, and friendly. This is your down home FL neighborhood bar & grill. The cook did a great job serving our large party with hot, fresh food, and servers did a great job also. Two good, fresh burgers, good, large crab cakes, and good fries. read more

Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grille - Gatorz patio - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

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Stopped in for dinner on a Monday evening in Punta Gorda. It appeared there was a strong Kareoke crowd outside, so we preferred sitting indoors. We were able to sit right down which is always a bonus, especially when you are hungry. Was rather impressed with the menu and there were many great meals to choose from. Our group of 4 started with some wings as an appatizer. We order three orders (one boneless and and two regular wing orders) I was happy to be able to combine two flavors (hot and lemon pepper) which was a bonus to me. After placing our orders for appatizers and meals together, we waited for a while until all the food came out at one time. While the folks was great, was bummed when all the food came out together. My boneless wings were good and were hot and tasty. Unfortunately, as I was devouring my food, my main order was sitting, getting colder. I ordered the French dip and while tasty, the au jus was not very hot by the time I was ready to eat it. No doubt all the food came out hot, however when appatizers come out with the main food, it never works our well. Other members in the party has the same feedback with their main meal including a somewhat soggy Bun from sitting to long. All in all it was a great place. They had a great selection and was reasonably priced and the beer was cold which is Always a bonus. Unfortunately, the reason it was not a 5 star meal was when the the wings we ordered as appatizers did not come out before the meal. We did make it a point to ask for the wings first, however that did not happen. If it did, my 4 star would have been a 5 star. read more

Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grille - the entrance - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

I drop by here once in a while for lunch after a bike ride. The meal is always good to great. Beer is cold, staff is friendly... and on Saturday or Sunday afternoons there are always a bunch of locals around the bar! I like it! We always sit on the patio. Relaxed. One thing though, like a lot of places outside, they really need a good power wash on the floors and even table tops. There is so much to love here but it suffers from lack of care to the patio cleanliness. read more

We are regulars. Typically pay extra for flats. Didn't think about it tonight. Got 20 wings to go... should be a fair share of each, here's what the F* we got! Really? read more

Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grille - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Good food and good vibes. Fun and energetic place. Music and karaoke most days and drink prices are reasonable

We stopped in on a Thursday for their wings special and basket of homemade potato chips....DELICIOUS!!! Ashley was our server, did an awesome job! Very attentive!!! Will be back! read more

Been here multiple times. Tried to give it multiple different chances. If it wasn't for Karaoke with Bobby I'd never show my face here again. The servers don't pay attention to you unless you're a drunk sitting at the bar. And the bartenders mixed drinks always taste like crap. read more

If you enjoy karaoke this is the place to be! Most performers are serious about their music and extremely talented. We were impressed by many of the vocal performances. Food is just ok. Servers are decent. read more

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Outdoor bar, serving food and allowing patrons smoke at the outdoor bar and tables! !!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

Gater bites we're good but with no side, $11.99 seems high. Husband said wings were good but again no side so we ordered fries. Sat outside and it was somewhat smoky. Service was normal read more

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Gatorz in Punta Gorda has been my go-to for over two years now. New to the area, I was looking for a place to play pool, eat wings, and sing karaoke. This place is perfect. The service is always amazing with Nicole. She is extremely hard working, and you can tell you enjoys what she does- always has a smile, always in a good mood, engages with the customers, and always looking to see if you need a refill. Gatorz, thanks for the amazing wings, the amazing service, the maintained pool tables, and the live outside entertainment. read more

Our bartender (after asking the manager it was Brittany Swaddling) was visibly drunk while working. She was rude and took forever (literally a clocked 20 minutes) to make our drinks. The place was filthy especially the bathrooms.. terrible atmosphere. And the food was meh. Go to the one in port Charlotte instead. I can't believe this place has such awful bar staff. She was loudly talking about other customers and just being weirdly mean. And the manager seemed not to care about her or the other bartenders constant drinking and lack of service. There are so many other great places in Punta gorda.. definitely skip this one. read more

I had an amazing experience and a great waitress Kaitlynn, I will def recommend to friends and family.

first time here and the bar tender brittney was great! we loved sitting outside and they have karaoke everyday except tuesday/thursday... will be coming back! brittney makes a mean peach sangria read more

Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grille - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Friendly staff and good food. Love to eat outdoors but sometimes it's a bit hot. No problem though because it's really cold inside...and dark. After being out on the sunny patio remember to take your sunglasses off, otherwise, you won't be able to see a thing. read more

Downtown Gatorz Bar & Grille - Gatorz - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Ok, Been going there ever since gatorz downtown open. Love this place, yes some minum wage hard working people are slow at times, but for that little money would you? You go for good food and drinks and get both here. I always make my own good time when I go out you should try it here. Thursday's wing night can't go wrong food, drink, and free music for little cost. Can't go wrong for Thursday's go for it... read more

Great service and prices. We'll definitely be back on next trip down. Hubs had fish tacos and I had fish fingers.

Worst service I've ever had here last night. The bartender was rude when I asked where our food was. Then she came back to say the server was in tears because we were asking where our food was. The place was not busy at all. The bartender said they were slammed. There was maybe 30 people and half were playing cards. There were no employees to be found inside, at the kitchen, or behind the inside bar. Where the hell were the workers outside smoking?? It will be a long time before we go back. We took our food home when it finally came. We frequent both locations a lot and never had a problem in the past read more

Stopped in for wing day and they were good. Great service from Ashley our bartender read more

Great bartenders. Better than average food. Fun crowd. Friendly locals. You'll enjoy this place. Live music ...or karaoke is comical. Thursday night after 10 is lady's night i think. Outside is nice if the weather is right. read more

7 of us came for lunch and drinks and even being short staffed it was very good and pretty fast. The gator bites and the not your normal grilled cheese were phenomenal. Definitely will be back next time we're in the area! read more

Go here all the time , finally figured out this bar !! Good food - Friday thru Sunday absolute junk service !! Monday thru Thursday good service and food !!! Fortunate place for I believe in local support !! Maybe it's the management ? Idk hope they take this review serious. read more

A couple of friends and I gave this place a try recently. We all decided on the wings since that's considered to be their specialty. We all had different toppings and agreed that they were quite good....in fact, very good. Our server was efficient although I found it very odd that she knew absolutely nothing about beer....or even what brands were available. She got a little help from someone who did so it was no big deal; just odd, considering it's primarily a bar. She could have at least written them down and read them to us but I guess knowing what they sell didn't seem to be a high priority. We sat on the covered patio which should have been a good choice, given that the weather was very nice. The downside to that was that the band was extremely loud, making shouting necessary in order to carry on any conversation. I realize that some bands think that the quality of their music will improve if they 'crank it up' but I find it to be the opposite. In any case, it didn't work for them. They have a good range of offerings on their menu and prices seemed very fair except that they charged a buck for a little serving of blue cheese dressing with the wings. That seemed a little over the top since none were included with the wings. Also, the beer prices seemed quite high to me....even for the 'swill' which, sadly, is most of what's offered at places like this. All in all, I think the place has potential. I'm going to give them another try soon but I'm going to make certain that the band will be somewhere else at the time! read more

Pity we cannot give zero stars. The only thing that is Gatorz as compared to the original in Port Charlotte is the name. This 'downtown' location is lower than a dive bar. Let's start with the bartenders, whom I shall call, bar skanks. These foul mouthed excuses for a staff are laughable. These gutter snipes should be cleaning toilets, not interacting with the public. We had wings and burgers inside, and a couple beers, then went outside. The outside bar was full of geriatric bikers so sauced, half of them stumbled to their bikes/trikes. Over served was the rule of the day, I guess. We waited a few minutes for them to clear, then we hurried out. 'Nuf said. read more

Ordered bone-in wings to-go, and they were great. No issues. Great price. Be sure to take advantage of wing night.

Great staff, music and food. You meet people you will never forget as well as have a night to remember.

I would give a zero if I could for this place. The staff was slow- the music was offensive, the manager very unprofessional! Too many other places to go then this run down slum building. We are locals, and will be sharing our experience with all our local friends. read more

Nachos were pretty decent. Lots of toppings. The Reuben was the smallest I've ever had. Not much meat nor kraut. This Wisconsin girl was disappointed!!!! But service was great so that's why I have em 3 stars. Maybe I'll try the wings next time. Lol. read more

Food not bad , management terrible, if you screw something up and someone brings it to your attention, don't stand there with smirk on your face when talking to a customer, maybe "DOUG" should not be a manage , maybe better he try's dish washing. The only way he could have gotten the job if he is a relative , other then that he doesn't belong in charge , shame we did enjoy going there but there are other places to send my money read more

The bartenders are rude and lazy. The food is mediocre at best. They close whenever they want to, even if you're sitting there having just paid for your drink. I've been in there a few times but won't be going back until there is a staff change. There are way too many other restaurants in the area to give my hard earned money to. read more