Been coming here on and off for a few years. The mussels and linguine is the best I have had any where. Downside, guests fighting the last two times. The bouncers on it quickly, but it really takes away from the experience. read more

Delicious eats, amazing drinks. Good live music. Native NY'er visiting Florida... will def come again!!!

Forgot about this place being just a few minutes from Silver springs Shores area. A little pricey but convenient - Dip your feet in the water while you wait for your food :)) Sheimp good size but grilled could have used a little more flavor - Coconut Lime Rice side dish was Yummy!! read more

Gator Joes is always good bar food plus a little more. Good drinks. Good service. Great view.

We never could go in with our dogs. I have to give a beach type restaurant that doesn't allow dogs outside for drinks no more than a one star. Sorry guys but go without your pups and you might have a good time. read more

Gator Joe's - No pets allowed - Seafood Near Me - Ocklawaha, Florida

Hot hamburger on cold chewy bun... All burger buns should be toasted , when I asked them about it they said no... No....they won't toast my burger bun... Asked manager , he also said no... Never went back, never will read more

Came in after a nice motorcycle ride. The wait was Loong. For a table for 2, we waited 50 minutes. Then when I went to check on the table they said due to me not answering there text.. see attached text.. (It's almost your turn at Gator Joes Beach Bar and Grill!. If you've changed your plans, please reply '9' to cancel.) I had no intentions of changing our plans? I was told by not going back up to the host stand after receiving it. They gave my table away! I tried to reason with the manager to find a resolution for this but he had absolutely no skills in customer conflict resolution. And actually told me he could care less about his customer base. Upon entering I ordered the gator bites because I told The kitchen was backed up 40 to 45 minutes. Then the manager proceeded to hand me a to go bag with my gator bites in it! WOW!! So then we proceeded to the bar sat down opened our plastic bag and our Styrofoam containers to eat our cold gator bites and enjoy a drink! I asked the manager if he could pour us a drink? His reply" you need to speak to a bartender for that"! After getting the bartenders attention he came over and said he was no longer allowed to serve us a drink! What a spineless manager to put it off on his staff to deliver that news! We each had one drink and the 2 orders of gator bites for a total of $60 which I paid for upon entering. So here we are sitting at the bar with cold gator bites and nothing to drink!! I called the bartender over to let him know to please pass the gator bites on to his manager and let him enjoy them! And if he would like I would even buy him a drink to help wash down his cold (Over Priced) subpar food. . the staff (Bartenders) were nice enough and very apologetic for the disrespectful manger who has no ability to resolve customer dissatisfaction whatsoever! And should not even be allowed in this position, The ownership of this establishment needs to take charge and really look at what they have here... it could be a very enjoyable place with some repairs and upkeep. I will not be coming back to this place! There are plenty other places that are much more enjoyable with great food and wonderful people to be around! read more

Gator Joe's - Outside - Seafood Near Me - Ocklawaha, Florida

Nice place to eat sitting on the deck is amazing and watch the boats go by and the next get sky is beautiful there

Been coming here for a while today was just off , Only thing that was good was the Cold shrimp. From music too service too food Ill pass tor a while $82 wasted read more

Food Good, Staff Good. My 90 year old mother was attacked by birds. The birds actually swooped down and grabbed the food out of my mothers hand, twice!!!! We mentioned to manager and she said we should expect that eating outside!! Seriously???!!!! We were also taken by surprise that call brand vodka in our dirty martinis which consists of vodka and olive juice were $19!!! We were charged a drink charge and also a vodka charge!! Two separate charges!! LOL This is a martini served in a plastic cup! Living in Palm Beach County, we have never ever been charged that in an actual Martini Glass!!! Even in a Motel Bar!!! The Manager was very rude. We used to really enjoy Gators while we visited, but never again!! read more

When for lunch. Not much of a crowd. Felicia did a great job. We tried the gator bites, and corn nuggets as appetizers. Came out quickly and well prepared. Main course was a shrimp basket and fish basket. Both well prepared. Drinks was a house Margarita, local craft beer, Big Nose. Good and cold. Overall we enjoyed this establishment. Great service, great views, good food. read more

Gator Joe's is a fun place to hang out. It seems to be popular with both the biker crowd and has a beach for those coming in by water. We sat on the back deck over the water. The music was decent and our server was humorous, making up for the food which was just okay. Drinks were rather pricey. I can understand why this is a popular place for my biker friends as there were plenty of young women in bikinis. A fun place to hang out for maybe one expensive drink in the afternoon, but I wouldn't come back for the food. read more

First time here and last. Visiting my daughter. Started with full rack ribs were dry and cold so manager. Swapped one order ribs for more ribs and the other for a rib eye, ribs cam back hot and moist and good but the rib eye full of grizzle could not eat! Sad.... read more

Gator Joe's - Grizzle ridden rib eye steak! Could not eat it. - Seafood Near Me - Ocklawaha, Florida

typical bar eatery, good portions. Margaritas were low average. Nice seating outside & nice view. Didn't like taking my grandson to the ladies room & 2 chicks were snorting coke. Turn down the music & hire a security guy to break up the drunken brawls. We went on a Sunday afternoon so I will give it another chance on a weekday read more

Food all served in plastic baskets with PLASTIC UTENSILS.....lol.. Menu is lame and food is mediocre. 90% of food on dinner menu is fried. Menu reads: "all dinners served with fries and coleslaw". It's that type of place. Lots of cigarette smoke, vaping, and unpleasantness. Overall, definitely not a family type of place. Dirty and in need of a good scrubbing from the ceiling down. Too many options in the area to spend your hard earned money there. Lots of cob webs and grime up in the ceilings. Birds overhead while you are seated beneath them eating. Birds walking on outside tables looking for food. DIRTY. The food: mediocrity. Want something fried? That's good because it's all basically fried there. Walking towards the front door my attention was drawn to the overall dirtiness of the walkway and building and then my senses were overwhelmed by the smell of the deep frier's exhaust fan and cigarette smoke. Plastic baskets and old nasty wood plates are used there. Little packs of cheap plastic utensils with the little napkin and salt/pepper packet inside. The kind you get at the Chinese takeout joint that bend and bend and break when you use them. It may look like a fork but can't really be used as one. Shrimp and grits were served in what is essentially an old wood salad bowl. Key lime pie was not bad. Coffee was served black, I had to ask for cream and was given those weird creamers that do not need refrigeration. Everything there was just low budget and done as cheaply as possible without any thought put towards it, I felt. Overall Gator Joe's gets 1/5 although if I could I'd rate it at 1/2 star. Just a crappy, dirty, grimy, Florida lakeside dump that wants to give you that chill out hang loose vibe but really is just an old, unkempt, outdated, dive-like place that makes one ask themselves "why did I bring my children here?" Don't get fooled like we did....KEEP DRIVING read more

We had dinner on a Saturday night which included live music. The music was nice but I was glad we were inside where it was a little quieter. Our food was very good, served quickly and we had a very nice server who was very attentive. The menu here is not very fancy but all the food we had was really good. There are nice views of the beach from just about everywhere in the restaurant. It was so nice and pleasant that we took my sister and her wife there the next time they were in town. They really enjoyed it also. Next time we're bringing the whole family so the kids can enjoy the beach. Update: since our first visit gator Joe's has become one of our regular go to eateries. We've been to the restaurant in a few different temperatures and weather and we love going to gator Joe's read more

Went for relaxing dinner between 5pm to 6pm. Food was ok, but I was totally disrespected by about 5 or 6 locals I guess, that were so foul mouthed, with dropping the f-bomb at lease 20 to 30 times. Not eating just standing there being terribly disrespectful to Every one, including the 7 kids all under I would say 6 yrs old...the local waitress never said one word to them. Will Never go there again!!! read more

I love this bar! We only ever sit on the deck. The deck is pretty big and is shaped like the capital letter I. They serve standard bar food, deep fried anything, brought to your table usually in a basket. Yes, gator tail is on the menu. The bar is always pretty lively, borderline biker bar. There are always plenty of bikes parked out front. You can also park your boat on the beach. Pitchers of beer are served with a bag of ice in it. Pretty efficient actually. It serves to keep the beer cold without watering it down. I've never seen this technique before. The pitcher(s) usually go down pretty fast so the bag-of-ice is a non issue. read more

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Received THE WORST service at this place. Sat at the bar for about 5 min, we were never even addressed. I waived the waitress down, asked her to please clean up a table which had sat dirty for a while. Hesitantly and without saying a word she cleans up the table (about 5 minutes later) and leaves. We sit for another 15 minutes, NO ONE takes care of us. She walks past our table, looks at us and does NOTHING!!! I guess she only caters to her own kind. We walked out and no one cared to ask why! Worst service!!!! 1st and only visit, Never again! DO NOT RECOMMEND! read more

What an awesome restaurant right on the banks of Lake Weir near Ocala, FL. They have outside seating where you can look out onto the lake. There is a beach there where you can come during the summer to swim. I had the stuffed chicken sandwich and an order of Caribbean beans and rice. The food was yummy. A duo was playing music which made this place very entertaining as well. Nearby is the Orange Blossom Opry where they have some really good acts booked like Lorrie Morgan, The Gatlin Brothers, Exile, and Sawyer Brown. Well worth checking out. A hidden gem. read more

Gator Joe's - Seafood Near Me - Ocklawaha, Florida

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Visited this sports bar yesterday March 8 after not having been there for over a year. Brought 6 friends with me. Our server Smash was great! But 2 things: the portions of food is this side of embarrassing! $12.50 for 4 teeny tiny little chicken fingers and about 8 fries! NO! Usually sports bars serve much better. My fish basket was ok. But the group gratuity is stupid! Smash would have made MUCH more in tips from us since we have been former waitresses! You just screwed your staff! Sorry your place is not impressive enough to bring any more friends back. read more

Poor Service.... Answer the DARN phone! I guess they don't need the business.. Every time I call to place an order they NEVER answer the phone so I wind up driving to the Resturant and placing my order and sitting there for 30-45 min to get the order. Of course the bartenders are servicing the drinkers at the bar and filing the incoming alcoholic beverage orders but the service to pick orders they make you wait!! Now their prices for chicken wings have gone up SO high it's ridiculous and will no longer do business with them. It's a shame because my family really like the food but poor service is not enjoyable. read more

Beachy, paper cups, super casual, boats, water, cheap drinks, live music, locals, just a great fun place! Dicey in the best way. Just a great time! read more

First time stopping by from out of town and will definitely go again when back in the area. We grabbed a late lunch and drinks on the patio. It was a beautiful day, the music was a cool beachy rock vibe and the food hit the spot. We tried the fried chicken basket, fried fish basket and fried gator tail. We had solid portions, that tasted great, all for a great price. read more

Great atmosphere and good bar food . Always a friendly wait staff. The views are awesome

I can never get a person when trying to place a to go order. And there menu prices on yelp are not what they charge. They need to update it.

Top notch food and service. First place I ate at since I arrived in Florida and I have to say I was very impressed with the quality and the portion size. Definitely gave me a warm Florida welcome! read more

As a visitor to Ocala from Ohio, the last place I wanted to eat was at a Chain restaurant. My sister, her husband and myself decided to take a short drive over to Lake Weir and try Gator Joe's. It was will worth the drive. We arrived about 1:40 pm on a Wednesday. The outdoor seating was all taken but inside was open, quiet, cool and clean. Our server arrived promptly and was very helpful as we asked her questions about the menu. Two of us ordered the fish basket @ $9.59 and one person ordered what I think was a steak hoagie. Instead of fries with the fish basket, we ordered a Spanish Rice mix. I believe the fish was breaded Pollock. The portion size was average and the flavor was good. Considering the restaurant location and atmosphere, figuring lunch about $11.50 w/soft drink, I felt it was a priced appropriately. I think most folks would be happy visiting Gator Joe's and for those visiting from the North, there are several menu items which include deep fried alligator. I have ordered it in the past at other restaurants and I like it. And no, it does not taste like Chicken. read more

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We went there today. My husband had the philly chicken with American cheese. He loved it. I had chicken wings also amazing

Nice bar and nice atmosphere right on Lake Weir. Staff is nice. One major issue is that the ice and water has a bad smell and taste. They need to get a good filtration system. read more

Way overpriced. Service was awful. Food was ok

This place is covered in bugs everywhere you go outside I thought this would be a nice place to bring my daughter so she could also swim in the lake but the bugs cover everything out by the beach and on the outside eating deck. Disgusting. read more

Stopped in for lunch in a Sunday. Definitely crowded with live music and a lot of drinking, which was totally fun! Beaches are nice and people having a great time. Some families but mostly a young crowd have a blast. We have fish basket, blackened red fish and fish sandwich which all were excellent! Highly recommend for a fun outing and good casual food read more

Wings were good. Other than that it took about an hour just to have the waitress take our food order and bring it out. No napkins were on the table. Our entire party had to hunt the waitress down just to pay. The atmosphere was drunk young kids everywhere and loud. This was our first and last time coming. read more

A bit of a drive, but for fun and super fresh affordable food its well well well worth it. Beach side pier dining. Inside and out are both Great to sit. Its staff and entertainment wonderful, it's just a lil loud inside. However I can't recommend this great spot enough!!!! read more

Sunday night, just drove up from Orlando, getting into town around 8:30pm. Got a recommendation for the local Italian/pizza shop but had Italian for dinner last night and lunch today, so, hoping for a good fish sandwich, opted for the only other choice at this hour: Gator Joe's. Walked out on the pier and found a table. Music was blasting, lots of loud yelling drunks, and a yahoo with his boat docked at the pier blasting his own obnoxious music. Eventually, I was able to flag down a waitress to ask for a menu. I ended up ordering "Ocklawaha's Famous Fish Sandwich". It arrived in reasonable time. This was by far the blandest fish sandwich ever made. Little to no seasoning on the fish, the sauce was flavorless, the bread had no texture, and even the chips were stale. But bad as it was, I was tired and hungry with few options at this hour. To top it off, as the last of the light from sunset disappeared and the giant swarm of mosquitoes arrived. I swatted about a dozen, and got bitten by 2 dozen more. The place cleared out real quick. I grabbed my food and headed to the bar inside. If you want to go get loud and rowdy on a Sunday night, this apparently is the place to go. Just eat somewhere else. read more

Great scenery! Great Food! Great Service! Highly recommended! Fried GatorFish Sandwich

Fish basket, shrimp basket and Ruben was delicious . Service was great. Looked out over the lake . Would revisit for sure .

This is a super cool place and definitely somewhere you should eat when visiting the Summerfield area. The bar goes out over the water and you can swim, play on the beach or drive your boat up. We went for lunch, so it was kind of quiet but I can definitely imagine the parties this place generates. The menu is pretty extensive. Our food was ok, but not great. But our service really good and the kids loved it. read more

Came here again to give it another try. Philly cheese was good. Gator bites were terrible. Service was excellent. Thank you Brandy.