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    Gators Dockside

    3.0 (230 reviews)
    ModerateSeafood, American

    Gators Dockside Photos

    GATORS DOCKSIDE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Gators Dockside

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    You can't go wrong with their Philly Cheesesteak, I love their onion petals!
    Heather B.

    My sister and I stopped by Gator's Dockside for drinks and a quick bite, and it was a mixed experience overall. The Philly Cheesesteak was delicious--I'd definitely order it again! The onion petals were also a standout, with a perfect crispy texture and flavor. My sister ordered the seafood pasta, which she enjoyed, but I personally found the seasoning a bit too salty for my taste. The service is friendly, but it's been a bit slow on my last few visits. We usually have to flag someone down, and if you're not sitting at the bar, expect a longer wait for drinks. That said, they do offer decent drink specials, which is always a plus! If you're in the area, it's not a bad spot to pop into for a bite--especially on days when they have wing specials. It's also great for catching a game and hanging out for a while. This can certainly elevate the noise in the restaurant but I would still bring the family out as it is a very casual environment with booths away from the bar area. While I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this location, it's still worth a try if you're nearby!

    Fried pickles
    Madison L.

    We came in for dinner after watching a Magic game and had a good experience. We sat outside in the lovely SoDo area. Our waitress was amazing and very nice. For food, I got the southwest egg rolls and fried pickles. Both were good. The pickles were hot with a good breading to pickle ratio. The southwest egg rolls had a good amount of filling and a bit of spice. It took a while for the food to trickle out of the kitchen, but otherwise it was a great time.

    Weekly Specials Board
    Caleb C.

    It's been a while since I found a sports bar with week night events EVERY night of the week. They have All You Can Eat Wings in 2024! The environment is typical grungy sports bar. Bathrooms always feel a little dirty but I appreciate they hang signs over the urinals so you know about upcoming events. I ordered 10 grilled wings, 5 Smokey BBQ and 5 Chipotle Honey BBQ. I liked the old menu that showed you the spice level. I've included new images of their menus and weekly specials. Overall a nice spot, good indoor and outdoor options, and a full parking garage to utilize. Service was very nice. I ordered ToGo from the bar and the nice bar tender let me know they have a formal take out station if I would like it to go faster or if I wasn't ordering a drink. I decided to order a drink and it barely took any time still. Will be back with friends for bingo and Trivia!

    Southwest Egg Rolls
    Isabella D.

    Ambiance is great and the servers are attentive and kind. Have never been during a Saturday/Sunday for football but I could image the environment is very lively and fun. The food is pretty average, but definitely on par for this type of restaurant, sports bar vibe. Their appetizers in my option are the best options offered. I was a little underwhelmed with the buffalo chicken wrap, it was literally just chicken and lettuce but it was decent. BIGGEST PLUS: the food comes out so quick. You could be in&out in 30 minutes & if you're starving & want something quick Gator's would be a great option.

    Salud!
    Mark P.

    They're okay. Easy solid three with hospitality easily in the four sometimes five range. Honestly, I've eaten here way too often for lunch over the last few months with colleagues who seem to prefer liquid lunch. The food's okay, alright; not bad, just unremarkable is all. Burgers were okay. Cauliflower bites were nice. Cocktails tend to be weak, especially the specials. Even a double Captain neat seemed watered down somehow. Anyway, I guess it's all about the beer. My crew just loved doin' the tower, and a pitcher, and then another one. lol. Work flo yo. Should say, we did a lot of takeaway for the office, no complaints from them so there's that.

    Empty restaurant
    Rebekah C.

    Do you like to wait over 40 minutes in an empty restaurant for your food to show up with zero communication about why it is taking so long? Then Gator's Dockside in SODO is the spot for you!!! We stopped by for a later lunch yesterday afternoon. We were seated right away but sat there waiting for a server for nearly 15 minutes. There were plenty of servers walking around complaining to each other but none of them were ours it seemed. Normally I would have left but we weren't in a rush so we waited. Our server arrived and apologized for the wait. We'd had PLENTY of time to review the menu so we were ready to order. We ordered 2 boneless wing platters with fries and the potato salad and two sodas. Our drinks were returned quickly and we were informed of an upcharge for the potato salad we said that's fine and that is the last time we saw our server Jasmin....after 30 minutes with no sign of our food or our server my partner went to try and find her, and found the manager. He explained we'd been waiting over half an hour and haven't seen our server once. About 5 minutes lasted our food came out and our server said, "I was told you're in a hurry so here's your check." That didn't go over so well. I said we weren't in a hurry but nearly 45 minutes waiting for food is ridiculous. She of course snapped an attitude back and said she'd bring me another soda (mine was basically full, and I didn't ask for one so believe I did not drink it because her vibe was that she'd spit in it or something). When she came back with the unwelcomed soda I apologized for being rude and she ignored me. At that point I just wanted to leave because clearly nobody there cared (the manager didn't apologize or ever check back after our food was delivered he just brought it out and left). Look, I've been a server. I get sometimes you are in the weeds or the kitchen is backed up. Given the restaurant was fairly empty other than the bar (which wasn't full) I doubt that was the case, but the simple act of communicating with your customers goes so far. Had our server come by even once to check on us, update us, ANYTHING... this situation although still frustrating would have not ended up with us feeling this way. I've never felt so disrespected in a restaurant before. Long story short, just don't. And if for some reason you do still end up there, skip the potato salad, it's not worth the upcharge.

    Sliders? Like double the size!

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    Steve S.

    Thanks Burne!

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    9 years ago

    Ordered buffalo chicken sandwich. Got two very dry chicken fingers on a roll with nary a hint of buffalo sauce.

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    9 years ago

    Had a great dinner! we love coming here especially when David the manager works very polite very professional

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    Page 4 of 6

    Ask the Community - Gators Dockside

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    Such a fun spot for happy hour! We came in ready to relax and left already planning our next visit…read more The drink specials were generous and the vibe was warm and lively without being too loud to actually talk. Hands down the star of the show was the shrimp dish, perfectly cooked, packed with flavor, and honestly some of the best we've had in a while. We ended up ordering a second round just to enjoy it a little longer. Service was friendly and attentive the whole time, which made the experience even better. If you're looking for a great happy hour with a standout menu item, The Whyskey delivers. We'll definitely be back!

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    Unable to seat us…read more 4 tables were in use. It was 5:45. They said they had no tables. Apple showed seating at 6:30. The place was empty. No reason they couldn't have seated us in the restaurant. Refused service. Three stars because the food is good and owner Nate called me immediately after the post. Explained issue with OpenTable and Apple Maps not being on sync. Suggest to call ahead to verify your reservation if made via an app.

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    Yard house is one of our favorite date night spots on I Drive. We stopped by since we were in the…read morearea. We didn't have a reservation and the wait time was over 40 minutes but we were able to find a couple seats at the bar. We came in for a couple drinks and some appetizers. The shrimp was delicious, the queso was to die for and the drinks were made to perfection. My husband loves their beer collection. I enjoy their expresso martinis. Honestly all the drinks I've had here have been great, that's just my go to at the moment. They were playing the game so we ordered a couple more drinks and sat at the bar for a bit. Great energy from everyone, including the staff. Loud but not super loud where we couldn't hold a conversation. Yard house has not let us down. One of the best chain restaurants we've been to and frequent

    We had already eaten elsewhere and were simply looking for a place to relax, enjoy a few drinks,…read moreand have a conversation. There were several places to choose from, but this one seemed like a good fit because it wasn't overly loud, and we wanted to be able to hear each other. We initially sat outside, but we were told they had stopped serving the outdoor seating area, so we moved inside. Rather than wait for a server, we decided to order directly from the bar since it seemed like the faster option. There weren't enough seats at the bar for our group of five, so we grabbed a nearby booth. The bartender was friendly, and our drinks were excellent. Unfortunately, that's where the positive experience ended. Although people were not coming in, but some people were eating, and enjoying drinks throughout the restaurant, it seemed like the staff had started cleaning up for the night. A server came over, and we explained that we were only there for drinks. After we received our drinks from the bar, he returned and told us that we would soon have to get up so he could clean the table. Seriously? I looked around and saw several other tables where some guests were simply sitting, talking, and enjoying their drinks. They weren't eating either. It made us feel as though, because we had only ordered beverages, we weren't as welcome as everyone else. I chose not to let one person's behavior ruin our evening because I'd rather believe that one employee doesn't represent the entire establishment. In fact, the bartender was great, and the drinks were very well made. What disappointed me was the server's attitude. I wasn't aware that ordering drinks at a restaurant with a full bar wasn't enough to be considered a paying customer, especially when there weren't enough bar stools to accommodate our group. His approach came across as rude, unprofessional, and completely unnecessary. Needless to say, we were not going to get up until we had finished out drinks, and we did not. I may return to try the food because the drinks were impressive, but if I ever encounter that same server again, I definitely won't be sitting in his section.

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    Friend and I made reservations last minute, on the day of, and got a great time slot. Pulled up and…read moredecided to do complementary valet. Best decision ever as there weren't any parking spots around. Walked in and was greeted and seated right away. Damian was our waiter. We literally sat down for all of two minutes, and Damian started us off with some water. 10/10, would recommend sitting at his area. He was attentive. Knowledgeable about the menu. And made the experience a good one. I might butcher his name, but the manager, maybe named Cameron, skinny guy with glasses, walked around and checked on the tables and even suggested a new drink that was the drink of the month. By this time, my friend and I have had already two or three drinks. So I couldn't tell you specifically what the drink of the month was, but I do remember it having tequila, frozen, strawberries, and it tasting really good. 10/10 recommend. All of the food that we got on the fixed menu for bite30 was a hit. My side of cream risotto wasn't as good as I anticipated, but it was edible. Some of the risotto, was a tad bit too crunchy for my liking. So I probably wouldn't order that again. The appetizers were so good. The drinks that we ordered we're also so good. Both of our entrées were delicious. Cute spot. Nice ambiance. Good food. Would definitely come again. The manager even suggested a few other spots to check out since we weren't too familiar with the area. The valet guy was also so friendly. :)

    WOW! What an amazing 5-star experience! Two other Yelpers and I made a Bite 30 reservations and we…read moreall walked away extolling the extraordinary dinner adventure we had. We were seated in a corner booth next to the bar. The atmosphere of this place is warm and inviting. The bar itself is also something to see. Very cool! Our server was Joey D. and he himself provided 5-star expertise, which enhanced the evening. He made great recommendations as well as giving us enough space to enjoy the meal and our conversations afterwards. Now for the food. Since there were three of us, we tried the entire Bite 30 menu and shared each plate. Course 1 consisted of Coconut Shrimp, Zucchini Fries and Ivanhoe Short Rib Tacos. Each item was amazing and was more than sufficient for the three of us. The Short Rib Tacos were stuffed with delicious tasting short rib. We were at 5-stars right off the bat. Next, came Course 2, which consisted of a Pork Chop, Casa Verde Mofongo and Chicken Fried Steak. The pork chop had a succulent brown sugar glaze and came with sautéed green beans and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. The pork chop was juicy and delicious. The Casa Verde Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish (which I just learned about this evening), consisting of sautéed bell peppers, red onions, sweet corn, and mashed plantains in a spicy remoulade. One of my friends is Puerto Rican and gave this dish high marks as did I. Finally, the chicken fried steak was perfectly cooked and came with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, broccoli and sawmill gravy. We enjoyed these three dishes immensely. Course 3 consisted of the following desserts: Key Lime pie, Midnight Chocolate Ganache and Banana Bread Pudding. The Key lime pie was excellent as was the banana bread pudding. We thought the midnight chocolate ganache was a little too sweet for us, as it was truly a decadent dessert. However, you will not get any complaints from us about this restaurant. What we also liked was that the portions were the normal dinner size not a reduced size for the Bite 30 event. As stated previously, we all had plenty of good food to enjoy. The overall meal and experience was truly five stars and this restaurant is highly recommended by all three of us. We all can't wait to go back again and try more selections from the entire menu.

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