My Salmon was very good with the veges. Our waitress REGAN was very friendly. She remembered all requests and just did things right the whole meal. 5 guests read more

Made a stop here before heading back to Tampa to head home and it was a good thing we came early. Service was ridiculously slow here. It wasn't even that busy at all either. I ordered some oysters and the snake bites. My cousins got the Calamari and a burger I believe. The oysters were average. The hot sauce that was given with them had a really weird taste to it. They should just stick with Tobasco. I was very surprised with the gator bites. I was expecting some super deep fried and battered stuff but it was pretty light. Never had gator before so I have no other comparisons on how it should taste but it was good. It's like very tender chicken. The calamari wasn't very good. I was thinking it was going to be rings like every other place, which to my surprise wasn't, and that's a good thing, but it just wasn't very satisfying. The place looks really high end being on the lake and all but it's really just very average. There's not anything that would bring me back to this place if I ever visit FL again. It does have a beautiful view being on the lake. read more

Harborside - Gator bites and Calamari - Seafood Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

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Food is great the ambiance and location even better love that is it right on the water might be a lake but it feels like ur enjoying a meal oceanside read more

Great food and. service!! I would highly recommend it. Beautiful water view. Staff is friendly and even though we went on a Saturday evening the wait time was not bad read more

A little on the pricey side but the food is good and love that they have water access and beautiful sunsets.

This restaurant was confusing. The location is great and the building was clean. The wait staff was attentive and engaging. I started with the Virginia oysters and these were among the best I've ever had. The rest of the food was not very good. We had the sea skins, gator bites, grouper, and fried shrimp/fish platter. It's like the entrees were all frozen food. It was bland and inedible. read more

Wonderful seafood and service! Beautiful setting. Our server Jasmine was just the right combination of friendliness and efficiency.

We had a very enjoyable lunch experience while in town for a volleyball tournament. The grouper sandwich was very good with a generous portion of sweet potato fries read more

Harborside - Grouper Sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

Waited two hours for the food to show up and when I went to tell the manager she screamed her head off and did not even apologize and then she said she is the owner. You get treated better at McDonald's. Do yourself a favor skip this place and go somewhere else where they appreciate your business. Tip to the owner maybe you should hire someone to run your business and get the food out faster. read more

Eh. Noting wrong, wasn't a bad meal but also was not good. I hate to say it but it was bland and boring like something I would expect of one of the chain restaurants. The only way this place separates itself from chili's is it has a better menu. The food is just as bland though. Left feeling let down. read more

Got a really bad stomachache after. Food was not fresh and not good. Also got treated terribly by the staff and waited a long long time

First time here and it was absolutely amazing, from the minute we got sat to the minute we left. Our server was Katie W. And she went above and beyond to make the experience perfect. She recommended food and was on point with the recommendations. The only bad thing was the margarita we had from the bartender prior to sitting. Katie did fix it for us and switched it to a watermelon smash and that was delicious. We will definitely be back. read more

Great food, sat by the water enjoyed fresh air. Had an appetizer of shrimp kabobs and was plenty and awesome for lunch. Salads were very large as well. Jasmine was a great waitress, suggested places to visit in the area. read more

Great food and amazing ginger daiquiri! Kipp Kipp Kipp! He was spot on. Great service! Worth the trip from Lakeland. read more

Very very good food, the lobster bites were delicious, blackened grouper sandwich delicious, service was very good. The only issue is it take the kitchen way to long to get the food out, we waited close to 45 minutes. Love the views read more

I'm so happy we read the reviews and decided to make this our stop for supper! The food was great, service was timely and friendly (thank you, Sibol, you're awesome!) and the view was just gorgeous! My 8 year old daughter said to give "6 out of 5 stars"! Here's her math, "2 stars because the food was so good! 2 stars because we're leaving stuffed. 1 star because of the great view, and 1 star because the server was so nice, and gave me a to-go cup!" read more

Had a delightful lunch with my sister. As always, the food was prepared well and the server was friendly. Our waitress/bartender, Leslie was great fun, enthusiastic about her job. My sister had the crab cake and I had the fish and chips. Also, we can never pass up the Harborside salad. We toasted our good fortune with outstanding pomegranate martinis. See you again s read more

We had a party of 7, our server was Leica- she was excellent!! I got the fried shrimp and fried white fish. The shrimp was great the fried fish was over cooked. The salad and bread where INCREDIBLE! I am giving 5 stars because of the service! Leica did an amazing job and VERY professional! read more

This place is amazing! Always ask for Niki/Nicole! Best waitress/bar tender ever! Great food and great service! We live an hour away and we are coming back tomorrow with our family!! read more

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Our server , Jana was knowledgeable and very professional while making us feel very welcome. Our food was delicious. We will be back very soon. Thank you for your hospitality! read more

Jeff was amazing and was very friendly. Perfect Service! Food is always great and love lunch with a fabulous view. We ordered: Fish Tacos Ahi Salad Bang Bang Shrimp Fried Lobster Tail Crab Cakes read more

I'm so in love with this place. So my father it's visit us for Christmas and I found this rest online everything was great From the front lake view to the raw oysters . Excellent service and the food was so delicious definitely we be back read more

My husband & I were looking for a new place to eat dinner on Thursday (7/13/17) night. We wanted one within a 30 minute drive of our home (in Dundee) & not any of our typical haunts or a chain. So, this place has been in my head for a while, I knew it when it was Gary's Harborside (long ago) & loved it then. It was over 20 years since the last time I visited so we considered it new. First thing I always do is check reviews, I don't base my entire decision on them because I monitor reviews for 23 hotels & know some people just love complaining, especially when they do not get their way, a request is just that, not a guarantee. But, to my delight, the reviews across all 3 main review sites were fantastic. I clicked on the menu & saw items of interest, showed my husband & he quickly said "let's do it". Off we went. We arrived around 6:45pm. As we pulled up, I was amazed at the transformation since my last visit or drive through the area. Beautiful exterior, well manicured grounds, well maintained building, clean little lake beach, plenty of easy parking, wonderful arrival impression. As soon as you walk in, the atmosphere is warm & friendly & everything smells fantastic! We were greeted with phenomenal enthusiasm & promptly seated in a booth by a window (see photo of view), awesome. We were then greeted by our terrific server, Lesli. Poor thing, had to deal with my husband's sometimes awkward (okay, always) humor, and she took it in great stride, always laughing & not fake laughing, unless she's the greatest laugh actress ever (?). She took our drink orders & quickly returned with our water, we didn't want to fill up on beverages, we came to eat. As we looked over the menu, I already had an appetizer in my head from previewing the menu & to my delight, my husband wanted the same one. Sea skins and Lesli told us "great choice, I love those", to my husband's delight. These sea skins are the most unique appetizer either of us has had before (maybe just in a long time), they are potato skins topped with shrimp, crab, bacon, scallions & cheese, magnificent! For our meals, our last dinner out my husband had horrible ribs (at another location, you can see it in my reviews), so he wanted a mulligan on them. Well, let me tell you, he started squealing (exaggeration) with excitement when he was able to pull the ribs apart with zero effort, yay, another big win for Harborside. He said they were awesome too. I ordered one of my faves, snow crab. Now, I'm a weirdo, I don't do many spices (IBS issues & I have the palate of a 6 year old), so I asked for no Old Bay seasoning & Lesli was happy to have them alter it. My snow crab was perfectly steamed & at no point was I frustrated with the meat not pulling out of the shells, in fact, each time I cracked, the meat pulled out in whole pieces with ease. The crab meat was tender & delicious. There was so much meat, I had to ask for additional butter & lemon & of course Lesli was quick to deliver. I'm very diligent when it comes to eating every bite of my snow crab, because well, if you eat crab or pay for anyone who does, you know it's not cheap & I'm not wasting it or taking it home (it will stink up the fridge & 70% of food that enters our fridge, dies there). So, it took me much longer to finish my meal compared to my husband. I forgot to mention how large the portions are here, I doubt anyone leaves anything less than stuffed. With our meals came a delicious house salad which Lesli mixed up table side. I'm a salad snob a lot of the time because most house salads & dressings are gross, not here, their salad was fantastic & the bread too. During our time, I think when I ordered my meal or after we finished our sea skins, Lesli told us about a lunch only menu item, I believe it was a shrimp & lobster quesadilla, well, her description alone, made us both decide we'll definitely return for lunch. When I finished my dinner, my husband was ready for dessert, he's always ready for dessert, he has quite the sweet tooth, especially for chocolate (yep, not me, him). So, upon another terrific recommendation by Lesli, we ordered the Harborside Triple Brownie Sundae (see photo) & holy cow, no need to order two desserts, wow. So, to sum it up, we highly recommend Harborside & Lesli too. What a change & improvement from 20+ years ago. Since I'm the seafood lover of the two of us, I'm so looking forward to our lunch & the shrimp & lobster quesadilla. On a side note, my husband & I both work in hospitality & are generally quite critical of customer service, so when we say Leslie was fantastic, trust us. Also, as the last of our dinner plates were being cleared, the hostess, who may also have been a manager, asked how everything was & she seemed genuine & of course, we sang high praises. She also wished us well as we left, again, very genuine & heartfelt. read more

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Shannon gave us EXCELLENT service, it wasn't until we were cashing out that she told us it was her first day!!!! We couldn't believe it. We were a party of 7 during a busy time and she didn't miss a beat. The food was excellent, the view and atmosphere were great. We live in Vermont but will be back! read more

Such a great restaurant in winter haven. We had a great dinner. Everything we ordered was amazing. Great quality and great service. read more

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Wasnt real thrilled with the scallops. They were just okay and quite over priced in my opinion for portion side to dollar amount. I might try.something different next time.but this first experience with my wife did not shine nor make my list of return visit restaurants read more

Been here a few times over the last 20 years never did a review. Five of us went for lunch today to celebrate a birthday.. It was a beautiful day to sit on the lower level an overlook the lake. Bailyn was our server and she did a great job making sure we always had what we needed. Soon as we sat down a basket of really good bread with whipped butter appeared on the table. Thee Blackened Fish Tacos and Ahi Tuna Salad were very good and the side of sweet potato waffle fries were worth the upcharge. Only the Shrimp & Lobster Quesadilla was the item that wouldn't be ordered again by our group just wasn't much on it. The beer was from a local brewery which is always nice and the red sangria was good. A free dessert was presented to the birthday girl without us even ordering it. read more

The best place for seafood at excellent prices with an exceptional service in Polk County Florida!

The food was excellent and Nicki R. Was a awesome server she was very friendly and detailed on the menu I would definitely recommend her! The shrimp and lobster quesadilla was soooo delicious. The lobster rol was good but I feel they should have used a garlic butter for the bread. It tasted too much like herbs and oregano took away from the lobster flavor, but in all was still good. For sure coming back to try more of the menu! read more

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The place was pretty amazing! The atmosphere was great, the lakeside view was beautiful and the food was delicious!! We got alligator bites and oysters for appetizers and I got stuffed shrimp. The food was perfect. I also got the white sangria, tasted a little watered down to me. The service was a bit slow, but that's expected for a Saturday night. I will def be visiting again!! read more

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We visited Harborside based on Yelp reviews. One word - AMAZING! We had Lobster Bites and Parmesan Baked Oysters to start. Both were good, but the oysters were incredible!! The warm bread served with delicious creamy butter was great as well. Because we started with two appetizers, we decided to split the seafood sampler platter. It was a very generous portion and allowed us to have a variety. Susan (I believe the manager) came by several times to check on us and was extremely helpful. Once she saw our dinner selection, she went to the back and brought us her favorite - key lime dill tartar sauce. The creole remoulade paired beautifully as well. The service was friendly and attentive. Our drinks were never empty. The restaurant itself was beautiful, clean and well thought out. Unfortunately for us, we went late in the evening, so we were not able to enjoy the lake view, but imagine it is gorgeous at sunset. All in all, we agree that this is one of the top restaurants we have dined at and we do not say that lightly. We hope to return one day!! read more

Been three times. Always good food, but only had good service once. ( not a staffing issue when we received poor service)

When a party of eight walks into a busy restaurant on a Friday night without a reservation, you keep your fingers crossed. We were sat within 20 minutes, and we had a great view of the water and patio! That was just the start to a great night. Let's talk about our server Liz and how amazing she was. We are a group that likes to joke around and have fun with the server, and Liz was the perfect server for the situation. If it were allowed, we would have asked her to sit down and join us. A server that can handle our crowd, keep the cocktails full, and keep a genuine smile the whole time -- A++. On to the food - we started with Grouper Cheeks. Everyone was a fan, as this supposed to be the most tender. They were cooked perfectly, and they came out hot! Next was the salad course. I personally love salad, so anytime I get a unique one, I am especially pleased. If you are picky about what comes on your salad - make sure you ask about the ingredients (green olives, onion, cheese, tomatoes, amazing house dressing...and I am probably missing something - like I said before, our cocktails were always full). My fiance and I split steamed shrimp and crab legs - seasoned well and freshly steamed. Everyone else was very happy with their meals - all of good portion and taste. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and make this a dinner stop. Ask for Liz :) read more

Nice place to have dinner with a view. Our server was prompt and the food was good. I recommend the house potato Skins for an appetizer and the hibiscus margarita was delish. Not too sweet. We didn't realize they close at 8:00 on Sunday so we got there just in time. We will go back when we are in the area again. read more

Passing though Winter Haven after a weekend at Disney and heading home to southwest Florida, I relied upon Yelp to find a spot for dinner. Harborside was the pick and we were not disappointed. A scenic spot on the lake, Harborside is a modern facility with ample parking and seating. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and our server Mercedes was top notch. The food was plentiful and included warm, seasoned bread and table side tossed salad. The ahi tuna appetizer was fresh and flavorful but sliced slightly thinner than other restaurants may serve. We will definitely stop again to explore other menu options and I will refer my family that lives in Lakeland to try it as well. read more

Harborside - Tranquil view as we enjoy an early dinner. Fun to watch the boaters and jet skiiers zipping along the lake. - Seafood Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

I'd like to start this off with saying my boyfriend and I do not go out often given the pandemic we are currently in is far from over. So when we do go out it means a lot to us. Our server Bailyn, (idk how to spell her name honestly but you know who I'm referring to.) was extremely knowledgeable about everything we had questions about. She was very attentive even though she had an entire section to wait on, and I never had to want for anything. She had great charisma and pose. It was a pleasure being her guest. NOW THE DRINKS- I sat down and my server immediately noticed us and came to greet us and when she did I ordered "a super spicy Bloody Mary." BOY WAS IT SUPER SPICY. Not only did it come out in a timely manner but I'd say it has to be the best Bloody Mary I've ever had. And the hibiscus margarita was also a hit! Beautiful drinks with great presentation. We had the sea skins, mix match dozen of oysters, and snow crab with Caesar salad and loaded baked potato. The Sea Skins look WAY SMALLER on the menu than they do in person. THEY ARE HUGE. Each come loaded with about 4 piece of shrimp, crab, bacon, cheese, garnished with green onion. It's a literal half of a potato yall. A boat if you want to call it by it's real name. Served with sour cream on the side. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic appetizer. Next, the oysters. Freaking blown away. They were so clean, probably the best oysters I've had in the Winter Haven area also. The Caesar salad was phenomenal, I'm a salad person so this hits big with me. The shaved pieces of cheese, the dressing, the croutons. Fantastic. Finally the crab legs, I hope no one was watching me and my boyfriend devour our 1lb and 1/2 of snow crab. But I would pay someone to find a drop of meat left on those suckers. And to think, we were supposed to eat at Old Man Franks tonight. Haha. Thank you to the staff for your hospitality and hard work during this devastating times we are all enduring. You made tonight a special night for us. No doubt I'll be back and hungrier than before. read more

First time eating lunch here. Our server was Maggie. She was all smiles yet professional. Food was awesome and with Maggie as our server nothing could have been better. Thanks so much for making my birthday lunch one to remember read more

We really enjoyed our first visit to Harborside! Our server Katie W was the best and gave us a fantastic experience. She even went above and beyond by helping my wife who is a big snow crab fan and showed her how to tackle it like an expert! We will definitely be coming back! read more

We went there today for a lunch about 2:00 pm. The parking lot was about 3/4 full which we expected. Going inside they only had a few tables left indoor but we wanted to eat at the lower patio and escorted to a great little table. Our server was Logan and we can't say enough about her.. she was down right wonderful!! Smiles, professional and great with ideas. We did wait about 40 minutes I think but... we did not expect less because the place was packed. But we had our iced tea and Logan checked on us periodically. The food came (mine grouper sandwich with fries) and my husband had fried shrimp with cole slaw. He is picky about his shrimp so if he was pleased then they had to be good! Grouper was $1 off the sandwich today and was real grouper. Logan checked on us periodically still refilling our iced tea etc. Price was fair for what we ordered, views great, service even greater. If you want a "quick bite" I suggest you go to McDonalds or perhaps a less busy restaurant. But we were pleased all the way around!! Gladly going back !! read more

Another great dinner on Friday with my family. Marissa provided us with excellent service. Happy hour beer was cold and tasty. Queens cut prime rib was huge but could have been seasoned a little better ( hence the 4 stars). Salad and chowder were very tasty. 2 for 2 since we've patronized the new place. read more