Fantastic view of a floor to ceiling fish tank as we ate a wonderful meal of bacon wrapped duck poppers, alligator, shrimp and fried chicken. The sides of grilled zucchini and squash were so tasty. Great restaurant with attentive staff. read more

This place is my favorite place in Springfield! Food is great! Place looks amazing and price is very reasonable. Love the aquarium at the bar. Staff is very friendly. read more

Pass on the Sunday brunch. The food resembled what you would get from a bad catering service. The meat was dried out and the other offerings were bland and boring. On a good note, the service was prompt and friendly. read more

Roast duck poppers wrapped in bacon were one of the best things I've ever eaten. Went later on a weeknight, quick, friendly service, nice atmosphere with the stone fireplace and lodge feel. read more

We went for Sunday brunch because we heard some good things and I have never been. Service was good. Food was average. The buffet had limited options. There were no egg whites available, which was disappointing. The dessert bar was fantastic! read more

Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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We arrived on Monday at 1:30 PM. The menu is overpriced, but then we were told about the buffet. 12.00 each and well-worth it. Well-stocked and delicious salad bar, shrimp, catfish, mushroom sauce over pork, cordon bleu pasta, bbq chicken pieces (forktender). Fresh rolls, muffins, butter or honey butter, 2 soups, scones, cherry cobbler, bread pudding with rum sauce, chocolate or strawberry mousse, lemon bars. All professionally attended to by wait staff who were very polite. Would definitely return. read more

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This was a great restaurant to eat at. My waitress Arianna was phenomenal. She offered great service with a positive attitude. I'm already looking forward to my next visit! read more

Very friendly atmosphere. Lunch buffet is awesome and reasonably priced! You can hear the water falls in the background, mingled with some relaxing music makes for a very cool mood! Love this place! read more

Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe - Great atmosphere! - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Made the mistake of stopping here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon while on the way to Branson. My wife, oldest son and I had the buffet and my youngest son ordered a burger off the kids menu. All the food on the buffet was cold. Not just cool, but cold. Cold fried shrimp, cold fried clams, cold fried catfish. Even the "hot rolls" were rock hard and cold. It was absolutely awful. I'm never much of a buffet fan, but this was truly one of the worst experiences possible at one. As for my youngest who ordered a custom burger... while it was warm, it looked like it had been boiled instead of grilled. Horrible texture and one of the most bland, tasteless burgers I can recall. The only nice thing about the experience was the decor. But we will never make the mistake of dining at Hemingway's again. read more

2 little crab cakes $11... Half cup gator bites and 4 shrimp and mashed potatoes for $17.50 would be an awesome place to go if you got what you paid for... Might be a good idea to keep the buffet available. read more

Great place to eat! Been there many times. Always a good selection of delicious foods. Nice variety. Good service.

We ate here and had the buffet. The food was excellent as well as the atmosphere. The buffet was priced fairly. We will be back!!

Located in the original Bass Pro Shop. We ate the buffet, which featured chicken, salmon, and pork entrees, and was well worth the $15. Also had fried clams and shrimp, and a selection of veggies. The buffet is not huge, and the menu is fairly limited. The food ranged from ok (the pork) to outstanding (the chicken and the green beans). Definitely a do again. read more

THE FOOD IS DELIVERED WARM, NOT HOT. THE SERVICE WAS MADDENINGLY SLOW, TO THE POINT OF NOT BEING THERE. I did not get my coffee refilled once, and the prices are higher than they should be for food of questionable quality. I spent well over 40 bucks and walked away hungry from a lunch. You would think that they would at least know how to cook fish. IF I wanted gas station shusi, I would have gone to the gas station. read more

This place was nice and the service was good but stay away from the buffet. Everything was frozen nothing made fresh. Definitely order from the menu. read more

My husband ordered fish and chips. Two of the pieces of fish were overcooked and one was undercooked, nearly raw. I ordered the crab cake sandwich and was hard pressed to find any crab in it. It was more like a fish cake, and overcooked, in fact, burnt. Both dishes came with fries that were of average quality. It was rather pricey for a less than mediocre meal, so we will not be returning. read more

This place sucks. Don't waste your time.Been here twice both times horrible service. Goodluck

This restaurant is upstairs at Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, MO. At first, it doesn't look like anything special -- an average, generic family restaurant with a really great fish aquarium above the bar. But, the seafood is surprisingly good. The scallops and shrimp with lobster sauce over linguine stands out as a favorite. The scallops are soft, spicy, and tasty. read more

This fine dining restaurant has unfortunately - jumped the shark. Five to ten years ago it really felt like a treat. Like many other of Springfield's supposedly more upscale choices, the management has made the mistake of resting on a hard worked for reputation. The people that made that reputation have moved on and been replaced by bean counters. The buffet isn't even as good as a Ryan's or Golden Corral. It is especially bad that during the regular lunch hour, half of the buffet offerings are empty. You take a plate back to your table, thinking they'll have more XYZ in a few minutes, but no, still not replenished. The food was overall very bland. Maybe it is still good at night. Maybe that is when all the real people with food prep experience work. Don't go during the day. Not like it used to be when it was considered exceptional. Now it is below average. read more

This cafe was pretty middle of the road for my experience. Our waitress was super sweet and very polite, but didn't tell us about the buffet, and as our first time there my husband was a little disappointed he found out about it from overhearing a waiter at a different table. For the meals, I ordered the Cobb salad ($14) and he ordered the catfish sandwich with French fries ($14). The wait for food was pretty average. The Cobb salad was mediocre at best, the tomatoes were mushy and bitter, the "fresh" croutons were just super stale bread and HARD, like, I couldn't cut it with a knife. The chicken was okay, the seasoning was fine on some parts and on others it was plainly funky tasting. All in all you could get a better Cobb salad from chick fil a or Cracker Barrel for half the price. As for my husbands meal, he had bones in the fish and says the bread was "weird". Enough that he didn't eat it and used the lettuce instead as a wrap. However, the French fries were on point! He asked for them well done, and they were crispy and seasoned wonderfully. As we left the wonderful waitress gave us some to go drinks and I can't express how sweet she was. Anyway, overall, we most likely wouldn't return and would find another local place. read more

You can tell that the food is frozen and has been their for 6 months. Their is only a limited number of things on the buffet. At least the watermelon was ok. read more

Well... we have been to Hemingways many times and usually enjoy the food and service. We go for date night and bring family members on special occasions. I LOVE the clam chowder and the shrimp and scallops dish is great! Yum! However, if you are having a lovely Saturday afternoon with a friend and decide to head up to the bar for a couple drinks don't expect good service!! Especially if T***tan is working. When she found out we were not there to eat, her attitude changed for the worst. We waited to order, waited for our drinks, attempted to order a second drink but she was no where to be found!! IT WAS NOT BUSY AT ALL! This was so frustrating! She could have easily helped us to a $50 tab. We were there to enjoy ourselves, but the service was so annoying that we bolted out of there! Come on Hemingways... you can do better than this!! You are lucky to be located in Bass Pro. Hire a bartender!! Jeeze!! read more

For the amount of money that I spent the food should have been top notch but it was not, the buffet was mediocre at best and we added crab legs at 20 dollars a pop and they were not fresh or fresh cooked, they were dry and mealy like they had been steamed the day before then warmed back up, never going there again...................... read more

If you love buffet style or seafood or salad or anything you would like to just eat until your heart's content, this is the place. Great food. Wonderful service. read more

I have not been here in many years. It certainly has fallen off its old mark. We were having a family celebration of sorts and met at Hemingway for Sunday Brunch. At one time this would have been an event but no more. The atmosphere is still good and I enjoy the aquarium behind the bar. The service was good for a buffet. The service saves them from a 1 star rating. The food, ahhhh, it used be that you came here for the food now not so much. Save time and money go someplace else. I sampled widely and every dish was cold except the calm chowder which was warm. It is a brunch buffet but the scrambled eggs were out for 15 minutes. REALLY? The bread pudding was a terrible disappointment and once upon a time was almost worth the trip on its own. The Luke warm chicken entree and the slightly warm pork entree both had potential but the lack of temperature destroyed them. I did not bring a thermometer but I am betting everything was in what the Health inspectors call the danger zone between 40 and 140 degrees. Thankfully nobody got sick. Lastly I just have to note that crumbled sausage, and not much of that, in milk IS NOT sausage gravy. I am pretty sure those biscuits were "baked" from a freezer bag based on the gummy texture when eating one. Come on at $16.95 a plate I expect you to get biscuits and gravy right. I have heard that Bass Pro is not running the kitchen anymore but using a sub contractor that maybe true. If so they might ought to get a new food service operator and demand a higher quality of food. Sadly, this once good reataurant in a unique venue has fallen off the list of restaurants to patronize. read more

Finding such a yummy place to eat in the middle of a sporting goods type store was a bit surprising. Thanksgiving feast is really good. However with larger parties you sit on the indoor terrace instead of the nicer restaurant side which was disappointing consiering we were charged the same price. Will be back next year, but will insist on sitting in the restaurant where service is better. read more

I've been in Bass Pro many times and seen this restaurant. Glad I finally tried it out. Great food, atmosphere and service. They have a lunch and dinner buffet. We arrived at 3:00 so we were between buffets. I had the fish and chips. The batter was a little thicker than i would have liked, but the flavor was good. The key lime pie was great, a bit tart, but it was key lime pie after all. read more

Went for Sunday brunch and have to say the selection and presentation was above average. However, the food was just average. The only thing that stands out in my opinion was the waffles with Carmel apple syrup and for the price makes this a resentful choice. As for the service....one does not need to be too skilled for a buffet but our server was personable. read more

Brunch Buffett is good. I'm not sure I've ever eaten off the menu before. Service is excellent and the atmosphere is nice. It's fun to take the kids and then you can explore Bass Pro after eating. read more

This place is not to bad just feels a little crowded since it is in Bass Pro. Overall the food I had was decent and price was fair. Staff was nice and had good customer service as well.Had a nice aquarium to look at behind the bar. read more

Place was great. Had the kale salmon salad per the suggestion of the bartender and it was awesome. Sit at the bar and check out the aquarium! read more

Low cost buffet worth every dime. $12 for lunch buffet, great clams, shrimp, fish. Tartar sauce was awesome, clam chowder was great. Dessert was great, salad bar was fresh and chilled to perfection. The wait for a table was a bit long, but worth it. Next time we hope to sit at the bar to see the huge aquarium behind it. read more

Maybe just a bad night... but service was terrible. We sat at the bar.. to watch the fish in the tank. Food was "ok"... buffet was decent for a buffet... but menu items were poorly presented... thrown on a plate. Taste was fine... not worth the price or hype. Decent for the experience of eating at a Bass Pro.... read more

This used to be the best place in town to eat, they have raise their prices so much it's not even affordable for a billionaire to eat there, all you can eat crab legs on Thursday nights is what I'm really talking about. Their salad bar is so cheap it is worse than Golden corral. They don't even have blue cheese on the salad bar and they use iceberg lettuce with processed ham. read more

This is one of my favorite pubs! I've spent many an hour at the bar watching the fish in the aquarium and looked for the old man and the sea. Each Veterans day a couple of old friends and I true at first light load up and travel to Hemingway's Blue Water Café and arrive as the sun also rises. We sit at the bar and tell stories of to have and have not and look back on those for whom the bell tolls. Just a bunch of veterans that remember and honor a farewell to arms of those we served with, those who came back and even more so those who did not. The staff is nice and friendly, the food good and hot. The buffet is nice but even though it's limited by space it serves tasty offerings. Later when we've feasted and toasted each other and those we have known we part like the torrents of spring among the islands in the stream of life until next Nov 11th. It's a great place, a great bar, and a great meal. read more

Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe - Where many an hour is spent... - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Had dinner here this evening. Ordered the Norwegian Salmon with rice and salad bar. The salad bar and rice were ok. The Salmon, however, was pretty dry and overcooked. The atmosphere and service was five star! I may return my next trip down here, but I will probably stick to their burger menu. read more

Pretty good Sunday brunch buffet. Nice omelet station. Reasonable prices. Nothing spectacular, though. Kids will like the chocolate fountain. read more

I needed to entertain a couple with small kids, so I thought this might be the place. It was a Sunday night, so maybe this is typically a slow time for them. The place was empty, yet it still took forever to get seated. Service was really slow. The food was a mixed bag; nothing stands out as really good or bad- they have these giant onion rings that I would consider the most dramatic thing. I had a bison burger, and it tasted OK, but like a lot of ground beef I encounter, it is hard to get past the smell. I had always pictured this place as an "upscale" atmosphere, but it is a lot more relaxed than I realized. I would definitely give it another try- this time when it's busy, and go with some of the suggestions from other folks here as to what you should order. read more

Got the lunch buffet here. Was pretty disappointed. Oddly enough the best part of the buffet was the salad and the mac&cheese. Most of the fried seafood was over breaded with small pieces of meat. Don't even bother with the fried clams, as they were fried down to nothing. Popcorn shrimp was mediocre but seemed like something I could buy at the freezer section of my local grocery store. The pork was dry. Vegetable melody wasn't too bad. Ordered an alligator appetizer and was very disappointed, it was over breaded and overcooked. Unfortunately most of my experiences with restaurants in Bass Pro shops have been as lacking as this one. read more

Perfectly good food, and the Saturday buffet is excellent. During the week, can't go wrong with the Islamorada fish sandwich. Hits the spot after taking the wilderness museum and aquarium tour. read more