I eat here frequently since it's in my hood. The weird thing is though that I don't like seafood! I recommend the fried Northwest Grille pork chops, the cheeseburger, and the fried chicken salad. They do monthly drink specials - currently there's a wild berry martini and a whiskey summer smash, and they were both good. Zari is a very good bartender, and Wendy is the best server here. The decor is quite pleasing. It reminds me a lot of the seafood restaurant my mom worked at in Cedar Key when I was a kid. Also, they have a dessert tray!, which is a fun touch. read more

4.5 stars for this chef-owned restaurant. I have eaten here 5x since it opened in 1996-- my first visit was in 2002. I was never impressed w/ the food quality, especially for the price...UNTIL NOW! With a little arm twisting, I agreed to try it again after hearing how this restaurant has gotten consistently better. AND IT HAS! Open seven days a week, Northwest Grille offers a full bar, EXTENSIVE menus, reservations, catering, & a private room that can be reserved. Our three entrees were EXCELLENT. The $15.99 daily Value Menu is IMPRESSIVE. Just L*00*K @ my Catfish dinner w/ Coleslaw & one side (Cheese Grits). Everything was AMAZING in taste & quantity! The Shrimp w/ NY Steak was also DELICIOUS (large, lightly breaded succulent shrimp), as was the lightly breaded Oysters--- SEE PICS! Even the Slaw was SUPERB-- fresh, not dry, but not drowning in dressing. My companion loved the Collards, but they were a "no" for me (only because I'm not a fan of a smokey flavor). The restaurant was clean & service was spot on. Our 25-min wait out front on one of the two long benches had been comfortable; w/ no beeper, a staffer had walked outside to tell us our table was ready. The Dinner Menu offers a wide variety of seafood-- absent Whole Bellied Clams (which I'd sell my soul for:) There are 17 APPETIZERS on the menu, including stuffed mushrooms, smoked fish dip, conch fritters, crabmeat fondue, ahi, mussels, & gator tail; 8 SALADS which include shrimp Ceasar, chicken walnut, & peppercorn steak. SOUPS are offered-- there's New England Clam Chowder & a Soup of the Day. There are 12 VALUE MEALS @ $15.99 each. Some standouts are trout, catfish, pork chops, steak & shrimp, bay scallops, farm burger, & butterfly shrimp-- each is accompanied by coleslaw & one other side. Approximately 41 Dinner ENTREES are offered, which include full meals as well as pastas & sandwiches. The following caught my hungry eyes: vegan pasta, garlic shrimp pasta, seafood linguine, vegan & grass-fed burgers, grouper, chicken caprini, filet mignon, lobster tail, snow crab, Alaskan king crab (when available), yellowfin tuna, crab cakes, & salmon. (The fish are available baked, blackened, & fried.) Grits, brocolli, garlic smashed potatoes, ceasar salad, collard greens & sweet potato are just six of the 11 SIDES. The dessert menu is not posted online, but dessert is available! There's also a BRUNCH MENU on Saturday & Sunday (10 AM to 3 PM)-- 15 entrees (including vegan & vegetarian). Additionally, there's a LUNCH MENU Monday thru Friday (11 AM till 4 PM) that offers 51 foods that run the gamut. There's also a SPECIALS MENU, which includes a DAILY DRINK SPECIAL: Bloody Mary, margaritas, martinis, wines, & craft beers. W*0*W--- HUGE menus, HUGE servings, FULL bar, FAIR pricing, & GREAT service. What's not to like??? I won't hesitate to stop in on another trip to my old stomping ground. read more

See all

I sent my salmon back twice and both times it came back undercooked. Then they asked if I wanted some thing else and I switch to a medium cooked steak. That came in a big puddle of bloody juice and was completely rare. At that point I gave up. We also did not enjoy dining with multiple flies on the wall literally. This was a Gainesville favorite for me. I live close by so for this neighborhood favorite to go downhill is such a disappointment. We were celebrating a birthday and the kitchen staff kind of killed the vibe. Our waitress was nice and for that I gave two stars. read more

I moved to Florida a little over a year ago. I lived in New Orleans and I KNOW my cuisine. I've been here 5 times and ironically I am always seated in booth 5 and Tammy has been my server 5 times. All crazy aside! I ordered their Shrimp Skillet this morning. Holy WOW! their food has never disappointed me but today was overwhelmingly wonderful. Thanks Tammy for the recommendation and you have consistently recommended their best. YUM!!!! read more

Driving through Gainsville and headed back home to GA looking for fresh seafood, Northwest Grille did not disappoint. Happy the Yelp reviewers didn't get it wrong. From the hosts, one gentleman named Ralph, to our server Molly we received exceptional service. Us previous industry folks I think are a bit higher expectations than others. Hands down would recommend this place in taste, time from ordering to receiving food, options to choose from and of course service to anyone! read more

The Food was Delish! Very friendly staff and also very Kind. I left my Credit card on the bar and the manager went out of his way to mail it to me as we live 3 hours away. Top Notch food and HONEST people. Very Refreshing in these days and times. Dory read more

Very nice of the restaurant. Food is good and give you plenty to eat. I like the atmosphere too! Highly recommend!

Northwest grill has some of the best seafood and steaks at affordable prices in the city of Gainesville. Their bar staff and waiters and waitresses are absolutely amazing at their jobs and quick with their service. The experience is a fine dining experience with the price of a casual dining service. Their chefs are very creative and come up with amazing specials! I would suggest Northwest grill anytime. read more

Food is fantastic! Not terribly expensive. Seafood chowder is to die for! Service is excellent.

Started with hot fresh bread, followed by some amazing alligator bites no after taste one of the best ones yet and I order them a lot. They kept my soda full. And the entrees where fresh and the sides as well. The staff is always friendly. Was full but still ordered some to go for later and the kids. read more

See all

Met my daughter for dinner on a busy Friday night, had a 20 min wait but then once we were seated our service was fast:) The food was amazing! I ordered the grilled pork chop dinner with a side salad (in house blue cheese dressing!) and perfectly cooked wihh the a loaded baked potato, my daughter had the St Augustine Shrimp dinner side of smashed garlic potatoes and side Caesar salad, my husband had the pick 2 seafood combo and 100% everything was on point! Sorry no pictures I forgot... read more

Our party, 3 adults and 2 toddlers, were sat down right away. They had high chairs and kids menus with crayons for the littles. Food was great and not too expensive! The waiter was very nice and kept our waters full. read more

Good food and good service. The wait can be quite lengthy on the weekends or holidays. I would recommend calling ahead to prevent this from being an issues. Other than that this place has pretty good classic food. Nothing stood out as exceptional, but nothing was terrible. It was average. read more

Only place to go for authentic seafood. Never ever disappointed; always assured meals and service is consistent and guaranteed. Be sure to call ahead if you really want to enjoy a delicious meal and outstanding service. read more

Very disappointed in our meals and service on 07/26/21. NWG has always been one of our favorite restaurants, but we were let down this time. Was our son's birthday and his favorite meal is the drunken grouper, so we ordered take-out. Just not comfortable with inside eating yet. Meals were just ok. Our son's grouper was good, which was important. My wife's shrimp were way over done. My steak, with shrimp, were both over done. Their 2 meals were missing coleslaw as the second requested sides. One of our favorites- the garlic smashed potatoes were just smashed, with little evidence of their usual goodness that made them a favorite. Take out service was atrocious. Went to the side "take out" door on the porch and waited 5 minutes or so and had no staff come over, even though I saw wait staff acknowledge me through the window. I called "hello" with no response. Asked the other person waiting and she nodded that she had been there awhile before I walked in. I went out and went in the front door and asked the hostess if anyone was working the take out side and she said she would send someone right over. Went back to the side door and went in and waited another 5 minutes before anyone came out. Young lady took my credit card and we quickly finalized the payment and she handed me our meals which had been sitting there all along. As I turned to leave, I was able to look around the partition, where the young lady went after taking handing me our meals and there were at least 2 staff members on their phones. Maybe the other end of the porch is the staff break room, but staff there did not acknowledge us as we waited. As it is a old favorite, we'll be back, but NWG is off the "must do soon" list for now. read more

Never disappointed here. I took my high school best friends on their annual visit. That's how much I value this restaurant - every meal was terrific with great service. Make this your go to restaurant! read more

The seafood in the freshest in North Central Florida. I know seafood and I can recognize what's fresh. Hands down, this is the best y'all.

Picked up lunch today. The food was ready on time, hot and tasted great! Sometimes you forget about the local places. read more

Yes food was very good I like those home fries mmm. I had chicken sandwich I didn't need a bun cause chicken was huge. We will be back.

Great seafood and the service was even better. Graduation weekend and had a party of 15 and everything was perfect!!!!!

I went for a meal at the Northwest Grille a couple of days ago. This has been a place on my list to try for a long time, since it is a local-esque establishment that has been around for a long time. I had been inside once before, but we walked out after a couple of minutes on the basis that it did not really suit our mood at the time. We had come out of that experience thinking that it was a place that we should try when we are in the right frame of mind for it, but that was simply not the time. This time I actually tried it properly. It was relatively busy, and we had about a fifteen minute wait for a table for six. We were seated near the bar, and while it wasn't too noisy, there was definitely a louder buzz than you would want for a quiet meal. Inside it is pretty dark, caused more by the decor of dark wood and low ceiling than the mid-level lighting. If you look through the pictures you will see the one picture of the interior shows it to be a bit cramped, and though the lighting doesn't look to bad in the picture, realize that picture was taken with a flash. Just pointing it out, is all. We ordered a couple of appetizers, and I tried the gator tail appetizer as well as the conch fritters. Now, I grew up in the Florida Keys, so I know what conch should taste like... frankly I couldn't taste any conch in these fritters... the fried batter is too overpowering. The gator tail was alright, but again you get this distinct feeling with the appetizers that they put a lot of time in cooking food with their deep friers. I really wish I had ordered the mussels, as that would have given me a better feeling for their skills in the kitchen. The main courses were next. I had ordered the all-you-can-eat fish and chips, and I will give them absolute credit here... they pile the fish on to this plate at the beginning! The chips are nicely done, with the proper amount of seasoning to the point where I didn't need to add salt or dip them in catsup. The fish were cooked properly as well, though I feel the batter the fish were cooked in could have used a bit of seasoning. There was enough fish on this one plate that I did not need to ask for a second batch of the all-you-can-eat, and the price was one I was satisfied with even with the single plate. So why just the three stars? Well, the place kind of needs a facelift. Walking in I am reminded of restaurants dating back to the sixties and seventies. The food is fair, but I saw a lot of fried food out there. The menu also (in my opinion) needs to be streamlined a bit. I do plan on returning though. I think I need to go in on my own with the intent to eat something there that is not fried, etc. to test some things out. read more

Dined here on Friday night great service and food first time eating here. Our family ordered the grouper with blue cheese, salmon, fried chicken salad, etc everything was delicious. Also recommend you try their desserts they are so good. read more

We chose Northwest Grill at random, based on our travels so we were first time diners here. We started with the crabmeat fondue. It was hot, full of crabmeat and was amazing on the accompanying loaf of bread. We also tried with the clam chowder., which was creamy and packed with crab. This was definitely house made. Our entree of 12 oz ribeye that was cooked exactly as requested with a nice grill flavor that was not overwhelmed with seasoning. Adding to the great meal was a complimentary loaf of brown bread. We finished with death by chocolate, a truly wonderful chocolate delight. Cold beer and hand crafted margaritas finished the great food. The service was attentive but not overwhelming. The pace of the meal was perfect for a quiet evening. read more

If there was a way to give 0 stars I would! My friend and I both ordered off the combo section of the menu. We both picked salmon (4$ upcharge) and shrimp with a salad. When we got our salmon it literally was RAW in the middle. BOTH OF THEM! So, we waited for the waitress while we ate our other items. After 15 minutes she came by and we showed her, she apologized and went off at which time someone else came and grabbed the salmon. Waited 10 minutes to get the plates back and the salmon was STILL RAW inside. It was maybe "cooked" for a minute or so longer. When we told the man it's still not cooked he literally said "ohh you want it cooked" WTF!?? Yes, we didn't go there for sushi? So after waiting another 20 minutes, yes you read that right, TWENTY minutes they brought our salmon back and it was black/burnt. We were at the point of saying just deduct it from our bill but our waitress was no where to be found. On top of all of this, no "how's your food? Do you need a refill?" Nothing.. crickets.. I honestly don't know how they're in business, and I don't complain.. needless to say, we won't be returning and I highly recommend if you want cooked food you probably have a better chance ordering a fish sandwich at Checkers.. disgusting. read more

We ordered take-out and sat in the parking lot in our campervan to eat it. Maybe because we haven't dined out in over two months or maybe it's just fabulous food, but in any case Northwest Grille gets 5 stars. Shiitake mushrooms with aioli dipping sauce? YUM. Baked grouper stuffed with crabmeat? YUM. Cheese grits? My favorite. Hubby enjoyed a sirloin with sides. This is always a great restaurant choice. read more

I frequent the Grille at least once a week. I've never posted a negative restaurant review before now. I always give a restaurant the opportunity to make things right. Tonight however I'm greatly disappointed. After eating 3 of my blackened Scallops I told the server that they had an "ammonia" aftertaste. I ate 3 because the Blackening flavor hid the aftertaste at first. She was kind and asked if I'd like anything else. I declined. The bill came with my $23 meal included. I asked why an adjustment wasn't made. The bill returned with $7 taken off. Asked to speak to a manager as the meal wasn't acceptable. The Manager came to the table. I explained the problem. He said he'd take care of it. The bill returned with $4 of my subpar meal remaining on the tab. Seriously? I merely expected that the entire Scallop meal be removed without any hassle. read more

A great local spot with great food, great service and great drinks! Staff is friendly and accommodating.

Normally do carry out. The food is normally very good and the order is always accurate. Fairly priced for what you get.

Had a delicious lunch today, my granddaughter had the salmon sandwich and I had the Trout bronzed. Delicious Peanut butter pie . Our second server Josh was very attentive, great diction and anticipated all our needs and prompt tea refills. read more

Great atmosphere. Friendly staff and tasty food. I do recommend Northwest Grille. Love the shrimp

Service was excellent, food, for the $ meh. Ordered crab cake Benedict, the crab cake was about a quarter inch thick and didn't cover the biscuit, didn't come with a side either. Disappointing, Hubs had the big breakfast, poor flavored sausage gravy and not enough, the potatoes were good, can't go wrong with fried potatoes, but they aren't seasoned at all, no onions, just fried potatoes slices. The ambience is old school and nautical mix, they should replace the badly stained ceiling, it's ugly and the vinyl cushions in the booths are cracked. read more

UF graduate luncheon My granddaughter (the graduate) picked this restaurant for family to meet up for her graduation luncheon after the ceremony and she picked a great restaurant. Our waiter Breanne (not sure of spelling) was beyond excellent. Food was delicious, atmosphere was great. We brought in a cake and Breanne was so accommodating. Thank you Northwest Grille!!! read more

This is a spectacular family owned seafood restaurant! By far the best that Gainesville has to offer. Hands down! Hospitality exceeded my expectations! Michelle treated us like family! That's where you go above and beyond all competitive restaurants in the seafood industry. I highly recommend Northwest Grille above all. I ordered the Wild Caught Florida Alligator Tail for my starter. Simply marvelous! I accompanied my my meal with the Stuffed Florida Grouper. Easily the best prepared dish I've had in quite sometime. Definitely a tremendous experience and super happy with everything about NW Grille. 10/10 5 Stars. Thank you for a phenomenal experience. read more

Northwest Grille - Stuffed Florida Grouper With Sweet Potato & Rice Pilaf. Incredible! Highly recommended! - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

I just returned from having a 70th surprise birthday party for my wife we were a party of 14 and the service and the food was outstanding.

A lot of people on Facebook recommended this place for brunch, so we tried it out for someone's bday. It was very disappointing. Everyone in our party felt the food was low-quality, and unappetizing. The quality of preparation and presentation is poor. Some of us had stomach aches the rest of the day. We noticed stains on the ceiling and old garbage in the dividers between tables. Overall, a very negative experience; we won't be back. read more

Ordered delivery. Fried Shrimp platter, Grouper Sandwich, and Fried Flounder Fish with Chips. The main courses were very well prepared and tasty. My complaint is the wrong sides were sent that were not ordered. Ordered home fries and got French fries. Ordered sweet baked potato and received regular baked potato. Asked for cocktail sauce and tartar sauce and received none. Not paying attention to what customer ordered and not checking what goes out for delivery. Recommend eating at restaurant only as our meals were somewhat spoiled without properly Ordered sides and Condiments. read more

The menu is super varied and the food is good here. The feel is casual and relaxed. My family enjoyed eating here and we will be back.

Not very impressed. Arrived after 1pm for a late lunch. Waited about 10 minutes to be seated. They were either short staffed or unprepared. 15 more minutes until server came to our table. I ordered the shrimp po boy with fries. Po boy had just 6 shrimp, but looked like more because of the heavy breading. My son ordered the garlic shrimp pasta. Pasta sauce was quite sweet, very little garlic. Really the only good thing was the crispy fries. Don't think I'll be returning any time soon. read more

I worked near by and decided to try this restaurant. The reviews were very high, unfortunately my experience was okay. I am pescatarian so I eat a lot of seafood, and was excited when I saw this place near by. I ordered the Seafood Chowder and the Stuffed Mushrooms. The chowder was great, very flavorful but my to go container was only filled 2/3 of the way. The stuffed mushrooms were the downfall of this order. They look very appealing but the filling has nothing that is promised in the description. It states that it has scallops and shrimp and cheese, the insides are just cream cheese. That does not justify an 11 dollar price tag on 5 mushrooms without any real filling. Really disappointed but I would still try their other options based on the chowder. read more

Northwest Grille - Seafood Chowder - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

It's been a while since I've eaten here and that was long before Yelp. My fiancé and I stopped in for lunch after Christmas shopping and wow, were we ready for a cold beer! We opted for a local, the First Magnitude 72 Pale Ale, one of our favorites. It was cold and didn't disappoint. Let me add that we had planned to eat at the restaurant behind Northwest Grill (cold beer and a burger) but it wasn't open. So here we were....at a seafood restaurant. I decided to stray off the "seafood at a seafood restaurant" (aka "When in Rome....") philosophy and ordered a grass fed burger with home fries. The burger was cooked almost to order but acceptable (I ordered medium rare and it was medium in the middle and slightly more done at the edges but still okay). The flavor was good and it was served on a ciabatta bun. Okay, so we're doing pretty well so far. Then, screeching halt. The home fries. They looked like yesterday's (or a few days before) leftover baked potato that was sliced and fried. They didn't taste bad but they didn't seem fresh. I was hungry so I ate some but I wish they had been fresher. I love potatoes with the skin and had these been not quite so hard they would have been great. Even better if they had thrown in some onion! So, that's why I'm giving a three. I'm not sure I'll be back anytime soon but next time I will order seafood! read more

Northwest Grille - Grass fed burger with home fries - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida