Lobster Mac and chicken sandwich get a 5 view 5. Service only gets a 1 Felt like they forgot us. Very inattentive Chili came with sandwich rather than in advance after very very long wait Server never asked if we needed anything. Waited forever for check when clearly finished If view of water not nice we would have been upset read more

Food was good. Service was awful. Over 2 hours for a bar meal. Ridiculous! Never again!! I'd rather starve read more

We were at the villages with our friends. They were showing surround different squares, came here during the festival. Decided to try RJs out for dinner. It was very busy at the outside seating, but it was nice sitting by the water. Service was good for as busy as it was. Food was decent not spectacular seafood but not bad. Overall, a good place to eat in the villages at the Square. read more

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The ambience is great, right on the lake. Live music is outside which is nice. The burger was only ok, and the fries were not done. The lobster Mac and cheese, and shepherd's Pie was a hit. The wait staff were friendly, but service was slow! read more

R J Gator'S - View from deck dining - Seafood Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Menu was small. Burger was slightly undercooked but tasted good. Shrimp was tasty. Taco bowl had no bowl had no meat which we thought was odd. Service was good. Place was very clean. read more

I visit friends twice a year and at least once a visit i go here and because of the view on the water. Every time the service is completely brutal . read more

Food is good and reasonably priced. Service sometimes slow. Outside porch is fun and the view good plus music if you're lucky. Ice cream next door doesn't hurt also read more

My wife and me we went there today September 4th, and the attendant leaves us waiting more then 20 minutes, the table behind me had a few people arrived after me and she goes that first and one more time she ignored us, and we leave the place to cross the street and we enjoy the day spent a lot money, big tip for attendant at the Red sauce restaurant. The gators attendant need to be more professional and learn not to discriminate immigrants, money is not problem for us, thank you all! read more

R J Gator'S - Seafood Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Come for the food stay for the service. Faith was our server today and made our entire experience amazing. Service worthy of sharing with friends and neighbors Delicious burger today and enough televisions to satisfy the sports addiction. Ambiance is perfect Thank you RJ Gators read more

Good food, good server, and a reasonable bill. We sat outside and except for some little black flies, it was quite pleasant. There were nine of us and we had a good visit together! Only 4 stars because of the flies, not really their fault! read more

I recently visited Gator Restaurant and unfortunately had a disappointing experience. The service was very poor from the moment we arrived. It took a long time before anyone even acknowledged us, and when we were finally helped, the staff seemed uninterested and inattentive. Our server rarely checked on our table, and we had to wait much longer than expected for both our drinks and food. When the food did arrive, there was little communication or friendliness from the staff. It felt like customer service was not a priority during our visit. A restaurant experience is not just about the food--it's also about how customers are treated. Sadly, the lack of attentiveness and poor service made the visit frustrating. I hope the management takes steps to improve the service so future guests have a better experience read more

We were overcharged for a chicken sandwich. We asked for the perfect burger but with chicken. Instead of explaining we would be charged $3 to substitute chicken PLUS being charged for cheese and bacon, the manager was rude, nasty and condescending. The place is adequate at best but WOW. WE WILL NEVER BE BACK. STAY AWAY. read more

A nice location. Waterfront restaurant very pleasant location, however our server was not very friendly. It border more to rude. We just had some drinks and the mixed drinks were not good at all. read more

We decided to eat outside since it was a nice evening. I believe our server's name was Dana. She was friendly and the sole outside server besides the bartenders. Despite this, Dana moved quickly & did a great job taking beverage & food orders. Our fried mushroom appetizer was brought out promptly and was tasty. However, it took over an hour to get our meals consisting of a black & blue burger with fries & Shepard's pie. The food was ok. The music outside was too loud competing against the square's band & the football playoffs. It became annoying when the music at the restaurant changed to Rap at around 5pm. (?!) Just not my cup of tea. read more

The service was outstanding and our host Brianna was amazing. Food was outstanding. Would definitely recommend any one to enjoy a meal here?

We were in for a lifestyle visit and decided to check out all the town squares, saw this place over looking the lake. We lucked up and found a table outside which was very busy. We didn't have to wait hardly at all for a server and our drinks came out a lot quicker than we expected. They had live entertainment, and it was great! We were staying close to Eastport but made our way back to Lake Sumter just for RJ's three times. Made friends, got a gator card, and bought a house! Love this place! read more

Great place for lunch! This restaurant was recommended by a good friend. Good food, good music and not overly loud read more

From walking in the door until exiting, service food and atmosphere (except for those NE fans) was GREAT. Second time in the area, and find it real hard to "try somewhere else", when you've found "THE BEST" there is no other. Thank you for a great day. Thanks Greg R read more

R J Gator'S - Time/Date - Seafood Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Great atmosphere music, on the water in Lake Sumter the bartenders are very attentive and do a great job even when there's a full house and overwhelmed. Love this place. read more

Took my granddaughters there during their visit with me. They enjoyed their meals and the ambience.

We went to Cody's restaurant in the villages that was a half an hour. we decided to try RJ Gators. when we came in, I said oh my gosh look at all the empty seats. After our dinner, I said well now I know why there were so many NPC I'm from New Jersey and there when they order wings we get a man but here I got these cute little baby wings. They were pretty cute. my wife and two other friends did not enjoy their meal either. So that in mind, I will wait a half hour for Covid and not be returning to this restaurant. read more

I am very surprised by the low rating because the service and food was great. Very responsive with drinks. We offered a lot of naked wings and they were great. Our table was along the wall with beautiful view of the lake with live music playing. Couldn't be any better. read more

Great food and service always welcome and staff is always nice food awesome and fresh

My 1st impression of RJ's is that it strikes me as a typical family oriented tourist type restaurant. They aren't pretending to be anything fancy but offer a fairly comprehensive menu with various burgers, sandwiches, tacos, salads, soups & apps. My wife and I went in with some friends from The Villages for drinks & and app. The drinks were fine and our fried green beans were ok..nothing special, actually what I expected. The atmosphere is comfortable and entertaining. The bartender was friendly and prompt. Although we didn't get anything beyond our app for food, the burgers looked really good coming out of the kitchen. Prices also seem reasonable at RJ's. They had some live music at the outside bar area and he was awesome. The place was busy but not packed. Really not surprised at the range of other Yelp reviews for RJ's: 0 if I could give zero to 5! I'm not saying that the reviews on the low end of the scale were not legit but you also have to look at the good reviews also..trying to maintain a consistent high quality work staff now a days is quite difficult. We had a good experience! read more

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Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed - standard deep fried bar food - nothing out of the ordinary or special.

Waited 25 minutes to be seated( understandable) than 15 minutes before a waitress came to table, placed order for a sandwich to split with hubby, after 30 minutes with no food and not one check back from waitress we left. Very disappointed and watched 3 ladies sit at bar and walk out after not being acknowledged at all read more

First off, when my dad and I entered into the building, we were very warmly greeted by a young lady wearing braces, and she was so friendly and all smiles. I asked her if we can sit outside, and she went to go check to see if there were any clean tables, and there weren't at the time. So, she said it would be about a 5-10 minute wait. I told her it would be fine. After about 5-7 minutes we were alerted our table was ready. This poor girl was swamped with people wanting a seat by the time we approached her, but we waited patiently for her to acknowledge us standing there. She eventually saw us, and quickly went to wipe down our table for us. Such a nice girl. Second, we were seated and were promptly approached by the server (Julio), and he was super friendly as well. We ordered our drinks, and the food came later. We ordered a pick 2, and I got the clam chowder, and 1/2 a quesadilla. My dad ordered the shepherds pie. We both equally loved both of our meals. I couldn't eat the whole thing, but it was absolutely delicious. Lastly, when were leaving, the server spoke to us for awhile about fishing. Every single thing about this place was delightful. The weather was perfect, the girl in the front was friendly and such a hard working girl, and the server was great. I will also mention the cook was great, too! Perfection! read more

Our food was great! We had the Hawaiian skewer and the Havana banana and both were delicious! A generous serving of protein and lots of flavor. Our bartender was very pleasant and we had a peaceful view of the water. Would absolutely come back again! read more

DISAPPOINTED. Fish sandwich and plantains were saturated with liquid butter which overwhelmed taste. Temperature inside was almost as cold as outside. Spoke with manger who was not receptive to comments. There are lots of better choices at Sumter Landing. read more

okay for what it is, iow, it's not pretentious, it's not a Michelin-starred 20-course tasting menu. it's a lot of fried food, burgers, wings and such but the setting is nice by the lake and we had great service. I see a lot of complaints here on Yelp and we heard one guy loudly complaining they had been waiting a long time at the table and no servers showed up, but that wasn't our experience. actually, considering how annoying we probably were to the waiter, he was awesome: friendly, helpful and courteous, even through 2 couples split an entree and not of of the 5 of us ordered a drink. poor guy. I made sure to pay the tab so I could leave a good tip. I knew my guests would have been cheap haha I'd definitely return, and since my mom lives here, I'm back in the Villages a few times a year read more

The food was "okay". A little too much grease for me. Service was too few and far in between......gave use our drink order, took our food order and never saw her until the food came. No check-back to see out the food is. The crazy issue is the water. We tasted the water and it was gross. Bleech flavor. We talk the waitress and she said.......yes, we hear that a lot. WELL THEN FIX IT..........quit serving bad water. read more

We were a party of 6 with a baby having an early dinner around 5pm, dining room was partially empty. Sat at the table and waited to be greeted for well over 10 minutes. By the time the server showed up we all knew what we were going to order, not a good start. Family was excited to have coconut shrimp, 3 in our group ordered it. Food came out and it was not good, coconut shrimp looked like they cooked it in 2 week old oil, almost black in color and beyond crispy. It was a major disappointment. I strongly believe the server couldn't handle her table section, service was lacking. No follow up after meals had been down or even close to early in the meal check ins. No chance to order another round of cocktails after meals were down. Nice view of the lake, wasn't a good experience. Won't be back... read more

The food was so underwhelming! Ugh! Everything tasted a bit off...bang bang shrimp appetizer tasted old...onion straws were tasteless .... Coconut shrimp was good however it was served with Orange Marmalade!!! Yuck! I won't be returning....Our server was very nice though. (Maria I think) Oh! And my son's burger looked so undercooked! read more

I love gators great friends and music . food also good.iIm there eveyr day. TERRIFIC BARTENDERS!!!!!!!!!

It was my first time visiting the Villages and the community vibes. The view was gorgeous from R.J. Gatos's. The food was decent. The onion straws were my favorite item I ordered. The fish was ok, but the sauce was terrific. I didn't care for the rice; it was very wet and bland. Our server was friendly and kept our drinks full. read more

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First time in R J Gator, we were greeted by outside bar, Carly/Lindsay and decided to eat inside. Page seated us. very friendly. Jerry was our waiter and gave us menu and immediately brought our drinks. We were there for CFChampionship game. While Jerry was getting our drinks Carly walked by to make sure we were served. Jerry talked me into a wings carry, they were large and great. I don't understand why they don't have higher rating?? read more

At least once a week, food is amazing, atmosphere is spot on but our favorite, is our server, AK. She is amazing, always has our ice cold drinks ready, water for the pups and it's forever like visiting with a friend! read more

Very slow service waited way to long ordered a hamburger ordered it med came out raw this was the worse visit I have had been there several times always was great just a bad day for them read more

Came for the gator which was recommended by a local. We were not impressed with the food or the restaurant. We got a gator appetizer and it was chewy and not real tasty. In the meantime we ordered our food and drinks. Drinks took a while but eventually showed up. The food on the other hand did not show up. We finally went looking for our waitress only to be told 'someone' had dropped our tray of food and they were re-making everything. We had been waiting 1.5 hours by then! We asked for a manager to see what if anything they were going to do to comp us. They offered us extra strong drinks - um no, not gonna cut it, especially since some of our table weren't even drinking. Then they offered 25% off the meal which we accepted. Anyways - food finally arrived, it was mediocre at best, we didn't get out of there until closing time and we had arrived at 6. Ridiculous. read more

R J Gator'S - No food. Boo. They dropped our food, 1.5 hours later, we're starving. - Seafood Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Stopped in for lunch while cruising around on some golf carts. There was lots of outdoor seating, indoor seating and an indoor and outdoor bar. We were seated quickly and our server was nice. Beers were 2 for 1 and they bring out kids food first which is kind of helpful. I ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich with cheese and bacon, it was good, the chicken wasn't perfect but I enjoyed the sandwich Someone got wings and they enjoyed them, except for the one full of hairs/feathers... The chicken salad was also enjoyed and the person that got the burger don't really enjoy it as it was char grilled over well done. Not a bad place for what it is, cheap beer and okay food. read more

R J Gator'S - Menu - Seafood Near Me - The Villages, Florida