Found this place on yelp and was disappointed. The view was nice but blocked by pontoon boats and boat shelter. Food was ok nothing that makes me want to go back for more. Beer wasn't as cold as it needed to be. I saw this place more like a bar than a restaurant. read more

We came here on a Friday night with a group of 6 and waited an hour to be seated even after we called ahead an hour prior. When we were finally seated, we were accompanied with another couple. Luckily they were a nice old couple. There was live music which made for some great entertain as we watched everyone dance. The food took another hour to arrive which is surprising since it's all just fried food and burgers. The food was very good, but the really long wait time made it not the greatest experience. Recommend if you don't mind spending your entire evening there on a Friday night. read more

Did not enjoy my visit to this establishment. The waiter was to young to care that he got my order wrong. The food was greaser for outside dining. You cannot see the river. Have not been back since then. Sorry. I am sorry because I live here. read more

Absolutely LOVE their fried green beans and the fried shrimp is killer! Haven't tried much else since I can't get enough of these two things. All outside seating is a little ruff sometimes depending on the weather. Great service and great bands play here, like Heirborne! This is one of my favorite haunts! read more

Really great seafood!! We ended up coming back the next night. Would definitely recommend this place! The waitresses were super nice and helpful. Loved the steamed shrimp! We got the grouper platter, the coleslaw was perfect, the kids loved the corn nuggets and gator bites (they had the perfect batter, and you could still taste the gator....yummmm!). We also had a platter with fried shrimp, grouper fingers, and crab cakes, all which were exceptionally good. We can't wait to come back and visit again. The sweet tea was made just like should be in the south!! read more

Love Blue Gator. Favorites are the cheeseburger, fish tacos, and the Ruben sandwich. And the fried green beans with ranch dipping sauce are amazing as are the fries and coleslaw. Beautiful atmosphere on the water and friendly staff read more

The Blue Gator - Seafood Near Me - Dunnellon, Florida

This is best restaurant for miles!! New indoor dining is really nice! Outdoor dining now has a covered area. You can't beat the great food, great service, best location ... right on the Withlacoochee river!! Live entertainment and a karoake night. I love this place and don't miss the fish tacos....they're great!! read more

BEER! Awesome beer selection. They had a couple swamp head brews as well as a few others to choose from which made my day. Our waitress kept them coming and was fully attentive. I got the frog legs and they were picture perfect, I dove in so fast that I didn't even have time to snap a pic. Their fish was crispy and delicious as well. When we were walking out the owner asked how was everything which really shows pride in the business. We will be back regularly. read more

Great laid back place on the Withlacoochee river. Loved the fish taco appetizer! Blue gator drink was very good.

After a day of Kayaking or tubing this the place to go. We had 2 dozen clams and some chowder and had to order a second bowl it was so good. Sangria however is served in a small wine glass so it was gone for me in 5 seconds. So I recommend the spiced Pineapple drink it was yummy. Better if it had slice of Pineapple on side. Staff was friendly and service was quick. Will definitely come back. read more

Very nice spot with great food & service. Parking is an issue but everything else will make that a moot issue. Truly my seafood spot for this area.... read more

This weekend my husband and I stayed at The Gators Den. The room was fabulous, the food and atmosphere was fantastic... but what made our trip absolutely amazing was a staff member named Colby!! Some how I lost my cell phone and wallet while crossing the street across from The Blue Gator. This honest staff member, saw my wallet/phone in the street while driving by... made a u-turn to retrieve it... contacted the last person on the text messages to notify them that he found it and had it safe at the Blue Gator Bar!! At the time, I had no idea I had even lost my phone, and was out on the boat/tubing in Rainbow River. Once I was notified, I quickly returned to the bar and found Colby and his dad working hard outside!! They immediately turned over my phone with everything intact!! I am so impressed with this type of genuine compassion!! Colby is a great employee and I hope he's recognized for being such an outstanding asset to the company!! There definitely should be more Colby"s in the world!! Colby thank you for making what could have felt like a nightmare.... turn into nothing less than a miracle!!! I will highly recommend The Gators Den and The Blue Gator to everyone I know! We will be back soon!! read more

Would give 0 stars if I could one of the single most terrible dining experiences of my life. We understand that you can't control the weather but find our party a seat . The server had no answers but I'll see what I can do, what she could do was say there is some rail seating under the overhang first come first serve seating I'd like you to keep in mind that we were already at a table that they sat us at needless to say we'll be at Swampy's next time. Thanks for a horrible time. read more

Liked the food very much....seafood was great. I had fried grouper basket and my husband had shrimp which we both were great. Irritating part was you eat outside which is nice but the flies are horrible...like nonstop and the parking is ridiculously bad. read more

Enjoyed being in North Central Florida and visiting the restaurant. Mighty good sea scallops and Grouper Sandwich. Very fresh and the beer was very cold. Band was great. Will come back! read more

If you like the smell of rotten fish guts and food with no taste plus the crappiest beer this is the place to go. Service was great but other than that don't waste your time....just go to swampys right down the road. It's 100 times better!! read more

Blue Gator on the deck by the river was a delightful place for lunch. Definitely outdoor fare with plastic knives and forks. The coconut shrimp appetizer was very good. The salad was generous, albeit iceberg lettuce. The best things were a delightful waitress and river views. We might return, just because the location was delightful. By the way there is no signage on the road and the parking lot is broken concrete and very difficult to park. read more

This is not a elaborate restaurant but it is a nice touristy spot for drinks and finger food. Not expensive and live bands. A nice place on the water. It's like a party on a deck everyone is happy and smiling so bring your happy face. read more

The location on the river is awesome! The food was really good. I had crab cakes and a grouper sandwich for lunch. Terrific food! The only knocks were, the service left a little to be desired and all the tables around us the patrons were smoking. I would definitely eat here again. read more

This is an awesome place to eat. The crab cakes are some of the best I have ever had; we also had the fish and chips and shrimp platter, and they were great as well. Everything was very fresh. We will be back! read more

Awesome little dive bar sitting RIGHT ON THE RIVER!! We sat outside, had a beer and a great lunch with very nice portions. Wish it was closer, we'd be there all the time. A definite must try if you're in the area...oh, they also offer boat rentals to explore the Withlacoochee River. read more

Excellent lunch been here before never a disappointment I had a wonderful little fresh salad and some really good frog legs with lots of meat on them stop and enjoy Hotel's been renovated it's nice to read more

Good food and service. Main problem is the flies. Thousands of floors everything we have been here are quite bothersome. Constantly swing them away. read more

We were staying in the Crystal River area, but found the Blue Gator online and decided to give it a go! The restaurant was almost empty, so we enjoyed friendly, fast service. My sister and I shared the steak and shrimp dinner and enjoyed one of the special drinks, Swamp Water! It was very good. After dinner, we decided to go out to the patio area to check out the band we had been hearing. The patio is much bigger than I expected with plenty of seating and an AWESOME live band with a blonde female lead singer. Unfortunately, we didn't get the name of the band but they were very good!! We ordered a drink from the outside bar and sat and enjoyed the ambiance. You could see we were right on the river, but couldn't see much as it was already dark. There was a great breeze and we really enjoyed ourselves. :) Thank you! read more

Delicious food and fun atmosphere! Usually very crowded whenever we decide to go, so orders take a while. We're always satisfied when the food arrives! Try their gator bites and blackened grouper sandwich! read more

RV friendly if you use the boat/trailer parking across the street. Dog friendly. We started with steamed oysters crusted with parmesan & garlic - yum!! Fish tacos were amazing. Fish taco meal came w/four small tacos packed with flavor, 2 hush puppies and cole slaw. Hush puppies were crispy, sweet, and flavorful. Cole slaw seemed to be made in house too. Black & Blue burger was delicious and cooked perfectly. It was a hand made burger patty. Got it with home made chips that were crispy and had just the right amount of seasoning. Kids loved their meals of grilled cheese and chicken strips with their favorite - tater tots! Full bar menu. Staff was super friendly and we would definitely go back! read more

Great place for beer, wings and gator bites. Right on the water and lots of outside seating available

Good foods in a small town with great staff!

Decent food with deck overlooking the river. Fun, laid back environment. Air-boat tours on site. We will definitely return!

A fun restaurant with tasty food and a good atmosphere if you sit outside. During our last visit, they had an entertaining two-piece band playing old-time mostly southern rock-n-roll. It added to the overall experience especially alongside a refreshing cocktail. I love sharing the gator bites before a meal. And enjoyed the various seafood dishes including the fish tacos. I also had a taste of their Cuban sandwich. It's excellent as well. read more

We stopped in here hoping to get some decent food and drinks without feeling like we had to shush our kids the whole time. It ended up being awesome! We were a party of 15 - 6 adults 9 kids and we were starving. Our server was amazing, drinks were good, and food was delicious. Everyone ate with no complaints (think: 9 kids). Blackened shrimp, gator, and hush puppies are a must have. We will be back! read more

Upon my second visit, we went right after opening and before the rush. The service was great, the food was great, and the atmosphere was great. Honestly, this place is good if you go at the right time. Would not recommend going when there's a football game on. read more

Love this place. Have dined here many times. Don't come expecting fine dining and gourmet food. Instead come here for awesome peel-n-eat shrimp and good cold beer in an incredible atmosphere right on the water. This is bar food at its yummy best served right on the water. They have good live music frequently too. read more

The view is incredible and some of the best scenery around! Gator bits, chicken wings and damn good Florida brews, a hell of a place!!!!

We came here with our family visiting the Rainbow Springs. This place is very busy and the staff was decently nice. The food was prices very nice for fresh fish and seafood. They were very busy but food still came out pretty quick. My fiancé had the Crab Cakes and oh em gee sooooo good. Tons of lump crab meat and nice and crunchy on the outside. I had the blackened grouper sandwich which was also very delicious and a good sized serving of grouper for just $13.99. My daughter fried shrimp were very good as well, she is picky but was a happy camper. My *only* thing that Kat this from being a 5 Star review was the French Fries. They were soggy and cold. I mean super soggy. All of our meals came with French fries except my daughter who opted for apple sauce. I was going to ask if my fiancé and I could get a different order of fries but they were so busy it was pointless to ask. But all in all the food was very good and the prices were very reasonable! read more

Service was terrible, food was ok. My wife's fish was cool. Took over 45 minutes for food to arrive. When asked waitress about long wsit for food she said it usually takes 60 minutes. Another couple left before the food they ordered arrived. Nice setting overlooking river, but will not be coming back. read more

We were here to explore rainbow river and we found this place and decided to try it. It was very good, my husband had the chili which he really enjoyed. I had the grouper sandwich it was delicious and filling, my son had the crab cake dinner, he also liked it very much. It's on the river you can rent boats from this location as well. If your visiting the area this is a good place to eat. read more

What can I say. One of my favorite places to eat at in Dunnellon. The food is great, the service is great with a nice view. Everything from burgers to gator and lots of food in between. They have a dock where you can tie up your boat or canoe and seating outside under umbrellas and outside open sky waterside. The no inside seating is a drawback in bad weather, but hey it's Florida and that'll change in thirty minutes. Parking can get tight so come early if you drive. read more

Wait staff attentive, alligator bites real good , clam chowder tasty, ate outside, few flies but that's to be expected

Appetizers are almost complete meals. Blue Gator does not skimp for the prices they charge. Worth every penny. I have tried almost every dish they make. Excellent across the Board. Downside is crappy parking. there is parking across the street and the Blue Gator employees will come and get you so that you and your family get across the street safely. If your rolling through town this is the place the try out. read more