This restaurant is highly recommended when you come to Solomon's Castle. Every time I've been the food has been very comforting and nicely made. Lots of options for a place you wouldn't expect this much to choose from. You can tell owner and long-time manager Alane really cares about this place being successful. Alane is the daughter of Howard Solomon, the creator of the neighboring castle. Many of Howard's family work at the restaurant. The food is good. And the setting is excellent. Inside seating is a large ship built by Howard. There is additional inside seating below the lighthouse that has an artistic tree in the middle. Alane decorates the tree depending on the season. Salads are large with a number of ingredients. The Reuben is tasty and comes with your choice of one side. Crackers brought with the meal are Ritz. Did I say the service is good. Make sure you walk around the restaurant area as there are many decorations, including the risque 'netted' mermaid in the ship. read more

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This is the second part of the Solomons Castle experience. Another structure built by hand - by one man. Not a bad place to eat. Food was good. Service was attentive. I had the BBQ Pork sandwich. Very good. It wasn't very busy the day we went, but we were speaking with the owner (daughter) and it gets pretty busy at times. They have a large patio area, with live music on nights. Check the schedule. read more

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I liked everything about this place. Not often do you come across a restaurant built around nature. The restaurant has two entrances one is thru a ship and the other one by the side of a road. The ship entrance is wow. You have to cross a small bridge. Is like you are stepping back in time to another century He really did a good job constructing it. Inside the ship they have one sitting area and an ATM machine. There is another open sitting area on the other side of the ship. The outside sitting area has this big twisted trees all around. It is actually very beautiful to see. The staff was very friendly. I asked for recommendations and I was told the lasagna really good. I wasn't very hungry so I ordered dessert. Two desserts caught my interest the Ace of Spades Cherry chocolate cake and the Diamond Jack Walnut pie "world famous and out of this world". Both came with ice-cream. The Walnut pie was excellent. I liked it very much. The pie crust was good. It was flaky and butter. It tasted homemade. I agree it was out of this world. It was my favorite thing. The chocolate cake was really good. It had a hint of cherry. I enjoyed it very much. I thought the ice-cream side was the perfect pairing. There are small stores facing the sitting area. The stores have little knick knacks and souvenirs. It is something to check out. I am going to have to come back here again and try that lasagna. It did sound good. read more

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I found this on Yelp looking for a restaurant near my new home. We live a bit out there. When you pull up it is absolutely amazing. The castle, the boat, the gift shop. There's even a lighthouse (that's where we had our lunch) Amazing home style cooking and friendly waitstaff. Definitely a bucket list check off kind of place. read more

The Boat In the Moat - Stained glass in the lighthouse dining area - American Near Me - Ona, Florida

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Overpriced and miniscule portions. I do want to mention our servers were very pleasant. The food: not so much! Several of our party ordered the Taco salad, they was smaller than the average side salad, and not really a true taco salad. Very little lettuce. About a half cup of thin chili poured over it. A smattering of cheese, and two tiny cups of both of chunky taco sauce and sour cream. Others in our party thought their food was lacking also. Our group will probably not be returning. read more

This restaurant is in the back of Soloman's castle. You can eat inside or outside. It's cute that you have to walk thru a ship. Service was great and the menu had plenty of choices. read more

The Boat In the Moat - The light house room. - American Near Me - Ona, Florida

After several tourist attractions on our vacation provided us with concession stands for lunch, we weren't expecting much of a 'real' restaurant after our Solomon's Castle tour. We were pleasantly surprised! I had a chicken salad that was excellent. The meatloaf dinner looked tasty, but from what I heard wasn't quite as fabulous. The atmosphere was as charming as the tour had been, and I was so glad we hadn't hurried away to find somewhere else for lunch. While the tour of the castle was cash only, the restaurant did accept major credit cards. read more

It is really nice that the Boat in the Moat restaurant is out there at Solomon's Castle, because there is not a lot around it or in the area, so if you are making the drive out, there is an automatic choice for lunch. We at first before going into the castle. We were able to seat ourselves and there is plenty of seating to choose from. They had a bigger menu than I expected, but it was all easily made sandwiches, salads, or home style type cooking that could be made easily and good in batch amounts (like in a slow cooker). I got the Turkey Bacon and it was good hoagie and my friend let me try a bite of her Key Lime Pie dessert and it was delicious. Our server was friendly and speedy. This is also where you purchase your tickets and can peruse the gift show. It is gifty things but not really specific to the Castle. read more

We finished the tour, ending in the boat, which greatly enhanced the dining experience, having learned details. Mr. Solomon made the 16th century Spanish galleon about six weeks after open heart surgery. The stained glass is beautiful. The cypress and pine were hand-hewn by him. It is warm inside on a hot day but there is the option for garden seating. We ordered the southwestern chicken salad (large, fresh, artsy with a face looking back at you) and the meatloaf (only "ok" wouldn't order again). The apple oatmeal crisp pie with cinnamon ice cream was luscious. The banana split was beautiful and like the ones of yore at an ice cream shoppe. They had two new servers who were just learning so refills, check quickly served were not happening. The food came out quickly though. Prices are great and the menu is available on line. Mr. Solomon himself was dining when we were there and we enjoyed talking with him. His daughter, Alane runs the restaurant and is also a neat lady. This place is not "elegant" nor "gourmet" but is full of character and whimsy and a nice break from the beaten path. read more

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Surprisingly good casual restaurant at Solomon's castle. Good sandwiches, salads and iced teas. The desserts looked good, but we were too full. Lovely waitstaff. Live music when we visited. NB: Cash only. read more

Friendly service, Green salad with shredded chicken was ok, needed more than one packet of salad dressing and a bigger plate so the ingredients don't keep falling on the table. The walnut pie was excellent read more

The Boat In the Moat - American Near Me - Ona, Florida

Sandwiches were really generous and the spinach casserole was great. Desserts are homemade and enough for 2. Lovely shaded area. Quiet- in part because there's no cell service. Really fast service and nice staff. read more

This is an unusual place in the middle of nowhere that served one of the best deserts I ever had. If you get nothing but the walnut pie it will be worth your trip! Bring cash as they do not except credit cards. That is why I took a star off. read more

Great homemade meals in a friendly and unique atmosphere! The Chicken Pot Pie with spinach casserole was great! The Meatloaf my wife had tasted great! My daughter got a hot dog off of the kids menu and it looked pretty good too! read more

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What a fun experience! This place is definitely worth the trip. The atmosphere is delightful. Enjoying a warm breeze, while sitting under a canopy of trees. The live jazz music playing in the background, who would've expected it! Whitney was our server, she was very informative about the restaurant and it's history. She was warmhearted and full of smiles. Portions are on the larger side so plan accordingly. The boat in the moat is definitely off the beaten track but worth a visit! read more

The Boat In the Moat - American Near Me - Ona, Florida

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Solomon's Castle and restaurant were one of the highlights of being in the area. The restaurant was reasonably priced and a unique experience. Service was good and the food very tasty. For a very different experience in dining...this is the place. Make sure to have plenty of time to walk the grounds, see the castle and out buildings, and dine in the ship or garden. read more

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This is the companion restaurant to Solomon's Castle, a small tourist attraction in the middle of nowhere near Arcadia, FL. We had friends coming from out of town and needed somewhere to go that would take up a few hours, but not half a day, so we decided on Solomon's Castle and lunch at the Boat in the Moat. We were not expecting much from the restaurant, but we were very pleasantly surprised! The restaurant is mainly housed in a real boat set on the swamp, built by resident artist Howard Solomon, and also has some seating outside and in the lighthouse. The menu is small, full of classic American favorites, but as it turns out, all the food is fresh and home-cooked on the premises, not pre-cooked, frozen fare as we were half-expecting. I was wary at the small number of vegetarian selections, but they do have a couple of decent no-meat salads, and I was very happy to find a lunch-sized portion of Spinach Casserole (a half portion of which is also served as a side dish). Again, I wasn't expecting much, but this was packed with FRESH spinach, with a minimal sort of egg binding to hold it together, and a layer of Cheddar cheese on top. Nothing fancy, to be sure, but it was tasty and meat-free, and I ate (and thoroughly enjoyed!) the entire thing. The soft brown-and-serve dinner roll it was served with was nothing special - I'd have preferred a crusty baguette - but I was happy with what I got. My mom had the chicken pot pie and raved about it. She said it was one of the best she'd ever had, including those in specialty chicken restaurants. She took half of it home and said the leftovers were even better. It was packed with vegetables - potatoes, onions, and peas - and looked quite good. The other two members of our party had sandwiches - one was a Reuben which looked great, can't remember what the other one was - and homemade chili, and both raved about them. They also had to take home half their sandwiches because the portions were so large. The lemonade was homemade, and fresh lemons were served with the hot tea. The pies and desserts looked delicious, but by that point we were just too full to eat any more. For a lunch-only, captive-audience restaurant where most everything is under $10, we couldn't have been happier. The servers were friendly, helpful and know their menu, and the atmosphere in the boat was warm and charming. I heartily recommend the place, and would happily go here again if we are ever in the area - as long as they still have that spinach casserole!! The menu can be viewed at: http://www.solomonscastle.org/menu.html read more

Food is mediocre. Close you eyes and imagine if a tray of hospital food had a baby with your lunch tray from summer camp ....pack a picnic & blanket and wander down one of the side trails read more

Food is good! We had barbecued pork sandwich, and Ruben, chili Yum, and lasagna. All of which were very good we ate outside under the trees we had beautiful weather or waitress was so accommodating. I I would recommend this place to everyone to try at least once. read more

Wonderful visit! Arrived at Solomon's Castle about 1pm on a Tuesday. There was an hour wait for the tour, which was great because we were hungry. We walked over to the Boat in the Moat restaurant. Beautiful outside seating. Inside is also available. We split the Lasagna plate hoping to leave room for the homemade desert but after lasagna we were full. Browsed the gift shop, unique items. Time for the tour. Absolutely intriguing! So many unusual things to see! We loved it. Tour ended after about 40 minutes back at the restaurant. Just in time for dessert. We sat closer to the solo entertainer this time and split a Walnut Pie. Delicious! It's 4pm now and we're headed home but the visit was more than we expected and very relaxing. Highly recommended! read more

We chose to eat in the air conditioned lighthouse. I had the best meatloaf I've ever eaten with spinach casserole and home fries and apple crisp for desert. Friendly service. When paying, I complemented the meat loaf and was told the secret ingredient! read more