Probably the worst service I have ever experienced. First we were served old, discolored white wine. The waitress was extremely upset when one of the members of my party sent it back. It was probably two plus days old. Sauvignon blanc should never be dark yellow. Then we had to wait over an hour for a subpar lunch. This place needs to be out of business. Don't go here. read more

Fellow Yelpers, 2.5 stars The absolute best thing about the Swamp is the location. Literally directly across from the university of Florida. After that nothing really does it for me here. The service was friendly and the atmosphere was nice. The food was so basic although I really enjoyed the broccoli bites. But not even close worth $9.00 for 6 small bites. The swamp serves Pepsi products unfortunately. UNFORTUNATELY, the prices are really left everyone feeling a bit ripped off. It's like they try to suck every penny out of you. For cheap basic not great bar food. It's ridiculously high. High enough for I would never go back. Overall everyone pretty much thought there food was bland and wasn't happy with the overall prices. Would I recommend the swamp? I wouldn't be a regular customer that's for sure. But if your in the area for the game or whatnot I'd grab a drink maybe. But that's it. Unroll a better option comes along. read more

The Swamp Restaurant - Broccoli bites - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

Warning! Warning! Tourist Trap! "...but it's so cute outside." Save yourself. This place has a great location Midtown and with a name like "the Swamp" it is bound to attract some people. Servers are really nice but easily overwhelmed. Beer selection is lack-luster, and servers don't know an IPA from a Porter. Their food tastes precooked. Scratch that. Its definitely precooked. I had the fish tacos due to the outstanding reviews. It had no taste. My rice was minute rice. I ate the beans, but that is just because I am from south of the border. Not worth the $13. My friend has the salmon sandwich which was "fishy." A tall tale sign they don't turn their fish very often. Gross. Never again. read more

Other college towns have real "institution" restaurants, we get stuck with The Swamp. I don't care how much Gator football bric-a-brac they have or how pretty they think their waitresses are, at best this is a pale imitation of what a good college sports bar/restaurant ought to be. Overpriced, bland, unimaginative food, poor service, and even the drink specials aren't that special. As others have noted, they get by on their location and the fact some Gator fans will dumbly gravitate to anything orange and blue, no matter how poorly-done it is. I am not one of those fans though. read more

This is a Gainesville game day institution! Translation: They stopped trying years ago. Let's face it, the place gets by on beer sales and location. The food is meh. Oh, and here's my favorite feature: The Game Day special menu. ----Here's what I imagine on this issue---- Owner to Manager: "Here's the concept - we offer fewer items and jack up the prices to make it way easier on Swamp employees to increase profit margins on drunks who don't give a crap about the food anyway! Woohoo! Awesome idea!" *sigh* The sweet potato fries are good. The burgers average. There is nothing really terrible about the place - the main selling point is the real estate. Brilliant example of their customer commitment: No pickles in the kitchen. What's that you say? When pressed on adding pickle to the over priced Swamp Cuban, OR for pickle to go with my burger - I was informed that they simply do not keep pickles in the onsite kitchen. The cubans are "made across the street" and the owner doesn't seem to like the idea of actually providing a basic condiment to customers. Me: "So how about you send someone across the street to get me some" Apathetic College Twit: *blank stare* *nervous laugh* "Um... let me ask the manager" *runs off, never to return until the check was presented* Yeah, way to take it to the next level of "we really don't give a crap what you want, this is what we offer" And what they offer is mostly fried food service dreck. Great for drunks, not so great for anyone that wants a good meal. Ya know, now that I have written this whole review out, I'm gonna have to drop them from 2 stars to one. That pickle thing really frosts my shorts. read more

This review is specifically for those families visiting the campus for a tour...it might be tempting, but DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY HERE. I guess if it is game day, this place must be hopping considering the location and all of the memorabilia...alumni probably also enjoy a visit when back on campus. But for those visiting the campus for the day (like I was with my son yesterday), it was an expensive mistake which took away from our desire to come back to evaluate the school any further. Our waitress was probably the most inattentive one we've ever experienced....ever. Our sodas were in these glasses that were maybe 10 ounces (they're probably bigger, but they are the smallest we've ever seen). She unfortunately never came back to check on them (or us) until I begged for the bill. The food, which took forever to come out was a disaster. I won't go into details, but for what we paid they should really be embarrassed. It's a shame...before our visit I read some reviews and tried to find a place that would help create a nice Gator experience. Pass on this one. read more

Bad food, crowds, incompetent managers. They charge covers off and on throughout the day with no rhyme or reason. Imagine paying $5 to come in and buy their overpriced food and drinks and 10 minutes later the staff out front leaves and lets anyone in for free. The female servers wear spandex booty shorts which grosses me out- just the thought of running food to people in 100 degree weather with the butt sweat is too much. Plus it is demeaning to young college women who are working here to put them in these sexist outfits. They had open seating so we seated ourselves to a dirty table filled with dishes. We had to ask for menus and after receiving food we had no silverware. I mean c'mon, this is restaurants 101. The food was not prepared as we requested and fries looked like they had been scraped from the bottom of the fryer. I know what you're thinking- hey, what do you expect on game day? I expect better for spending $50 here than I got for spending $12 at Chick-fil-A with the same game day crowd. This place benefits from being across the street from campus and the ambience if being in a cute house with a big front patio but the crowds here aren't as big as they were 5 years ago. It used to be you couldn't get a table without waiting and we walked right in and got a (albeit filthy) table. I can only hope something new replaces it soon. read more

During my last visit, my friends and I had terrible service. The excuse our waitress gave us: "I have other tables." ...really? You mean you don't just have one table? You're a server at restaurant and you have multiple tables? Wow... I don't come here often, but at least once a semester my friends will inevitably end up here. I'm going to try my hardest to resist next time.... read more

First day in Gainesville as a resident and I was with my dad looking for a place for dinner. We had walked around UF a bit as that's where I will be working and then crossed the street to get some dinner. What drew was to The Swamp was the giant outdoor patio and the fact that it was right by campus. Usually restaurants by schools are really good. We sat down and it took forever for a waitress to come over and serve us. The menu did not include a beer menu which was odd. I had the Swamp juice and my dad a bud light. The Swamp juice was not very good and kinda just tasted like coconut. We ordered nachos with pork. Okay at best. You get a lot of chips and some toppings. The pork was not that great. The nachos don't have nacho cheese on them FYI. We both ordered fish and chips. The amount of chips was great, but you only got one piece of fish. Not worth how expensive it is. I am not sure if this is a hit or miss place but from the other reviews I thought I would try it out. I hope I have better luck next time! read more

Sorry yal, I know the Swamp has been around forever but this place is meeehh. Yea, it's historic, sits on a great location, and gets packed all the time, but walk inside guys and gals and you'll realize, people come here to drink and nothing else. The food here is standard or mediocre, so don't have high expectations, maybe you'll have a more pleasant experience if you do. We ordered the conch fritters and I didn't realize I ordered fried dough with 2 pieces of conch. You'd think you can't go wrong with chicken wings, but the wings were dry! wth? Not all was bad, my friends ordered the Nacho grande and it was a huge platter of nachos and looked good enough, even though there wasn't enough topping for the amount of chips they got. However, the waitress was nice enough to get them some more. Come here for the experience if you're a freshmen or a visitor to town, but don't let this define your dining experience in G-ville. There's plenty of tasty local eateries. read more

Great ambiance but the food is marginal. Servers work very hard. Burgers came dry even though they were advertised as loaded. Gator bites were ok, the sauce was not great. read more

The Swamp Restaurant - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

The service can be a little slow, but the food is amazing. I've only had one bad meal there, and it was because the chili was too salty. Some of my favorite picks are: Salmon Club (huge hunk of well-cooked salmon) Argentine Steak Sandwich (if you want to treat yourself, it's very filling and hearty) Macho Nachos (could be a meal in itself) You get a big helping of fries or sweet potato fries if you choose them as a side. The Gator tacos are good, but the serving is small. I got them to try gator for the first time, but I didn't find it to be anything special. Might as well have gotten the fish tacos or the chicken tender burger if I wanted to eat something with breading. read more

I used to go to college at UF, so I came back for some nostalgia. I remembered this place being one of the best places to hang out, especially on game days. The restaurant itself is really cute-its in a large old home with porch and plenty of outdoor seating, right across from the stadium. It was fun just to be back and sit outside. There was no music outside, but we did get to hear some hilariously stupid conversations around us from the day drinkers that involved a lot of "duuuude" and "Brooo". The food was ok- I never remembered it being great to begin with...so I wasn't surprised. Beer selection was decent. I ordered the BBQ pork Hawaiian tacos and they were actually pretty good- juicy and good flavor. My fiance got the gator tacos- they left something to be desired. The appetizer also was just average- fried sprouts. They were doused in a clumsy green chilie....and none of the flavors really went together. Bottom line: go for the ambiance and get drunk but don't expect much from the food. read more

I'm continually shocked by how popular the Swamp Restaurant is. It can't be on account of the quality or price of the food: rarely is there better example of overpriced food. It's not bad food by any stretch, just uninspired and unimpressive and not worth the price. Nor can it be due to the promptness of service: prepare to wait for the wait-staff. Nor can it be due to the occasional live music consisting of covers of popular rock songs. I suspect that much of the restaurant's appeal stems from the buxom waitresses, the relatively inexpensive beer, the pleasant inside and outside ambiance, the large television (good for watching the game), and certainly its proximity to campus. The Swamp might be good for enjoying the game, the beer, and the eye-candy with friends, but I personally find it not worth the price of an entree. read more

Last call 130am on Saturday night / Halloween, ordered a pitcher, bouncer "get the f*** out" at 1:45am. No acting out by anyone in the bar. I don't care if you give us zero on Yelp. Ok! . read more

Decided to have dinner here with some friends, since most of the students are gone and the patio wasn't crowded. The service was decidedly improved from previous visits, but that could have been from the place not being packed. I had the pork quesadilla with sweet potato fries. The pork was tender, but a little greasy. Apparently a quesadilla means two slices of a standard sized quesadilla (smallest I've ever had); it was supposed to come with pineapple salsa, which apparently is just 2 chunks of pineapple (not exaggerating). The sweet potato fries are pretty good, but they don't offer a dipping sauce with it, and we had to request one. I also had one of their specialty drinks, which supposedly had 2-3 shots of alcohol in it, but I barely felt anything after drinking it. The drink itself was tasty. Meh. read more

I'm a student at the University, so I've been to the Swamp on numerous occasions. There are definitely pros and cons so I'll cover them both. The restaurant is right across the street from campus and has a great casual, college atmosphere. Parking is tricky, there is no designated lot so you have to find a spot on the streets or park on campus and walk. I've never had a problem with the service, even when it's been packed or I've been with a big group. The waitresses are college girls who work very hard and are very friendly. The food is where things can certainly vary. It really depends on what you order. Sometimes the portions are small (the quesadillas) and sometimes the taste is less than stellar. Things I can recommend are the sandwiches and the sweet potato fries. Delectable. All in all a decent, pretty inexpensive restaurant. After hours it turns into a place to drink and that's really its strong suit. read more

The Swamp Restaurant is one of those local staples that is always packed on game days and can get very undergrad-y. Be forewarned that after hours on most nights this place turns into more of bar and is filled to the rim with people. Part of Swamp's allure is its location to campus and generic menu that invites all kinds of preferences. I went to Swamp for lunch with some colleagues around 11:45am on a Friday. It was not busy at all and we were seated right away. Other times I have been here the service has been a hit or miss, this day it was a little miss since we were the only ones seated upstairs and we couldn't find our server anywhere when we ran out of drinks. I ordered the freshman 15 burger with sweet potato waffle fries. The burger was good and cooked the way I like it, medium rare. HOWEVER, the real start of the plate was the sweet potato waffle fries. They were really good, crispy, and paired well with honey mustard sauce. The overall meal was really good. I wish there were half ratings because I would give Swamp a 3.5. I'm not a picky eater and find most of their food average to good, but their service can be a little finicky and this place can be really unappealing depending on the time, day, and crowd. read more

The Swamp Restaurant - Freshman 15 with sweet potato waffle fries - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Synonymous with Gainesville and the Gator games in the fall. The food is fine,(mediocre to good) but really do you come here for the food? No, you come here to get absolutely trashed during football games. Back when I was in school here you could run across the street during halftime and down a shot (or two, depending on how good you were) and run back to your seat before the second half started with a fresh buzz on. The best memories of this restaurant however were the Wednesday nights when Ken&Andrew would play an acoustic set - these boys were part of a band called Sister Hazel that ended up doing quite well in the music biz. Ahhhh, sitting on the porch downing Morgan/Cokes listening to top-notch sounds on a hot summer night when you knew you had class at 9AM the next morning is the true college experience. If you are in town for a game this is a definite must-stop by and do a shot (or two, for me) read more

I can't bash this place: I should, but I can't. It is a fine, collegiate institution. Certain institutions are set up to be proving grounds. This is one such place. Really, it caters to a crowd that is not my scene and so fine, I'll let it be. As an alumnus, I admit, I'll stop in now and then, but it's still there to be avoided. I am being fair to give it a three. If you are visiting Gainesville, and have never been before, you can't go wrong visiting the Swamp; value judgments aside, it is a fine institution, for those within the institution. For anyone else, it tends to get a bit boring going to places like this. read more

I was born and raised in Gville so I've been here many times. Honestly, it's a quick beer grab before the game for me and stops there. They are usually pretty busy and loud so on a nice night I'd sit outside if that's an option. The food has always been mediocre at best to me. We popped in last night because it was dead (spring break) and wanted to grab a beer before the basketball game (GO GATORS!!!). The entire restaurant inside and out was 1/2 full, they had plenty of wait staff and bartenders but the service was still ridiculously slow! To the point of we missed tip off trying to pay our bill (which annoyed me quite a bit). Oh and I suggest if you're going for a quick beer or 2 that you get it by the bottle if you can. If it is the hour of day that you get a glass instead of plastic they never seem to rinse the glasses well so your Stella has a hint of Dawn dish soap taste to it... read more

The Swamp Restaurant - Thank goodness they have this sign at the door so pregnant women will know not to drink... - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

This place is definitely one where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. What do I mean by that? Well, the food is fine but nothing special, the drinks aren't cheap compared to the other bars/restaurants in Midtown (although some of the specials are pretty good), and there is almost always a wait to get in. But still, something about this place kept me coming back for more. Maybe it was the awesome location right across from UF, maybe it was sitting out on the front lawn people watching, maybe it was the atmosphere on gamedays, the craziness of Monday nights, all the UF and Gator memorabilia all over the place (unfortunately I think the Teddy Dupay jersey is gone now), or maybe its just the fact that there's not too many places I can order ahi tuna and wash it down with a pitcher of Natty Lite while watching drunk sorority girls check things like "make out with a stranger" off their birthday signs. The bottom line is this: The Swamp is a UF and Gainesville institution and definitely worth going to, especially if you can get in during a football weekend. read more

My family and I went to the swamp to have a few beers before the game today. It was our first time in Gainesville (we are from Tennessee), so we weren't expecting a warm welcome, but the bartenders and wait staff were very rude. Wouldn't even serve us drinks and ignored us at the bar. It took a Florida fan ordering us drinks to get a beer. Would never come back here. read more

Maybe it was because it was pouring rain and being inside of a port-a-potty would have been preferable to being outside. Maybe it was because I was on a hilarious date... But despite being a native of Tallahassee and a die-hard 'Nole, feeling as if I was cheating on my Alma Mater dining at an enemy establishment, I had so much fun at this place! First of all, any time it is raining they have $1 beer specials (that day it was Rolling Rock, I'm not sure if that changes) and $2 something-liquor-drinks. I can't remember what it was but I want to say some sort of a shooter. That in and of itself makes me love that place because let's face it.. when is it NOT raining in Florida during the summer? Lesbihonest. Chicken quesadilla was mediocre but whatever, it's bar food, I don't expect 5 star cuisine from a bar. I got exactly what I would expect. Would go back again. Especially if it's raining. In fact any time it's raining I'll probably suggest this place. read more

Not being a Gator Alum, I might be missing out on the nostalgia of this place. Close to the stadium and convenient after a football or basketball game, The Swamp is a solid option for a cold beer, burger or a meetup place for your friends. read more

Nice location with good drink specials, but pretty average food and drinks overall. My friends and I all went out to downtown Gainesville last weekend around 9pm. Most everywhere was packed, so we decided to head over to The Swamp. There was a 5 dollar cover to get in, but they had free tap beer until 11 or 12, so we decided to go in. The location is fairly nice for being a college bar, so I imagine going here during the day might produce a very different experience. We went to the upstairs area and received our free drinks in little plastic cups. We sat down at a table with our drinks and started looking at the drink and food menus. There was nothing on either that looked that great, so we finished our drinks and went over to get sushi and saki bombs. Overall, The Swamp is an ok location to get drinks late at night, but doesn't provide much else. read more

Came here for dinner with a group of five, late at night around 10:30pm. The food here is average at best. Our table ordered wings ("Swamp Special"), Conch Fritters, and the "Macho Nachos." The conch fritters were disappointing. Food seemed overpriced, especially for a place catering to the college crowd. This restaurant/bar is very loud. Seems to be frequented mostly by the UF fraternity/sorority scene. read more

What would college life be like at UF without the Swamp is the question. This place defines the University of Florida. Located directly across the street from campus, this restaurant is a VERY popular hang out, lunch spot, dinner, and drinking spot. If you are in a fraternity or sorority, Monday night here is WHERE you are if you are out at all. The restaurant does tend to bring in a preppier crowd. It is perfect for Family that comes to town and is highly recommended for those visiting the University of Florida. They have a great front porch area and back upper deck area outside. The inside is covered in Gator paraphernalia and I LOVE IT LIKE THAT! They have really good sandwiches and I love their sweet potato fries with ranch dressing. YUM! They have great drink specials at night time, like $5 doubles of Three Olives Vodka and beer specials. Pitchers of Blue Moon are really popular here too. And, nothing is better than the Spinach Artichoke Dip here during a night of heavy drinking.... Love this place and miss it A LOT! Wish we had something like it in Orlando. read more

I don't know why people call the swamp a Gainesville staple... Last time I ate here I got a "bloody mary" and that's in quotations because it was nothing short of cheap vodka and some boring mix. This time I ordered an Italian panini because I was craving pizza and it was the closest second, and the sandwich was 75% bread. Subway would've packed more fillings into a $5 foot long. I wouldn't be so upset if I wasn't paying $12 for this sandwich (or $7 into the drink). In my opinion, unless you want to share a pitcher and watch football try to go to another restaurant. read more

The Swamp Restaurant - Italian panini. Don't get it unless you're drunk and don't care about quality - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

We wanted the college experience when we came to visit UF for our tour and you guessed it we chose The Swamp. Parking was secure to say the least as someone came darting out to make sure we were eating here. We were a table of 8 and were seated immediately at a high top. My friend and I got turkey clubs on Texas toast which was as you can imagine really good. I saw chicken sandwiches, burgers, tenders ordered which came out in a reasonable time. Cost is about what I expected $$ to $$$. Let's see where he gets accepted. Good times. read more

Wow. A place called the Swamp basically across the street from The Swamp. Passing through on a Tuesday in mid July. No expectations but pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. The Ahi Bowl was excellent. Good service. Enjoyed it. Glad we went. read more

Waited long for everything, and we were the only table in the restaurant at the time. Waited forever for cold nachos that had greasy, half-melted cheese and a boat load of lettuce. Then we waited forever for food because they had to make more fries? The burger was overcooked, the Steak Salad was warm, and the chicken tender wraps exploded with sauce. Pros: the Tuscan Chicken Sandwich was really good, and the music choice is good Good location, but just come here for drinks until they get better cooks read more

Basically, don't come here if you want a good drink. It may have a good location in mid town, but any bar is better than this place. First: When I was sitting outside, I saw not only one, but THREE cockroaches near our table. One of them was actually on the table; thank god I didn't order any food. ((And I understand it's summer and in Florida but for a restaurant that's not okay. But I didn't see any inside so I give them points for that)) Second: They basically ripe you off if you order any pitcher of a mixed drink. My friend and I split a pitcher. The whole time we were drinking it, we were asking ourselves if there was any alcohol in it. At first I thought we were being paranoid but after the second pitcher, we could honestly say there was probably .01% alch in our drink....waste of money and time. Wish this place would do better because the atmosphere is chill but the drinks suck read more

3.5 STARS Pretty much a run of the mill bar that does sandwiches, burgers, and basic pub grub food to go with their liquor that they serve. The staff were friendly and not too busy as it seems like most people usually don't come to these places until college football season and perhaps even college basketball season rolls around. I had the buffalo chicken wrap with sweet potato fries and it was pretty decent. I also got sweet tea refills super quick too so kudos to their hard working staff. Not much of a beer selection but I doubt that they will ever have a high demand for craft brew beers in this part of the state. I also saw a framed jersey of current Warrior David Lee from his Florida playing days. Go Warriors! TVs were everywhere but one of them was obviously busted and blurry but they either didn't notice or care. read more

I've only been here once, so I can't vouch for consistency. When we went it was very crowded and there was a reserved party upstairs so we had to sit downstairs where the tvs were loud and music was playing simultaneously. I like that it is quite literally right across the street from (at least one edge of) UF, and the food that I ordered was good and everyone else liked theirs, too. However, the waitress got our order wrong and we had to wait even longer for our food. read more

Very charming bar/restaurant in Gainesville. I had Gator tacos (fried alligator in soft tacos with mango sauce, rice/beans and pico de gallo on the side) which were quite good. Other than that, the menu is quite standard bar food. I loved the outdoors seating. If only they change their music station (and turn off the TV)... read more

Okay so the food is fine. I have no problem with it really. The Sunday Special is good and I dig on the Hot Italian. Fries are fine. I mean the food doesn't blow me out of the water, but its good and the beer prices are fine for the location. However, I cannot deal with the wait time. During the noonish hour it takes at least an hour fifteen to eat there. However, I must go through a couple glasses of drink before the food is finally finally ready. Hardly ever comes out piping hot either...so I have no idea whats going on. read more

The Swamp, the `good ole fashion` Swamp is still a favorite hangout in GNV and the parking is still undesirable, but the service is always on point. The fish tacos, sweet potato fries, soups and salads are still just as good as they have always been. The menu has a lot of nice offerings; however, if you are looking for fried shrimp you won't find them at the Swamp--you have to go somewhere for those or choose something else on the menu. I like the multi-level-seating available at the Swamp. The beer garden outside with live music is a fun feature as well. read more

If you are going to Swamp to eat before 7pm, you'll probably enjoy yourself. The food will be pretty tasty, there won't be too much of a (douchey) crowd and your server will be decent. If you're going to the Swamp to drink... Good luck with that.. This used to be the spot to grab $5 buckets to start the night.. I don't know what happened.. Either I got old or less tolerant of "greek life".. Basically, it gets super crowded with the sorority/frat crowd EARLY and almost impossible to move. For some reason I can deal with this when I'm not surrounded by croakies, the MAC forcefield , 21 signs, and boat shoes... The drinks are pricier than any other midtown bar. Go here to eat, not drink.... Unlesssss you're into that sort of thing :) read more

I recommend the Swamp restaurant to any out of town lunchers. It is such a fantastic place to sit outside and watch the students shuffle to class. Its even more fun when they look longlingly at your full pitcher of beer and then glance sadly back at their textbooks in hand. The menu offers standard fare like burgers, club sandwiches, spinach dip and the like. There are a few standout stars on the menu like the local tempeh gyro and the freshman 15 burger topped with a fried egg. But the Swamp is not about the food, or the sub par service, it is about the atmosphere and the people watching. The Swamp is also great for game days and late nights. There are always tons of students mingling, and there is always an overwhelming feeling of fun. read more