2nd visit in one month! We all enjoyed our meals very much. Clams in Scampi sauce was exceptional. Mango key lime was just as good as Key Lime. My issue is the service is extremely slow. Our waitress had trouble entering our order on her tablet. Took forever to get her attention for the bill!! Table turnover on a Friday nite should have been stepped up. read more

This is our favorite restaurant in Mt Dora. We eat there every time we are there. It is our favorite seafood restaurant anyplace.

Sometimes you find the best food in the most unlikely places. Who knew that the best fried clams from New England ... were served in Florida! Casual laid back atmosphere offering outstanding service and food. read more

Excellent seafood served up piping hot and fresh in ample portions. I really dig their french fries...HOT, long, thin and extra crispy! Service is fast and friendly as well. read more

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Terrific place and my wife and I were happy to find it. We're both from New England, so it was great treat. read more

3.5 Stars. Started off with clam chowder. Good chunks of potato and clam, although texturely too thick and doughy. The fried shrimp is decently juicy and not greasy. Quite well done. Hush puppies are a fine side. Good texture, well flavored inside. read more

Overrated. This is your parents fish restaurant. I came in for the stars and left with the shells. :(

Agree with the Yelp reviews that lead us here. A hidden gem hidden in a strip mall. A little outdated but such delicious fresh tasting food. Went at an odd hour and received our food quickly. Best fried clams and oysters we've had in a long time. When on that side of the state will be back for another visit read more

Love this little place. Located in a strip mall. I found they have an early bird not posted on the menu. I posted a photo of the ad. I had fried shrimp, onion rings and fries. Everything tasted fantastic. If you love be onion rings, you must try these! Not greasy. Every time I'm in this area, this place is on my can't miss list!! Love the fact it's not a chain! Give it a try! read more

Whale's Tale - Early bird special. August 2017. Not listed in their menu. - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

My Husband and I came here today for an early dinner. We got the seafood baskets. I got shrimp with scallops; both were really good. The blackened scallops were very good better than my husband's fried ones that he got. Overall, we enjoyed our meals and we'll be back again. read more

Had clam chowder and fish fry. Delicious. No raw oysters but no biggie. Liked the 50's music.

Excellent Food very tasty and fresh , Emely was very friendly and helpful . Fast Service too. read more

Whale's Tale - Whale's Tale FRESH AND EXCELLENT we had a Seafood Basket EXCELLENT and a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich.Emily Is SUPPER!!! Friendly - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

Restaurants ambiance and service ok just the food fried fish is terrible is not worth the price paying for.. never coming back again. I prefer to buy frozen fish in publix and cook at home. read more

Ad on Face Book, Website and sign on door says open at 11:00 am!!! I take my mom, who just had hip replacement, out to eat and she loves Whales Tales for their fried oysters...we wait in the parking lot until 11:00 am and we walk to the door...mom with a walker...open an UNLOCKED door and greeted with a " we don't open until 11:30..and has been since pandemic" ummm really? Says where? No where on internet...not even on your damn door!!! I am sorry...I know everyone has been put through the ringer with the pandemic but I do believe the correct response would have been..."I am sorry Ladies, we don't actually open until 11:30...but please come in and have some tea or a drink and we will serve you as soon as we can...we would have gladly done so..but instead we were rudely turned away!!! I have heard the new Red crab is very good!!! read more

I absolutely loved this place. It is small and quaint with some of the best seafood I've had outside of New England. We had an order of fried oysters and clams. They were delicately breaded and as fresh as possibly could be. We had an order of lemon butter haddock with side of carrots and potatoes.The Haddock is flown in fresh, wild caught and delicious. The carrots are steamed in apple juice and are left simple and clean. The potatoes are steamed and make a love side with broiled fish. Next time I'm going to try their clam chowder as I heard great things about it. I will be coming back whenever I am in the area. read more

Whale's Tale - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

If you are looking for a solid choice for seafood in the Tavares area this is it. I started with the hush puppies. You get four nice size hush puppies. They were a nice flavor. The menu was a little confusing. I wanted a platter with three types of seafood. Each item had a different price next to it. Our server explained pick three and the higher price is what you pay. I had the whole belly clams, shrimp, and scallops. The breading was simple and not heavy. It let the flavor of the seafood come through. The scallops were a nice size and tender. The shrimp were plump, and tasty. The whole belly clams were small but good. I wish those would have been a little larger. The onion rings were nice large rings and fries were good. I definitely recommend them and look forward to going back! read more

Whale's Tale - a plate of fried food and dipping sauces - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

The food was great and so was the service! Guys in the kitchen served up some great food.

Great food; perfectly breaded and fried to perfection . Friendly staff. Mmm....mmmm...good !oh and the Hush puppies are YUMMOOOO!!!!! read more

Whale's Tale - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

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A hidden gem on the outskirts of Mr Dora! My husband and I dine here once a week when we are snowboarding in Lake County FL. Some of the best seafood dishes we have found in the area. Fried shrimp basket is a favorite! read more

We we're VERY surprised with this restaurant. Just a small spot but the food was excellent! Clams were tender and the batter on the seafood was spot on. Highly recommended. Way to go Whalestale!!! Job well done. read more

Omg. Just try it. Trust me, the food and service is great. It's in a shopping center that's not the best, but don't judge the book by its cover. The fried seafood baskets are yummy! read more

We once again had our dinner club gathering. We heard good things about this place and must say... we all agreed.- 5 stars from all of us. The food, service, atmosphere, portion size, and overall value all scored EXCELLENT. Paula and Ammie, were awesome. The full belly clams were awesome (and this is coming from a Mainer). Clam chowda was wonderful. All four of us would highly recommend this location. Please go visit and ask for Paula and Ammie. read more

Whale's Tale - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

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Picked up from here today - never been here before. We got a fried shrimp basket and fried clam basket. Absolutely perfect! 5 Stars and 100% satisfaction. The shrimp were large and tasted so fresh. And the coating was so light. The clams - best fried clams we've ever had. You could actually taste them! This is our new go to place for awesome seafood. read more

Fried, fried, fried. So, if fried is your thing, you'll be happy. Food is good most of the time and pretty flavorful when it's not overcooked. Clam strips were fat n juicy once, and kind of chewy and dark the second time. Service is pretty quick. Don't hesitate to ask the level of fried you want. Did I say it's all fried? read more

Delicious fresh fish! And I'm from Maine! And I was married to a fishing boat captain!

Delicious! Everything is on point and our waitress was very helpful in guiding us to the best deal. Try the whole bellied clams, they are on point! So glad we stopped by. The side pasta salad and cheese grits were a nice touch! read more

Not sure how people can say this is good food. it is OK food at best. Service was good and folks were nice and it's a cool little place. But the food is Sysco food at best. It doesn't even come close to Boston's. My wife and I both ordered the whole belly clams at $19 each and the clams that came out were more like strips with a very small belly. No where near the size or quality of Boston's. I keep trying to find good food based on Yelp recommendations but I've become highly suspect of any 4 star plus review in Lake County. Unless the person is visiting from out of state or a select few Elites on Yelp I don't even look at the other reviews as it seems people here have just not been exposed to good food. We may go back to try the fried fish but there will be no clams purchased from this place. read more

Frozen fish, no taste....no atmosphere at all...won't go back again... went three times thinking we just caught cook on bad day.

Service was good, food was good & pleasant atmosphere.. Conveniently located near downtown Mount Dora but no problem finding a parking place!!! read more

Great food and great service. Reasonably priced and good sized servings. Must try onion rings. Lightly breaded shrimp was awesome.

Great food at reasonable prices in a friendly environment. Do not let the modest storefront location scare you; inside it is clean and friendly. read more

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By far my favorite restaurant in Mt. Dora! Food is always fresh and delicious, and the staff is always kind and helpful!

I had a crab cake, clam strips,onion rings, fries, and hush puppies! It was the exact opposite of my keto diet but amazing!! The crab cake was the closest to a true Maryland crab cake that I've ever had in Florida. read more

Just a note for Yelp. It's "Whales Tale", not Whalestale. Please do them a favor and correct this unfortunate typo.

Basic fried fish joint. Food was ok. I had the crab soup. Could not taste the crab, the old bay seasoning was overpowering. The crab cake was better than most that i have had. Friendly staff. read more

Good breading on fish and seafood was fresh pleasant staff would return. Get there early

I came here from New England where seafood is plentiful. The Whales Tail has seafood as good or better as many places there. Their fish is good and their fried clams and onion rings are as good as I have ever had. I've tried clam chowder several places in the vicinity, but none is as good as Whales Tail's. Try it. I doubt you will find better. read more

One of the first things I do when I move to a new town is search for good seafood and fish. OK, I'm done. Great crab cakes, fried cheese grits, fresh sweet onion rings and hush puppies. But the star of the show was the fried oysters. I don't know what kind of voodoo goes on in that kitchen but everything was cooked PERFECTLY! Big portions, good sweet tea... what's not to like? I think I've found my place. Oh, but use your GPS...it's easy to miss. read more

Whale's Tale - Seafood Near Me - Mount Dora, Florida

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Great place for a quick meal. Fast service. They know their fish! Fish and chips.. Delicious.. Fried clams.. Delicious.. Very fresh food! Good service! read more

We ate here after returning from the Polar Express train, which is in the same shopping center. The pros are that the food comes out super quickly, great when you are dining with kids. Also, the crab cake with the additional shrimp add-ons was good. Unfortunately everything else we had was just meh, the hush puppies, chowder, pasta salad, house salad and fries were unremarkable. The service was okay, not bad but not great. Overall we wish we had made a different choice of restaurant but not a bad experience. read more