Gator’s Dockside

Stopped in for lunch. We started with Gator Tail which was DELICIOUS tender and flavorful and the sauce was great. I had the Chorizo Burger and my wife had a salad with mandarins, cranberries, nuts, etc. Both were very good. Service was also very prompt, efficient and polite. I will definitely go back.

I would not suggest this place to anyone who is looking for the traditional American style dinner. My burger was not cooked right at all. I asked for no pink in the burger whatsoever, yet it was as pink as a pig! When I asked for another burger cooked to what I liked, the waitress was snotty and after that, she didn’t even bother to apologize or check on us for more water or anything throughout. Rude staff, also all the waiters and waitresses that aren’t waiting just stand there and socialize while watching the football games. This was a weird dining experience tonight.

We came in on a busy Saturday, in the middle of all the college games. We were seated right away and had our drinks brought to us quickly. They even changed one of the TVs to show the game we wanted. There are plenty of TVs around to watch a variety of games. We ordered a few apps and decided to have those before ordering food. The nachos were pretty tasty and plenty for 4 to share. My nephew ordered the gator tail, interesting and chewy. We also split a small order of wings and a philly cheese steak. The wings were seasoned just right. The philly was also very tasty. The apps did take a little longer than we hoped but it was a busy night. Servers were nice and kept our drinks refilled. Great place to catch a game.

Normally I am not one to harp on a business I frequent, but this is the second time in a row I have disappointed with a portion size. As I previously mentioned I frequent here often, and always order the spinach dip app in addition to a main dish. Slowly but surely the spinach dip has now become the tomatoe dip. Typically the small bowl would be mostly full of dip and sprinkle of a few diced tomatoes. Within a matter if six months the dip has been reduced to a little less than half of the bowl with heaping amount of diced tomatoes filled to the top covered by parm. I did not order the tomatoe dip, and will not be paying 8.99 for it either. My favorite dish is now the most disappointing. Sorry dockside.

Absolutely appalled at the management staff at this specific location. On a BUSY football Saturday night they brought in not one but two LOUD AS HELL bands to play in the restaurant. After bringing our concerns to the management staff they ensure us the music wild stop. 25 mins later the first band finally left ONLY for another one to set up. The management staff sweated to us that the band in no way would play until half time, then stop for the second half of the Gator game. Not even 5 mins later the band started playing. It took almost 20 mins for management to address us. She come off unprofessional and unsure of her position or authority as a manager. Never have we ever had such an appalling time at this location. It will take a miracle to get me to want to return to this location. They have no concern for their paying customers. Entirely unimpressed with the management. The appetizers and drinks were sub par at best. All around horrid night. 2 stars only due to the previous visit I’ve had.

This place has become a disappointment. Too many things to complain about starting with asking the waitress three times in about five minutes for some lemons for my water and not remembering to bring them. The food wasn’t awful but this place has been declining.

A pretty typical sports bar with plenty of tvs to choose from. Food is average but acceptable. Staff were plenty attentive and friendly. I think the happy hour is a joke as they say 2 for 1 beers but they are 8 oz glasses! Draft beer selection also very poor with no craft choices.

The service was good, appetizers are great. I got the gyro and the meat was too salty but overall I would recommend this restaurant and I will be back!

Went there last night after 11. Service was mediocre. Draft beer was flat and a little warm. Jalapeño stuffed burger was great!

Ok place, nothing exciting about it. It’s clean so that’s a plus. I have nothing bad to say it’s regular type place good for after work beers and a snack

Service was excellent. Reminds me of Beef O Brady’s, but with a different atmosphere. Had their bacon cheese burger with a side of chili. Burger was excellent, perfect size, and the chili packed a little bit of a punch. Not sure why some people are giving this place poor reviews, but I had a great experience.

Food barely scratching the surface of mediocre.
Gators Dockside is certainly your run-​of-​the-​mill american style restaurant that gives off a vibe quite similar to the one you might get at a Beef-O-Brady’s. The décor includes «sea» themed items and tries to encompass the same feeling that one might get if he were sitting dockside eating some delightful sea-​fare. That is certainly the highlight of the experience at this restaurant.
The wait staff was friendly and helpful, and even moved to hold the door for us on our way out. This is where the quality stops.
The food here is barely mediocre. The fries were fine, its difficult to mess up fries I suppose. The burger I ordered was the Mac and Cheese and Bacon Burger and it was an atrocity. You could tell they had just thawed it that very hour. There was no flavor in the meat, and it was dry as an old boot. And it was burned out the outside. A sure sign that the meet had not been thawed thoroughly and cooked way faster on the outside than it did inside. The mac and cheese had no flavor, and even the bacon was soggy and flavorless. THE BACON! Flavorless! Not a good situation.
Like I said, nice vibe, nice staff, terrible food. Save your stomach and spend the same money at Five Guys, Burger 21, or Hurricanes. You and your stomach will thank me.

First time here, food & service were fine. This time came on weekend, it was not busy, & our food took 50 minutes to arrive after ordering. The waitress asked if everything was ok before she brought any food. Ridiculous. Food had been sitting under lights and was cold or lukewarm. Had to get another server to find our server to get our bill. Never coming back.

I dont get the negative reviews. I had a pleasant experience. We walked in and were seated quickly obviously cause it was late lunch hardly anyone there. we got drinks quickly and all the waitresses drooled over my daughter which she loved haha. They were super nice folks. The food came relatively fast and i thought my wings taste fresh and cooked perfect. Right amount of sauce on it and the fries were nice and Hott and crispy (: my dad loved his portobello mushroom burger and the kids pizza was perfect for my daughter.
I thought this place was awesome and even in jax and lakeland i still get a friendly vibe of family essence here. Everyone has thete hits and misses at resturants but there are those people who look for something wrong all the time but ill visit again another time and see how it is. Never count your chickens before they hatch.
I say come here and enjoy yourself! Seriously its an awesome place to eat and ill give it its five stars when I come back wnd service and food is the same as my first visit (:

I came here with my boyfriend after deciding we wanted american food. It can get pretty loud in there depending if theres a game or not but usually theres always some thing someone will be there to watch… haha! I can also say that I’ve never seen so many plasma TV’s in one restaurant and they can play different channels for you! The staff here are all pretty nice and did check up on us a couple of times. I had the mac and cheese burger and totally did not taste the mac and cheese in it. It’s literally a burger with some mac and cheese on top HAHA! Well then, and my boyfriend got a gyro. The gyro was pretty good! My burger was okay, kind of dry to my liking so I only ate half of it. Would I come back again? Maybe if I’m in the area again or if I wanted a gyro!

The atmosphere was drunken/​rowdy — some drunk guys shouting and cursing about the games on the flat screens. It’s a sports bar, and not «family friendly» one per their website. No management in site to keep things in check.
Service: Slow and indifferent. By the time I discovered melted cheese was inside my wrap sandwich, after I specifically ordered to exclude it, the waitress was no where in sight. By the time we could flag her back over, everyone else at my table had finished their lunch. No apology for getting the order wrong, and didn’t take the charge off the bill. I had to ask for a manager, which was another 10 minute wait, who agreed to remove the charge. No apology, weird attitude. («customer service»?? not here)
Food: I doubt anything on their menu starts as a fresh item. This is a chain with 12+ locations, so I suspect quality is not their mission. The salad had wilted lettuce, like the kind that comes out of a bag on the supermarket shelf, and cucumbers were slimy. The club sandwich was so skimpy on the meat that it was a joke. Much of the menu is fried, and it seems overpriced for the quality.
Bottom line: stay away!

First of all it takes forever for food to be served. Service is slow and sullen. The only redeeming virtues are lots of TV’s with sports and decent wings.

to start with our sever was good but the food was awful ! I had the fish sandwich grilled and it was so fishy I couldn’t put enough tarter and hot sauce on it and the fries were cold. My wife had a salad and low and behold there was hair in the salad! Double yuck! They took it off the bill but a decent manager would have come over to say sorry and of course the manager didn’t. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this poorly run restaurant

I went here with a coworker and had Chicken & Waffles. I personally liked it. I’m sure I’ve had better but something I often appreciate is the fact that the food was fresh and evidently so. The place was clean too so I don’t have much to be unhappy about. The syrup seemed too sweet or too light… I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Overall not bad.

With a wide selection of your typical bar and grill food, great service, and a fun atmosphere, Gator’s won’t let you down.
The restaurant is LITTERED with huge plasma TVs, all displaying a wide range of HD sporting events ranging from NASCAR to UFC to the X Games. In the back, there’s a couple pool tables (which now are far enough away from the dining area to give the players some elbow room) and a touch screen jukebox boasting a wide selection of music.
The staff was very courteous, and even went out of their way to fetch our table a sample of sauce. The food got to our table quickly and was exactly as ordered.
In the five experiences I’ve had with Gator’s, none of them have been less than satisfactory. Even the one time I had the full dining experience — that is, watching a big UFC fight in a full house — it was a great night out.