Willard’s Restaurant & Lounge

Great burgers and southern fried chicken. Skip the prime rib. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but it’s nice & clean inside.

Good burger and good customer service. Restaurant was empty and food took a long time to come out.

Okay, okay, okay! I noted from other reviews that this place could be hit or miss. Several people complained about the service. Typically the food got good ratings.
My fiancée and I visited Willard’s for the first time last night. We had been at a weekend long horse trail riding event in the area. At the end of the day, several local riders and some that were not local (but still a little bit wacko!) decided to hit Willard’s for dinner. We were told it was the best place around and it was nearby.
This joint is in the country, the back country badlands of Florida, as I saw it. I have to admit, being from a large Metropolitan area near Tampa, I had visions of Deliverance and swore I was gonna push past my girl on a hot run if I heard any banjo music! And, when we pulled up I thought I should be tying my horse off at the railing instead of parking my F250 steed. It didn’t help seeing the dried blood and bullet holes on the wood planks of the front porch! JUUUUUUUST kidding! There was no blood! Alright! There were no bullet holes, either. Geeez!
Enter into the cozy confines of the restaurant, noticing lots of patrons seemingly enjoying their chosen menu munchies. The place was clean, with plenty of seating and there were no bodies on the floor. Well, one, but he was cleaning with a toothbrush. again, juuuuust kidding. No bodies. We were greeted immediately and seated in a really comfortable booth. I’ll skip the foreplay and get right to the main event now. The food!
In winter, Florida temps go up and down more than customers at The Mustang Ranch in Vegas. Our day went from a chilling 31 degrees up to around 70, then sinking back into icydom after dark. Therefore, I wanted some chili, dang it! Unfortunately, they were out of chili, it was a hot item that night. Oh well, I ordered the jambalaya. I was not disappointed, it was delicious!
For our entrees, my date and I decided on the Delmonico steaks, her’s being the small one and mine weighing in at 16 ounces, for $ 19.99. Both came with a salad and a baked potato. Ordered mid-​rare, of course. The salad was your fairly basic one, but I thoroughly devoured and enjoyed it. The baked potato was the size of a munchkin’s football, and cooked to perfection. The steak? Drumroll please… IT was…
EXCELLENT! Perfectly cooked, with tons of flavor and that cushy but firm easy to cut texture that makes me realize why I have chosen a non-​vegan lifestyle. My mate’s smile showed me she was equally pleased. (I remember that look when we were first dating!)
Our server was really friendly, on the spot with our needs and made us feel welcome. Sadly, I don’t recall her name, so blond woman who waited on us, Thank you! Oh yeah, our fellow customers also made us feel welcome and part of their family. I had noticed that one of the two young guys at the booth next to us had received a great looking hamburger. I casually asked him how it tasted, to which he answered «Real good!». Later on, he turned around in his booth and offered me half of his burger, promising he hadn’t touched it. I was honored, but truthfully told him I was waiting for my steak. He confirmed the steak would be a joy to behold.
Fast forward to next day, high noon. On our way home, we decided to hit Willard’s for lunch. We both ordered hamburgers with fries, and yessir, they were Real Good! We hung around for awhile, played a few horrible games of billiards. All the while we were in the capable hands of Janine. (Hope I got the spelling right, and give kudos to our server from last night, okay?)
Overall, service was excellent, the regulars and guests were so polite and friendly (I knew they would be, just kidding about the Deliverance thing). We will definitely put Willard’s as a favorite in our GPS, so look out, here we come!
Now for the BEST PART! This restaurant is in an area just west of Gainesville, Florida, home of the UF Gators. The address is Morriston, which is a hop, skip and a jump from the slightly bigger town of Bronson. My last name is Bronson, so I kinda feel special when I’m in the area, and it was fun telling folks all about it. (As you may have guessed, I can ramble on and on and…) Well, now for the AWESOME part. My father’s first name was Willard! YES! How’s that for totally cool? We had a blast telling anyone who didn’t run away and we got quite a few laughs, handshakes and hugs over it! It don’t get no better than that!
I’d say to absolutely try Willard’s, and tell ‘em Bronson sent ya!

Went to Willard’s last night. They had a good band last night but I must say the service there is terrible. They weren’t busy but trying to get a drink is nearly impossible. They have a nice bar outside but don’t know how to make any drinks. Tried to get a lemon drop. Now how hard is that. The owner was behind the bar tried to get a drink from her but she decided to go inside and never came back so I went inside to reorder my drink. There were 2 girls behind the bar but both of them stayed at the other end of the bar. So I went to the end then they disappeared and it took another twenty minutes and then she comes back to inform me they have no grapefruit juice but brought half of the drink instead of asking if we would like to change the order Tried to order food but that was also impossible. One star only because the band was good. Don’t expect good service and food. I remember years ago when the girls that worked there could party but you still got excellent service

I cannot believe no one has a review for Willards! This is a fine lunch spot. Cheap, good, and the specials are mostly home made. I am a big fan of the patty melt also.
It is also open at night for juking.