Aj Gators Sports Bar & Grill

I’ve always loved Gators, every time I have came into any of the locations I have been greeted right away and never had any problems, great atmosphere except football season all the Cleveland Browns fans can haul ass… seriously

Not too shabby for a chain restaurant. I try sooooo hard to stick with locally owned small establishments but my buddies wanted to meet up here, so it goes.
Firstly, we parked in Narnia because the place is hella confusing to figure out where the entrance is-​the metal cage goes on for days and is such a tease. So I got my cardio in.
Once we got inside-​honestly-​it felt really small. People were jam packed in and standing-​so I understand why the big patio area exists-​to house people during favorable weather.
The service wasn’t the greatest but I blame the waitress-​she seemed new and quite frankly-​a little ditzy. The drinks were kind of weak but the food was surprisingly good. I got the buffalo chicken dip and 10 wings. The wings were meaty, crispy and saucy-​not really a complaint here.
Honestly… I will probably make another visit to a AJ Gators although I can’t eat anything fried due to a soy allergy.

I can’t say too much about this place because I only stepped in with my babe to check out the NCAA scores. But while we’re waiting I thought, we may as well have a drink. My babe knows I love margaritas… two margaritas please.
Our waitress brought the drinks over.
It was about 5pm, sorta early so I inquired about any specials on food or drinks. The waitress said no drink specials, but the burgers are $ 2 off. Hmmmmm I thought ok, turkey burger would be great to review.
I checked the menu and didn’t see a turkey burger listed. So I’m thinking it may be an oversight on my part, but nope. I asked the waitress if they have turkey burgers, she shook head from side to side. Awwwwwe bummer. Welp I don’t want anything else.
The margaritas weren’t the best ever, but let’s just say I don’t want another. It was very tart and I didn’t care for it at all. But i didn’t waste it… oh no!
Aside from the limited menu and unsatisfying drink, the atmosphere was sorta blah. The restaurant was close to empty inside. Aside from babe and I and the four persons waitstaff, I believe only 10 or less patrons were inside.
The restaurant is a good size. It seats about 75 inside and they offer outside seating for about 20 give or take. I think I peeped around the other side of the restaurant and seen a smoking section with pool tables. I’m not 100% but I think so. Nevertheless, I’m sure during football season or perhaps on a not so dreary day this place comes alive. But on this day it was just meh.
Maybe we’ll return who knows, but you give them a try.
Have fun :)

Went here on a Tuesday night with my bf and it was almost empty. It took a while for us to be greeted by our server and she clearly looked like she did not want to be there. She was very nice but very inattentive. She wasn’t sure if there was happy hour drinks (she had to look on the menu). Then, when we ordered it was a total mess up. I ordered the 10 wings, mild with a side of fries and my boyfriend order the Aj combo platter, he doesn’t like onion rings so we asked if he could substitute. She said yes but that it would have to be something already on the plate and that it would be $ 2.99 up charge, he said that was ok, then she came back again saying it was actually $ 3.99. That’s a lot for an up charge. She then came back again to say that she forgot it was get 6 wings and get another 6 wings so I got that since it was cheaper. When she brought out our food we barely saw her again. She refiled once, came out cleared our table and I had to ask for our check. She then stood with our check in her hand, right by our table and was talking to another waitress. By the end of the night we were ready to go. Don’t know if we will be back.

I went out to Aj Gators to have a drink with an old friend this past Thursday night. The staff was really nice, the bar itself wasn’t busy nor were the waits for just about anything. The drinks were cold, well priced, and tasty. I don’t frequent here often and this was my second time in the past few years but I don’t see why I wouldn’t go back for a football game and some corn hole.

We love this place! My favorite is the habanero mango wings. They are delicious! I like it better than BWW mainly bc there isn’t a wait and it isn’t crowded. They are so friendly here and always accommodating! Love the wings and fries!

No pitchers, drink specials, or anything to promote NFL games on Sunday. The TV arrangements need to be adjusted. I had to watch my game specifically from almost 60 ft away on a 22in screen. Last year, the hometown team, Redskins were always the main game shown on most TVs. This year I guess the management changed and made this place a Patriots bar unofficially.

I can’t say that this A.J. Gators is a memorable one. It’s a typical sports bar so it shouldn’t be held to a high standard but the service at this location is poor. I’ve come in to enjoy a game or two only to spend more time trying to get a drink than anything else. And before you sound off and say it’s because the place is packed, that couldn’t be further from truth. I met up friends a few months ago for an early season Monday Night Football game and the place was nearly empty. My friends had already been there for a little while as I just gotten off work. But instead of being greeted, I waited for a server for at least 5 minutes before I went ahead and bought a drink from the bar. I pretty much ordered my dinner from the bartender, too, even though a server had finally come over. Just the fact that I have to leave my table to order food and drink is ridiculous and I kept that in mind the next time I came through.
That next time was this past Monday, ¹²⁄₂₈. I was invited by the same friends to hang out and watch the game, so I obliged and stopped by after work. I was greeted this time by a server and she seemed pleasant enough. Gators has a wing and shrimp special on Mondays, so ordered 10 wings and a side of fries. It seemed like I was good to go when my wings arrived but the fries weren’t with it. I thought nothing of it and began eating. When our server came back to check on us I asked, «The fries are coming, right?» upon which her immediate response was, «Sh*t.» Okay, so she forgot to submit my order for fries, but did she really have to curse in front of us? I wasn’t offended by it, but I know people who would be and I certainly know that’s not good customer service. She made a nice gesture by comping me the fries but dang, let’s not throw out expletives.
Also, is it not common to bring napkins to a customer when you know they’re having wings? No napkins came with my order and she dipped out before I could ask. My server was gone long enough (10 minutes) for me to have to ask another server for napkins and a refill. That’s not cool — I shouldn’t have to flag down people half the time when I’m the actual customer. The more I have to seek someone out for service the less I want to return to that place. So by that inverse proportion I really don’t want to come back here.
As the evening began to wind down we asked for our checks. There were 3 of us total in our party and we asked for our checks to be separate. This is where my friends felt shafted because even though we asked for our checks the server first went to another table and decided changing the channel for them was a priority. Then she disappeared for a few minutes, came back out to perform her closing duties, then she eventually came back to our table with our tabs. My friends watched her the entire time and were visibly upset by the time she honored our request. Just poor management of time and again another example of poor customer service.
My dining experiences here have been forgettable, and oddly I’ve been to this location in the past in which I’ve received better service when it was busier. I don’t understand the inconsistency and I don’t care to worry about it since I already frequent other sports bars which offer better service and better food. I won’t stop going to AJ Gators, I just know I won’t return to this one. JV

I’ve been coming here for years. The upside to this place is that it is rarely super busy. Even on Sunday you can get seats to watch your game. They play all the games. The food is pretty good. Great wings and excellent ribs! Some of their specials are pretty good.
The bad part about this place is service. I’ve had some good waitresses through the years, but I’ve had a lot of bad ones here. It’s ranged from very slow service to people who can barely remember their own names to people with attitudes. That’s the difference between a meh place and an excellent place. Some of the sides, like Cole slaw, are inconsistent. I’d recommend sticking with fries. They’ve always been consistent with the fries.

So decided to switch up and try my buddy’s AKA Delmundo hangout spot for football. Let me list the things they don’t have.
No drink specials before the games
No pitchers of beer
A bucket of 4 beers for $ 12? That’s 3Xs normal price
No free Wifi
TVs are small
Nothing to promote that it’s football season.
Not sure why I’m giving it 2 stars

Good food. Good service. Friendly servers. Music not too loud! Love the chicken salad when its fresh and the onion rings are great. Really good place for lunch.

I’ve been going to this place for years, I have to admit the wings are some of the best wings in town along with their crab dip.
The turn offs are normally that their menus always smell like beer from the night before or sticky. That has been a huge turn off on us lately and the subpar service.
Other than that their food is really good, I’ve never had a complain about their food only service which can be ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ and their menus. Once that is fixed I’d for sure give this place a 5 star. Note I have been coming here for years and visit this place prolly couple times a month.

A typical sports bar/​grill. One thing that I did notice as a special feature was that they have actual gator meat on the menu. cool! If we come again, we’ll have to try it.
We stopped in here while we were out running errands. They allow people to seat themselves. There’s an outdoor patio. It looks like it has the potential to be quite a party spot for watching major sporting events.
I wasn’t too hungry so I ordered the Chicken Waldorf salad… grilled chicken, apples, bleu cheese, pecans, red onions (sliced way too thick! Dragon breath alert!), vinaigrette dressing. The salad, was… a salad. No complaints, but also nothing to rave about.

These people are rude and racists. I sat here and watched them walk past and stare at me until I felt uncomfortable. I asked if there was a problem because I had watched each waitress whisper to the next and then look at me. The waitress responded no and then the whispering continued. I haven’t experienced anything like this before so I am really at a loss for words. Completely unprofessional!

First time coming here and we had a great time. Service was great, quick with drink refills, and the food was absolutely delicious. Definitely coming back. The only negative I could throw out is that their drink menu consists of nearly all standard drinks (rum runner, Long Island iced tea, sex on the beach, etc); It would be nice to see a little more custom cocktails on the menu. That said, the drinks were well made very well, the food was great, the prices are fair, and service was great. Would definitely go again.

One the better AJ’s I have been too with the typical screw ups. Not always prompt to refill drinks, and brought me the wrong food at first but the waitress made up for it and comped my beer.
All in all I will go back again.

Went here for the drinks and got talked into trying the fried alligator tail and so glad I did it was really good! Our waitress was nice, it was clean, great service and great food. Will definitely be going back.

Hands down, my favorite sports bar in Hampton Roads! There’s no place I’d rather be on a Football Sunday, that’s for sure!
There’s a reason for the «& Grill» part of their name though. The food here is great. Yes, it’s mostly «bar food.» But NOT crappy bar food that plagues most sports bars. They don’t skimp on anything. The easily offer up the best burgers around. The caprese flat bread is outstanding! The salads are huge. Their chicken tenders are hand breaded and cooked to a juiciness the Colonel himself could not comprehend. My sister likes the kids’ menu for my nieces. There’s plenty for everyone.
The patio is huge and there are outdoor televisions so you can watch your favorite sports while enjoying a beautiful weather day in the spring and summer or cozy up at a fire pit in the cooler months. There’s also cornhole for you cornhole enthusiasts. Occasionally you’ll find some great live music out there as well.
I’ll take Gator’s over that stupid Buffalo any day of the week and then some!

Decent place to watch the game. Great service here! Food was decent: chicken sandwich had a big, juicy hunk of delicious white meat, yummy chipotle sauce (you can choose any wing sauce), and a surprisingly nice roll, not just a cheap hamburger bun. Potato salad was awful though, mushy and not potato tasting. Loved the deep fried appetizer platter (of course). Plenty of TVS, but they are all medium sized… I prefer the GIGANTIC ones!

One thing I miss about Richmond was the outdoor eating spaces and this place has a huge outdoor area, at least from what I’ve seen in the area! We came right after a storm so the most of the area was still wet, but we found some dry spots right under the gazebo. There’s also a fire pit and corn hole to play. We got lucky enough to listen to a live band outside too.
The Food & Drink.
First, you should definitely come here during their happy hour since it’s quite a deal with so many of their appetizers being half off! Drinks are at a low discount too — I believe $ 2 for well drinks (?)
–Crab Dip: Soo good that I didn’t bother taking a picture since I was too busy eating it! Order it with the bread and enjoy the crab & cheesy yumminess!
–Spud Mountain: Loaded fries with cheese and bacon. Noms!
–Mozzarella Sticks: Kinda like the ones in the freezer section.
Overall, I’m about to just go there for the crab dip since it was that good!