Fun environment, but you people cannot be serious that these wings are even close to great. Drive next door to the Copper Top for much better wings. The wings at Gators are too salty and inconsistent in terms of how they are cooked and sauced. Great looking waitresses but seriously lame wings.
Review Source:Easy to pull in from the busy Fowler Ave. Â But hard to get out from parking lot.
Wanted to enjoy a beautiful afternoon at their outside bar, but the smokers took me to move to a table away from them near the busy street. Â Which was loud and not that pleasant. Couldn't hear the music nor watch any sports on TV. (at table side)
I took the liberty to order a cold one and a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.
The beer was good but I had better cheese steaks.
The steak pieces were good and the bun was to my liking. Â However, I thought a good Philly Steak sandwich, the meat was cut thinner and the cheese a bit more tasty. Â Their fries were good and crispy. Â Service was OK.
Decent.
Came here with a co-worker after an event. Â Place was barely full, but the two servers spent the first 15 minutes of our stay seemingly bickering over which one of them would serve our table. Â Ok then. Â Ordered drinks which took longer than it should have...not hard to top off a draft beer, especially when the place is at about 33% capacity.
Decided on a chicken wrap with the Scooter Sauce (recommended). Â I would say it's kind of like a smokey asian honey flavor. Â Different and unique, though it's not a gamebreaker by any means. Â Was a small-ish wrap but had an acceptable amount of chicken, certainly more than you'd get in a Buffalo Wild Wings wrap.
Overall, I would come back to Gator's but I think I was expecting a little bit more.
Service is hit or miss. 4/5 you'll have to request something you asked for 20-30 minutes prior two or three times before it clicks in your server's head that you want something.
The food is alright, nothing special. Their pot roast is delicious, but for the price, lacks portion.
Their drinks are expensive as all hell and are really weak.
It's a college kid hangout, so prepare yourself to be surrounded by a lot of obnoxiously loud kids still trying to figure out their body's alcohol consumption limit while yelling at their favorite athletic player/team on one of the many TVs in the joint.
After receiving a bill on our last visit for nearly $100 for two entrees, several drinks and a few shots, we've decided to not return. $9 each for a pre-mix shot mostly consisting of syrup is where we draw the line.
Shame since we live so close and like to dine outside during some of the cooler winter afternoons.
If you're a sports fan, I'm sure they have some good specials and most of the servers are really pretty and mostly not complete airheads, but just wasn't worth it for us.
Gator's can make a pretty good burger and kids menu is good (stay away from chicken fingers). Â Its docks side with friendly servers, nice atmosphere, clean, and live entertainment you would expect from a decent beach bar.
The problem with Gator's is not the food, its the managers running the place. Â The quality of food and service DRAMATICALLY goes down when the place gets half-way filled. Â Our last visit, we were there for 90 minutes before we got our food! Â This restaurant will NEVER get better until they resolve their manager issues.
They change ownership a few months back, so they are obviously going through some growing pains.
Being that I was looking for a place to have some wings and beer while watching the Sugar Bowl with some fellow Gator fans, I decided to check out Gator's Dockside (my first time at this location).
I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was all-you-can-eat wing Wednesday, but immediately disappointed it only included the breaded boneless wings. I had one serving of 10 at the start of the game -- hot garlic -- and became full because of how thick the breading was. I asked for a side of ranch when ordering, but I never received it. I like my ranch dressing, especially if I'm eating chunks of breading.
To wash the "wings" down, I decided to take advantage of the 99 cent per 10-ounce mug of Bull Brew draft beer, which wasn't anything special but pretty good for a cheap and local beer (USF).
The service at the bar started out fine. I was asked multiple times if I wanted to order another plate of wings or if I needed another beer. Two hours went by, and when I was finally ready to take advantage of my all-you-can-eat deal, the bartenders were no where to be found. They all seemed busy trying to clean and close -- even though it was still early -- rather than serving their customers.
After 10 minutes of waiting - and almost missing the 11 p.m. cutoff deadline for the wing deal - I finally got the attention of a bus person and ordered a serving of the honey garlic wings. Instead of getting the serving of 10 I received before, I got six. It could be because I was fuming at how bad of a beating the Gators were getting from the Louisville Cardinals, but my wings were barely warm. And yet again, they forgot to add my side of ranch I made sure to order.
Maybe I ordered them too late? Or maybe I waited too long to get service?
Either way, I wasn't thrilled about finishing my second serving of wings.
At this point I couldn't take it anymore -- the game or the wings -- so I asked for my check. Luckily my beers were cheap, so my bill added up to exactly $20 including tip ($11.99 for the all-you-can-eat wings plus the 99 cent beers). Not a bad price to pay to sit at the bar for almost three hours.
My experience could have been much better, though. Even if the Gators won.
If you're going to offer all-you-can-eat wings, do it the right way.
The place is just ok nothing really special about it. Think TGIF or Applebee's  you pretty much summed it up minus the really cheap drinks you can get at the other places. The food food was decent we had the corn nuggets for the app not much a flavor. My wife had the stuffed Rueban Burger was good with loaded baked potato salad that was really good. I had their ribs nothing to get super excited about the sauce was the best part. We went for trivia but it was to loud to hear most of the time. So it's not a place I would say hey let's go to Gators but if someone said meet me there I wouldn't say I would pass either.
Review Source:I was staying in Tampa for a few weeks for business. Â I found this place close to my hotel. Â It's open late, which is perfect for a nocturnal creature such as myself. Â Great atmosphere, fun clientele. Â (I've never failed to strike up a good conversation at the bar.) Â If you prefer the nice weather there is an outdoor bar as well.
Review Source:Solid food and solid prices. Â Similar to Applebees in that they don't have anything that to die for, but they have a lot of things that are pretty good. Â The wings with scooter sauce, pretzel rueben and turkey muffeleta (sp?) are all very good. Â The fried mushrooms are pretty plain, but there are never any left over. Â Servers are always friendly.
Review Source:The only reason I go to Gators is because it's close to my house and therefore convenient for watching UFC fights, and has an all you can eat wing special on Monday nights. As a matter of fact, the Scooter sauce for their wings is about the only thing I'd give them credit for. Everything else, I'm sure, is microwaved. The drink specials aren't impressive and their seating arrangement is less than ideal when trying to watch the big screens.
Review Source:Went here for the 3rd time in the last few years. Seems like a very average place with fairly average prices for everything.
I went on a Friday afternoon and ordered their polluck wrap off their 5.99 lunch menu. Wasn't amazing but it was what I expected for 6 bucks. Basically a cut in half burrito with some lettuce and fish inside. There were probably about 15 fries that came with the meal which made me sad. But I guess that's what I get for ordering off the 5.99 lunch menu.
Service was average. Cups are big so I was in no need of a refill. I think we would have got much better service if we had sat inside rather than outside. Waiter didn't seem to want to come out to the patio often.
I wouldn't go out of my way for this place unless you happen to have a craving for wings on a Monday night. I give it 2 stars on a weekday and 4 stars on Monday night. Averages 3.
A decent semi-dive that has an all-you-can-eat wings special on Mondays that's somewhat legendary. But otherwise, not a place you want to hit that often.
The wings are spectacular, with around 20 different flavors offered both grilled and fried. The Scooter Sauce grilled is just awesome; still a bit spicy, but not too much kick where it hurts. That's for sure a five star item.
The only problem is everything else I've had on the menu hasn't been that good. The cheese steak is pretty bland and boring, and the pastas aren't anything that you can't live without. Their margaritas and other drinks aren't particularly flavorful. Everything is just random bar food meh.
The service can be a bit sketchy as well. I've had bartenders wait on me at a nearby cocktail table, and just forget that we were sitting there. Everyone is friendly enough, but not always super swift or attentive. The TV's are also blocked in a lot of areas, so you might have to crane your neck for the game you want to watch if you're not in the right seat.
If you're on Fowler Ave. anyway, it's perfectly... ok. But not a destination choice either.
When I was at USF, I would head to Gators to watch games and munch on bar food. One of my friends was a big wing fanatic, so we'd go for the all you can eat wing nights.
The food at Gators isn't great. Some of it isn't good at all, but most of it is like Ale House- mediocre bar food. Prices are pretty cheap, and service has always been good for me. They have a pool table, arcade games, huge screens, outdoor seating and bar, and a private room.
If you're not picky about your food, but want to come and enjoy a game, this is a good place to do it.
This place was just "OK" at best! I mean, for you to name your restaurant "Gator's Dockside", you've got to hit me with some SLAMMIN' Gator! Â When I tasted the gator.... Â I was more than disappointed. Â I actually just had a couple of bites, and left the rest for my husband and I don't think he finished it either. Â The gator wasn't tasty at all!!!!! Â
As a sports bar, it serves its purpose. Â I am a big Dallas Cowboy fan, and sometimes here in Tampa, you can't always catch the game on regular tv, so it is definitely an option for you if you want to be able to catch all your major sports games. Â I did enjoy being able to see my team.
Overall, I would come back "ONLY IF" there was a game that I wanted to see and it was not being televised on tv. Â Other than that, they probably will not see me again!
Great sports bar atmosphere, decent selection of food. The tater tot dish with cheese and ranch sauce was delicious and EXTREMELY unhealthy haha. I didn't really like the gator chips though. They also have vegetarian (or so they say) french onion soup, which I love.
Overall, decent experience. Not the most amazing place, but I prefer places like these instead of straight-up chains.
I was actually on my way over to Lenny's sub shop when I passed by Gators Dockside. Â It was on a sunday and I found out that Lenny's was closed. Â So I decided to give Gators Dockside a try. I figured that they must be pretty good because they were packed!
When I got there I looked at the takeout menu and then proceeded to go to the hostess stand. Â I was planing on getting takeout. Â Normally if I call in an order I will just go straight to the bar, however, since I had never been to this restaraunt I decided to wait at the hostess stand to make sure that the bar was were to place the to go order. Â One of the hostesses just stood there and completely ignored me. Â She couldn't even have the deceny to ask whether I needed help or that she would help me within a few minutes. Â Instead she just walked away. Â Luckily, another hostess stopped by and said sorry that the other girl didn't help me out and then told me to go the bar where they would take my to go order.
At the bar I was greeted right away. Â They guy that took my order was very friendly and fast and efficent. Â When I received my order the portion size was pretty good! Â I ordered the chicken philly cheesesteak (which is what I planned on ordering at Lenny's had it been open). Â The fries were good. Â They tasted just any fries you would get from Chilis or Applesbees. Â I noticed they had "gator chips". Â hmm I"ll have to try those next time to see what the difference is. Â The chicken philly was EXCELLENT. Â It had more than enough chicken, plus onions and peppers. Â I am a sauce girl. Â I love honey mustard, ranch, mayo etc. Â I can't stand dry sandwiches. Â And I hate when I order chicken philly's from other places its always dry. Â This sandwich defnitely was not dry. Â
All in all I had a good experience at Gators Dockside and I will go back to try more things out on there menu. Â On a side note, since I went there on a Sunday, it was pretty packed. Â I think because alot of people seem to enjoy watching the sunday football games on there enormous screens. Â And like most other sports bar/grill places it can get noisy whenever the "most favored team" scores a touchdown. Â But hey the noise didn't bother me.
This place was great. Â I went with a large group of adults and kids who sat at two different tables and we had separate tabs that included our kids at the other table and the two servers got every bill right! Â Great sports bar with all the TVs programmed to different games and the sound up on the main one during big games. Â Food is pretty good also. Â Great place to catch a game and bring the kids along.
Review Source:
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