Gator’s Dockside Lake Mary

This place has really gone down hill over the last couple of years. The quality of food has become extremely poor, the staff has become overly lazy and just plain rude. The price has gone up and the quality of food has gone down. 25 min for a Togo order and the restaurant is dead. Unacceptable! Oh and the order was made wrong.

Just a great place to get wings and beer. The servers are very friendly and every single time I’ve been here the management came to the table and check how was the food and the service.
Recently, the added and outside patio but 10% of the time, there’s someone smoking and that’s annoying. (I know, most of you will say, outside is for smoking) Actually, outside seating should be for those of us that want fresh air or staying away from the freezing A/​C.

We are new to the area, and trying new places. Today we tried Gators for lunch. We tried the wingers and fries. We got the chili and the tai peanut sauces. Everything came out super fast, and the food was just amazing. The waitress was awesome, and was on top of refills the whole time. We also love the giant gator decoration.
All in all, I’d say they left a positive first impression.

The place is great with great tasting food, arcade games for the kids, and sports on every tv, it’s a really good place. (Try the Gator tail)

We stopped in for a quick lunch before a graduation ceremony. The restaurant was quite busy for a Saturday afternoon. There are a variety of arcade games and a nice kids menu to cater to the younger crowd. I was tempted by the chicken wings, but in an effort to keep the dress clean for the celebration I settled on the BBQ chicken salad at the suggestion of the server. It wasn’t a very remarkable salad, quite boring actually. The biggest complaint is that it was served atop iceburg lettuce. The chicken fingers looked tasty as did the quesadillas the kids ordered.
Our service was adequate. My only complaint is that the restaurant was very warm. I think it was due to the fact that they had an outdoor patio that was completely open into the restaurant.

We eat here all the time, because the food is solid, the drink specials are good and it is real kid friendly. Lately though at lunch they have had service issues. They know they have them. They comp meals on hour long waits. That happened to me the second time in two lunch visits today. I felt bad for the manager as he clearly had his hands full. I would go at dinner for better service or set some extra time aside at lunch just in case.

Gators Dockside is your average sports bar. They have a large selection of sauces for wings and a fairly extensive menu. The food was nothing spectacular. We ordered wings because it is their specialty, but I can’t say they were that special. We ate outside on the patio because they had Bingo Night and it was noisy inside. The wait staff was fabulous. They were attentive without being smothering. Each night there is a different bar game: bingo, trivia, etc. Lots of parking. Nice restrooms

My boyfriend & I LOVE Gators, great food, best wings around, love their margarita’s!!! They now have an awesome patio with outside seating and you are even aloud to bring your pet when dining outside, we love it!!!
Joe is not only our favorite bartender but he is now our friend. The first time he waited on us we just knew… his personality was awesome, he makes us laugh and makes our visit each and every time enjoyable, thank you Joe!!!

Awesome service… Got some food to go and the hostess was super nice, offered me a free drink while I waited. As always the wings are amazing.

Great food, great atmosphere, AMAZING SERVICE!
The food came in a timely manner, was delicious, and was cooked to perfection. Every bite was amazing until the very end!
Special shout out to Andrew, one of the most phenomenal servers I’ve ever met. Was extremely attentive and cared for us in ways that waiters at most places really don’t. Also, he made myself and my girlfriend the best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had in my entire life, really amazing work, Andrew! You’re amazing!
Loved my experience there, and Andrew facilitated that in the best way possible. While I’m sure all of the staff there are great, I hope we get Andrew again on our next visit, which I’m sure will be very soon!

Worst experience everfirst and foremost, we were never told about any specials (As we watched other guests around us told about drink specials and other specials) no one ever came to ask us if we would like a refill. We actually placed the drinking glasses in plain site and would put our hands on them hoping the servers in immediate view/​site would ask us if we wanted a refill but we got nothing but looked over

My most recent experience at the Lake Mary Gators was exceptional. Natalie was attentive and responded to every request in a timely manner. When I needed a refill, she came before it was empty. When I wanted the channel changed to Monday Night Football, it was changed immediately. Her awareness of our table, and the promptness of the service was second to none. Every request was received with a contagious smile and returned with energetic and expeditious response. When I return to this establishment I plan on requesting Natalie for Wing Night!

I’ve been going to Gators lately for the all you can eat Monday’s. The wings were okay, but the waitress was TERRIBLE. She was extremely rude, never smiled, and was arrogant. One of us said, excuse me, LaShelle, we haven’t received our fries, it’s been over 20 minutes. Her response: I know, and she walks away.
As long as I don’t get LaShelle next time, I’d be willing to come back for all you can eat Monday’s since all my coworkers like to go.
I don’t know why it took almost a half hour to get a refill. She also got my order wrong and never apologized. She is one of the worst servers I have ever had.

Worst Service! Our waitress was rude and literally took her 25 minutes to bring us a refill. Our wings were cold and didn’t taste nothing like what it was suppose to be. Our waitress name was LaShelle. After mentioning her name to some of my friends they knew exactly who she was and agreed with me. She gives waitresses a bad name.

Great place to come hang out. Great food and place to watch all your football games…

My mixed martial arts gym always comes here to watch UFC events. They happily reserve tables for our group and reserve one out two servers exclusively for us so we receive excellent service.
I generally order anything fried and am satisfied with the taste and quality… It’s a sports bar and grill, so typical food like wings and appetizers are a very safe bet. Decent beer prices also… Nothing too crazy in terms of craft beers on tap. If you’re feeling adventurous… Give the Monte Cristo a shot; it’s the most diabetalicious sandwich ever created.

I’ve been here a few times for dinner and have generally had a good experience. On nights when there isn’t a wings special going on (mondays for bone in wings, wednesday for boneless) i’ve had a great experience. Service is quick and the food is great. On the specials nights, you can tell that the restaurant backs up from the large number of people. on wing specials nights, the servers get inundated with tables so they’re a little slow to get around to you, and with all the reorders on wings going back to the kitchen, it can take a bit for wings to come out to you. If you dont mind the wait though, i havent had wings/​boneless wings that were bad/​cold, so the food is still on point. Pricing is what you would expect (sodas are a little high IMO at $ 2.50), and honestly the wings special prices are lower than what i would expect ($ 12 on monday, and $ 10 on wednesday) for an all you can eat special. I would recommend this location, just note that specials nights can be a little hectic and to expect a bit longer dining experience

The worst service I have ever had — chips were bad — fries cold — wings old… The server had to many tables — no teamwork at all. Very packed — for what I couldn’t tell u other than Drinkers — cause the food sucked.

I’ve been a long time customer at this and other Gator’s. I love their wings, cobb salad, gyro, fried pickles, etc. but the reason for this review is because this Gator’s switched owners and while yes, there may be kinks in the transition of any exchange, this location is so far off target, I am going to steer clear for a good while.
First, the draft beer tasted skunky. The manager said, «yeah, we should probably clean the lines.»
Second, the ranch… the delicious ranch was off.
Third, I was told the fish on the grilled fish sandwich was grouper. It was actually cape something or other that I’ve never heard of, according to the manager. Well, whatever it was, it was dry, gamey & rubbery. Altogether inedible.
Fourth, I saw the manager leave and return with a sandwich from a nearby restaurant… never a good sign.
Finally, when I went into the bathroom before we left it wreaked of that, «I was just mopped with used dirty water» smell and the waitress in there with me knew it.
Soooo sad! Come on guys, pull it together!

I came here for a farewell party (thrown in my honor by my wonderful co-​workers) on a Thursday night. they know I love good wings, and this place makes them right!
It was pretty dead for a week night, but the food and service were still spot on. Naked wings with the regular hot sauce + a decent selection of beer + fried pickles… and some 80s music in the background (yeah, I’m dating myself here) made for a fun time. Since it was slow, our server was even more attentive, and the orders came out pretty fast.
I’d imagine this place would be hoppin’ on a Friday or Saturday night — –or any time there’s a big game on. The location is convenient if you live or work around the Lake Mary/​Heathrow area. If you’re driving either east or west on I-​4, it’s an extremely short drive from the Lake Mary Blvd. exit. Got a big crowd? They have plenty of room and plenty of parking. It’s easy to find and family friendly, too.
And if you’re a Gator… you’ll also love the décor. :)