Gator Joe’s

Ordered fish and chips! What a joke! I was realy disappointed! Not fresh. small portions. frys were over cooked. overall servjce was ok!

Great gator bites and hushpuppies! And cold beer! Great atmosphere on the deck even on a cold windy day.

What an awesome restaurant right on the banks of Lake Weir near Ocala, FL. They have outside seating where you can look out onto the lake. There is a beach there where you can come during the summer to swim.
I had the stuffed chicken sandwich and an order of Caribbean beans and rice. The food was yummy. A duo was playing music which made this place very entertaining as well. Nearby is the Orange Blossom Opry where they have some really good acts booked like Lorrie Morgan, The Gatlin Brothers, Exile, and Sawyer Brown. Well worth checking out. A hidden gem.

A random little place, off the beaten path but on a kewl lake, Gator Joe’s hits the spot on a few different levels: outdoor seating, casual lakefront dining, friendly staff, cold beer. I’ve only ever had drinks here while stopping by on the bike, so I can’t comment on the food. But based on all the other reviews I see, I may have to partake of some edibles next time by. The staff is friendly and there’s plenty of places to sit. We ended up there on a Wednesday afternoon and parking was easy, though I fear it might pose a problem on good beach days.
I’ll do a full review of this place next time, when I eat something ;)

I love this place. Love eating at the water, love eating outside. Their food is better now. Great outdoor music. Love the atmosphere.

My brother live on the lake just down a few lots. Great place to go when you don’t feel like cooking. Food is perfectly prepared with right amount of flavor. Nice menu for everyone’s taste. Needless to say you can’t beat the relaxing n serene atmosphere.

The new menu is ok at best. Service was once top notch and attentive. Now your lucky to flag down the barkeep to get a beer refill.

This is such an interesting place! Very ‘Florida’-centric menu. I had the gator tail bites and frog legs. Very good! Never tried them before and no regrets! The service was lovely and the deck is fantastic and over the water! Perfect lunch spot if you’re driving through :) The only complaint I have is about the coleslaw they serve with everything. It just tasted off to me. But other than that, everything was great! :)

We were up for leesburg bike fest and decided to go the Gator Joe’s for lunch. The place is really cool reminds me of the key’s. Food was excellent and it’s really quaint in the middle of no where! Well worth the drive make sure you get the gator bites. The place gets busy so plan to wait some time it wasn’t to bad at all.
Rob

Well I moved back to MD 2014. I lived in The Villages, Fl for 2013. I would go here as often as possible. They have the best gator tail I’ve ever had! They took my pita sandwich off the menu :(but everything there is great. Really laid back atmosphere. We always sat outside, people on boats would come up and chill on the beach. It was really a fun place to be. It’s great for a date night or even to bring your family. If you’re of age definitely try the vodoo juice. I’m traveling to Florida later this year and I’ll at least go there three times lol minimum!

Would not return. Being fair I was in a large group, that could have contributed to the service/​food quality. It took us almost 2 hours from the time we walked in to be served. The food was poor quality and in some instances cold. They need to work on customer service and food quality. Will not return.

We got there at about 1pm on a Tuesday and there was a 30 minute wait to sit outside. We grabbed some beers and waited on the back deck with great views of Lake Weir and a nice tropical/​tiki bar feel. They have a spot for boats to tie up and a beach area for swimming and tanning.
Onto the food. For appetizers we shared the Gator Joe’s Sampler: gator bites and hush puppies. The gator bites were tender and tasty with no gaminess at all! If you want to try gator, this is a good place to do it. The hush puppies were crispy crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside. We also had jambalaya which was better than average and chicken wings (hot) which were lightly breaded, perfectly cooked and had a nice zing to them.
I had the Mojo Mango Salad. Nicely seasoned, juicy chopped, pulled pork and mango chunks over greens with a nice dressing. The others had Joe’s Big Burger, Joe’s Philly and a Chicken Ceasar Wrap. There were no complaints and no leftovers.
Service was efficient and friendly and the beers were ice cold! We will definitely eat here again.
I went here for lunch during Daytona Bike Week with 3 buddies. Taking all backroads its about an hour ½ ride through the Ocala National forest and rolling (for Florida) farmland. This is not a «biker bar», but motorcyclists are welcome.

After a week of doing the tourist scene. From Cocoa Beach to Daytona Beach to Tampa. Gator Joes was the perfect stop for perfectly seasoned gator nuggets and shrimp. The waiter was friendly & kept our drinks coming. Pleasant atmosphere and good food.

Wish the deck wasn’t full, but that was our fault for showing up late. Great atmosphere and staff. Had a drink called Frozen Key Lime Pie. Delicious!
Had fried green tomatoes and gator tail.

Gator Joe’s what can I say a local restaurant with a lot of local charm make sure you try to get a seat out on the deck with a view of the lake. What to say about the food local fair the wings are so so. What they advertise as a Philly cheesesteak sandwich they need to send someone to Philly to try a real Philly cheesesteak they need to incorporate the bread that is used in a real Philly cheesesteak. Their bread is definitely subpar. I went with a group of others everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed what they ordered. The waitresses were friendly, helpful and quick with your order. I would recommend going there for an afternoon’s lunch you won’t go wrong it’s a fun experience. The prices were reasonable and we will go back. A thumbs up.

Who knew we would find a great place to eat and relax in Ocklawaha. We decided to take a road trip up to the The Villages and Gator Joe’s is only about 20 minutes from there. I’ve driven by this place so many times and I never knew it existed. The restaurant is nestled along the lakefront and it’s surrounded by giant trees with hanging moss, very cool. We arrived late afternoon and it was not busy at all. They sat us down on the outside deck overlooking Lake Weir. Down below you see people bathing in the lake along with picnic tables and umbrellas to protect them from the scorching Florida sun.
Our server, Little Red, was prompt and took care of our service exceptionally well. We ordered some Peel & Eat Shrimp to begin and they were fresh and medium sized. I noticed many people with a Bacardi bucket so I ordered what they call VooDoo Juice which consists of Coconut Rum, Pineapple Rum, Citrus Rum, Banana Rum and Dark Rum blended with Orange, Pineapple and Cranberry Juice served in a 32 oz. bucket.
The house specialty is Gator but I am not a fan of Gator. They have many alligator options including Gator Tail. They also offer fish, clams, frog legs, chicken and meat options. My wife had the Baby Back Ribs Dinner which was very good. The sauce had a good spicy kick and they serve a full rack for $ 16 bucks. I also went the meat route and ordered the Rib Eye which was a bit peppery but overall it had good flavor. One thing that caught my curiosity was the plasticware they provide. Silverware is necessary for certain foods like steak and that’s something they should consider implementing.
We chose to skip dessert because the Russell Stover Chocolate Factory in Wildwood is on the way home and that’s a must stop. After seeing what Gator Joe’s has to offer, we will definitely be back for a beach day.

We had our first visit here yesterday for the 4^th of July fireworks show on the lake. We will definitely be back again! The bar/​restaurant is much bigger than it appears when you first arrive. The menu is American with some local flavors, such as Gator bites, which I had Philly style (with melted Provolone cheese)! Voodoo juice is for the passengers because two of these and you are definitely over the legal limit! Not too sweet, an adult drink that I enjoyed! My wife had the «When pigs fly» sandwich which was huge and delicious, she almost finished it! I also had the jambalaya which was also very good! Full bar, and daily specials, both inside and dockside! We’ll be going there often from now on!

If you’re visiting anywhere in the area, this is a must stop; an eatery on a big lake with its own beach, fun drinks, great Happy Hour, tons of colorful history and quotes posted about. Every big lake in Central Florida should have one of these.
The beach makes it an all-​day destination. The sand is very fine and the waves are only a few inches high at most with zero percent chance of sharks or tsunamis.
Since I got the gator bites on both visits, I can attest that they are excellent. A medium breading give the gator a crunchy exterior while the meat was very tender. We had them with Ranch and Buffalo, both sauces complemented the bites. The salads were fresh, devoid of any yellow or brown edges, with the Shrimp and Krab being a notch better than the House Salad with Shrimp.
2−4−1 Happy Hour on Yeungling timed well with the 3pm World Cup games. The Voodoo Bucket was potent but not overly sweet. Gator Tea, a Sweet Tea Vodka mixture, was too smooth. Note; refills are NOT free.
Gator Joe’s embraces the local terrain and a bit of the local cuisine with its famous Gator Bites, but the rest of the menu is fairly standard American fair. My only advice is to add a few more local ingredients with local-​themed dishes as well as a few of those excellent new Florida brews on tap. Nonetheless, this is my new hangout in the Ocala area.

We (and our family) love this place. Friendly staff, great value seafood. I really don’t understand the people who say this place is «expensive.» That being said, we live in New York City, so I guess anything below $ 10 US at a restaurant (anywhere) is a great value.
Came here with my wife after our engagement for a fun, adventurous visit to Floridaland, and brought our in-​laws. We had a blast.
UNLIMITED FRIED SHRIMP TUESDAYS! It’s true, and totally worth it. I think we paid $ 10 for unlimited shrimp. If you think $ 10 for unlimited fried shrimp is too much, you shouldn’t be going out to eat… anywhere.
I had 4 boats of shrimp. The beers are beer… in that they are good. We got a bucket full of some kind of booze. Thank goodness we weren’t driving. It was great. Totally off the beaten path. The general manager is awesome. Even though I forget his name, he’s a great guy. Everyone there was just a joy.
Great for families, or people just looking for quality no-​frills seafood and cheap booze. Again, if you don’t think the booze here is cheap, or that the food prices are a great value (they are) you should probably reconsider whether your financial situation condones dining out.
Highlight of the visit: There was a sign behind the bar listing the daily specials. It read, «Buy two drinks, pay full price.» Hilarious. (Drinks start at $ 2.00 US)

Was recommended to try this place by our shuttle driver, telling us the gator was sliced thin and fried in a tempura like batter for the «Philly cheesesteak» and we’d probably prefer it over the bites because they’re a bit chewy. All 3 of us were sold, so we ventured on over. We’ve never had gator before and being on vacation we felt we had to try something new.
Low and behold the «cheese steak» was not sliced, but were the fried bites. (nicely fried i might add. Not greasy at all.) Was a little disappointing but I still enjoyed it! Gator itself had a clean taste. I can’t say it taste like chicken because to me, it didn’t. It just had a light clean taste to me. Some pieces however were more fatty and you could tell you were eating something new. However, the sandwich itself wasn’t all that great. (i forgot what it’s called that’s why I keep referring to it as «cheese steak») I probably would have been better off just getting the Gator Bites Basket with fires (fries with the sandwiches were $.75 more.) I did however enjoy the sauce it came with and it defiantly pulled the sandwich more together and brought the taste out in the gator bites.
For the Frog Legs, they were really nicely battered and fried. HUGE pieces and the basket came with about 5. They were very meaty, so if you’re a frogs legs fan, I would defiantly recommend them. However I found them to taste fishy, so I wasn’t a huge fan because even though frogs live pretty much in the water I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. (Never had frogs legs before.) You can also substitute fries and coleslaw for 2 different sides.
I enjoyed the view very much. We sat outside on the deck that extended over the water. There were steps that went down to the beach and the water was very inviting. There was also a volley ball net, and a bar outside on the deck.
Prices were vey reasonable, for 3 of us, with iced teas, it was about $ 49.