Simmer Down Lakeside Grill

After a week of pretty much constant rainfall, a cold front finally pushed the rain away, leaving behind some chilly weather (below freezing temperatures, even!) which quickly warmed up into the sixties by lunchtime. The air was cool and crisp, the sun was shining, altogether making a perfect opportunity to go for a motorcycle ride and find a new place to have some lunch.I had looked at the map, and found the Simmer Down Lakeside Grill on the map in Lake Butler. Seeing as there are only two or three other places to go for food in town, I went for it.. I figured a nice view of the lake while eating a burger or something might be nice.Sadly this was not the case, at least not for this visit. The bar room where the view of the water is was shut down, and only the large restaurant where the buffet was served was available. No view of the water... just a venetian blind obscured view of the playground in Lakeside Park.I went for the buffet anyway, since I had already come this far and wanted to taste the food. It was your typical Southern comfort food... fried chicken (not bad), smoked sausage (also not bad), meatloaf (good, but I haven't had it in a while, so my opinion may be biased), mashed potatoes, corn, rice, etc. The mashed potatoes were a bit odd, because when I poured some gravy on them, they instantly soaked up the gravy which is not an effect I am accustomed to.The food isn't bad. It's not great, but it isn't bad. It fills the stomach and quells hunger. About halfway through my meal, they ran out of fried chicken and decided to switch over to chicken fingers... so I tried one. This was definitely a poor choice... better to just leave it off the menu at that point and go over to some other protein... I noted that as I was leaving, they were putting out pork chops, which would have been a nice thing to try as well.I would love to try the ala carte menu at some point, but only if the other half of the restaurant is open and you can see the water. That is one of their biggest selling points, and they aren't using it! An outdoor porch overlooking the water would also be nice.

I was so excited to learn we had a breakfast buffet in town So being a girl who enjoys food I headed on down to Simmer Down to try it out. Upon arriving I walked in to find it empty of customer which I thought hey great I get the place to myself. I was greeted quickly and seated. Our waitress took our drink order and brought us cream for coffee and jelly fro toast. Then left. We didn't see her again till she brought our check 30 minutes later. No checking on us to see if we needed anything like condiments or a refill of coffee. When she finally brought out check we were able to get a refill. So service not the best.Atsomshehere of the place was great. It was clean, well-stocked and the decor inviting. Plus where we sat we had a view of the lake and the park. The food on the buffet was hot but way overcooked. The biscuits were hard that you couldn't bite into them. the toast was cold. The pastry we're good as they were store-bought. Hashbrowns were so overcooked there were no potatoes in then just hard greasy bots. Bacon, sausage, eggs and sausage gravy were good. Grits were okay. Overall not a huge selection of foo. No fresh fruit or pancakes or waffles. They had cereal but no milk. I will say for a buffet price was good at 8.99 a person but the selection was limited and food way overcooked.

We decided to go for a Sunday drive and found this place. Two other couples were there seeming to enjoy their meals. They did have a buffet but we decided to order from the menu. My husband ordered a cheeseburger and got this monster burger! he said it was great! I had a shrimp basket and it was very good. Our waitress was a true gem! She made our experience so much better by being just a very bubbly happy presence. Loved our outing and hope we get back there soon.

Had dinner on the bar side. Customer service great! Food was good and fresh. Plenty of seating. Atmosphere was great!

Went there with my daughter and a friend. Pretty empty for a friday. Ordered onion rings as an appetizer and not too bad, but you really cant mess up onion rings. Ordered a cheeseburger and my daughter ordered same. When they brought it to us it looked like a hockey puck. More like a burnt slider. Tasted burnt and not good at all. WouldNot recommend at all

The restaurant was a nice environment, but the food took awhile to come out and once it did it was very much overcooked. I ordered a fish platter, which was recommended to me by the waitress. When the fish came out, I could barely bite into it. I'm sure the restaurant itself isn't inherently awful, but I wouldn't have high expectations.

Very disappointed. Please was empty, took a while for food, and fries were precooked and re fried and cooked well over!!! Talked with staff. Made more, but was still not happy

What a great surprise - I had no idea this beautiful lake was here with a well cared for park and Simmer Down Restaurant right on the Lake!!! I met our niece here for lunch (her first time here as well). We were seated right away, waited on within minutes, menu isn't any surprise - but served hot and cooked as ordered. Great service, not too noisy, good food and great location ! Definitely will go again soon!

Love this little place! Stumbled across it after a hike near the Santa Fe River. Nice atmosphere and would 100% recommend the food!!

Should of read reviews before we visited. We were 1st time customers fromStarke. FOOD looked so delicious. We promptly were guided to back lounge. We choose a table between two other occupied tables. We waited, and waiting finally waitress appears. Good I'm hungry she goes to the other three tables takes a order and checks the other two. Totally ignoring us. In meantime as we waited, the bartender hollers over and ask if we been taken care of We respond no. She says someone will be with you shortly. After 30 minutes of no acknowledgement,we left. I so looking forward to something new in our area , but see from your reviews after the fact, this is how new clients are commonly treated. Way to grow your business!