Gator's Riverside Grill

My husband and I have visited this place twice. The first time was in 2020, right before the big COVID mess. We happened upon it when looking for a place that offers gator tail on their menu. We were not disappointed! We tried both the blackened and fried, and both were excellent! We also had their beer battered onion rings, which were very, very good.Fast forward a few years, and we took my husband's son with us to experience it. We had the blackened gator tail, fish and chips, onion rings, and steak quesadilla. All of it was really good. My stepson had his fish blackened as part of the fish and chips. We highly recommend getting the fish and gator blackened. Once again the gator tail was outstanding. It was tasty and cooked perfectly!This looks like a dive bar on the outside, but when you enter and go around to the back, you can sit at a table right on the water. There was live music playing, which was a real treat! They serve a wide variety of beer and other malt beverages. The wait staff is super friendly and attentive. The food came out in a decent amount of time and was served well. The wait gave you the opportunity to enjoy the river, the wildlife and the band that was playing.If you are ever in the Sanford area, like flying in to go to the attractions in Orlando or on you way to or from a cruise out of Port Canaveral, we highly recommend this gem that is just a bit off the beaten path. The bit of time it takes to get there will be well worth it!

Ok. I am hesitantly giving this place 4 stars. It should probably get less BUT I love a good dive bar and this is definitely a dive. It's located on the water and they have dockage for a few boats. We were there on New Year's Eve for lunch and every one of the 15 tables and the bar were filled. The female bartender was working her A$$ off. She not only was doing bar duty but taking orders for every table in the place. There were a few older men that seemed like they were trying to help her out by delivering food and getting her ice but she was pretty much a solo act working at warp speed! Gator's is very popular for buckets of beer and, between taking orders, she was diligently delivering them to the tables. We were there for a pretty long time before she took our food order but she was definitely handling the situation as well as one hard working professional could. Meanwhile, we enjoyed our drinks, the waterfront view and the people watching. We ordered fried pickles and a grouper Reuben. Both were good. Waiting for our meal probably was an hour but, again, we relaxed,enjoyed the scenery and marveled at the work ethic of the bartender.

Incredible food, service and atmosphere. We stopped at Gators on the way home to Orlando from New Smyrna Beach. We were quickly greeted by Kaitlyn who provided some of the best service we've had in awhile. My boyfriend and I shared the fried pickles which were delish. He ordered chicken wings which were huge and had a great Buffalo sauce. I ordered the blackened grouper basket which came with fries and coleslaw. First off, the grouper was cooked to perfection. Better than seafood places back home in Sarasota. The fries were hot and the coleslaw was yummy too. I also loved that they brought out each of my dogs a bowl of water when we arrived. Great views of the river at sunset too. Will be returning.

Service was good and live singer was awesome! Good atmosphere and nice area to grab a bite to eat or drinks. Food on the other hand was not the greatest. It was over priced. Fries were not good. Chips and queso were small and the chips were all soggy. Wouldn't go here again, but it was nice to check out! Band was a plus and made the experience better!

We will have to go back out for the food.The place was kickin' with a great sounding band and the place was full.We stopped in for drinks (decent prices).

A little hideaway on the river with parking under the bridge. Large covered outdoor seating with live music and cheap drinks. Service was good.

No pic of nachos because they were wrist deep before I could whip out my phone, lol! The nachos appeared to be homeless chili w beans. They should have stuck under the broiler for a minute, cheese not melted, overall, can't recommend them. However the rest if the food was great and thr French fries and coleslaw got rave reviews from all. My mushroom Swiss burger was good. The bacon on the club was way overcooked, almost burnt. We had to wait a very long time in-between our nachos app and our food, which seemed especially odd, as when we commented to the waitress how busy she was as the sole server, she replied, we're not busy at all!The views are beautiful!

If you want local.. this is no nonsense beer food and service. Great view next to the river and good service from our server. If you want frills this place isn't it, bit if you want to chill in a local next to the river this place hits the spot.

It's Amazing , Good Food prices , great Atmosphere, Great live music, Friendly Servers , Great Beer Buckets,

Good food good beer prices. Nice view of waterBand was really goodWill definitely come back