Swampy’s Bar & Grill

Great spot right on the river. One has several options of where they’d like to sit, inside or outside, closer or farther from the river… My group came in before noon after our dive down the river. We were starving! I ordered Bloody Mary and it was really good. I also had their grilled fish sandwich with sweet fries. The sandwich was huge. I ate most of it. I was so full, I couldn’t eat many fries which were delicious. Our server was great. Very sweet and attentive. She made sure that we all were happy with our food and experience. One young server had a chameleon and he let us all hold it while we were waiting on our food. It was so great! I will most definitely come back again when I’m in the area.

I like that it is on the Rainbow River, but that is it! The food is mediocre. Had the grilled fish sandwich & there wasn’t enough fish is on the bun. So it was like eating a bun. The fries were on the cold side & probably came out of a bag. My husband got the hamburger & it was just fair. The fish sandwich had a tiny piece of fish on it. Mostly bread. We decided to sit under an umbrella right next to the water. Unfortunately the sun was going down & half the table was in the sun. SO HOT… asked if we could move to an empty table, but the waitress said no. I had to stand up at our table to get away from the sun. Won’t be going back!

Food here was very fresh. They have a homemade sweet tea, which tasted great! We had awesome gator bites as our appetizer. I recommend it. I had Fish & Chips, which is always hard to find good tasting and fresh fish. Their’s was great. My husband had fish tacos. Also fresh and great tasting. Fries were food. We tried their corn casserole, didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. The same day we went, they had someone playing the guitar. Very relaxing music. Not a very noisy atmosphere. We had a wonderful time having lunch there. Highly recommend it

Swampy’s is at the end of the Rainbow River tubing run. So, after a day of tubing, we figured «let’s give Swampy’s a shot.» So 6 of us wandered over afternoon of tubing.
We were seated right away, with a water view, no less — Nice! Beer took about 10−15min to come out. Appetizers took about 40min. We got gator bites, fried onions and fried pickles. All were pretty good. Of course, I’m sure part of it was the fact that we were starving after waiting over a half an hour just for appetizers.
As I’m typing this, it’s been nearly an hour and a half, the place is not busy and we still haven’t gotten our food yet. Oh, wait! Here it is!
And the verdict… not good. Our Mahi sandwiches had sat under a heat lamp for so long they were as dry as I’ve ever had fish. And others at the table complained of similar experiences. One person in our group couldn’t stomach it and send his back. The rest of us were so hungry, they could have served us warm dog food and we wound have devoured it.
All in all, Swampy’s was a massively disappointing experience than we won’t soon repeat.

We enjoyed the ribs and fried fish the service was good and friendly. Location is right on the Rainbow River which is priceless.

Swampy’s is located on the scenic Rainbow River. Great food. Nice atmosphere. Riverfront dinning. Good Daiquiri’s. Watching people Kayaking and Tubing. We were there after a bunch of us were done with our long 4 hour Tubing to have a late lunch.
There is no better food or view that compares anywhere. The food and view of the Rainbow River is incredible. That being said everything else about this restaurant is a okay if you sit inside the bar, but the outside sitting is awesome.
I had the Jambalaya with pasta which was really yummy and its worth try for anyone. Also Love their fish tacos and swampy burgers. Our server was attentive, efficient and pleasant.

Good and bad. Not enough help, left after waiting 30 minutes for a pitcher. Seems the keg was empty and no one would switch it out. We have gone other times and it’s been fine.

We had an average experience here.
Three people ordered the fish tacos of the day. One order was extra blackened and they had an abundance of jalapeños on their tacos. Another had a few, and the third order had none. Definitely a quality control that needs to be looked at as jalapeños are a bit spicy to be inconsistent with.
The garden salad with fish was just ok. The burger was typical (but good) and the sweet potatoes come with an amazing cinnamon sugar dip that I will continue to crave. Bananas foster for dessert is huge and delicious; easy to share between five people.
The service was what was average. I think our waitress had tables both inside and outside which made her a bit forgetful. One of our people didn’t get a dip and drinks took longer than I would have liked. The patio is right on the water though so you have a gorgeous view. It’s also completely acceptable to stop on your way down the river for drinks or food which is really nice.
We’ve been before and we’ll come back, but I wouldn’t say it’s the absolute best.

Only had the pleasure of eating here once but would gladly return. Great location/​ambience and the fish tacos I had were delicious.

Ours was a bad experience… The waitress came almost as soon as we were seated but we asked for a few more minutes to look at the menu. It was our first time there and we needed a little more time. 20 minutes later we had to go looking for her and got another waiter to find her. She came and took our order for our party of 8. About 45 minutes later, food for 6 of the 8 arrived. My husband and I were told it would be a couple more minutes for ours. Everyone finished their meals before our waitress came back and my husband demanded to know what happened. At that point he no longer wanted his order but I’m a diabetic and needed to eat. The manager came and apologized and he couldn’t figure out what happened to our order. He said I would have a meal shortly and gave us a gift card. It arrived a couple of minutes later — a chicken sandwich with fries as a side instead of the side i actually ordered — and I got to eat while everyone else watched me and made jokes. I did give two stars as the food was good. I really don’t know if we’ll drive there again.

We were a little disappointed after finishing our meal. The staff was nice enough and the food was alright, but the saving grace for this locale is the river waterfront view. The gator bites were the best part of the meal and I had the fish sandwich while my husband had the fried shrimp. At one point, the waitress made a motion at us to see if we were alright and we said yes, then she suddenly appeared with another (unasked for) beer for my husband… I felt a little irked she didn’t directly check with us before pouring another $ 5 glass… Overall, seems a bit more like a tourist trap than a great place to eat. :(

New to area and my husband and I tried something out of our normal choices. It was very delightful. Waitress Tracie was awesome. Entire atmosphere awesome.

The scenery is kind of nice, but the food was average. I was excited because I ordered a lava flow (icy alcoholic drink). It was not that good. Hardly sweet. I had the crawfish and shrimp ettoufe. It was ok. It could have been a bit saucier nice spice though. Another in the party had the jambalaya. It was average. The sausage wasn’t spicy at all. Seafood gumbo was good. Service was bad. Slow and scattered. Yes, the waitress had only been there a week, but …
I like neon Leon’s much better for Cajun food.
Plus, we kind of got bitten up. Either no see ums or mosquitos… not sure.

Excellent thai chili chicken fingers. Quick service. Would visit again.

They have a great menu selection and location, but they can work on ambience. The inside is too bright and cold.

Best way to end a day on Rainbow River. it is a beautiful location for a restaurant! The food is basic bar food, nothing glamorous about it. Come here if you want to sit back and extend your time on Rainbow River. Many great photo-​ops and a full bar!
Pro-​tip:
The tables will likely be either full or still not cleared once you arrive… it can be frustrating, but start clearing your own table and make it known you’re there and ready to eat to get things moving. Fortunately, the service is not terrible once you are situated and get your order in.
This is not a place I would frequent on visits to Rainbow River, but definitely a great spot to end the day if bringing first timers to the river.

Enjoyed our meal overlooking the river. Suggest going during the daytime for best view of crystal clear river and at dusk there are some bugs so wear long pants if sitting outside. Fish sandwich was great and view was FABULOUS!

A nice place to eat after a day on the river. I have only visited for late lunches/​early dinner time period. Usually sit out back on the porch by the river in a soaking bathing suit. The wait staff is typically a little unorganized.
I have only eaten sandwiches!

Swampy’s is a fun little restaurant on the Rainbow River with a great atmosphere. It’s my favorite place to go eat after tubing on the river! It has pretty standard American bar food (burgers, wings, sandwiches, etc.), but it also has some more specialty items (gator bites, really good corn casserole, etc.). I highly suggest getting the gator bites!
Just be warned, the place gets pretty busy if it’s a weekend or holiday during the summer months. Even though you may have to wait 10 – 20 minutes to get in, the service is great, and the food tends to come out pretty quickly. Also, one of the rooms inside is FREEZING! Bring a jacket in case you get seated in there, or be prepared to buy coffee.

Enjoyed the 5-​star view, service was prompt, the wait for our food was reasonable. The place has deck seating, covered deck seating and indoor seating as well as picnic tables. It was a gorgeous fall day with nobody on the river but us. Even the kayakkers were still. Very easy to arrive by boat. Loved the quaint shackiness of the place.
I ordered the turkey burger with caramelized onions and they did a nice job. My side of green and wax beans and carrots was good. My friends got some pretty fine burgers, cooked to their liking. The fries were a great side. The French onion soup tasted «canned». They had a craft beer option but it was Coors for us.
This place gave us a romanticized view of the river and we can’t wait to go back.