The Blue Gator of Dunnellon

I would come back for the atmosphere. This place is located right on the river. Not the most scenic spot, but still nice. This place is where the locals seem to congregate. Friday night they had a live band and many danced to the tunes. The food is like bar food. Lots of fry options. We had grouper fingers and they tasted like they were not fresh, but frozen. Sweet potato fries were a bit limp. I liked the large oysters special. Wish the oysters where a bit more washed though.

I give the blue gator a 5 start because my wife and I keep coming back to this place time and time again. We love the outside atmosphere and live band. The food so far I have not been a disappointed and we love our margaritas.

Stopped in here after a long day of tubing down the rainbow river, in a group of 10 friends, looking for a way to cap off the day with some drinks and cheap food. The cheap food ended up being pretty surprisingly good (if pretty much all fried). The drinks were pretty disappointing. But definitely not a bad deal.
This is your classic, on the river, cheap seafood/​american bar and restaurant. Which is a lot of descriptors but I hope you get the idea. The majority of the restaurant is outside on a deck, right on the river. There’s a vague tiki feel, clashing with a vague bayou feel, but it all comes together into a down-​home feeling that fits right on the river.
The service was pretty good, considering we were such a big group. The biggest problem was that they could only put a few items on each ticket they submitted to the kitchen, so because of our large group some people were just getting their starters by the time others were halfway done with their main dish. Even still, the food and drinks came out pretty fast and they had no problem splitting up the bill, despite the complicated array of shared dishes and random orders.
The food was surprisingly good. I got a taste of the frog legs, the gator bites, some clam chowder, and I got the fish and chips for myself. The frog legs were cooked surprisingly well, and weren’t chewy. The gator bites were good but definitely lacking in gator. The soup was tasty, and when you order it in a bread bowl is a pretty big meal. But the most impressive thing was my fish and chips. Now, to be sure, this was not your classic ‘cod in beer batter’ fish and chips. This was cornmeal fried catfish with french fries. And I was definitely disappointed with that when my plate was put in front of me. But it was still delicious. And a full order gives you so much food. It was five or six rather large strips of fried catfish, and entire tray of french fries, and two hush puppies the size of a racquetball.
While the food was pretty good, the drinks were pretty much crap, and you definitely got overcharged for the pleasure of drinking them. I got the Blue Gator along with a few of my friends, and none of us could really taste any alcohol. To supplement that I got a Margarita with a double shot of tequila, and could barely finish it, it tasted so bad. As far as I can tell, no one was really satisfied with their drinks except for the people that got beer. So just stick with some beer.
Now, the prices for the food are pretty fair, but definitely bumped up compared to other local restaurants. The drinks were definitely overpriced, and my two drinks bumped my bill up to a pretty unreasonable level.
At the end of a long day on the water, I was tired, a bit sunburnt, and I just wanted some drinks and good fried food. I got the good fried food, but the drinks just weren’t worth it. I might go here again, but from now on I’ll know what to avoid.

Great food, Great atmosphere love the outside deck. My husband got the charbroiled oysters and I got grouper sandwich broiled with a side of sweet potato fries. I personally have never had a bad meal here yet.

We drive by a lot on our way to Gainesville. finally had time to stop. The flies were terrible, all over our arms and drinks. They turned on huge fans and it helped blow them away. We ordered gator tail and it was the best. Everything else we ordered
was pure garbage. frozen, old tasting fish, cold storebought cheap French fries, mushy veggies and ok service. Three adults and a small child, no cocktails (we were all driving) the bill was 80.00. I called the next day and the manager (4 calls to get him on the phone) said it must of been a bad night for the kitchen. Well it was a bad night for me and my wallet. I would of rather gave that money to a church. And the manager never said please stop by we’ll buy you a drink or dessert to make up for it. guess they don’t care, only want the snowbirds!

This is an awesome place to eat. The crab cakes are some of the best I have ever had; we also had the fish and chips and shrimp platter, and they were great as well. Everything was very fresh. We will be back!

Get the SCALLOPS… Absolutely, thee best I’ve ever had in my life. Large sea scallops grilled. WOW!
Great atmosphere and always packed… Park in the City Hall Municipal lot across the street.
I have also heard of great burgers… yet, I just might order the scallops every time!

Got a Parking spot! They’ll shuttle you if there’s no spot :-) Great location right on the beautiful Withlacoochee River, live music Thurs.- Sun, awesome ambience and very friendly staff.
Very chill vibe at outside Tiki Bar, the place to be!
The house made Crabcakes were delicious.
If you are on the river or just in the area, or taking a River tour with Cap’t.. Mike– stop in !

Fun atmosphere! We came primarily for an Airboat ride and knew we wanted to eat dinner right away. Sat by the water, food and service were EXCELLENT, especially the gator bites! This was our last night of vacation and I’m so glad we decided to spend it at The Blue Gator. Met two other couples on our Airboat ride, one a local and regular customer. It was obvious many of the other customer’s were locals as well. You know when it is not just tourist’s that you will be well taken care of! Next time in town, we will be back!

Not gourmet food, but fun place and pretty good food. I had the seafood sampler and was not disappointed. Huge frog legs and very good crab cakes. Wife had fish tacos and was more than she could eat. Probably too many tater tots and we left many on plate.
I can’t get used to smoking in public places, especially restaurants. Also really don’t like dogs/​pets in food places. Waitress brought grubby dog water dish for table next to us with her finger in bowl. She then picked up dropped food on floor and then served us our meal. Ugh!
But I’d return…

Awesome meal on the Withlacoochee waterfront‼ We had the grouper sandwich. Delicious Coleslaw was the best I have ever had‼Must experience‼ Relaxed casual atmosphere, friendly, good selection on the menu. Plan to return when I am in the area. I would highly recommend The Blue Gator. They have live music Thursday through Sunday. You might also want to take an airboat ride or rent a pontoon. Perfect afternoon adventure for the whole family.

I ordered the steamed shrimp on the waitress’s recommendation. They were great. Gator bites are a delicious starter. It was too windy to sit outside, but the deck seating would be great, right along the river. Staff was super friendly.

Great drinks– not too strong or weak, just right, served in clear plastic glasses. Corn nuggets are tasty, but wouldn’t get again. The fish and chips small is 2 fillets for $ 6.99! Great deal! I got the ½ lb of peel & eat shrimp– a few were not completely deveined and they were a bit small, but tasted good, cooked in Bay seasoning. There are a few huge tables for groups and 4 seat tables, it fills very fast on the dockside patio! There is a stage for live music Thursday — Saturday! Very nice service! I would go again when I visit next time!

The food was impressive. I dropped in for lunch on a cool Florida afternoon and was pleasantly surprised. Stop in here and grab a bite, you’ll enjoy the food and the atmosphere.
There is a good selection of beer. There are also a few drink specials. I had fried green beans as an appetizer. I figured any establishment that has fried green beans as an appetizer must know what the hell they are doing. OMG. They were delicious. My lunch guest also ordered crab cakes. The cakes were really good. I ordered the scallops for my entrée. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they were prepared. The hush puppies are about one step from heaven. Win.
I enjoyed sitting on the patio watching the crystal clear blue water flow past the deck as the air moss swayed from the live oaks. What a great place to drink a few cold ones.
Our server went aloof a few times. Attentive on the front end but was slow on the main order and a refill. I can’t look past this since it wasn’t very busy. Selling drinks generates revenue. She missed a potential round.
This is a dog friendly establishment. There were three canines visiting on the patio. All well behaved but beware if you have canine paranoia. I’m a dog whisperer so it works for me.
There were a few smokers on the patio. Not my thing but I still believe its a free world. I’m already over it. Be prepared for it.
The restroom is a hell hole. Sorry to be so blunt, but it is. Although it’s a smidge better than a few places I’ve seen in Central America. Shake it, run, and don’t touch anything. Bring hand sanitizer.
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The location on the river is awesome! The food was really good. I had crab cakes and a grouper sandwich for lunch. Terrific food! The only knocks were, the service left a little to be desired and all the tables around us the patrons were smoking. I would definitely eat here again.

We love this place!!! The atmosphere is fun, the outside patio is great to enjoy dinner with our pets. The food was delicious and even on a busy Saturday night, the service was fast. Once we get moved here, this will definitely be on our our regular restaurants, especially with our furbabies!

Damn good food, great atmosphere, excellent service! On the river! Outdoor live music! Fricken cute place

First, the girlfriend wanted to come here because it reminded her of the Adam Sandler movie, the water boy. Hahahaha! We arrived and sat outside by the river. It was a slow night (Wednesday). They have live music from from Thursday-​Saturday and the waitress said it gets packed.
We started with gator bites that were so delicious! Not to chewy and the perfect amount of breading. I couldn’t get enough! We also got a crab cake that was also great.
For the meal, the girlfriend went with steamed shrimp that were seasoned with an old bay type spice. Loved them. Seriously some of the best. I decided on grouper tenders that came with tater tots and hush puppies. Great food and good service.
Mama said (Adam Sandler voice) this place can cook some good food!

Food was good. Enjoyed the smoked fish spread. Burgers were ordered medium but came well done. Fried shrimp were good.
Took a long time to get our food, and our bill.

Found the Blue Gator on Unilocal,yay! This place was perfect for that been-​swimming-​all-​day-​need-​to-​chill-​out vibe. The restaurant is located mostly outside on the side of the Withlacoochee River. There is some seating inside, and it was fine, but in the back is a larger porch area overlooking the water. That’s the place to be!
The food is good and there is a mix of bar type food like burgers and a nice assortment of seafood. My husband had a seafood platter that included breaded frog legs and they were enormous. Interesting favors and definitely a florida cracker food type of menu. I had the fish tacos with cole slaw and hush puppies, it was a perfect portion size if you’re hungry but don’t have a huge appetite.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and found the beer prices super reasonable. Well behaved dogs are allowed on the patio outside, so cool that this place is okay with that. By the way, our sever was great and I noticed pretty much all the servers were super efficient because this place was slammed at 5pm and in to the evening.
Parking is a little weird here, it’s very limited. The restaurant had staff outside to direct you were to park. At first I thought it was valet, but it was just a guy telling you the best place to park, it seemed like a Tetris game in their parking lot. Really liked this place and would come back next time I’m in the area.