Gator Tales

My review of GT’s is so old and irrelevant, my apologies for not updating I it sooner. In all fairness, it has fluctuated between 0-​almost 4 since then. As it stands now I’d have to give it a 3.5 star rating. It’s not bad, but it’s not the Ritz-​Carleton it’s just your usual bar fare. Most people who work here are pretty damn cool and care about the customers. My only gripe is the prices of liquor seem a bit high. That’s okay with a generous pour, but depending on who recognizes customers who will spend money it’s hit & miss sometimes. More to come…

Great WINGS & Onion Rings, Best in town. Friday night bands rock this neighborhood bar & grill. 3^rd Friday of the Month is Oldie Goldie NIGHT (Hotrod Lincoln Band). Don’t Miss this GREAT Time. See ya at Gator Tales.

One of the worst places in Gainesville. Try to avoid if you can help it. If you’re looking for a sports bar there are soo many better choices in town. Wings are small, tasteless, always feels like the cook is just now cooking something for the first time. TVs are blurry. Unfortunately have been a couple times and it’s the same every time. Don’t bother. You’d be much better off at WingHouse or hell even Beefs

A neighborood dive bar with you’re normal bar food beer specials and happy hours. It has a nice back patio for smokers.

Gator Tales needs to decide if they want to be a serious sports bar or a family restaurant. They have a very limited beer choice (draft and bottle). The tv sets are old and blurry… no HD viewing seemed to be available. The wings were tasteless, and the service was kinda of crappy. There were a total of 4 tables occupied (during the UF game) and the 4 server couldn’t keep up. There were more servers and bartenders than were needed for the amount of patrons, and they still couldnt keep up… I dont get it.
I’ll give them 3 stars for clean bathrooms. However, the place, beer, wings, service, and AV equipment gets 1 star. I am being generous by giving them 2 stars overall.
Also, the worse part for me was they dont carry any IPA. Seriosly? Locally we have some of the best IPA in the US (I am referring to Swamphead Bignose). Why not have Bignose on tap??? I mean you carry their Stumpknocker which is not that good of a Pilsner, why not their good stuff??? Guys, just get it together please.

Seems like they are trying to make things better. Will try them again soon.

Clearly Fred, I was not making my review off «one bad experience»… It was just the final straw. As far as my comment «wishing you out of business», I’ve not had one good experience in the last 6 months there and when bringing it to on-​site management’s attention, I was dismissed face to face with a «too bad so sad» reply.
I love the location, I love the «old» atmosphere, and it’s a great place for a «locals» bar… Which COULD be successful given were clearly a bunch of bar lovers. Which brings me to my last point: The «tiki bar» no longer houses a bar; Just tables, chairs, tvs, and bar stools. *Shake my head* (in disappointment). Please bring the «old» atmosphere back!!! And no more BS about «insurance» rules. Thanks. Bye.

Went back for a second try. Great service. Very attentive staff this time. I did not try the food — went for wings again, but prices seemed very reasonable.

We visited Gator Tales on two separate occasions in order to participate in their new trivia night. We have had a lot of fun playing pub trivia at different bars, and we were happy to find somewhere so close to home and at a day/​time that worked for us.
The bar is an interesting mix of sort of a biker-​ish or blue-​collar atmosphere along with a sports-​bar atmosphere. We liked that it wasn’t just catering to the college crowd. On the first occasion, I had a salad (if I remember correctly, it was a ceasar salad), which was adequate. It’s hard to screw up a ceasar salad. My companion had a hamburger, which was quite good. After the meal, we ordered one of the items on their desert list, which we thought was a fried Oreo. Well, it came, and it was actually FIVE fried oreos! It was very, very good. It tasted almost like a New Orleans beignet with an Oreo inside. We stayed long enough to finish the trivia game for which we had come. It was pretty entertaining.
Both times we ate at Gator Tales, the service was great, and the trivia was fun. The second time, however, we were accosted inside the restaurant by another patron, who appeared to be drunk and proceeded to try to launch an inappropriate conversation with us. It was a bit creepy, not to mention awkward. However, the waitress put an end to it very professionally. I was impressed with her ability to deal calmly with the other patron. She clearly had had to do it before.
I’m giving this place three stars because they do what they do well — it’s really good fried food, if that’s what you’re looking for. They don’t claim to be anything other than what they are. I’m knocking them the two stars because I feel like I have to be wary of their clientele when I go there.

This is the worst eating experience I have had in Gainesville in the 37 years I have lived here. Steak was inedible along with the grits and fried food, which is hard to screw up. We sent both plates back and instead of trying to make it right, we were told the «breakfast hasn’t been a hit». Avoid this dump. The reviews are fake.

Wings are good, beer is cold!

I wanted to give this place a better review, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t living up to my expectations. For starters, it’s a neighborhood restaurant, which is nice, but the menu is completely unimaginative and the food was downright plain. We were one of two small groups eating lunch there, and I guess the writing was on the wall when you walk into an empty restaurant with only one server that didn’t seem to care that we existed.
I ordred a french dip, and I got a cheese steak instead. My friend ordered sweet potato french fries, but they came out as potato wedges instead of regular fries (wedges were not even mentioned on the menu). When we ordered fries, it appeared as though the oil wasn’t hot enough or the cook didn’t shake off the excess oil because the fries weren’t crispy, but soaked in grease.
Again, Gator Tales did not meet the basic expectations I expect from a restaurant that isn’t slammed with patrons. Maybe it was a slow day, but I can think of 6 – 7 other sports-​themed places in Gainesville where the food quality is better, the service is better and the overall experience is better. Sorry folks… Won’t be going back again.

Recently changes owners…
The place got a nice little facelift, so it’s brighter and not a dark anymore.
The servers were very accommodating to my special request. I definitely wanted some Dry Rub wings, but also wanted something else besides. So I asked if I could substitute a half order of the wings for the side that comes with the sandwich. Of course, there was an extra charge for that — and that is perfectly fine — I would not expect them to substitute wings for french fries for free. They happily accommodated my request.
Another nice note… shortly after I ordered, the cook came out and said, «Ya know, when I saw you ordered wings with that sandwich it gave me an idea… I think that dry rub seasoning might taste really good on the sandwich — would you like to try it?»
I did try it and it’s was delicious!

I got a groupon here and wasn’t sure what to expect. When I drove in on a Sunday I was surprised to see how biker friendly they are. They have a specific parking lot of bikers so I knew it would be an old man bar. The local bar feel came across instantly. People sitting at the bar engaged me in conversation right away and gave me their business card within 5 minutes. To add to the local feel I asked if they could put the Tigers playoff game on (Detroit stand up) and the guy handed me the remote.
The wings were actually really good and the beer is cheap. I tend to like these kind of bars but would recommend going with friends. it is a little to far away from my place to be a neighborhood bar for me. I would highly recommend purchasing a half price deal here if you see it. Wouldn’t recommend going here to watch a game though.

«Great local sports bar, good group of regulars that have coming for years and a lot of new customers. Good food, cold beer, reasonable prices what more could you want?»

One of my favorite places to watch Gator games. Hometown feel. Fun locals. Food is good, for bar food. Wings are the best! Servers are very nice, but they do get very busy. Patio allows dogs and supports local dog rescues. Live music is always a blast. Karaōke could use some work.

3.5 stars. Gator Tales was nice. Not spectacular, but not bad either.
I went on a Friday night and they had live acoustic music playing songs like Hotel California and Santeria (that was great). It’s tucked away in a little corner of a rundown shopping plaza, but you could hear the loud music coming from that corner. The place was kind of empty, but there was a big group of people at the bar. They also have pool tables and multiple TV’s.
The service was great. Our waitress was real nice and attentive. The menu is pretty big. They’ve got staple sports bar food like wings, burgers, sandwiches and the like.
I got an order of wings for the table and also tried the shrimp Po’ Boy. My brother tried their burger. The wings (16 for $ 11.99) were great. The breaded wings were better than the naked wings (and I’m a naked wings kind of guy). They were a little oversauced but that’s cool. The Shrimp Po Boy ($ 8) was great. The shrimp were nice medium sized shrimp golden fried. They didnt get soggy from the tomatoes and they tasted great individually. There was a good amount of shrimp on the sandwich too. The burger looked great, never got to try it, but my brother thought it was just ok.
Overall, the place was good. I’ve had better food elsewhere, but this was still a great place. Prices werent too bad. The service was fantastic and the place looked clean enough. Although it was dark inside at night, so i cant be too sure. I would come here to watch some Gator games.

Great local drinking hole.

Fun locals place with an outdoor deck where they have live music on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and Karaōke 0n Thursday. Food is not bad and they have a pool table. Staff is really friendly. The server named Spring was the best, but now she is gone so Samantha is the best! Fun place to watch a Gator game.