Jolly Gator Fish Camp

Wow! Florida authentic Swamp Cabbage! I was blown away with the great tasting cabbage this FL Native grew up eating! You have to stop in. Just off Highway 46 between East Coast and Sanford. Check out the local airboats and gators in the river too!

I think the place sitting on the water is awesome. I went there about 6 or 8 times now, the food is no better then publix (frozen fish, etc. etc.) The burger was good, the wings are good. My second visit — my check was totally wrong, had four beers on my tab that was not true, after some mumbling they took it off but with regret for some reason. the next time I visited — maybe just a quinky dink but My bank told me they had (someone there) attempted 3 times to run my card number, this cancelled my card so at my business meeting the next morning my card fails (not a good spot for business meeting). Yesterday I decided to pay cash all night so there is not no mistake LOW and behold they never gave me my change back from paying my check. OK assume your tip «A,» well being she didn’t give me the change I let her have it instead of tipping the norm 20%+ I normally do (to them also). Not good service there is like 6 at least, servers/​bar there and there always in a jam most guests bus there own tables and I have walked around also to clean up for people outside for others and I so they don’t have to sit in the last persons garbage. I don’t mind at all but it is just the point of service and why I am there.
I’ll go back for the awesome water views and air boats and some friends I meet there, but it is a for sure to pay cash on each transaction and ask for your change.

Down in the swamp you’ll find this joint on a whim… you should drop it. I promise it’s worth it.

Great place! Awesome food! Bob and I had the grilled gator po boy and the grilled grouper Reuben: both amazing! They both came with house made chips, which were the best we have ever had! All this AND a nice atmosphere. Super laid back and a scenic swamp!

Good food. Swamp cabbage soup was really good. Gator shrimp and frog were all very well prepared.

This place is fun to go check out the food is always good and the view of the St. Johns River is pretty, they have a dock to park your boat and enjoy the surroundings also take a airboat ride plenty of parking and Sundays they have a great band that plays great music

Parking lot FILLED with trucks, boat trailers, and Harley’s. Smoke-​filled bar on a Sunday afternoon. Old white guys on stage, jamming blues and rock. Eagles soaring outside, catching their dinner. Redneck in an airboat roars past on the river. Women in tight jeans. Kids outside in the play-​yard.
Fried fish and gator — the waitress sends us an inquiring «thumbs up?»
She has no idea…

Very satisfied. Stopped because of good reviews on Unilocal,so though i needed to confirm them for everyone!

I stopped here with Chris R. and several other Unilocalers/​friends for dinner after we went to the Unilocal event in Titusville yesterday.
The restaurant is very rustic and, for lack of a better description, «old-​school» Florida in style. It looked like a place that probably has been open for at least 30 years. I wasn’t exactly expecting a world-​class meal here — and no one should, really — but the food was good. I kept things simple and ordered a basket of fried clams. These are a childhood favorite of mine and I couldn’t remember having any of these for at least the past 5 years, so that was all I wanted. The fried clams here are tasty, but nothing really separates them from any I’ve had before. The serving size was about what I was expecting. I also had sides of hush puppies and French fries, both of which were decent.
Our shared appetizer of blackened (and perhaps Cajun?) gator was tasty, and I really liked the sauce that accompanied it.
Our server was good and was able to answer any of the questions we had. I was a little surprised that she didn’t bring any tartar sauce with my fried clams, though. It was strange to me that she forgot it or that I would have had to ask for it. (I didn’t, even though I should have. I ate them as is, without any sauce.) Chris’ wife, Ann, asked for tartar sauce with her meal, and I should have done the same. First time in my life I ever had fried clams, or any fried seafood, without tartar sauce … I think. Perhaps the server simply forgot to include it in the basket, but it’s strange that it wasn’t there. Oh, well.
Check this place out if you’re in the area and are in the mood for some local seafood and are comfortable hanging out in a dive-​y restaurant. The atmosphere here is slightly unusual, albeit oddly charming/​entertaining. I don’t go out this way very much so I’m not sure if I’ll ever return, but anything’s possible.

Great laid back atmosphere that reminds of my home state of Kentucky. Grab a couple beers and start off with some blackened gator or the buffalo shrimp, my fave. The handful of times I’ve been here there has been live music. If this place was a little closer to Me I would probably frequent more often.

Stumbled into this gem while on vacation. we thought we were getting an air boat ride. Instead, found a quaint fish camp that lives up to it’s name… get the gator burger.

Love this place! Very casual and laid back, right on the water and great food! Been there several times now and it was great every time. Had the catfish, gator bites, and the homemade stew with hearts of palm. All very fresh and excellent. They even have bands sometimes. You can sit inside or out. I purposely take my dog to the vet’s in Geneva so I have a reason to stop in! (That and poor reviews from my aunt about the Titusville veterinarians)

Absolutely wonderful, the food was awesome and the view of the St. Johns River in the evening was even better. I ordered the peel and eat shrimp, kinda hard to go wrong there, but it they were extremely tastey and seemed fresh. I also had a ¼ pound of Gator bites, again a great hit, wonderful flavor and great sauce. I ALSO had a cup of swamp cabbage, this cup of deliciousness was to die for, .and i never say to die for,.ever. The amosphere is rustic,-simple.they have an enclosed bar area out back that had several people playing music, the place was rather clean, and Kayce our server was very friendly. My buddy had a blackened grouper sandwhich and he said is was «…pretty dang good». The place is,.in the middle of nowhere, which kinda makes it nice, right on the Seminole county line of the St. Johns River bridge on S. R. 46. A truly enjoyable meal

We stopped by on our way to the Sanford Airport. Two of us got «fried Grouper» sandwiches (paid a premium over the mahi sandwich). I cannot honestly believe that it was grouper. it was very thin, absolutely awful and neither of us could even eat it. I love grouper (really any fish) but i am convinced this was not real grouper. The mahi sandwich was fine (actually pretty decent but i think it was really mahi). They did have wonderful tarter sauce but there was nothng to eat it with since the fish was literallly inedible.
I think they should be investigated to make sure they are actually using the fish they described.

Why I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich at a fish camp restaurant with the word «gator» in its name, I do not know. Surely there were some more interesting fishy items on the menu, but I suppose I just was not in the mood for such things at the time. However, as far as grilled cheese sandwiches go, this one was pretty tasty. Then again, you’ve got to work really hard to screw up a grilled cheese. If my memory serves me correctly, it came with some coleslaw and a side of hush puppies (which I love). Both were adequate, though the hush puppies could have used a bit more onion in them
My companion ordered a gator burger which he let me taste and it was quite good, though the texture was a bit… odd…if you weren’t expecting it. Sort of mushy. He also ordered corn fritters, but they gave him hush puppies by mistake. Rather than make a fuss, he just gave them to me and I happily ate them. Our other tablemates ordered some sort of pulled pork barbeque («fantastic!») and fish tacos («pretty good!»). We also split a plate of gator bites between us as an appetizer; they were tasty though there was some debate at the table as to if they were better than the gator bites served at the Swamp House Grille in Debary. I thought they were, but I was in the minority.
The meal was relatively inexpensive and the service was fairly average, though the waitress was quite chatty. She filled us in on how the local law is starting to enforce some sort of no open container thing out on the river. Evidently you may get a ticket even if you are not the one piloting the craft. Interesting. But not really applicable to us.
The restaurant is situated right on the water and I believe they do boat tours. We did not partake, but we did have a window seat with a nice view of some alligators sunning themselves until startled by the passing boats.
As an FYI, they only serve bottled water and soda from cans here; they are right on the water and maybe the water is… funky?

We stopped here after our first air boating adventure had stirred up our appetite.
It has a nice few of the water and you can watch people off load and launch their personal air boats while you eat.
I decided to try gator… when in Rome, right? I opted for the gator balls (think hush puppies but with gator meat) They were actually pretty good, I’m glad I tried them but definitely won’t be craving them any time soon.
I also tried the ‘swamp stew’ which was very good, a mix of heart of palm, sausage, and other goodies in broth. I had the chance to try one of my cousin’s corn fritters which was amazing!
I was in a burger mood for lunch and it was a decent burger, nothing outstanding but more than satisfactory.

A «good olé’ boy fish camp» with good home-​cooking…
We found this place by accident last year, on our way driving from West Palm Beach to Sanford for the auto-​train. Oh my, I felt like I stepped back in time. It was amazing!
The food, fish sandwiches, were excellent and a complete surprise.
The owner was sitting outside and just added to the atmosphere. Even better were the people fishing on the shore, with 10 foot long cane poles and umbrellas to protect them from the sun. Really, I thought I was in Florida, back in 1950.
Don’t pass this place up! Stop, relax and have some good home-​style cooking!
Hope that helps!

It’s exactly what it should be, without trying. If you can manage to release your inner Florida cracker the Jolly Gator will unlock the feeling of an era of times long since past. The way Florida used to be, simple and slow going.
Outdoor riverside seating allows for great views of the Florida cracker in it’s natural habitat. Alligators don’t get too close to land or else they end up on the menu. You’ll have to hop on a boat to see them.
The menu is simple and but the food is good. The Swamp Cabbage, the most standout item, is an old Florida recipe that has a perfect pairing of flavors: sweet heart of palm, onion and celery — savory bacon and sausage — and light touch of spice. It’s hot, hardy and comforting. Other Florida cracker favorites such as leg of frog and fried soft shell crab are included on the menu.
The beers are cold and cheap.
I have an ambivalence toward air boat ride since they are so damn fun, but really shitty for the environment. I’ll let you make up your mind on that one.
If you are not a local you will probably get noticed, although I suspect It wouldn’t take much to become considered a local as everyone was very friendly.
So go check it out and just remember: We are the boys of old Florida!

Talking about airboat rides, this place isn’t advertised and yet if it where he would be so busy he couldn’t stand it. He charged 30 dollars each, for two people ride and if there would have been 3 or 4 the price would be $ 20.00 each, for a 30 to 40 minute ride. He was professional yet showed a good time, we saw alligators, Herons of all kinds, Stilts, and even saw a deadly The Cottonmouth Water Moccasin. This dangerous semi-​aquatic snake is truly an aggressive reptile that will stand its ground or even approach an intruder. It is truly a ride you soon forget. I wish him all the best. He is 22 miles from the Weston Hotel in Lake Mary. Stay on highway 46E and just before you go over the second bridge take the left turn next to the blue house.

What the hell is a fish camp, you may ask. As did I when my friends Mark and Jerry packed me into the SUV at their Winter Springs home and started driving. And driving. And driving. We took this back road, this strange corner here, this turn onto ever lonelier and more backwoods looking turns. Soon we were further east and into deep Central Florida country than I had ever gone. Then we turned down what felt like a long driveway and pulled up to what looked like a sort of combo ranch house and doublewide. Welcome to the Jolly Gator Fish Camp, hard on the shores of Lake Harney.
A fish camp is a sort of Florida phenomenon as best I could tell. It’s a semi-​rustic restaurant, often combined with a bait shop, boat ramp, small set of docks, and convenience store where you can eat some down-​home rural Florida-​style fish and all that goes with it, including hush puppies and so forth. Jolly offers bait and tackle, boat rental, and airboat rides along with the restaurant.
At most fish camps the fish is likely to be fried or broiled, nothing fancy, but it is also likely to be fresh and hopefully local. If it’s on one of Florida’s many gator-​infested lakes (which is really any lake big enough to support turtles) you can probably also get alligator. Jolly Gator serves up its namesake critter blackened, fired, cajun fried, or Buffalo style.
You’ll also find an assortment of items for the non-​fish-​eaters like burgers and fries and chicken breast, but the focus is on fish.
I found the Buffalo gator I tried a little tough, and yes, it tasted like chicken. I enjoyed my catfish fingerlings much more.
When you’ve gulped down that last morsel, gator-​like, you might be able to arrange an airboat ride on the lakes and swamps hereabouts and enjoy some real pre-​Disney Central Florida entertainment. Just don’t fall out! You never know who might be hungry.