If everything here is made from scratch ya'll are in need of a new cook. The food came out of the kitchen cold. NO HEAT to it at all. My husband will eat food that is not hot, even he could not eat the meal. Yes, they did bring new dinners but honest it was only marginally better. We didn't send it back because it was warm, we were hungry and we needed to get home to feed the dog. Luckily there are lots of places to eat in this town. read more

Always great service & a good time. When not bringing a big group with us, we eat at the bar with spectacular service. Music outside is always good and entertaining. read more

Recently had dinner at Ballyhoo Grill and really enjoyed it. We were greeted and seated on the outside patio right away. I ordered the Blackened Grouper Tacos with Black Beans & Rice. The food was served quickly and was delicious! Our server was friendly and attentive. read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Blackened Grouper Tacos with Black Beans & Rice - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

It was almost ok. Server was friendly and efficient. Food was fair at best. Won't be back. Cold and flavorless.

So, I just want to say before I give my review I was a huge fan of the Tampa location and sad when they closed a couple of months ago. So to say I was so happy to find this location this past week was an understatement and so I hyped the place up to my cousin after we just left the UF vs FSU game (Go Gators!) when we got in of course it was packed due to the fans from the game. It was a 30 min wait but I nabbed two seats at the bar. It all started great we ordered drinks Alligator Bites and a dozen raw Oysters. They truly have the best! I will say the menu was about the same but there seemed to be some differences. When I went to order my go to po boy the waiter said the po boy doesn't come fried, I said "are you sure? I've never had a unfried po boy?" He states he can see if they can do it and will let me know... (still confused as to who has a unfried po boy? and there are so many fried items on the menu including the alligator bites he just served me) but ok, I take from him not returning they were going to fry it. My cousin ordered a steak with veggies and something else and they stated the vegetables were broccoli. Needless to say both of our orders were wrong and service was super slow but understandable but once the girl who brought the food said she would get a manager go in the back and never bring out the manager and our personal waiter at the bar was too busy to even ask if everything came out ok, my cousin went and got the manager himself. The manager did make everything right and offered to get us something else and took care of the bill but we didn't want to wait any longer than we had too so we just called it a night. I would give this location 3 1/2 but since this is Yelp, I'll give it 4 because the drinks and the apps were still tasty just the service was awful and our entrees were all wrong but I will say I will go back if I'm ever in Gainesville, their manager was super understanding and awesome so for that we will definitely give them a second chance and I will forever love their oysters at any location! Truly the best!!! They have plenty of parking and are a lot bigger than the Tampa location was. read more

See all

I had such high hopes for Ballyhoo Grill. They got great reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp! The lobby was packed and we were told it was a 45 minute wait for the 4 of us on a Saturday night. We were seated in about 30 minuets. Great! Patrick, our server, was friendly and personable. We ordered a steak appetizer which was pretty tasty. The owner came by and said they had a large group of 60 people and the kitchen was a little slower than usual. Not great news but, ok, we can wait. They brought us bread, which helped. When my Fillet Spedini finally came out of the kitchen, it was tepid at best. The sweet potato fries were cold. As in: Not. Even. Warm. The black beans and rice were slightly warm but not close to hot or steaming. I stuck my finger in them and they were only slightly warm all the way through. The steak was also marginally warm and IMHO over cooked for the medium well I ordered. The white wine garlic sauce was already congealed on the plate. CONGEALED! Right out of the kitchen! I brought it to our server's attention. He apologized and took it to be remade. The remake consisted of reheating the food and plopping it on a new plate, minus the wine sauce which makes the dish. The owner brought it to our table like this - all crammed on a new plate with no sauce and no regard for presentation. If this was fine for the owner's standards, it was time to abandon all hope. I asked Patrick for more of the wine sauce or the béarnaise from the appetizer - which ever the kitchen could do. The fries were still cold. The black beans and rice were finally hot enough. It makes me wonder how does the restaurant actually cook this food? If it was prepared and held in a hot line, why was it so cold to start with? If it's microwaved to order, what's the point of eating there? I can microwave food much less expensively and more thoroughly at home! If the fries came out of a fryer, why were they so cold? When the replacement sauces finally came to the table, they were completely the wrong consistency and I was scared to eat them. Béarnaise shouldn't ever be chunky and stick to the sides of the cup. See the photo for yourself. The wine sauce was thick and goopy like the goop they ate in the Matrix. No thanks, I'll pass. The owner begrudgingly took my one dish off our bill and didn't offer anything else for the lackluster experience. I'm so disappointed. read more

See all

Awesome experience this evening. Erich, our server, top notch! Mixed an incredible guacamole table side and had delightful conversation through the evening. She had the Salmon and I had crab legs (yes I ate all of the crab legs). Each were great portions and delish! We have been before and for sure will be back. read more

Came back after 15 years and the food was still legit!! The blackened grouper was delish and my daughter loved her steak tacos! Service was great - our waitress was a sweetheart and the prices were super fair!! read more

Yesterday I had a friend in town and we decided to try Ballyhoos. I was really impressed by the location and the food. I would say there could be little things that could be fixed to get a 5 star review but that's it. We sat outside on the massive outdoor patio. The patio was really nice and you could see where they have fans and other places to relax at. You do have to walk through the patio to see a hostess to then go back outside. It would be nice to have the hostess stand outside the patio or just right inside of it. We ordered two Swamp head IPAs and the waitress was very knowledgeable about the beer on tap especially the local beer. We shared the gator bites as an appetizer. One thing the place should consider doing is put the gator bites in a basket and not a plate. The plate was too big and looked like a smaller app. I got the crab legs with cheese grits and fries. The cheese grits were just okay, but the crab legs and fries were amazing. You get so much crab! It was enough for me and I gave some to my guest. My guest got the Cuban and it looked really good. We also shared the key lime pie and banana foster. You get three Huge pieces of key lime pie it's so worth it!!! The banana foster is made table side. Overall a good Meal. We went for Sunday lunch and we're very impressed. I want to go back for happy hour as I hear it is really good!!! read more

Very Disappointed! This place used to be one of the better place to eat in Gainesville! The service wasn't bad but the food tasted like they bought it from the frozen food isle at Dollar General! Had two appetizers, the grilled avocado had 0 flavor and the pot stickers were the same. I got the oyster po boy which I've had many times in the past, albeit the last time several years ago, and this one tonight was dry and overcooked! Also got the garlic mashed potatoes that were HORRIBLE! Stay away and spend your money somewhere else! read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Was wanting seafood so we tried them out. FAIL. To start with, the service was borderline par. Our waitress a little snippy and screwed up my son's order of calamari plain with a side of marinara and sent out the menu version. I was appalled when I saw the menu blatantly lying to the public about gumbo. It's not gumbo if it's tomato based with scallops, that's a soup. Gumbo has a roux. Quit lying to your customers. Seeing the ingredients of their so-called Cajun dishes, ruined my seafood desire, so I opted for the Ribeye. It was good. My wife on the other hand, braved the Nawlins Shrimp, and I helped her. Though tasty going down, it just woke me up at 2am wanting out & I'm preparing for round two. Sorry, but we won't be returning to this dump again. Avoid this place at all cost, unless you want to pay to much for your meal, be misled by the menu, & want a case of 2am diarrhea. read more

Very pleased! On our journey back to Ohio :( after a week in Naples, we found this place to stop for dinner. Gator bites and conch fritters for our appetizer. Both standard good quality taste. They serve the gator with BBQ, I would recommend asking for honey mustard. It compliments the gator. We both ordered grouper sandwiches. He got standard fries and slaw. I substituted for cheesy grits- omg so glad I did!!! Grouper is a must if you are in Florida and love fish. This place by far has the best grouper we have had in our many journeys through Florida. We shared dessert and it was amazing. If you have never had banana fosters or have in past this place has the best by far. Made table side served piping hot, could have not have been a better dessert. read more

See all

Oysters Rockefeller, Steamed Oysters, Shrimp scampi linguini , bourbon with two rocks. See what i've done? Memorized my order to make it faster/better next time. Great food, great drinks, great service, great staff, GREAT PLACE. One of Gainesville's monuments. Eat Here. And with live music, Rocks. read more

We've been here twice this week, and have experienced 7 different menu items ranging from sushi to salad to seafood and appetizers and three different drinks. We're convinced there isn't anything bad here. Live music outside. Great ambiance, crowd, service. read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Chicken quesadilla, Bubba Gump roll, fried oysters, California roll, double house margarita. - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

The atmosphere is geared towards sports fans. They have a nice big outdoor seating area with Tv's. You can bring your dog who won't want to miss out on the game. They might have their eye on those mozzarella sticks, however! They are filled to the brim with gooey cheese. The service here was friendly and fast with refills. A bit pricey to come frequently, but better seafood than Red lobster is offering. read more

Ballyhoo Grill - These mozerella sticks have twice the usual cheese. - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

In the midst of a COVID surge in Florida, our server was not wearing a mask. In addition, most of the other servers we saw, the bartender, and the cooks that we could see also were not wearing masks. read more

As my friends and I entered the restaurant we immediately were excited to eat as we passed by tables foods and heard great music. The waiter, Ben, was very nice and our food arrived quickly. I ordered the Mahi-Mahi which was almond crusted. It also came with great sautéed vegetables on the side. The almond crust was different but not too much of an over conquering flavor. We also ordered baked medium buffalo wings which were above average and not too spicy. The vegetable pasta was perfectly cooked and came with AMAZING garlic bread. Definitely recommend this place to all ages; mostly families. Good service, food and atomosphere. read more

Went here on a weekday and the place was pretty empty. It was my husband's birthday. We ordered the birthday lobster and the salmon. The salmon was good but the lobster had soooooo much water in it. It looked like the lobster had been frozen and microwaved. The plate was so covered in water that it was splashing everywhere. I guess they don't give out the "good ones" or put much effort into the birthday lobsters. If it was alive, it could have swam right on top of the plate. :-/ This is the last birthday that we'll come there read more

The environment here is awesome! Love the figurines and the good vibes. I probably would've given it four stars but our server was slow and our food took FOREVER to come out. It was a Wednesday and not packed so I was just hoping for better service. But the food was good! I had the mahi tacos which were descent, my mom got the blackened shrimp tacos though and those were excellent! I'd definitely give it another shot as the environment was A+ read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Mahi tacos! Sorry dug into the rice and beans before I took the photo - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Maybe the pandemic has taken its toll here. My side house salad was two ring slivers of red onion, 1 artichoke heart, romaine and ranch. The side salad was by far the most disappointing. I did request no croutons so that was my bad. They had no Grey Goose but I made due with Kettle One. Everyone was very pleasant. Grouper was real and moist but blackened was not very flavorful. Doesn't blackened still mean somewhat spicy? ‍ read more

We had the Ahi Tuna plate listed in the sushi section (picture uploaded). It was good. Quality of the Ahi cut was excellent, no sinew or fatty areas. It was served with sauce poured all over it. I would have rather had a dipping cup on the side so I could put on the amount I wanted. But it was good. Service was good to. They have one of the best patios to sit outside in Gainesville. I like Ballyhoo's for an after work or weekend place to just have a beer and a good appetizer and just chilling with Friends. They do offer some pretty expensive specials, which I stay away from, I haven't had great high end food here. But for a simple meal and drinks with atmosphere in Gainesville it's perfect ! read more

I went here for my birthday and got the free lobster dinner. Our server was very nice and was as attentive as she could be. It seemed like they were understaffed that night. My food took a long time to come out. Everyone at the table had their food at least 10 minutes before I did. I was given a 2lb lobster instead of a 1.5lb one, which was nice. However, it just didn't taste great. Even smothered in butter. It just wasn't good. I was pretty disappointed. I didn't finish the lobster and left the rest on the table. read more

This restaurant doesn't even care about your satisfaction. Ordered ribs expecting some juicy flavorful barbecue sauce slathered ribs but got the thinnest, driest, toughest, and most burned ribs I've ever eaten. These ribs were so burned that the bones became brittle. Will never order here again! read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Burned and dry - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

Awesome happy hour specials. Sat outside on the tiki deck; real neat atmosphere! There was a small stage for a live band... Will have to come back for some live entertainment! We got the spicy tuna rolls and were very pleased with the large portion of ahi tuna served with the sushi rolls. The seafood salads with Ceviche were huge and tasty and contained generous portions of crab, scallops and shrimp. My sister got the blackened tilapia sandwich with potato salad and a side Caesar. My only complaint was the Caesar dressing... It tasted like mayonaise... Yuck! Our waitress was super friendly and attentive. Never had to track her down for refills or the check. Will be back! read more

First let me say we went on a Friday night around 6:45. The place was slammed. We were seated right away and a friendly waiter came over for our drink orders. Margaritas. To our delight two showed up for each person... We didn't realize it was happy hour! And we ordered J/C, not bar wells. $8 = 2 margaritas a person... Happy indeed. We ordered appetizers: Firecracker Shrimp & Fried Green Tomatoes. The shrimp were fresh and perfectly cooked, not too much sauce, crispy & a good portion. I did not care for the tomatoes because they were very firm and the crust wasn't the type of breading I'm accustomed to in the South, but the other gals at the table enjoyed them. (To each her own). We then ordered and I can't remember everyone's dishes (by this time I was mid-2nd margarita). I ordered the Swamp Burger, not realizing what I had just read: A hamburger with lettuce, tomato, bacon and fried egg, sandwiched between two grilled cheeses... HUGE!!! (For 3 days as I deconstructed or as leftovers). The grilled cheese sandwich on the bottom became one with the egg and bacon because it was so melty & juicy. The burger was charred outside & warm pink inside (perfect). Delicious!!! The top grilled cheese came off and became a side to my soup meal at work later that week. What I'm getting at is that this is not a "1st date meal"... Too big!!! The picture doesn't do it justice. My only complaint was the noise level. It was so loud we couldn't hear each other. If you're looking for a quiet environment for chatting, Friday night here is not the choice to make. Food was great, prices averaged out to be around $20 per person, service was good and decor was fun. I'll definitely give it another go... On a weeknight! read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Swamp Burger... Two grilled cheese sandwiches with a bacon, tomato, lettuce, thick burger center! YUM!!! - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Very nice place to visit. The oysters were delicious. Nice service. A little disappointed because when I see raw bar.... had my mouth already for some raw clams, in a half shell but you only had oysters on the half shell. I'll still recommend. read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Half dozen of raw oysters. Yummy. But, I was a little disappointed because when a place says raw bar, I was expecting clams as well. - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Best seafood in Gainesville and a great variety of fish. Very appealing visual set up that sets it apart from other restaurants in town. Nice drink menu as well. Tried to take my vegan girlfriend here but even after reviewing the menu via phone, they could only offer a plain salad. It would be great if they got some vegan options so I could come here and slam those crab legs more often! read more

Okay so I had the gumbo. Like I said this place is not my favorite place but due to the fact that they offer so many Groupon's and other sorts of deals I come here way too often. Normally it's not a good idea to make a soup with shrimp and scallops and leave it all day. I came in at around two and the soup is still mushy from being made earlier. I'm just surprised at the popularity of this place given the fact that the food is so incredibly poor. I guess people come here for the lack of ambience and the casual dress attire. I think their menu is way overpriced for what they're offering. But again that's why I would only come here if I had some sort of discount. read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Just another photo - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

We've eaten here twice, both times outdoors. Service is uneven and doesn't seem to depend on how busy they are. Their 4-7 happy hour is great, when you can get drinks two-for-one, but the real reason we came was for food - I know, that may be dumb when you consider this is basically a sports bar. Spouse's favorite is the huge plate of nachos with pulled pork, which may be the prettiest plate of nachos we've ever seen. If you are young - as most of the patrons are - that's probably a good appetizer for two or maybe three. For people our age, it would feed the same number of people for dinner. That's not a complaint, just be sure when you're ordering that you know what you're going to get. Nachos do not make a good take-home item (yes, we tried). On another visit, Spouse tried and LOVED the she-crab soup - thick, spicy. For me the texture was too pureed, I like a little more variety in my soups, but I admit the flavor was good. My own favorite choice was the Margherita flatbread, though if I have it again I'll ask for extra basil - a large piece of flatbread with some kind of base melted cheese, a tomato slice, and little dab of fresh mozzarella. As I say, a bit lacking on the fresh basil, which was cut into weeny little pieces. But then I'm a basil kind of person. I ate half, brought half home, and it traveled well. I also tried the grilled tilapia sandwich which comes on a hoagie roll. Smallish piece of delicious tilapia on a reasonably fresh roll. A bit too much roll for the fish, but it worked well with knife and fork, leaving some of the bread behind. I'd try this one again. Music varies, but is generally pretty good. Seems to start about 6 pm. We're early diners so have no idea how late it goes. I think my main point here is that they treat old folks well, not just something to occupy the tables until the real crowd comes along. read more

See all

After years of driving past Ballyhoo, we finally stopped in to give it a try. The restaurant is pretty large on the inside, with interesting decorations. The menu is decent, there are quite a few selections for just about everyone, although some dishes can get pricey. I ordered the shrimp and grits which were pretty good, but the toast that came with it had too much garlic on it. The potato salad had a bit too much salt. The birthday deal (1.5 lbs of lobster for free with someone else's me) is pretty good if you like lobster. If you want seafood in Gainesville, Ballyhoo might be for you. read more

While visiting my girlfriend in Gainesville, Ballyhoo quickly became "our restaurant". It is nice to have a place that, in a college town, offers everything we look for during a night out. The first night we visited Ballyhoo (yes, we've gone twice in one week- so far), we were looking for sushi. We weren't extremely hungry so we only ordered two rolls (one with ahi and fruit, the other with a buffalo chicken). At first I was a little put off by the prices, but I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival. The portions were large and the quality was fantastic. We also enjoyed a pitcher of white sangria that was excellent. We finished with the Bananas Foster, prepared table-side on a mobile station, which was very entertaining. The second night we visited the restaurant was much busier. We passed on the table-side guacamole at the suggestion of our server (due to the portion, but I suspect she didn't want to put in the work), and instead opted for the chicken mudiga. Ironically, the mudiga was extremely small but still had great plate presentation and full flavors. I had the delicious Blackened Chicken flat bread, the significant other had the burger topped with pulled pork (which she did not like, but I enjoyed). The Ballyhoo brew (expect Yuengling) helped wash it all down. Our latter experience certainly was not as fantastic was the former, but both were positive and we'll definitely return. I feel that each experience had a lot to do with the energy and focus our server exuded, but I don't like to base a review on the service alone. The atmosphere at Ballyhoo is great. Most notable aspects of the building: the great back patio with live music, the college themed mural in the bathroom waiting area, and the "hot chicks fishing" theme in the men's room. Now, if I could only stop singing the name of the restaurant to the tune of "New Age Girl" by Deadeye Dick... read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Bananas Foster! - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I love this place!!!! Justin the bartender is the freakn man!!!! I don't know why I have to keep on posting about how good the places in order to post a review it's ridiculous just go there have a good seafood make sure Justin's bartending and get good ass drinks read more

Much disappointed in the food today. The Rueben meat was tough and was sent back. The hamburger was dry probably from brig smashed while cooking. The potato salad was mostly large lumps of potato with nothing else. Greatly disappointed in a usually favorite restaurant. read more

My husband and I were In town for business, and I was craving seafood! My husband always spoils me. So we searched and we Found Ballyhoo Grill, glad we came in! Our server Melanie was amazing and her recommendations were on point!! Service was fast and food was amazing! Will come again if we are in the area! Definitely Reccomeded this place! read more

Went here for my birthday. I did not know it, but apparently if it is your birthday you get a free entree of the lobster. Unfortunately, they were out of the lobster, but they said that anything else on the menu was free to pick as a substitute because they were out. For appetizers, our group got a couple of fried alligator platters and some wings... which they also ran out of. Apparently they do wing drops of ten pieces, and they only had fourteen (we had two orders in...) so they made all fourteen for us and only charged for one order of wings. The fried alligator was pretty run of the mill (most likely provided by SysCo) and the wings were pretty standard. No complaints, but also nothing spectacular. For my entree I picked the blueberry filet as an experiment, since it was a free entree for me. I would not order it again, personally. This is not to say that it was bad... it was just not for me. The blueberry reduction basically wiped out any other flavors of the dish. I couldn't really taste the blue cheese (note: The menu is now different from what is listed here on Yelp!) or even the filet. In addition, the filet is quite small (perhaps 6oz). I would probably have been happier with the rib-eye. For sides, they have an awful lot of starches and effectively no greens, which is kind of disappointing. A selection of asparagus, peas, or green beans would be a nice addition to the sides menu. read more

It has been years since I was here last. My wife and I very good experience tonight. My wife and I were seated right away. Our waitress, Anna did a great job. She was very prompt and friendly, and able to off good suggestions. We had the potstickers for an appetizer. They are pretty good. You get 6 plus a dipping sauce. The "Sea" menu didn't have a large selection but I was able to find something I liked. I had the grouper plate with two sides. My sides were sweat potato fries and sautéed spinach. The whole meal was pretty good but I think market price was a little high. I guess I don't each much grouper to really know though. They do have a pretty large variety of options on the rest of their menu so I think I might give them another try. For dessert we has the banana foster. This is the first time that I every tried it. I'm not really a fan of bananas but this was very good. The waitress made it right at our table and did a great job. read more

Ballyhoo Grill - Blackened grouper with sweat potato fries and sautéed spinach. - Seafood Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

Wow third or fourth time here hot and cold on service. Last time was awesome this time our server josh is clueless and obviously rushing. Not sure why. And do not ask about gluten allergies as he said if it has sugar in it, it has gluten..... maybe some server training could help. And I think he was yelling at us and always walking away as he talked to us. Food was good salmon wings sweet potato fries. Last time fries were gluten free not this time so the mystery continues. I agree expensive for the quality of our dinner read more

This place has a great atmosphere, and since it is located in the movie theater parking lot they get really crowded. I really do not understand why people like it so much, however. The food is not fresh, and I stopped going because of this. My favorite dish used to be the seared shrimp and scallops, which you can get fresher at Carrabba's BTW. This dish was super overpriced and came with a side salad. The side salad had tons of dead fruit flies in it and I never went back since. Sometimes we used to go just to get the Banana's Foster, that they would flambe at table side. read more

Pretty good food, service 5 star. Our food server, Kathryn was timely, personal and a quick friendly smile, she pointed us in the right direction on the house specialties, she was a 5 star server. . The grilled shrimp was delicious and drinks very well made. We really enjoyed the place, the food and the staff. Recommended by the guy at the hilton hotel where we stayed....pretty good recommendation, thanks Brian! read more

Great local restaurant! I took my parents here for their anniversary and we had an amazing experience. Our server was wonderful and very charismatic and helpful. My father has an allergy to MSG and Yeast and he was very cautious with all the foods. I got the sushi sashimi sampler and that was pretty good along with Estancia Monterey County Chardonnay. There were 3 chardonnay's and the server was excellent at explaining them all. The wine was "buttery" and one of the smoother chardonnay's I've had. We got two desserts, a chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream and chocolate drizzle along with a banana froth. The banana froth was SO cool. They make it in front of you which we totally didn't expect and it tasted amazing. I liked it much better than the chocolate dessert. Great choice for a date or a chill dinner. read more