Great little restaurant with good food and drinks. Fun atmosphere, excellent service and has nice indoor and outdoor seating.

I had the blackened grouper amazing and the wife had the stuffed lobster tail again she was amazed by how well it tasted Great service highly recommend this place read more

Food was good, kitchen was not prepared ran out of plates for appetizers; forgot two of the sides and when it was done our dinner was already finished read more

What a fun place. The shrimp and grits was delicious. Great place to unwind and eat good food. We were able to stay for a while and our server was very kind and accommodating read more

This place is friendly and full of great people and food......this bar reminds me o fToby Keith's song "I Love this Bar" .... yes I do!! Thanks Khrispy!! read more

Food was amazing !!! I got the fish sandwich it was so good!!! The alligator was delicious. Best part was our server Damian !! He was attentive, friendly and had great customer service. He was the best server I've had in a long time!! Thank you !! Will definitely come back to visit here !! Oh and the huckleberry bucket was soooo good , highly recommend! read more

We showed up at 630 on Sunday evening and the restaurant door was locked even though the door states they are open until 9pm. We then decided to go to the bar. There is a sign that says check in with hostess for seating but there was no hostess anywhere. We sat at a open table for about 15 minutes with absolutely no services. However, three of the staff members seem to be having a great conversation with each other. My husband even tried to gesture at one of the servers but she walked right by and had no plans of assisting us. Needless to say, we walked out and won't be returning. read more

I know this place has he mixed reviews. This was our first visit. First of all, the service was excellent! We did not have to ask for anything, our needs were anticipated and our drinks were kept full. So refreshing in todays service! We did the fried pickles which were fresh and hot! My husband had the clam chowder and liked it as well. He said it was a little runny but he survived. He had the fish tacos and said they were pretty good. Not the best in the world but not the worst. I had the Cajun pasta with chicken and it was really good. I'm not a fishy person. So overall pretty good, we would go back and pray they keep their service up to par! read more

Won't go back. Went to the bar about 3:30 in the afternoon. Asked bartender about happy hour. We ordered 3 of the happy hour draft beers, and were charged $5 each. Sign said $3 beers at happy hour. I might think its an "accident", but this is the second time that this has happened. Won't be a third. read more

It's a down-home sort of place. We like the atmosphere. Will definitely go there again.

Absolutely enjoyed the food. Staff and service was great. Rich menu to choose from. Definitely recommend!

This place was just the kind of small home feel we were looking for. Food was delicious and portions generous. Service was great, very friendly atmosphere. read more

I'm so glad we stopped here! Ruskin is a small town and we love to try new places on vacation. So we thought the name and Yelp pictures looked funny and delicious. We tried the Gator Bites, Chicken Salad, And the Half pound burger delicious!!! Loved this place and don't hesitate to stop by! read more

First time eating there and will be my last. We had very poor service, sales and coleslaw warm, floor was filthy. There were 5 of us and none of us were satisfied with our meals. Save your money and skip this place. read more

I give fours stars for the food but deducted three stars for the bartender from last night (Sat. 11/5). This guy has a real problem with treating customers properly. What a joke this guy is, rude as they come. He really needs to find a job where he just sits by himself in the dark. Most unhappy person in the food service industry I've ever seen. Probably because owners and management would and should NOT ALLOW him to represent THEIR BUSINESS!! If you walk in to the bar area and see a surly gray haired guy who is not smiling, don't sit in the bar area he will ruin your time there!! read more

I really wish I could recommend this place but unless you only want a drink - do not eat here. The staff were sweet and very customer focused and the food was not edible. read more

Great place great food and everyone is so nice . Never had a bad experience and it's own by a women and she is super nice

The food was great! Will definitely go back. Staff was friendly and responsive. Wide variety of food.

We did a pop in lunch here today, and it was wonderful. We will definitely be back. Susan was a great waitress, and the food was delicious from the raw oysters, the fish tacos, the grouper bites to the chocolate molten cake. Can't wait to come back and try more. read more

We went for lunch, got a table right away. This a very casual restauran , low key perfect for a "lazy" lunch or dinner. They have a nice menu with decent amount of choices. The only critique I have is that the caesa salad had too much salad dressing and the croutons were buried under and very saggy. The salad itself tasty but the coleslaw lacked dressing. We'll go back. The waitress attentive and nice. read more

This place is a swing and miss. I can see it being FUN for drinks and entertainment but food was just okay for the price.

First time visiting the Lazy Gator. Great music, atmosphere and delicious food! My husband had the grouper and I had haddock. Best Cole slaw this side of Tampa! read more

Worst service! We had a reservation at 530... It took an hour and a half to get our appetizer and then got half of our tables entrees. ( most were luke warm) the second half of the table did not get their food until the first half was done eating and the rest of the food was cold! They messed up on several of the dishes, and needed to be fixed. The $5 side salad was maybe a dozen pieces of lettuce, and called good. They didn't want to make it right either, they wanted you to pay full price.... read more

I got nothing but good things to say about this place. For a business that's opened up less then a year ago during a plandemic they've got things ironed out that I've read in previous reviews. I will be returning to this place with a smile on my face and a growl in my belly. The oysters, grouper bites, fish tacos all were excellent. I cant wait to try other items on the enticing menu. I will be going here regularly when I am in town. Friendly service and great food. read more

This q place sucks. They never have food to serve full menu. If Sissy (barmaid) is busy with friends, you don't get service. Go to Mango Joe's!! Great attentive bartenders and a fun time. Mango Joe's doesn't have food but if you show up to Lazy Gator for dinner, the kitchen will probably be closed. read more

Tonight was hopefully just a bad night, but we were there over 2 hours, food was ice cold and drinks were snail slow and not made correctly. Sadly we had bragged about our first visit so much that family wanted to give it a try. I think it is safe to say they won't give it another try. We asked for a manager twice and finally had someone come by to tell us there wasn't a manager there. We even tried calling to try and get someone but no answer. We love our area and want to support local, but this one is tough. read more

Fun restaurant and bar. I had their molten cake for dessert, and fish and fries for lunch. Both were excellent. Our waitress messed up our order and comped us some free gumbo. Hey everyone has a bad day, and good customer service was given to fix it. read more

Cool space out back for hanging out and eating. Great space for kids to move about. Good and service were just ok.

I stopped in this very fun and casual bar/restaurant while on a business trip. Food and drinks were great; and Sydney and Aaron ( bartenders) were so warm and friendly. Highly recommend this beachy and fun place!! Good value too. All the best to its continued success. read more

Local restaurant, fantastic service and food wonderful. Best fish and chips ever! The chef even came out and made sure everything was ok. Wine selection not great but fantastic cocktails! read more

I visited this restaurant for the first time and was very happy with the experience. Beers were inexpensive, the employees were all very friendly and the food was good. Will definitely go again. read more

Great food excellent service and has that old Florida feel . We will definitely be going back and recommend it

This place is a great find! Our server NOE R was fantastic! The food was delicious and the atmosphere is awesome! Can't wait to go back again. read more

I have lived in Ruskin for over 10 years and finally something trendy and fun pops up! i went in last night for the first time. We ended up with a new waitress.. she had never waitresses before however you couldn't tell.. she handled us like a pro! The decor is very sun and fun with the hammocks in the back yard where tables are set up.. there is even a pontoon boat which reminded me of my dad who used to get his stuck in the bay lol. The menu is just the right amount of items and choices. The appetizers were delicious and the tap beer was on point! If you haven't been here. Please visit them.. it's so worth it! You might see me there on Friday or Sunday performing read more

A "must" place to eat. We were in town for the weekend and ate there the first night and came back the second. All the appetizers and main dishes were great!. Suggest the Shrimp and Grits, Bourbon Salmon, any of the Burgers, Grouper. Nina was our waitress both nights and she made the experience special both nights. read more

I'm really surprised at some of these reviews. I stopped for lunch. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the staff and the food. They are dog friendly, the patio out back was clean and " creative". The customers were very friendly which created a very nice atmosphere. I will definitely go back and will take family and friends. read more

Went with my mom and her group of ladies to The Lazy Gator, Ruskin, FL this afternoon for lunch and was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Blackened Chicken Sandwich (Lazy Chicken Sandwich) with Fries (Voodoo Aioli Sea Shore Fries) and it was amazing.... The fries I have to say are hands down the best I have had from anyplace around this area. Within the group we also ordered the Mahi Sandwich, Hooks Fish Taco, Clam Chowder, Chicken Ceasar Salad and Cajun Pasta and everyone talked about how good their meals were. I will definitely be going back again. Service was a little slow however we walked in at the same time as another large party, the waitress stated they were a little short staffed not to mention they have only been open a few days so they are still working out the kinks. I would absolutely recommend this place if you are wanting something good to eat. read more

I've been to the Lazy Gator twice now. It's a cool setting in an old house with seating in a lot of different rooms plus a bar and outdoor area. Both times the food has been very good! The fish spread is delicious and nicely plated. I had the Shrimp and Grits once and grilled Florida Grouper the next time. Both were cooked perfectly. The sides are good, Caesar salad, fries and Cole slaw. My friend had fish and chips and the amount of fish was huge! They have a couple local beers on tap which makes me happy as well as a full bar. I know the industry is struggling with wait staff. The first visit we had a great waitress. The second visit we had a brand new server who had paid attention to her training and was working hard to take care of us. Not sure where the breakdown was but it took a long time to get our drinks then the appetizer and main course arrived together. Small issue for great food. We will return! read more