I eat here a lot when out to freedive at the springs. I think the restaurant may have changed owners a few times because various classic aspects of it come and go--they once had these great sweet hush puppies they brought out for free with your dinner and those have disappeared in the past year or so. The salad bar has also changed up a bit but thankfully the excellent bean salad remains on it and the large cubes of cheese which are really a nice addition to any salad. The decor is nautical, the atmosphere country as is the music on the radio including often older country hits (think Dolly, Conway, Waylon, early Reba, even Lacy J. Dalton now and then). It's cozy, family-friendly, and you're likely to see people you know. The waitstaff is super-friendly too though promptness varies--normally good service, sometimes someone will disappear for lengths of time, though--I like to say when that happens they've gone over to the springs to catch more mullet. The real winners on the pretty long menu: fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, really anything they do with shrimp. The fried mullet, too, which is local. The shrimp po'boy or fish sandwich. The salad bar which, as salad bars go, is very varied and good. Best sides: sweet tater fries, swamp cabbage when in season, fried okra. All in all, a solid place for a good dinner and certainly nice people working there day in and day out--which, by the way, they're open seven days a week which can be a rare find out here in the country. read more

All you can eat shrimp! Excellent fresh! Top shelf! Wanda my server was a DOLL! Absolutely perfect service! The ambiance was homey and friendly! I will be back! read more

Stopped in for lunch and to see some paintings by our favorite local artist Krys Blanton. The food is amazing! Two of us split a platter and we have leftovers for another meal. They have a great salad bar with every fresh ingredient you can imagine, plus fruit and other salads like pasta and potato. Recommend taking a tour before you start filling your plate. The variety is impressive. The seafood is available cooked in a variety of ways and there are many choices of sides. Service is friendly and efficient, and the people who work there are very familiar with the menu if you need recommendations. The decor is nautical and enjoyable to look at. It's about a 30 minute drive from our house and so worth it. Looking forward to many more visits. read more

They served me raw shrimp and were fairly apathetic about it. You can get pretty sick from that and they should have taken it more seriously but neither our waitress nor the front of house paid much of any nevermind. Unfortunately, one raw shrimp made it into my belly and well, in my opinion, just didn't sit right with me right over next few days. Ohhhh. Not good. Was like throwing good money away too; completely lost my appetite on the spot and walked out, away from a tableful of food. They did offer to heat it up but I don't give second chances on raw food coming to the table. Whatever affection I had for their salad bar was lost. And what's with all the fruit fly traps on the bar anyway?! Hard pass. read more

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While visiting my guy, we went to the Lighthouse Restaurant for a date night. The blue building opens up into a dark wood interior, complete with a bany grand piano, it feels like a nod to the 70's and 80's, which is what good kitsch is all about. Plenty of sailing decor and a LOT of lighthouse figurenes. Im gonna guess ther is close to 500 of them. They have an actual salad bar, a pre-covid nod, and it was a tasty one too. Its got at least 30 different items. The staff is warm and friendly and the food itself was tasty. Pretty decent value too! read more

Lighthouse Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Fanning Springs, Florida

They've redone the interior of the restaurant, and they've pretty much finished with all the renovations on the outside. I believe they've added more lighting to brighten up the restaurant as well. Our favorite server wanda it's awesome, this trip, though, we had another server as wanda, was out of town.Ina was our server this trip and was awesome.. Food was good as always, and we love the salad bar. Definitely worth the drive all the way from Gainesville read more

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Some parking out front and plenty on the sides. This place is really big inside. We chose to eat at a booth and the lighting wasn't great, I had to have my wife move her head to see my menu. With that, while eating it was nice not having bright lights. We were waited on immediate and service was very good throughout. Most meals come with one trip to the salad bar and it was pretty good. My wife ordered the smallest meal and me the biggest, neither of us finished our meal. The food was very good and they didn't skimp. Prices were reasonable and I would definitely recommend this place. read more

Lighthouse Restaurant - Dingy plater - Seafood Near Me - Fanning Springs, Florida

They charge a surcharge for my using a credit card.I was upset,alot of us drive in the dark early and it's dark at night,we never carry cash.I wasn't the only one upset with this The prices were higher than before now this.I hope the new owner wakes up.When any restaurant or auto repairs charge upcharge,don't used them. I wasn't the only one upset,need to post this before we order,food and service was good. read more

The food here has always been ok. Not great, but ok. Never had a problem until tonight. We were seated and attended to quite promptly. The server would not let us order our meal the same way the other servers allowed us to. The salad bar did not look good at all they brought my entire meal out on what appeared to be a bread plate or child's plate, like that was the only fucking clean dish in the entire restaurant. The food was not good and I felt rushed. Probably lost me for good tonight. read more

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Iconic Lighthouse Restaurant! The best place to stop on the Nature Coast for some awesome local wild caught seafood Piratey style! Arrr! haha. Just recently remodeled in the same Nautical Pirate theme, with the same great seafoods & giant salad bar! Yes! FABULOUS GIANT SALAD BAR! Arrr! :)... You can get just about any combination of seafoods fried, grilled, baked, sautéed you name it, they got it. They even have stuffed shrimp! They were out of the stuffed shrimp or I would have gotten some dang it! Next time! :)... Anyhoo, we were starving after checking the water levels next door at the springs. The water was still too high for swimming so we decided to have lunch instead. We were served fabulous beignets as soon as we were seated. Entrees come with a trip to the salad bar & that is what we came for! Arrr! Hubby got the Shrimp scampi & I got the "Lobster & Pomme Frits." The shrimp scampi was cooked perfectly & a large portion. It was 2 DIE 4! We ended up taking some home. We added parma cheese to it when we got home it was SUPERB! The shrimp were PHENOMENALLY FRESH :)... I was in the mood for a simple lobster tail & fries. Moi fave dish of all time is "Lobster & chips" AKA "Lobster & pomme frits." Here, they have a fabulous 8 ounce Lobster tail on the menu market price. Moi Lobster was cooked perfectly, hit the spot, with the most perfect pomme frits I have had in a long time. To the Chef: "Thank you so much for the perfect Lobster & fries. The Lobster doesn't need to be presented on the big green cabbage leaf, it's horribly outdated, 86 it. Also, shrimp scampi is completely fabulous. Superb, with some fresh parma cheese. Hope you can offer some parma cheese on the side in the future bc it's now our favorite dish. We can't wait to have it again." Congratulations on your new remodel. It looks absolutely amazing. We can't wait to see y'all again. Support Local small Business. Highest Recommendations. read more

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This place reminds me of the old Sizzler Steak House, with its classic decor, a decent salad bar, and a variety of menu items. During this visit, I tried the all-you-can-eat shrimp, which was excellent. Our server was attentive and kept track of our orders efficiently. read more

stop in on way home the food, service was outstanding, steak had a great flavor and the shrimp was awesome, this will be a regular stop for me. read more

Everything delicious and service is great. Great family atmosphere. Love the salad bar.

The service was great. We had fried shrimp,fried flounder, fried okra, cheese grits, all cooked to perfection. Definitely will stop here again. Thanks for a wonderful meal and welcoming environment. read more

Our service was great. I got the "Dingy". I didn't care for the fried oysters and crab claws but the fish and shrimp were delicious. Hubby got the quail and enjoyed it. read more

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Good food, great salad and soup bar. Busy during regular hours especially holidays, but worth the wait. Piano in dining room, not always played but when it is played it's good performances. read more

The salad bar was great. Really liked the addition of spinach and fancy lettuce. Had the pork chops. I received two small ones instead of one thick one. They were absolutely delicious. Took one home, and it was delicious re-heated. Wonderful experience! read more

Food was good it was on the highway so it was easy to find They have lots of different items on the menu and the portions are large read more

Lighthouse Restaurant - Shrimp boboy and soft shell crab - Seafood Near Me - Fanning Springs, Florida

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Went on a girls trip and spent a couple of days at Fanning Springs state park. Lighthouse Restaurant was recommended by a couple of Rangers. it did not disappoint! The salad bar is old school with two salad bar carts, lots of homemade items. I had the broiled shrimp and scallops. It came with a baked potato. It was so delicious. we brought home key lime pie. It was the best I ever a had and I am native Floridian! we loved it so much, that we had lots of leftovers for the next night and stopped by the following day for lunch. Kerri was our waitress. she was on the ball! read more

Ordered the stuffed flounder, was ok. My husband ordered all you can eat fish, was phenomenal but we never saw the waitress again so it turned out NOT to be all you can eat. Don't have to make the drive from Gainesville again. read more

Fish sandwich and hamburger had no seasonings. Salad bar was ok. Coleslaw and potato salad had a plain taste. Potatoes in potato salad were not cooked. Salad dressings watered down. Salad bar was unlimited but when we needed new plates we couldn't find waitress. Waitress was rude to my wife by not acknowledging her when asking for drinks. The restaurant is very dimly lit. Tables and booth seat are worn from age. read more

Went there for lunch and we ordered the salad bar. One trip to the salad bar was approximately $11.00. I had potato salad which taste like mashed potatoes with mayo and mustard. The macaroni salad was sour. The cucumbers appeared to have been frozen since they were slimy and mushy. The cottage was gritty. I ended up eating lettuce, onions and ranch dressing. We've been there before but the last two times were horrible. We will not be going back there again! read more

Service was amazing. Dark interior but requested near windows. Hubby liked his scrimp, fried okra, and hush puppies. I had the catfish with cornmeal, hush puppies and baked potato. Catfish could've used more flavor. Salad bar was excellent. read more

Holy cow!!! This place is amazing!!!! First of all, we came in as a group of 8. Mind you, we're a pretty loud group, couple of friends getting together who haven't seen each other in a long time. So they seat in this back room, there was great air conditioning and had great service. We had Paula as our server! She was the boom dot com! She was absolutely amazing and very attentive. She was cracking jokes with our groups and always made sure we were taken care of. One of my buddies had the endless shrimp, she always made sure he never ran out of shrimp until he told her to stop. I had the shrimp platter which was beyond amazing!!! The hush puppies were literally the best I have ever had!!! They had a great salad bar, along with some amazing dessert. The chocolate pudding was amazing! The food here is 5 stars, the servers were 5 stars, one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at in Florida. Definitely will be coming back very soon! read more

I've been coming here with friends for years and all those years, they don't serve real butter. Just margarine. That's just wrong! With all the seafood on your menu, butter is required. Margarine changes the taste. We live here now and I refuse to go to this restaurant. And it's not the staff. They are happy and helpful. Serve butter! read more

Food is terrible Salad bar used to be better Everyone has a very bad attitude and don't want to be there read more

Amazing seafood and great salad bar. The service was excellent too...will be back! Don't be fooled by the outside look.

This place is great. Large portions of excellent food. Martha, our waiter, was informative, listened closely, and delivered exactly what was requested. We ordered a salad bar (mmmmmm) , some savory clam chowder, garlic toast and one of the best pork chops I've had in years. And don't forget the busboy sitting down at the grand piano and whipped out some very good show tunes. I would recommend The Lighthouse to anyone passing by. read more

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The food was not fresh and in some cases it was fermented. The pasta salad and broccoli salad on the salad bar had fermented. The hush puppies looked like they may have been old and fried a second time to warm them up. The steak looked like it was microwaved and overall the food quality was the worst I've ever had at a restaurant. It was bad enough I was concerned about consuming the food. Overall, it's concerning that this restaurant is still open and passing safety inspections. read more

This was quite a find in the way home. The outside isn't much, but the inside was very nice well decorated and clean. The food was very good , well Seasoned and a nice salad bar to boot. Our waitress was very nice and prompt service. Would definitely eat here again. read more

I gave this restaurant a 4 star do to: 1. Open and Safety. On point 6ft distancing was practice hand sanitizer every where. 2. surver was wonderful. Friendly on point was there quick with a refill, or to see what I need 3. Fast service I was in and out in an hour and a half 4. The food was the best shrimp combo l have had in years the broccoli was cooked all the way the difference in flavor of shrimp. DEVINE Only reason I didn't give last star is the booth suck l sank in and was eye level with the table. All in all l would highly recommend this restaurant read more

Lighthouse Restaurant - Shrimp lovers dreams come true - Seafood Near Me - Fanning Springs, Florida

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Okay, the reviewers seems to be somewhat mixed for this place, so I thought I'll give it a try. Didn't wait long to be seated, the hostess got me seated right away. Next comes my waitress she got my my drink very quickly and a small basket of fried "doughnuts" with confectionary sugar all over it, nice touch. I ordered the catfish (all you can eat), it includes one side and salads bar, the foot took about 10-15 to get to my table, while I was waiting I went a round with the salads bar, I would say the salads bar is plentiful and taste is average, pasta salads seems to be over cooked, anyway I think you get what you pay for and for that I am not going to complain, it's an okay salads bar. Got my catfish, see pictures, I also got three choices of sauces for my catfish, good selection. The catfish was very tender and so was the lighthouse batter, fish was steaming hot to eat. The Cheese grits, was okay, had to add some salt, could have used another tablespoon of butter. All in all, the place is okay, you can eat as much as you want, but why stuff yourself, just eat enough, not to go hungry!!! read more

Lighthouse Restaurant - Catfish and cheese grits. - Seafood Near Me - Fanning Springs, Florida

Every time I get down to my parents house in Florida, we always make a point to at least enjoy one dinner at the lighthouse restaurant. They have some of the best fish I have ever eaten, and they carry grouper and cod and have an awesome salad bar. Don't drive on by this place, make sure that you stop and try it out sometime. read more

Excellent Fish dishes with their house coating. Best salad bar ever. Love the hush puppies with the powdered sugar they serve at the beginning of our meal. read more

I wanted to check a score and get something to eat. The waitress apologizes and says they don't have a TV. "Are you sure?" She tells me she's sorry but they don't have a TV. I walk into the room to the right and what's sitting right there? A TV. With the game I'm looking for. She was cute but she wasn't that bright. I should have stopped there but I got an order to go. Grilled fish, baked potato a couple hush puppies and some clam chowder. The portions seemed small for the price and they only accentuated that by serving a small amount of chowder in a container that could have held 3x as much. The hush puppies were good but the rest was kind of a disappointment. Wish I'd known about the gas station with the fish tank next door. That might have made the trip worthwhile. Otherwise skip this one. read more

Lighthouse Restaurant - Not what I think of when I imagine a $14 meal. - Seafood Near Me - Fanning Springs, Florida

So my family and I came here a little over a year ago, our experience was great that visit. The food was delicious, our server was friendly and knowledgeable. We received corn fritters as an appetizer and with it came a cinnamon sugar butter and it was a wonderful start to the meal. We came back today, April 15th. Our second visit was disappointing and we will not be returning. Our server, although polite wasn't very knowledgeable and obviously new. She brought us the corn fritters (it is given to every table as a courtesy.) and when I noticed the butter was not given I asked her about it and she said no, those are corn fritters they do not come with butter. I looked around and every other table that was not being waited on by her had butter. It really was a bummer. We received our food promptly, I ordered gator bites and cheese grits. The food was so bland, no flavor and no amount of salt could save any of it. Even the ranch was bland! The ranch! How do you mess up ranch? I don't know what happened since the last time we came here, which was about 1.5-2 years ago but it's not worth the money-- I'd rather cook at home. read more

Huge, fresh, salad bar. Reasonably priced options. Friendly, accessible staff. Awesome fish and steak choices. Always a favorite place to entertain guests visiting area. read more

Pretty good all around southern seafood selection with big portion sizes. Had the founder, some gator bites for an early taste and few others enjoyed the shrimp samplers and all were given great reviews on their flavor and size. Only wish they had key lime pie available at the time. Was the first visit here since cooking back home to visit family. My Mom was right about having enough to take home later and make a good dinner still. Did I mention the cheese grits?? Yummy. read more

Much better than expected after looking at reviews. They have a salad bar! Yay! The food was good and service was great.

Restaurant and restrooms need a face lift and some TLC. Our waitress was outstanding and the dining room staff all appeared very friendly. Meal included an all you can eat salad bar. Iceberg lettuce was the lettuce offering, not a favorite of mine. Large choice of toppings plus pasta salads, carrot salad, broccoli salad (these salads had an unpleasant taste), puddings, canned fruit, etc. Onion soup was also a compliment but the onions were cut much too large to be in a soup...needed a knife to cut it! My Main meal was all you could eat cod, which was done to perfection in a light batter which I thoroughly enjoyed. Included hush puppies and a side. My side was sweet potato fries which were yummy! Needed a to go box which I enjoyed reheated the next day. Reason for the 3 stars were the unkept restroom, lettuce choice and disappointing onion soup! read more