If you're driving past Lake Okeechobee and you want to experience Florida, you have to stop here. Also if you like fried food, this is the place for you. As a family traveling through Florida it made for a fun FLORIDA experience. There was plenty of food. We were certainly awful by the time we left and it was tasty. read more

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Would've give lower rating but staff was really nice, fries were good but......unfortunately both fish sandwiches we got tasted fishy!!! . I had the Cobia and my BF had the special grouper. So disappointed! read more

Just had a great meal with 20 friends, outside on their back deck. We had a great server named Steven who was very attentive and was always there to refill our drinks and take care of our every needs. We brought our fish in that we caught and they cooked it up for us. Meal was perfect. Appreciate the waiter, food and atmosphere tonight. Perfect read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

We stopped here on a road trip and found Lightsey's on Yelp. The atmosphere is so cool, we sat on the outside patio and it was really lovely, shaded and cool for Florida. Server Katie was outstanding, took great care of us and we have a toddler. Food was fantastic! It's about an hour west of where we live and I would definitely go back! Highly recommend! read more

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Great perfectly cooked and presented meals and wonderful staff. Clean restaurant with adequately spaced seating. Wonderful selection of libations read more

Service excellent, our server made sure we had everything we needed and explained the menu giving suggestions. The food was delicious. The hush puppies especially were addictive. My first time eating here loved it! They also do a buffet on Sundays. Atmosphere is casual and fun. read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Sweet Potato encrusted grouper with mixed greens & hush puppies. - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

Great discovery! Awesome blackened grouper with very delicious coleslaw, hush puppies and hand made fries. My wife had grilled flounder with seasoned mash potatoes and hush puppies and just loved it. We also tried the aligator appetizer and were blown away. Their homemade sauces were tasty and hard to find one we didn't like. To top it off we shared a key-lime pie. Hum hum! Great atmosphere, service and food choices. Norma was a wonderful server! We will definitely be back!!! read more

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Awesome place food was terrific! Steak, fish.... Everything was wonderful. Staff very polite as well. read more

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The food is way too expensive for what you get. The turtle is so tough you couldn't chew it. The "catnips" are square cut fritter like bits that are fried mush. The Okeechobee sampler was flavorless, greasy garbage that cost $35. Homemade fires are dense and dry. The only positives of this place is a good beer selection and average service. Would not recommend. read more

I always get good food here. Everything I've ever tried here has been good, but I especially enjoy the Gouda mashed potatoes. I am also a fan of the pumpkin bread ! read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

The food and service were great with a nice atmosphere. Inside and outside seating available. read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - I got the shrimp dinner, the homemade slaw and hush puppies were amazing! We weren't crazy over the fries but they were ok. - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

the service was slow and the food was unsatisfactory for the price I have the ribeye steak was burnt and crunchy I asked for medium rare the okra was cold and soggy and generally did not taste good, mashed potatoes and pumpkin bread was delicious definitely not 175 dollars worth for two people read more

I have no complaints about this place. Only minor issue was that we were unable to find handicap parking for my mother but other than that everything was excellent. The servers were very pleasant and offered great customer service. This is my second time coming here and having the aged ribeye steak which is very delicious and just the perfect charbroil so full of flavor, always perfect every single time I order it. It comes with two sides and a salad. You could probably feed two people with this meal. My mothers dinner of blackened fish was also delicious (I took a few bites) and those hush puppies ohhhhh I describe them as sweet buttery and melt in your mouth perfect! Highly recommend this place as they offer so many options also burgers. A bar is nicely centered inside the restaurant and nice screened in patio if you'd like to sit outside. Considering we were unable to park in handicap because the spots were full the hostess was even nice enough to let us walk out through the emergency exit to make my mothers walk back to the vehicle less exhausting -so I give Lightseys 5 plus stars and will definitely return again! Hope you try it out I truly know your taste buds will be grateful! read more

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Fun atmosphere as soon as you walk in! Easy to find parking and there is plenty of seating inside and outside for any large parties. They have a lot of drink options and specials. Personally the specials seemed to come in smaller cups so it didn't really feel like it was worth the price. We started out with fried gator as an app. It was delicious with their in house key lime sauce. There wasn't a lot on the plate but it was good overall. I had the Guatemala Cobia burger and it was delicious. The blackened cobia was cooked perfectly and was flavorful. The sautéed onions and key lime sauce were the perfect combo. We also had the smoked bacon and gouda cheeseburger. The meat was cooked well and the toppings complimented the burger too. The fries for both meals were addictive as well! Would be happy to try more items on the menu in the future. read more

The three of us ate lunch here today. We had Blackened grouper; Grilled golden Tut(?); and fried shrimp. All entree's were excellent. Sides were Cole slaw flavoured with their own blend of seasonings (available for purchase); collard greens (cooked perfectly); battered fries and hush puppies. Quantities, even for lunch, were very generous. Margaritas and Lemon Drop martinis were made perfectly by Toni, who was also our server. read more

Sunday seafood buffet includes cold peel and eat shrimp also oysters on the half shell. Hot items include fried shrimp, gator bites, fish, steak kabobs, crab cakes, mashed potatoes, soups, collard greens and peach cobbler. The cost is $52 which is over priced for the rather limited buffet. It was just OK, won't return. read more

Amazing food! Amazing service. Had the most amazing Ribeye! 30 day dry aged. My wife had the Cobia sandwich and the corn chowder. We came back tonight for the burger and more corn chowder!! read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

Now this restaurant is for the seafood lovers but also have other items for land lovers! Or if your like me, a little if both on one plate! I had the pleasure of taking the family there for six birthdays at one time. Yes, you heard me correctly, SIX!! Our waitress was very nice and understanding. We all had different items and each of tried a bite from each of our dinners. They were all excellent!! Cooked to order and hot. The drinks came in quart size mason jars, so you had planet to drink. At the end of our dinner, our waitress surprised all the birthday family members with a spectacular display for dessert and they all sang happy birthday! That was such a nice gesture on their part! We sat in what I would call the trophy room?! Had every stuffed animal and fish you could imagine! They also have the safe room, which is actually the safe of the old bank that they acquired when they bought the building!! They also have outside seating in a screened enclosure. A full bar with all the goodies and a seafood buffet on Sunday's!! That's for all you seafood lovers that just can't get enough! You can also buy items by the pound to take home. I was tempted to buy a whole rib eye and take it home but....! Lol Definitely a restaurant you want to try when in the Okeechobee area! read more

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Best in the area. Always fresh and hot. Served hot he way you like it. Good serving staff. Decor is fine.

Absolutely NOT worth it. Two people, no alcohol... $90! Catfish filets: small but good taste Pork ribs: tiny & over cooked Beef skewers: tiny chunks & tough Corn chowder: too sweet / too thick Shrimp: strange taste Gator: all breading Cobbler: pure sugar Sweet tea: think I have diabetes now read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Do NOT get the buffet! Not worth it. - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

I don't live in the area, just visit a few times a year, so I was looking for something new, as soon as I mentioned frog legs my friend said let's go there! Everything was amazing! My friend got frog legs and gator, I got the catfish fingers and upgraded a side to the Gouda mashed potatoes which were awesome, but I didn't expect to bite into sausage and that threw me off a little, lol. All of the sauces are SO GOOD! I'm the type of person to carry hot sauce in my purse just in case I need it, but the citrus hot sauce on the table was amazing and had great heat! Their house seasoning was tasty too! read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - An assortment of sauces brought to your table from the fridge when your food comes out, an awesome hot sauce and their seasoning! - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

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Went for lunch. The Sampler had turtle, catfish, alligator, frog legs and there own type of hush puppies (catnip). It was slightly over cooked for sea food in my opinion. The oyster were fresh and a normal size. The drinks were cold and good. One is a power martini and the other was a Kentucky vanilla bourbon draft. Very enjoyable experience. Waitress was very good. The price was a bit high for the quantity of food served. read more

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This place is awesome. Has great seafood and is clean. Coleslaw and Hushpuppies are awesome. Staff and service is great as well. However, if you bring in your own fish and have two types to reiterate how you want each type cooked. Our server and chef fried our bass and blackened our crappie so it was the opposite of what we wanted. It ruined that meal and not easy to fix when you paid so much to catch the fish. Good Beer liar featuring some great Florida craft brews. read more

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I had the seafood bar. They were out of most of the selections. No soup in the soup bar. No salad bar. The steak my husband ordered off the menu was over seasoned and $54. And it was served with a tiny potato. Will NOT be going back! read more

$60 for a lunch for two of 4 scallops, brown spinach, and yucky water We stopped at Lightsey's in Okeechobee after reading lots of glowing reviews. They must have gone to a different place with the same address. I ordered blackened scallops, I think they were tasty but the portion was so small I thought it was an appetizer until the bill came. A double order of hush puppies brought me 4 moderate size very tasty pups. My dining partner has a good size order of shrimp, also tasty, and a we both had salads for $9 extra that were ok if you like spotted tomatoes and lettuce that had lived past its prime. The water has a strange taste that carried over into the ice tea - they had no bottled water to sell us so I went out to the car for a bottle of spring water. I expect enough on my lunch plate to feel as I've eaten at small tasty meal. To top off our disappointment, the place was loud and one of the two wait staff said it was OK to smoke - hard to imagine how a place that claims to serve quality food could permit smoking in an area where smoking is prohibited by the Florida Clean Air Act. All together, I guess that is why we were the only patrons in the otherwise comfortable outdoor seating area. This could be a five star place, the main part of the two lunches was tasty and constructing a salad without black spots isn't that hard. read more

Food was decent and service was just wonderful. If you need a quick meal this is the place for you.

What a particular layout and nice Floridian atmosphere this restaurant has! It has a spacious indoor seating next to a big bar that also serves the huge outdoor screened patio. In the same room, decorated with fish representations on the walls, there is a small fish market and a souvenir store. But they also have a few separate dining rooms fully decorated with embalmed animal! They are big on fish dishes, most of them made with local catch, and Southern delicacies like gator and frogs. They have a full liquor bar and very good craft beers. It took me some time to decide what to eat because I would have wanted to try everything: of course, they offer a sampler, but the portions are big and my husband really wanted to try their pork ribs (which were very good). At the end I went for the gator (blackened): I had tried it in the past a few times, but was never served so much meat and this was absolutely the best I ever had! I also had hushpuppies for the first time... how could I ever live without them?? Of course I can't compare them to other places, but these were delicious!! The prices were maybe a little more expensive than I expected, but still very reasonable. The service was relaxed but still attentive; and there is a lot of parking available. I'm looking forward to go back there another time to try other dishes! read more

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What a find. Great Seafood (grilled fresh Red Snapper, hand cut fries and Hush Puppies and then Crab corn stew.) Sat in screened in deck so our Pup was welcomed. Even brought him his own bowl. Steven was great. Took time explain everything from the Brews on Tap, the food and the flavors. read more

Tried this place for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It is located on Parrott Blvd, one of the 2 main roads in Okeechobee. Large parking lot, a very casual look, almost Margarita Ville style, which is what you would expect in Okeechobee, with no unnecessary fanciness. We sat at the bar and I tried the pork Back ribs. These are not baby back ribs, so they are a bit less tender, but they had a great flavor and came with a very good BBQ sauce. They also came with a homemade Coleslaw, which was very fresh and tasty and the biggest hush puppies I have ever seen; these "puppies" were also very good, crunchy but not overly fried. My wife went for the gator, which she likes and I tried. I have to be honest, it was tender, but gator doesn't tell me much in terms of layers of flavor. Could have been chicken as far as I was concerned. Make no mistake though: this has nothing to do with the restaurant, they cooked it light and tender, it is just I who don't find gator very tasty. We had a few craft beers, they have a good selection, and they offered the option of having a sampler, which we did. Good beer! This place is renowned for fish, any kind of fish; you might think: then why did you get the pork ribs, but it's how I am...Next time I'll get fish. They have an all-you-can-eat buffet on Sunday, based on seafood and fish that apparently is very popular. I am not big on buffet, but I am just sharing. Service: nice and busy girl at the bar, service was good for us; I am saying for us, because we are Americans, but born and grew up in Italy, so we don't necessary judge service in terms how many seconds it took to get served. Prices might be a bit above average for Okeechobee, but I found them worth of the food, plus I live in Palm Beach County, so I rarely complained about prices out of the County. Will I go back? Yes, definitely, next time I'm in Okeechobee, which I visit sometimes for work. Good laid-back place with good food and you can tell they take some pride in the preparation of their meals. Nice find! read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Gator and large hush puppies! - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida

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My experience at Lightsey's for a dinner for my husband's birthday was so horrible that despite the food being ok (not great) I am giving one star The waiter lied to us as he took our order and said hubby could substitute the "hush puppy that came with meal for anything." When we got the bill there was a charge for the side he substituted at $4,00. And after paying $45 !!!!!!!for a fish dinner!!!!!!! And no hush puppy that came with meal. When I confronted the waiter he said there was a charge as the menu clearly stated!!! With a smirky attitude. He is the waiter expecting a tip and could have said as we ordered the substitute will cost you extra. He did not. And what happened to the hush puppy which never got. Since apparently paying for a side means you don't get the one that comes with your meal. Despite my better judgment, I left him a small tip and afterwords wished I had just left him a penny. We have come to Ligjtseys for years - good food, decent prices and good service. But now the prices have tripled in less than four years, and wait staff needs to be better trained on how to speak to customers. And quality of food has gone done as prices soar I was wondering why everytime we have come this past winter the restaurant has been mostly empty and now I understand Maybe management needs to remember this is Okeechobee and not some fancy seafood restaurant in palm beach Management- you just lost a year round customer who ate at your restaurant weekly and brought guests. You can message me to discuss if you care read more

At lunchtime, sat at the bar with my sister and niece. I had the Gator appetizer and a beer. My sister had fried scallops and hush puppies. My niece had shrimp. The food was of good quality and cooked to perfection. Our bartender Nicole T was very nice and knowledgeable of the menu. We also purchased some condiments that they sell. If we are ever in the area again we will return. read more

Good service good food not great but the peach cobbler makes it a 5 star and the fact that they make everything fresh nothing frozen is awesome read more

A pricier meal but you get what you pay for....great food, service, and fun environment!

they just aren't my recommendation, other people like them although I do like their steak but we don't go in often sometimes for oysters and a beer that's about it we barely ever go the prices are too high read more

Love this place. Had many meals in the Okeechobee location back in the day. Jensen delivers the same quality right in the backyard. If you haven't ever tried frog legs, this is your chance especially since Catfish House closed. read more

Best Seafood dishes south of the border. Will be going again tomorrow, and ope to have a new meal.

Fantastic & funky atmosphere, wonderful food, and great service. I love it here and will come back soon.

First I'll say they have a nice outside eating area. Prices are high! I'm coming from south Florida, and this place is not a high end place. More on the lines of a Duffys. I ordered a blackened grouper sandwich. It came with sweet potato fries but I asked to substitute with a plain baked potato. The fish was cooked nicely. But the potato was loaded with cheese. I asked if she could bring me the plain potato that I requested and was told they can't get the cheese out. Which makes me believe they are frozen. So I asked for some plain veggies but they didn't have any so she brought me a salad which was lettuce and onions. The servers are very nice. Not a whole lot of options in Okeechobee. After I did check and saw they have had numerous violations. One being a cutting board that had too many cuts in it and can't be cleaned. Yup you guess it. That's what the meal came in. read more

So came back today for food and drinks usually great service. Start out by saying the food was spot on. All four of us enjoyed crab cake,frog legs,scallops and oysters and grouper sandwiches. Our encounter at the bar was not pleasant. Bartender said will be right with us I said ok no problem seeing how busy she was. 10 minutes later she finally got a drink order and when my friend asked for a frozen drink she was like ok well that's gonna be a minute. Ok fine. When our other 2 joined us it took her another 10 minutes or so to acknowledge and take drink order. Not friendly at all. No smile no pleasantries. Anyway not sure I'm recommending this place to friends. Knowing that your business is great and always busy one should not feel unwelcome at a bar read more

It was amazing! I always get the aged steak. It tastes delicious. I would recommend the steak to everyone. The service is always great!! Nicest and fastest waitress. read more

Lightsey's Restaurant - Steak, mashed potatoes, sweet potato bread and salad. - Seafood Near Me - Okeechobee, Florida