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    Primary Tavern

    4.0 (46 reviews)
    ModerateBars
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Gretchen W.

    Stumbled on this place completely by accident while traveling south on interstate 75 to Southern FL, and it ended up being one of the best surprises of the trip. The food is all locally sourced, crafted from scratch in house, and full of flavor without the kind of prices you'd expect from a place serving dishes at this level. The moment you walk in the door your senses are engaged by the smell of fresh baked bread.... enough said!!!

    Menu
    David J.

    After seeing a few positive reviews online, we decided to try a new eatery on US27, just west of I-75 called Primary Tavern. Depending which door you enter, you are right in the dining room or by the bakery counter which opens directly into the dining room. There is an 8-person bar at the back that serves as a waiting area for guests waiting for a table. The interior is very clean and uncluttered, featuring padded leather chairs and seating with black and white table clothes. We started with tavern styled bruschetta made with marinated tomatoes and parmesan cheese instead of mozzarella. My wife does not care for tomatoes but she readily ate her half of the appetizer with gusto. The entrees were absolutely delicious! My wife had the Crab and Shrimp toss and I selected the roast pork loin! Outstanding! The cold tortellini side salad served with the meal was a perfect compliment to both entrees. Dessert probably wasn't the best idea as full as we were but there was no way we were skipping it! Toasted Coconut Cheesecake and a slice of blackberry pie. The perfect finish to a lovely dinner!

    I mean, how do you not see it?
    Ronnie O.

    THIS IS NOT A DIVE BAR! From the outside it looks like a typical dive bar you'd find just off the interstate. The old broke down truck in the parking lot hiding the wine breasts flag outside of a grungy black painted establishment with bar style font lead your brain to thinking you'll be met with cigarette smoke and a bar maid named Wanda offering a warm PBR. When in fact the inside has a white Tuscany bakery/Italian vibe. We are in town camping and wanted to hit this local dive bar but darn if this place isnt the best example of never judging a book by its cover!! We only wanted a drink because we truly thought it was a bar, and the sweet young girl obliged us. I look forward to our next camping trip that brings us back to Ocala so we can enjoy some of the delicious looking items on the menu! I just hope the outside doesn't deter people from going and it closes by then!!

    Trainwreck Turkey Sandwich
    Dylan R.

    This place is a hidden gem in Ocala. My business partner and I are here a few weeks ago when we were in town for work and decided to come back this week because we enjoyed it so much the first time. The food is amazing. Everything is made in house and so fresh. The bread is to die for. They also have a good selection of baked goods that are all made in house. I've tried the brownie, fancy biscuit, and the key lime pie and they are all amazing. They staff is very friendly and the service is great. I will definitely be back.

    My family and I stumbled across this delicious restaurant while sitting in traffic after a long 14 hour drive. We walked in and were immediately greeted with friendly smiles and the most amazing smells! We met the owner and chef who was so kind- but the food is what sold us! We ordered the bread that had spreads the dough was so soft and the perfect texture, our entrees were the star of the show. We ordered the two fisted BLT- the bacon was perfectly cooked and the flavor compliments each component of the sandwich. Next we got the primary chicken salad, hands down best chicken salad we have ever had, the bread was so fresh and the pine nuts were that crunch you didn't know you needed! We also tried the SPO and each bite was full of flavor and freshness! If you are in the area please go check out this freshly cooked and baked restaurant! Bonus they have an amazing bakery as well!

    Chicken salad
    Paul M.

    I really wanted to like this place as it is very close to my home. That being said, the first thing that jumps out at you on the front of the menu is absolutely no substitutions! That also includes additions, like if you want to add a slice of tomato or lettuce to your sandwich, no no no! What I find ironic about this is that your drinks are served in throw away plastic cups and your food on paper plates. The food was okay, good. ,but not great for sure.. somewhat expensive for what you get in the area. $14 for a chicken salad sandwich by itself and $19 for an appetizer size, chicken breast and marinara. I wish them the best of luck in their new endeavor but I for sure will not be back anytime soon.!

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    2 months ago

    Wonderful spot for lunch! Great service and food at a nice restaurant. Everything was fresh and tasty.

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    7 months ago

    The food was delicious. Paper plates a turn off. Think food would taste even better on plastic.

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    10 months ago

    Wonderful service, great ambience and food! Will be back to try various menu items! The bakery items are worth taking home. Impressive!!

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    9 months ago

    My husband I love this place! Everyday homemade and the dessert are delicious! We love the Apple Strudel!

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    Ask the Community - Primary Tavern

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    The Tipsy Skipper - O'ahu Skies

    The Tipsy Skipper

    (39 reviews)

    Had a nice visit to The Tipsy Skipper earlier this summer. I was first introduced to this place a…read morefew years ago when I visited Ocala for the first time. My fiancé has been coming here since the opening weekend, and takes me here each time we visit Florida and Ocala. The Tipsy Skipper is located near The Square in downtown Ocala. There is street parking nearby, and some various parking lots. The establishment does not have a designated parking area, but I had no trouble finding a spot nearby on this day. If you visit on a weekend or during a particularly busy time, you might have to spend a few more minutes finding a spot. We visited as a group of four on a Monday evening in July around 9 PM. Not a lot of places in this area are open on Mondays, but luckily this business is! There were a couple groups at the bar, but it was no way at all crowded. There is bar seating, as well as tables and chairs throughout the space. There is a more isolated front room, and then the main area where the bar is. The atmosphere is unique in this place. It is decorated like a beach/tiki bar, and the lighting is kept dim. The tables have candles, along with appropriate decor for the theme. They have several cocktails that go with the theme of the bar. This was my first time sitting at a non-bar seat in this place, and given that it was a Monday, I am not sure if this is typical or if at times they provide table service. However, we had to go up to the bar to order the drinks. Not a huge deal, but something to note regarding table service, especially on a slower weekday. There is no food here, it is strictly a bar. They have themed cocktails, as well as some beer, wine, non-alcoholic options, and various specials. I ordered directly from the menu this time, but I have visited before where the bartender can essentially make you a unique drink according to what you like. So, the possibilities for drinks here are really endless. I typically like to get a "fancier" drink when I come here, since it is such a fun experience to accompany the atmosphere of the place. This time, I enjoyed the O'ahu Skies, which was a cocktail of gin, lavender, and lemonade. Truthfully, I did not read the menu closely and did not realize the drink contained gin. I am not the biggest fan of gin, but I did enjoy this drink! It was perfect for a summer night. Another member of my party really enjoyed the Ciderboys Pineapple Hula Hard Cider. Everyone enjoyed their selections overall. I find the staff here to be consistently friendly and kind. This visit in particular, there was a female bartender who was sweet and courteous to both myself and our entire group. I have had other positive experiences with different bartenders on other visits. I would dare to say the staff here is top-notch and will take care of you! In terms of pricing, I believe it is fair for a speciality cocktail bar. The speciality drinks that come in the fun glasses cost, I would say $15 on average. There were specific $10 drinks, Happy Hours, and discounts if you bring the theater ticket from your show next door, so not every drink is that much. Additionally, beer and wine were priced as you would expect, so you could very well come here to enjoy the space and only spend a few dollars. I enjoyed this trip to The Tipsy Skipper, as I have enjoyed all my others previously. It is a spot I look forward to visiting each time we come to Ocala for an evening. I will most certainly return again on our next trip to the Sunshine State.

    Another review I swore I wrote years ago! It took us a while before we made it here when we first…read moremoved to the area. It was super busy when we went our first time and it was not during happy hour on several occasions we have visited. We live close and visited here a bunch the first 2 years we moved to Ocala and have visited less and less since then. There have been several occasions we have stood at the bar waiting not only to be greeted but also waited very long times to receive our drinks. In their defense, many times the bartenders were busy attending to patrons or making drinks. However, there were several times some bartenders were just talking to friends or messing around. The drinks here are super detailed so they take some time and TLC. I will say, most times our drinks taste delicious and the presentations are magnificent! The decor is so cozy and the ambiance is consistent. Hubs and I absolutely love Tiki themed bars and fell in love with Hawaii after our visit years ago so this place is perfect for us. We also like this place because they are open later than most places in town. We recently visited for a nightcap and it was definitely different. I recently had referred someone here because she was looking for Hawaii themed food (they used to serve food) and she informed me they did not serve food. That sucks because we always meant to try it but never did. Looked good. When we recently visited, they did not have physical menus and were referred to QR code cards on the bar. Our bartender was attentive and helpful with choosing a drink during our recent visit. He actually went out of his way to make the orange peel twist in a perfect manner. I appreciated that! I was going to suggest to hubs we have another drink and then a roach crawled across the bar. I discreetly informed the bartender of the dead roach I killed when we closed out and he took it away. Usually this place is clean and tidy so I was surprised to witness the roach. They do have seating outside as well but we usually sit inside to listen to the themed music.

    Miller's Ale House - A plate of our world famous Zingers®

    Miller's Ale House

    (34 reviews)

    I quite liked this place. I was visiting the area from out of town and someone recommended this…read moreplace, particularly the steaks, and since it was near my hotel, I decided to give it a go. I really liked that they have this big drop down screen that converts the bar area into a sort of covered patio area that lets the breeze in while the fans do their thing. It turns this sports vibe type place into a more at home type backyard bbq with friends type feel. I really liked that. It felt like a tgifridays at first but the patio-ish area makes it stand out from other chains like that. Maybe it was the fact that I had been traveling all day and had barely eaten, or that I had a killer blood-sugar dropping headache, but I thought the food was killer. I ordered the steak and dozen fried shrimp combo which came with 20 shrimp. Awesome! I ordered the broccoli and mashed potatoes with gravy and everything was awesome. I loved the butter on the steak, made everything just taste rich and delicious because you had better believe I do not cook with that much butter at my house. But for a special treat while traveling, it was delicious. The shrimp were perfectly fried and some of them were rubbing up against the butter so thy were delicious too. I ate them first so they didn't have time to get soggy. The mashed potatoes were red potatoes with just the perfect amount of skin still on and chunks still in it and I loved the gravy. And the broccoli was also delicious, also cooked with butter and not just boring and bland. Definitely not the healthiest of meals considering, but not the worst option either. Definitely couldn't eat here all the time without my waist complaining, but I was very happy and so was my belly and head. The service was pretty nice too, the people were all lovely. I will definitely be back when I have been really good and deserve a cheat day, there is a ton more stuff on the menu I want to try.

    We made a stop on a Monday late afternoon. We were seated right away…read more Food was great overall. Chicken was slightly saltier than I would like it to be but overall flavor was good. It's a great place to watch sports and enjoy food.

    Primary Tavern - bars - Updated May 2026

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