Georgia on My Mind -- 5 Stars Great service and a fun group lunch at Sawgrass Tavern On Sunday, September 6, my golf group and I -- sixteen people total -- had lunch at Sawgrass Tavern in The Villages after our round. From the moment we walked in, our server Georgia set the tone for a fantastic experience. She recognized me right away, greeted us warmly, and handled our large group with absolute professionalism and a great sense of humor. Georgia knew the menu well and managed our separate checks effortlessly. She assigned numbers to each couple (and to the two solo diners) to keep everything organized, and her service was excellent from start to finish. For lunch, I ordered the shepherd's pie, while my spouse chose the Bratwurst sandwich. The shepherd's pie was delicious -- a hearty mix of ground lamb and beef, corn, carrots, onions, peas, mashed potatoes, and gravy. The Bratwurst was served with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard and was equally enjoyed. Even though it had been a few months since our last visit, Georgia remembered that I always mix hot sauce with ketchup for my fries. She brought a bottle of Cholula to the table, even though I had my own Barbados hot sauce with me that day. One of our golfers happily used the Cholula, so nothing went to waste. Throughout the meal, Georgia checked on us frequently, making sure drinks stayed full and everyone had what they needed. As we were finishing up, she brought over two managers -- one at a time -- and introduced them to me, likely because I organize our Sunday golf group. It was a thoughtful touch that made the experience feel even more personal. We often rotate restaurants after golf to enjoy different cuisines, but Sawgrass Tavern continues to stand out. The group enjoyed their meals, the service was outstanding, and we're only about 15 minutes away by golf cart when playing the nearby Championship course. I told one of the managers we'll definitely be back. Sawgrass Tavern remains a favorite stop for our Sunday golf group -- great food, great atmosphere, and truly exceptional service from Georgia. read more

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I am a little disheartened... in the beginning, I was highly impressed with the place, with the fancy appearance and with the menu options, especially the Salmon Wellington, or the authentic shepherd's pie. Both looked like nice options. Unfortunately I saw a sign in the front that recommended the Wednesday special for 34.99 of a porterhouse. That's where things went south. I jumped on the opportunity of grabbing a good steak, requesting medium rare - as in red and bleeding in the middle. (Those were my actual instructions to cooking this steak) I received a cut of porterhouse so thin it looked like a slice out of a Cuban pan con bistec. The steak was cooked to well done, not a hint of redness left even if you looked at it with a magnifying glass. And on the single bite I took out of it, bland and tasteless as it were, it actually took me over a minute to chew it down. It was also definitely NOT a cut worth 34.99. I was about to cancel my order but gave the menu a second shot. I got a decent NY Strip cooked to a medium rare this time but even that piece, although well marbled, was not a piece that wowed me, honestly. I am not even going to mention the sides because they were not impressive. The only decent thing I've seen there was a pea casserole. My husband's craving for fish and chips was the reason we went there to begin with, and his order came a little too overcooked as well, the fried fish being dryer and darker than the usual fish and chips we are used to. We also ordered the Irish cream bread pudding for dessert, which I was also looking forward to, and it was more so a raisin muffin than what I originally expected. It wasn't as soft and moist as the dish is supposed to be, and worse than that, the only "Irish cream" part to it was a shallow cream reduction that surrounded the muffin with a VERY mild Irish cream flavor. What really saddens me about the experience is that I had very high expectations just from the vibe of the place and the menu options. Also, our waiter was very sweet and the shift manager immediately took over when he noticed my dissatisfaction with the initial dish, which I appreciated. I'd have expected an establishment with this level of appearance, location, and service, to serve better quality food. Customer service = good Atmosphere. = good Food quality. = left much to be desired Bang for your buck = felt too pricey for what I actually got. All that being said the presentation of the food looked good, if only the taste matched the appearance. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Irish cream bread pudding - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

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The food for the whisky tasting dinners was delicious I highly recommend this restaurant wish they did more of the whisky dinners there so much fun meeting new people eating drinking and conversation that's what life should be more like and this restaurant does that read more

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We were greeted by two nice ladies so from the get go the service was wonderful. We were seated in an industrial yet cozy outdoor area. Our server I think Amanda was very kind and helpful with ordering what tasted very good. The Cobb salad was more than I had hoped for, fresh and cold and delicious. Our appetizer was the chili loaded chips shown in picture which did NOT disappoint!! read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Chili cheese chips with soda. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

Five stars for a professional bartending team. Less than that for food and flies. The horseshoe shaped bar extends from inside the restaurant to the outside. We began outside. But despite bar top fans, houseflies swarmed all over and around. We snagged inside seats before ordering food. My wife ordered haddock with a lemon parmesan cream sauce. She proclaimed it delicious. I ordered "tuna niçoise" , a scoop of tuna salad on greens with beets, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, potatoes and grape tomatoes. I would have preferred a more traditional salad with hard boiled eggs and haricot verts and a rare tuna steak. Maybe some bread on the side. The lemon vinaigrette was delicious though. The drink menu is inventive. My guava mojito was one of the prettiest drinks ever. Although not on a menu, my wife asked for sangria and the bartender was happy to oblige. A word of caution if you are not a Villager - there are barricades on some roads that you must need a bar code to pass, despite separate lanes for residents and visitors. My phone was able to negotiate an alternative route back to Leesburg. read more

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Total failure ! Wife had Tavern stew. Reports it was tasteless. She suggested a little Guinness would have helped. Paid $18.99. Ouch. My $15.99 Haddock sandwich was minuscule. If it had 3 ounces of meet, I'd be shocked. The fish didn't even fill my bun. This was our first visit since the ownership switched. We are marking it off our food radar. Bad food, overpriced and not worth a return trip. My salad came a few minutes after my sandwich. Not a big deal, but our server remarked, "we are a little behind in our salad department." Huh? Sorry Sawgrass. I'm taking my dining dollars elsewhere. The place LOOKS nice. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Bar and dining area. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

The Tavern's Stew is an absolute joke! $22.79 for what amounted to about 3/4 of a cup of slop covering the bottom of the tray. There was ONE 1-inch piece of beef in the entire meal!! I can make a better meal for $6.52 with a 98¢ can of peas and diced carrots, three 44¢ red potatoes, and a $4.22 can of roast beef from Walmart. The Lemon Parmesan Haddock is just as bad. $23.99 for what tasted like a frozen piece of fish thrown in an air fryer with some cheap lemon herb bread crumbs dumped on top. There wasn't even any Parmesan! Nearly $50 for two meals that looked and tasted like low-quality cafeteria food. Whoever thought these portions and this quality justified those prices should be embarrassed. Charging people this kind of money for food like this is ridiculous. Save your money and eat literally anywhere else. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Tavern's SLOP - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

Our group of 7 had excellent service and my Reuben was yum yum. I loved the way the fries were served in a little basket. I think they stayed crispier. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Reuben - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

Rueben is delicious. The Pretzel appetizer is fantastic Staff super nice. We also enjoy the happy hour at the bar.

With Georgia as our waitress we are always guaranteed a great experience! Always smiling and very accommodating!

Good food. Enjoyed the fried chicken sandwich with bacon. I recommend this highly. Service was a bit slow and what seemed like forever to get our food. Ambiance is nice as this place sits directly adjacent to the stage for live music. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - View of the bar. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

Food food food. And ambiance. Service is excellent. Presentation was on par with the quality of the food, which if it was food service, it was great. My Rachel was actual hand cut turkey breast on delicious marble rye. I'm from NY but id move to the Villages just to eat here often. Oh, and the fries, surprise yourself, a must. read more

Bartender is Izzy. Was amazing. Kind attentive even though she was very busy. Made is feel welcome. Food was just ok. Izzy did suggest bar food. Hamburgers, wings and the stew. We went another way. Next time, and there will be a next time because of Izzy,we will try bar food options. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - At the bar. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

I was really disappointed when McGrady's was turned into Sawgrass Tavern. And it has been over a year of them struggling to make it better but I think they're achieving it now! My fish and fries were so hot I couldn't eat it. Service was outstanding! All the staff covering it. Give it another chance! Drinks spot on, too! Yay Sawgrass! read more

Our server Holly was amazing. We have spent the last 3 nights in the Villages and this was by far our best meal and experience. The food and drinks were fantastic and the service was impeccable. read more

This is our second time in this restaurant and we started with appetizer, spinach & artichoke dip, the dip was delicious, the toasted bread (4) pieces is not enough, they brought chips to replace. We had chicken pot pies, Rueben sandwich, (2) chicken Florentine, at first not cooked to temperature, but reheated. Our server Julia & Eli k were a 10 of 10. This was a relaxed atmosphere with music. read more

Staff and food were amazing. Turkey dinner exceptional.Waitress always had a smile. Taking bread pudding home.

Great place for all the reasons. Pleasant, attentive service. Fantastic atmosphere. Fish & Chips were absolutely amazing. Definitely will come back. read more

The service is always great here. The vibe is good. Great views! Very nice environment. Sadly, the food is not so great. The salads are great, but most everything else is subpar. Yesterday I had the turkey dinner special which comes with mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, etc. The turkey was slightly dried out, and they put very little gravy on . I asked for a side of gravy and got beef gravy instead of turkey or chicken gravy, and it was horrible. But the craziest thing was the cornbread stuffing. It wasn't cornbread stuffing, it was corndog stuffing! Complete with pieces of hotdogs in it! C'mon, man?!!! Seriously? I cannot believe they did this and called it cornbread stuffing. Ugh. read more

Great food. Service was excellent and server friendly. Pr8ces are higher than expected, but the food was very good. I had the brisket chilli, wife had the spinach bacon flatbread. Definatly pleanty of food.. We sat outside with the live music playing. Such a great atmosphere. June 19th 7:39 pm .. read more

Service was great and food above average but nothing really special. We had chicken wings and had to ask for dressing and celery which was forgotten on the plate. Fish and chips and a shrimp dinner were good. Excellent cocktails! read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Shrimp and chips dinner! - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

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Food-service was very satisfactory. Steak was delicious daughter liked the potato soup

Poor service, had to wait about 30 minutes just for my order to be taken. The food was also underwhelming, I ordered a burger that was undercooked. When I went talked to the manager about it he was very dismissive; would not recommend this place at all read more

This restaurant used to be called something else, I can't recall the name, but it is still on the roof of the building. None the less, it is a well decorated restaurant, near the town square. You can hear the live music, which happens every evening. The drinks aren't overpriced ($5.50/bottled beer), but they're not cheap either. Service was good. I ordered Salmon Wellington. It came with choice of two sides. I chose carrots and mashed potatoes. The vegetable and potato were tasty, but I found the salmon to be overbearing as it is served with a heavy garlic sauce. My friend ordered a burger and fries and said he was happy with it. read more

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Came here when it first opened as the Scottish restaurant. Found it horrible. Came back to Sawgrass Tavern. Interior is the same. Food unfortunately the same also. Average. Hard to narrow down what to order at an FMK restaurant because the menu is just so uninspired. We ordered the corned beef and cabbage and cottage pie which had very little chef inspired tastes at all. Consensus was "we haven't eaten at this restaurant yet. Now we have ad don't need to come back" read more

Amanda was our server. She was outstanding and made sure the main dish didn't get ordered until we were done with apps. Loved the fish and chips. read more

We had such a great experience. Emily was fantastic--warm, attentive, and incredibly helpful in guiding us through the menu based on our preferences. As visitors from NY, we felt welcomed and well taken care of. We'll definitely be back the next time we're in town! read more

Georgia our server was on it! She handled our large group with precision! I will definitely be back.

Was here with a big group of people and our waitress. Georgia was amazing. Everybody's Order correct, everyone had separate checks and they were all correct . Georgia is the best server . read more

Georgia is an absolutely amazing server. She is professional and very kind! Our orders are always correct and we never want for anything because she checks with us all the time. The food is good and we really enjoy coming here. We always look for Georgia as our server! read more

We went to the restaurant on 5/23 to check out their breakfast fare it took a long time to be served. over an hour to get our food we were there about 10:30 AM the special was very disappointing the brisket sausages we definitely reheated several times and overly salty The home potatoes were round patties and rubbery tasting of salt and lots of onion powder and appeared to have been fried a couple of times The apples in the waffle entree were exceedingly sweet with no flavor but sugar and reminiscent of canned pie filling We have eaten there before and the food was much better but it wasn't yesterday won't be going back soon read more

The food is consistently good! Georgia usually waits on us after golf and she is so great, separate tickets for 18 people and always kind and efficient! The bar is a fun place to sit. read more

Went there specifically to have Rubens and corn beef we placed our order of an appetizer of the scotch egg. The egg was hard boiled where it should be a little jammy, and the mustard sauce was watered down and tasteless. They popped a portion cup of regular mustard in the middle of the plate to compensate . sometime later( around the time you'd expect your meal to actually arrive). They informed us that they were out of corn beef. How can a place that advertises Irish fair be out of corned beef by two in the afternoon on a Sunday? We were then informed that they had a special of turkey so we were able to opt out of corned beef and go into Thanksgiving! now you think with a special it would be special. It wasn't .The green beans were just warmed up out of the can. The stuffing was extremely odd. It was mushy leftover brioche with chopped up chunks of hotdog or some sort of sausage, not appealing at all, and then the turkey while part of the slice was moist, the outer edges where the skin was hard as a rock totally in edible and the gravy was out of the Heinz gravy jar- very disappointing. Our serverAmanda was the best part of the meal. It was obvious that they were a little shorthanded on staff, but she handled the shortcomings of the kitchen with grace and a little humor. She even went to get the manager who was polite, but did not offer to comp our meal. instead they brought out another slice of this horrible turkey to us on a plate. Just one slice -no gravy! I had to ask for gravy and then they grudgingly brought out a small bowl and then didn't even provide a spoon to ladle it across the slice !all this at $17.95 perperson. We were so disappointed we will not having be having a repeat visit. read more

Eli the magician making our drinks and meal come alive! A great way to end a round of golf on a hot day. Haddock fish sandwich and a couple of beers. read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Haddock fish sandwich and fries - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

Eli provided the best service I have ever had here. And what do you know- the food was also on point. His recommendations hit the mark!

Soggy & sparce Reuben. Worst service at bar seating ever. Never had but a couple decengt experiences and those were when seated in the dining area. Service at the bar is the worst of the worst. I try to avoid stopping here and then think I'll give it another try just to have same very poor experience all over again read more

I loved this place! They have a vast menu unlike the average restaurants in the area. Pleasantly surprised and Eli was warm & friendly and a great server too! Be sure not to miss their happy hour 3 to 4 pm. read more

We went here years ago and was not impressed, but is since been bought out by FMK and the food was INCREDIBLE! We got the loaded potato soup, brisket chili, Pretzel Charcuterie Board and Caprese Flatbread. Very good prices, serving sizes and taste was AMAZING! We had a wonderful server Amanda who was very knowledgeable and friendly! We will be back for sure and will ask to be seated in her section! read more

Sawgrass Tavern - Potato soup, brisket chili, pretzel charcuterie Board, margarita flatbread - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Wildwood, Florida

Eric is a superb waiter. He was very attentive to us. He is well spoken. I believe he is the best waiter I have ever had. The food came in large portions. The corn beef as tender and the best he had ever had. I had fish and chips. I had 3 fish and they were huge and tasty. The price was very reasonable. They have gorgeous beer mugs. We will be back again. read more

Dinner on a Wednesday evening. Seated upon arrival. Drinks followed relatively quickly. Shepperd's Pie and a Rueban Sandwich. Everything was delicious. Our waitress Tiffany was amazing. read more