Southern Palate

Such a great spot! The atmosphere was beautiful, very family friendly and the view made the whole…read moreexperience even better. The service was great, and everything we ordered tasted fresh and delicious. They also have some really good summer specials, which was a nice bonus. We'll definitely be coming back!

VERY, VERY disappointed. this was not our 1st time but probably our last. i ordered fish and chips,…read more asked for cocktail sauce instead of tartar, I was given tartar, remind our waitress that I requested cocktail sauce.....it was an additional charge of .50 since they 1st gave me tartar but I did request the cocktail sauce. never came over to ask if everything was ok. took forever to get a drink refill. i know .50 won't break me but I did request it instead of the tartar. We will have to find a new place for seafood.

Patio seating with bar

Gator bites

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Outdoor seating

Front Porch Restaurant & Pie Shop

4.0(292 reviews)

0.7 mi

Service was excellent. Food was amazing. We had a Cuban sandwich and sloppy Joe. We took a mini pie…read morehome. We definitely would come back!

Great place for some southern staples. We were a party of 6 and we couldn't resist ordering fried…read morechicken and catfish. Fried chicken was really tasty with a perfect crunch and juicy chicken. The fried catfish was breaded with cornmeal, perfectly crispy, also well seasoned and very moist and tender inside. The tartar sauce was homemade and very good but they also have a good peppered vinegar. Between us all we had an opportunity to try a lot of sides. Hush puppies which one of our hush puppy lovers said was the best she ever had (I'm not a fan of these overall so I can't really say). The potato salad was very good, creamy, with just a hint of onion and relish. Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes were enjoyed by all. Loved the crispy okra and green beans. Collard greens were also good. Of course, we couldn't leave without trying the pies. Caramel apple walnut was a little too nutty for me but it was still good. They key lime was my personal fave -- the crust was a good crumbly graham cracker that was definitely home made. We also had a lemon meringue and the chocolate coconut cream pie, which was essentially a half and half with chocolate cream and the bottom and coconut cream on the top. Both had beautiful, moist meringues with nicely toasted tops. On top of good food, we had a great waitress who was super attentive and very patient and friendly. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area and looking for some nostalgic, good southern comfort food.

Cute outhouse painted bathroom

Boom boom shrimp & hush puppies

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SoulFull Southern Kitchen

5.0(11 reviews)

0.2 mi

Wow!! What an amazing bbq place. I would say this is the freshest bbq I have ever tried. The Havana…read moreand Florida man sandwich were unbeatable. You have to try SoulFull Southern Kitchen!

My son recommended coming in to try the awesome brisket, today was the day. It is served on…read moreSaturday so we were excited to try them out. Nice quaint eatery with mostly to go ordering. We met Mark, the owner, who is friendly and offered great suggestions. I had the Brisket Sandwhich with mashed sweet potatoes and an order of sweet potato hush puppies. My husband had the brisket platter with cowboy beans and their special slaw. Everything came quickly, it was hot and cooked to order. The brisket was medium rare and so tender. The seasoning was perfect! Not too salty, so smooth. My husband's meat was cut to the perfect Slice and so tender, he also had the corn bread that was delicious. The beans and slaw were great sides. They give a very nice serving, enough for left overs. We really enjoyed our lunch and will be sure to make this our go to barbecue restaurant.

Entry

Sweet potato hush puppies

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Stumpknockers On The River

3.8(323 reviews)

7.9 mi

Stuffed flounder was excellent. Prices reasonable for a legit seafood restaurant in fish country…read more Indoor or outdoor seating available. Access is a bit dicey -- Highway 200 narrows for the old bridge over the Withlacoochee, cars are going fast and there's no margin for error while you are poking along trying to turn in our back out onto the highway.

I went with my daughter on a Friday night. Very friendly people and family environment. There is…read moreindoor and outdoor seating. We sat outdoors this restaurant is by the river. You feel the peace that the waters and surrounded by oaks and nature. And there is a full bar outdoors as well The food was ok. We had clam chowder soup wasn't my favorite but had worse. And we ordered two appetizers escargot which I don't recommend it included 5 snails on top of a lot of small mushrooms and it wasn't seasoned well!! Hard to match my previous escargot plates in other restaurants. The other appetizer was gator bites. I liked that! For our main entree we shared a seafood combo but you had to choose from fried, boiled or blackened and we chose fried they couldn't accommodate having half the plate cooked a different way so was just too much fried seafood. The platter brings shrimp, white fish, scallops, à crab cake, and oysters. The shrimp were big and tasty, and the white fish was delicious scallops were also good but the rest not so much. It's hard to eat all fried and all seasoned the same except the crab cake ( a lot of veggies in it and not enough crab so you don't really eating à crab cake) I hope this helps

Bud lattes

Surf and turf

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Outside

The Blue Gator

3.6(450 reviews)

0.3 mi

We went hiking at rainbow springs and came to get a late lunch. Ashley was so fun and made our…read moreexperience amazing even though her shift was about to end. We got rum Runners and my son got a banana smoothie with real bananas in it; he loved it. He really enjoyed the chicken fingers with honey mustard and fries. Hubby and I loved the gator bites as an app, and LOVED the blackened fish tacos. Omgg they were so good and fresh!!!! Ashley brought us water and lettuce for our bearded dragon and a shot for my husband for his bday. We would 10000% return!

Drove by this place many times when traveling to Gainesville, finally made a stop to try and it did…read morenot disappoint! Food price was reasonable and the volume was generous. Started with the gator bite that was meaty and not gamey, one of the best tasting gators I've had in Florida. We then tried the frog legs and fish tacos, both were portioned generously with lots of meat. The live music added a nice touch to the vibe of a dockside experience on a Saturday night. Don't expect anything fancy, you may be sharing your meal with a few harmless spiders on the ceiling but they are there to catch the bugs. Wait staff were super friendly and quick to serve. If you are traveling through or in town for rainbow river excursions, I recommend the spot!

The Blue gator

Fish tacos.

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Outdoor dining

Simply Seafood

4.5(31 reviews)

0.2 mi

Please take note. This is not a restaurant any longer. It's only a fish market…read more It looked pretty good as a fish market but no prepackaged food. Parking is quite difficult.

Simply Seafood market is a great place to get fresh seafood at a great price. The owners and staff…read moreare the best and if you have a question about seafood, they will know it! Love going here and you will too if you like seafood!

The fresh seafood market right next to the dining area!

It started out as a Seafood market then a year ago they opened the restaurant.

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Crab grilled cheese-amazing! Even better paired with the Manhattan seafood chowder!

Breakfast Station

4.1(81 reviews)

0.8 mi

Layla was such a wonderful server. Friendly and attentive. Went there on sunday and had very good…read moreexperience.

The Good and the Bad…read more I came in during a late breakfast. The restaurant wasn't very busy, and most of the tables were empty, but many hadn't been cleared. The waitress could see I was waiting for a table, but instead of clearing one, she started cleaning a booth first. That wasn't a great first impression. Once seated, there was another wait before I could even ask for coffee. When the coffee finally arrived, it tasted stale. Fresh coffee is one of the least expensive things a breakfast restaurant can provide. This isn't a deal breaker--things happen--but there's really no reason to serve customers old coffee. Then I realized I didn't have a spoon. I got the waitress's attention and asked for one. She headed toward the back, stopped to cash out another customer, went into the kitchen looking for clean spoons, and eventually had to grab one from the counter. Something as simple as getting a spoon shouldn't turn into a process. This brings me to the bigger issue: staffing and organization. Does the restaurant have bussers or a dedicated cashier? The waitress appears to be responsible for seating, serving, clearing tables, cashing customers out, and everything in between. That's inefficient and hurts the overall customer experience. I also don't like the checkout process. The waitress asks whether the tip will be on the card and then enters it while you're standing there. Whether intentional or not, that can make customers feel pressured about tipping. I'd much rather see a dedicated cashier handling payments and phone orders so the servers can focus on their tables. Now, the food. The food was mediocre overall. The omelet was very flat rather than the fluffy omelet I normally expect from a restaurant. On the positive side, the hash browns and toast were perfect. The bacon could have been a little crispier, but I didn't specifically order it crispy, so I can't really fault them for that. Then there's the price: $21 for a cheese omelet, hash browns, toast, and bacon. I understand that food, transportation, labor, and operating costs have increased, but $21 seems excessive for this particular breakfast. Based on the quality and portion, this felt more like a $14 meal. My biggest criticism isn't actually the food--it's the restaurant's organization. Clearing and resetting tables should be automatic. When customers leave, those tables should be cleared and prepared for the next guests as soon as reasonably possible. That should happen during the rush and continue when business slows down. There were some good points here, particularly the hash browns and toast, but the service organization, stale coffee, mediocre omelet, uncleared tables, and $21 price make the overall experience difficult to recommend.

Log Cabin Syrup. I just realized this is not maple syrup. Corn syrup, water and sugar are the only ingredients.

Home fries are the best and a sausage breakfast burrito.

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Menu

BubbaQue's

2.7(71 reviews)

0.5 mi

Came here looking for some good bbq and I did not find it ! The brisket was dry the chicken was…read morefall off the bone but no flavor the pulled pork was also dry. The beans and greens were actually decent and the corn was simply that bread was soaked in butter so it was super soggy not sure if it's because we bought so much of it but it was not edible . I gave it 2 stars because the customer service was great and they were so friendly. No issues with the cleanliness and they gave us a good rundown of the flavors of sauce which I do recommend buying!

Great food!!!!!! huge burgers toasted buttery buns. The ribs to die for and the brisket amazing…read more Worth it.

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As my review.. I ate it

Red's Restaurant

4.3(195 reviews)

7.9 mi

On our way back from our river weekend. Good reviews and menu looks good…read more Sat outside right next to the woods. Was nice. I got their Rueben. Really good! Fries were cooked just right. Service was ok. It was pretty busy and we did wait a while for our food but we weren't in a rush. Solid breakfast spot

We love this place. We have never had a bad meal here yet. Definitely get there by 9 AM if you…read moredon't wanna have to wait online. My husband got sausage gravy and biscuits and I got an omelette and we left with taking half of our food home because the food is just so delicious and so much food Everyone is very nice and I don't think you go wrong with anything on their menu

Egg omelette with home fries

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15 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Tasha G.

84

1

0

8 years ago

This is the best southern food that I have had in a very long time!!!!! I recently utilized the catering services from this restaurant (Southern Palate) for my family reunion of June 2018.. Overall, the experience was great!!! Customer service was excellent and professionalism was a major plus!!!! The food was prepared very well and the taste of the food was superlative!! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone that has any special events, occasions, traveling through the city of dunnellon, or just stop by along with buying a meal..This place was a blessing and I'm thankful for the wonderful experience..Ms. Angie B. is awesome!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!! read more

Rachel P.

0

11

5

6 years ago

Wow! What an amazing meal! That was the juiciest, most delicious fried chicken I have EVER had! And the oxtail my husband had that was pulled from the most incredible vat of juicy awesomeness that I literally wanted to dive into was absolutely unbelievable! And what a wonderful, gracious owner that warmly welcomes you and serves up your food with love! You MUST, MUST try this little slice of Heaven called Southern Palate! It'll buckle your knees!! read more

Alison K.

447

51

35

3 years ago

Such delicious food! Each time I drive into Dunnellon, i am always including to stop into Southern Palate. The food, service, and welcoming ambiance truly make this a business worth patronizing... aside from how delicious the food is. My favorite dishes from Southern Palate: Fried pork chops, Mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, and collard greens. read more

Q F.

1

8

0

3 years ago

Southern Palate was a great restaurant with awesome food and wonderful customer service. The owner assured our family that the food would be good, and it certainly was. We had the oxtails, fried chicken, collard greens, and mac & cheese. I will highly recommend this establishment! read more

Wade S.

0

2

0

2 years ago

Ejected and refused service because I had my service dog. I am a 100% disabled vet and I was treated with contempt by the owner, Angie b. NEVER GO THERE IF YOU ARE DISABLED YOU WILL BE REJECTED. ADA complaint filed at federal and state levels. read more

Jenn S.

0

6

2

8 years ago

Being a Southern girl it's so hard to find good food in Florida! We are to far South to be South. This is true Southern food! Menu changes every day so be sure to stop in often but no matter what try the Mac and Cheese. read more

Ricardo B.

0

2

1

8 years ago

Pure yumminess! The owner is tremendously friendly. It's local, home made and if you care about the social implications (I'm a social worker) this awesome place is a minority woman own business. Enjoy! read more

Linda E.

0

285

44

6 months ago

Stopped here for lunch today but they were Closed ! There was a sign inside the door that says they will open back up tomorrow? That does not help our tummy's today! Bummer. read more

Nick R.

0

6

0

9 years ago

I enjoyed the Southern Palate very much. My wife and I went for dinner. Great food we both really enjoyed our meals. Really nice portions and and prices. read more

Deloris C.

19

1

3

9 years ago

You will not be disappointed with the food or the service. The atmosphere is very relaxing and the variety of food is great. I would highly recommend it. read more

Sheila E.

0

1

0

4 years ago

Great food, super friendly and good Food portions. Definitely worth stopping for a bite to eat. Come early because they close When the food Is gone read more

Kaprena R.

0

4

0

16 hours ago

Hands down the best in the county!!!! Repeat customer for life! Owner is top notch in food and service!

Gail P.

0

10

0

4 years ago

They are definitely into "quality - not quantity". The food was delicious! We will be back.

Lorrett F.

0

1

0

7 years ago

Great food and fabulous hospitality. Everything I have eaten there is wonderful

N M.

0

25

0

4 years ago

Most excellent food and service

Southern Palate - southern - Updated September 2026

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Gg's Heavenly Soul Food

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(22 reviews)

Omg I almost feel like I got a two for one not only is the food delicious but one meal will feed…read morethe average person two meals!! Everything I ate was seasoned perfectly cooked perfectly and absolutely delicious!!!! The staff was awesome!! The only complaint I have which really isn't a complaint. It's just a wish when your food is so good lots of people come to eat it and they just wasn't enough tables in the dining room but other than that it was perfection.!!!

Well...um, a few things. Service was great! Ambiance quaint and tidy. We ordered fried catfish,…read morebaked beans, mashed potatoes w/gravy. Catfish was fried lightly, smelled yummy. Baked beans, huge ball of mashed potatoes had No seasoning. Thank "heaven" the gravy was on the side . Fried looked w/ mac n chees, collars looked good. Chops were lightly breaded n fried, but Mac n collards were not seasoned( lacked salt/pepper, meaty smokey zing to greens). Im sorry, I wanted it to be great, seeing its location and the little n cheerful "Gg" at the register (she was a delight). One thing we really liked was the hot corn muffin. Tasty. The kitchen seemed to lack "soul" -ful touch, if you know what I mean :/ Another half star off for dead bug at baseboard floor. 2 n half stars :/

Miz Kathi's Cotillion Cafe & Sweetery

4.4

(421 reviews)

Always delicious and delightful meals. Excellent and friendly service…read more One of my favorites. Highly recommended.

Located in old area of Wildwood and in a bldg that was a bank. Decorated old school and takes you…read moreback a little in time. Limited parking right outside bldg due to area and old part of town. But has a lot of grass parking behind along rail road and also more across street at wildwood city hall. Plenty of choices in menu and I decided to try the Voodoo Mac and cheese and so glad I did. It was really good has brisket in it and fried onions great flavor combo. 3 in our group today. We ordered 2 voodoo Mac and cheese $25 ea and a turkey and bacon sandwich on a croissant roll $18. sweet tea in huge mason jars $4 ea and a homemade lemonade $5.50. Just know going in that the prices are a little high but well worth it as the portions are huge. I ate half of my Mac and cheese and took the rest to go... Highly recommend this place staff was welcoming and friendly and service was really good.

Depot On Magnolia

4.6

(51 reviews)

My favorite place in Ocala. Cool interior, nice wait staff, relaxing atmosphere and TERRIFIC food…read more Save room for dessert or take it home. Been here a number of times, but I don't recall what I've had every time & I've not taken pictures every time. Their dessert menu is off the hook. I've order the peanut butter pie repeatedly and it's the best I've had in 50 years. Orders I do recall: * Tomato soup: the absolute best and a crave item * Peanut butter pie, has a layer of dark chocolate and the pb part has a nice stronger flavor than many. * Key Lime pie - best I've had since moving to Florida! Only bad thing is now do I order this or the pb pie - oh what a challenge & still so many more of their desserts to try * Meatloaf plate - very good. I'd have it again. * Fish fry - I didn't have it, but a friend did and said it was terrific! She shared a delicious hushpuppy with me. * Hawaiian Tuna Melt - has grilled pineapple on it and sort of a wild addition, but totally works & delicious * Chicken wrap with salad and soup, For salad, I picked the pasta salad - it's good, but could use a bit of red wine vinegar or more of it for my tastes, but I like it. For soup, it's been the summer Watermelon Gazpacho- and that's fantastic!

Good cheeseburger and very cool location inside of an old train station. I didn't try any of the…read moredesserts but they looked fantastic and I would like to go back. The servers were nice. Overall positive experience.

Jax Snappers Fish and Chicken

4.2

(17 reviews)

Amazing food!! I had the fried snapper and shrimp combo and it did not disappoint. And the banana…read morepudding they have here was the best banana pudding I've ever had. Will definitely be going back next time I'm in Ocala for church conference!

The food was good especially yesterday dinner was on point. I was disappointed tonight because of…read morechange of chef. The French fries were brought up way too early and so was the chicken. Real soft no crunch. Chicken soft no crunch either.

Seafood Seller & Cafe

4.5

(1k reviews)

Excellent restaurant. Seated after a five minute wait. Great wait staff. Order appetizer of…read moreCrawfish and Alligator macaroni and cheese. GREAT. An entree of Crawfish etouffee etouffee OUSTANDING. Cold beer, great hush puppies. Looking forward to returning.

Lived in New Orleans for a few years in my 20s and worked in a French Quarter restaurant. My in…read morelaws live near by this place and have been wanting to bring me for years to get my opinion. We started with Boudin Balls which are my favorite but no one else had had before but all enjoyed. My wife had the bourbon chicken sandwich that she felt was meh/10 but she loved the jambalaya side and wished she'd gotten a whole dinner of that. I had the shrimp po boy. Wanted the traditional dressed version so swapped mayo for the mustard. Shrimp was excellently fried. Agree with my wife the jambalaya was great but the red beans were not very tender and when I asked for sugar for the beans (it's a real thing) they brought out three varieties of fake sugar and no real ones. Think we got pecan pie and bread pudding for dessert and both were good. Would definitely come back.

Ralph's Burger and Sandwich Shop

4.2

(26 reviews)

Great burger, though greasy. Had the Ralph's with no changes to it…read more Before I go further, the one nice thing the girl at the counter did was say my order would be brought to me, and it was. I walk with a cane & I had brought my dog. I rather doubt I'll be back. I'd rather go any of the other WEC restaurants where the staff is gracious to the level of Disney gracious. Staff were not at all on par with the rest of WEC, well at least not the blond young woman that waited on me. She did smile upon arrival, but their tone was condescending and obviously an old, plump lady didn't fit her idea of who to be nice to. I ordered quickly, as I came to just try the place out and figured the Ralph's burger was the way to go. I felt all the staff sort of walked around her and gave her a wide berth and frankly all looked nervous. Is there a tyrant there? Layout: is odd! Condiments are on the far right end of the counter, yet the utensils and beverages are on the opposite wall. The girl who took my order said nothing about that. I was surprised to get a burger with no condiments on it. I ordered coffee and they give you a cup and it's self-service, which is perfectly fine, but the tea and coffee were not labeled or if they are, then it's up over 5 feet, I tipped 18%, not my usual 20%*, as it's counter service. I assume that's divided up, as the staff cleaning tables were quick & efficient, as well as pleasant. Maybe blond girl was having a bad day, but if that's the case - don't share it. I was there on June 4th, 2026. Since this is not a chain fast food restaurant and they apparently don't put condiments on the burgers, I think having them on the table would be better. Worst service in Ocala all due to one girl.

My wife and I decided to try out Ralph's Burger during the Home and Garden show at the WEC. Boy…read morewere we surprised to see this placed packed! In addition to the Home and Garden show, there were horse jumping competitions and apparently some tour groups with their yellow lanyards hanging on their necks. Needless to say, we waited in line a while and had to hunt for tables and chairs. Fortunately, my wife and I "divided and conquered" as she secured a table (which we happily shared with another couple after my wife wiped it off with a wet wipe) and I stood in line to place our orders. I ordered the Southwest Burger ($17) and my wife ordered the Patty Melt ($14.75). Both came with fries. We just had water. The wait was longer than we thought (the place was truly packed). My burger had good flavor but thought the burger patty was a bit overdone for my tastes. My wife liked her patty melt and thought it was full of flavor as well but would've preferred the marble rye to be grilled instead of toasted. All in all, despite the crowd which we thought may have affected their execution a bit, we thought of our experience a positive one. We might consider trying out their breakfast when we decide to head back out to WEC for a Sunday service in their quaint chapel. NOTE: I neglected to take pictures since the long wait left us famished.

Mama's Kuntry Kafe

4.2

(74 reviews)

Great food!!! Best Patty melt ever. All deserts are made fresh. Can't wait till they stay open on…read moreFridays till 7:00

Came out for breakfast. Usually I don't eat a normal breakfast I just order Ala Carte. Decided on…read morethe 1/2 order of biscuits and gravy. Made to perfection. Quiet morning in the restaurant. Service was super fast with a smile. Absolutely love this place.

Farmshack Bar B Que

5.0

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Stop here now! Farm…read moreshack style ordering, best food of a roadtrip so far. Have it on good authority this bbq stop was recently bought from the previous owner. My group had brisket, pulled pork, fried chicken club sandwich, baked beans, green beans, collard greens and ... I think that's it. Oh, coleslaw and peach cobbler. Order all of it. All the sides were fresh and bursting with flavor. I will personally try and recreate the baked bean recipe. Thinking molasses. Even the crinkle fries are the best I've had in a long while. Brisket. Perfection. Ordered the chicken club, fired when I found out the ribs were out. Juicy, crispy, seasoned. This chicken sandwich will be the standard I judge others by. Coleslaw was a rough cut. Not mad at it. Peach cobbler was not too sweet, plenty of cakey pieces. One bench. This is mostly a to go location. We tailgated. Yes, there is a bathroom No, there is not a trash can. Remember, things sell out, so go early.

Everything I've ordered, from barbeque to hamburgers, has been DELICIOUS! The owners are VERY…read morepersonable and make you feel like family.

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4.6

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