Palm Gardens Boat Rentals — Attraction in Tavares

3/2016Moved to the area a few months ago. When we cross the bridge on Rte 441 see this restaurant. The bldg. you see from the highway looks like the place is closed...it's not. The actual restaurant is next door. No inside seating....an old house is the kitchen. Had a recommendation for this restaurant so decided to give it a try. Took our boat out and docked here...good docks with rubber. Palm Gardens is the epitome of 'old Florida.' Good lunch crowd. We weren't sure what to do/where to sit. If you dock, there's no sign telling you. You sit outside by the lovely canal. So we found a table and waited and waited and waited. Two waitresses walked passed us many times and even looked at us but didn't acknowledge we were there . Waited 25 minutes and I said 'let's go.' (hot that day, in the 80s, and not even a glass of water) Finally hubby managed to flag someone down and she said it was her first day. It took another 10 minutes to get our drinks. Another 10 minutes or longer and owner came over with napkins etc and menus. 15 minutes longer and I said let's pay for drinks and leave. Finally owner came back with apologies and took our order. The 'new' waitress looked like a deer in the headlights all the time and completely ignored us. The more experienced waitress flitted around to other tables but not ours. I had to hunt down a pitcher of water for refills. (I had a beer) The tables....well what can I say. Some of the plastic table were dirty due to being outside all the time and aged. Our table had been glass and was spray painted...ugh! Chairs were okay.

The only saving grace was the food...fresh and tasty. I had the shrimp po'boy which was good. Hubby had a basa sandwich (related to the Grouper fish). Shrimp lightly breaded in a fresh bun with ripe tomatoes and lettuce. Would we go back....maybe in a few months. The view was great but the kitchen fan was so loud/old it overwhelmed the peacefulness of the canal. Bathrooms were better than I thought. Palm Gardens needs better/more staff (much better), fresh paint, new tables (plastic tables are cheap). The dock/deck was new so hopefully that's a start. Overall, the place needs...

Completely disappointed! We went by one day on a boat and thought it looked like a really cool place to have lunch so a few weeks later drove there from Orlando for lunch. We were looking forward to having oysters or fresh shrimp and was told they didnt have any of that available because the cooks that take care of that were all on vacation. Things were still on the special menu and I had asked about them and was told they weren't available. They should have changed their specials menu until it was. I almost didn't order anything but ordered buffalo shrimp which came premade frozen in a bag. It was like something I would have gotten from popeyes chicken. Also the place was a dump and filthy. I get it's on a river but dirty and no full menu even though Advertised. We wanted to try something new which looked like a hidden jem but was a joke. We will not return! Oh yeah also brought out one meal 5 minutes before the other two people's meal. I was a server for 20 years that's bad customer service! They didn't even try to compensate for anything. Can't believe health department doesn't shut them down. Plus if you go by car you have to drive through a run down trailer park. We almost turned around should have. Should have done research first...

Great little hole in the wall place in the canal (Dead River) between Lake Harris and Lake Eustis. I parked my boat in one of their slips and we waited a little bit for a table to come available. This was my first time eating here but I've crossed it a few times while boating in the area and it is always busy which I always take as a good sign. Today was no different as we were 3rd in the line.

I will say one of the biggest draws for me was the great view of the water from any of the outside seating tables. Service was really good but the food took a while to come out. My brother and his wife got the pluck and eat shrimp and it looked delicious (shellfish allergy for me😡). They also ordered Fried Green Beans, another first for me, which were delicious. The main lunch options were the Basa fillet sandwich, fried shrimp and fries, and chicken tenders with onion rings. Everything was delicious and the wait staff kept our drink refills coming.

Definitely give this place a try if you are...