Gator's Grill & Spirits — Restaurant in Burlington

Review Date: July 11th, 2016

Fear not, there are no gator spirits here.

On a day trip to Catfish Bend Casino, a friend and I needed food before we lost (or won) a few bucks. We usually open Yelp and play a game where we pick a place with good reviews and one that sounds interesting. On this particular trip, we both wanted burgers and after much debating, we ended up picking Gators.

Was it a good choice? Yes and no. It was early in the week and we arrived at the tail end of the lunch rush, so it wasn’t too crowded but not totally empty. With that in mind, we were seated promptly and received great customer service with it being in that post-lunch hour.

I believe we both ordered bacon cheese burgers, as that is our weakness and our usual go-to at new places. You can never go wrong with bacon. :3 And this burger was no exception. It was good. Not entirely fantastic or great, but it was good and filled our bellies. The fries were also good. Nothing out-of-this-world, but good enough to compliment the burger. I just remember the meat of the burger could’ve used a bit of flavoring.

The decor of the place was fun and unique. There was some gator-themed things throughout the place. If I remember right, there was also a lobster/fish tank somewhere in there. I believe it was kind of dark and murky, so the photo I took of it years ago came out terrible, so I deleted it.

So, if you need a place to get some decent food and to visit a cool themed place, Gator’s won’t steer you wrong. Honestly, it might be the best place to eat since Burlington (in all my traveling/exploring) doesn’t have much to do. If you know of any secret fun things to do there, please...

For a Monday, the place was super busy, so we assumed this was the best place to eat on our travels. We ordered hot wings first. They came out somewhat quick but we only got 5 and they were all drums, no flats. Breaded, frozen wings, not great. Next came the grilled chicken sandwich and a Philly. Both, decent. The fries were interesting but we didn't eat them. Had sweet tea. The kicker of the whole meal, you have to pay extra for a to go cup of your beverage.. Ok, no problem, I guess. Got our sweet teas to go, paid, left a hefty tip, got it on the road, and we both had unsweetened tea. We got the drinks, paid the extra for these dinky cups and got cheated. Stopped at a gas station down the road, threw away our cups and went in and got tea. Really liked the service until that. I know she was busy and mistakes happen, but she made it very clear we were paying extra for those cups and just felt like she did it on purpose. I'd still drop in and eat here if I'm ever back this way... Just won't order the wings and I won't be doing a...

Service was very friendly, but the food was pretty basic for the price. The tumbling onions taste great but they don't stick together, making it hard to pinch a bunch together to dip. I thought I would like that they were less greasy than most, but apparently that leads to issues with trying to eat them. For my main dish I got the Buffalo Charlie which came with Chicken Tortilla soup. It was pretty good. Not the best but also definitely not the worst I've had. Probably could have used a little sour cream. The pasta dish was ok. The sliced chicken breast wasn't very seasoned and had come chewy bits I couldn't get through. The sauce on the pasta was not one I would recommend. It was, again..ok. My leftovers are still sitting at home waiting for me to figure out how to doctor them up.

Overall, a decent place that maybe could use a fresh menu. The place was clean and the staff was friendly so already ahead of the game versus some places. I hope to give them another try some time next year and see if anything improves...