McCall's Tavern — Restaurant in Lady Lake

Report from first visit to McCalls:

Now for your down home complete satisfaction around the Spanish Springs neighborhood town square, go to McCall's, a n unpretentious legacy restaurant overlooking the bowling alley through a panorama of windows.

Try and get Mary as your server if you can, as she is the real deal, a genuine bundle of joy and belly laughter. Mary won't be shy about recommending their fried chicken dinner, as well she might, as this dish is their hands down 90th percentile landslide favorite.

Deservedly so. I chose the from scratch green beans and mashed potatoes/gravy. Can only report that if you are a fried chicken aficionado, you shall be well pleased.

The one possible snag may be parking, especially during the season. I recommend that trying to park on the street is a fool's errand. The bowling alley has a huge off road parking area. If you enter the bowling front door you'll find McCall's shares an indoor entrance corridor about half way down the lanes.

Reasonably priced, comparable or better than the rest of the Spanish Spring eateries. Expect a Cracker Barrel type nostalgic decor.

Looks like they have a stage for live entertainment. We are generally not fans of loud noises, so we went mid day and were mercifully spared. Different strokes for different folks.

Try McCall.s, especially off peak. You can count on a satisfying and aesthetically agreeable customer experience.

Review

McCall's Tavern:

Second Visit - second review Saturday noon Mother's Day weekend of 2022:

To our astonishment there is parking galore, even on the street directly in front of the entrance. The huge room itself looks almost entirely available. I have heard merchants say that Mother's Day weekend can be feast or famine depending on entirely whimsical serendipity.

Well, this slow moment is to our entire advantage. More time to take in a decor that feels like the genuine old time establishment before corporatization. Not to forget the panoramic view of people bowling just beyond the glass. It's one of my favorite features.

Portions were, once again, generous and genuine. Suzanne decided at the last minute to order the "Beef on Weck '' even though her original thought had been the "Shepards Pie ''. Her sandwich was roast beef on a bun au jus served with horseradish and a garden salad. Evidently she had a fantasy image going on, because at some point she wished she had ordered the shepards pie instead, yet when I asked what she found wanting with the sandwich, she could not say. I took a taste and found it to be completely satisfying. So... just one of those idiosyncratic things.

I, on the other hand, had the patty melt with the option of onion rings. My first impression was, again, the generous abundance of portions. The sandwich hamburger was not what I would simply call a "patty", But was a full burger (perhaps half pound), prime, to where you could easily see the pinkish sign of the medium rare dish I had ordered.

The onion rings were especially genuine, delightful, and abundant. They were made from real onion slices dipped in beer batter and piled high and hot overflowing a standard fries basket. (I think this dish could more accurately be designated as "onion tempura") The serving is guaranteed not to leave you hungry.

To put the cap on it, our server noticed how much water we were drinking. And so, in addition to refills she was thoughtful enough to leave the pitcher of ice water on the table for us.

After all this: old fashion consideration for and caring about the customer, I sure will feel the loss if and when such establishments become a "thing of the past" to be replaced by a bit more residential units and commercial...

We generally do not leave negative reviews as my wife worked in the food service industry for years. It’s tough, especially when super busy, but our experience was really not that good. Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly…

Good: Beer was cold once it arrived at the table and the wings were large and had good flavor. Atmosphere was nice.

Bad: Busy when we arrived and the person at the hostess station told us to find a table and someone would find us to provide menus. Successfully found a table and sat down. 20 minutes later, after multiple servers passing us and not stopping, one of our party members went to the hostess stand and grabbed some menus. A few minutes later we had to ask a server who had stopped at all of the tables around us if she was our server. She stated she was and returned a short time later to take our order. She arrived 15 minutes later with our drinks. About 15 more minutes passed when she returned to “clarify” our food order. She returned again a few minutes later to advise us that some of the items our group ordered were no longer available. Well over an hour passed and it became obvious our food order had not even been entered yet. Food eventually arrived with orders incomplete or inaccurate.

The ugly: Service was absolutely horrible compared to normal restaurant standards. We’ve eaten at a lot of restaurants around the Villages and this by far was the worst service experience we’ve had. The parties around us were joking that our collectively shared server was on strike or on a lot of breaks. In chatting with the other groups they spoke of similar service experiences.

Skip the parm fries. $5.50 to $6.50 for an order of fries comparable in size to a McDonalds small, undercooked and saturated in a greasy garlic parm sauce.

In the end, we won’t return. Too many other potions with better food and service.

Do...

not for families, or larger then 4 people groups**

We were very excited as the atmosphere seemed very nice. If I could give less then a one star they earned that definitely not a single star.

We walked in as a family of 6. My better half, our 2 adult children and 2 younger big kids.

The hostess stated she was unaware if they could accommodate a party so big. They had multiple tables open. She walked over to another customer dealt w him then walked back and said nothing was open.When we asked if we could have 2 tables the hostess said they couldn't do that.

We then asked if we could sit outside at one of their many open tables. The hostess said I will find out. She walked to the door and stood with her back to us holding the door open. We waited for her to respond Nothing happened for several minutes, she just stood with her backs to us. We realized she was expecting us to leave. As we walked out she said go sit at the table at the edge. This was the furthest table away from anything. The hostess had already walked away. I could see 2 tables open with a window where we could still hear the band inside. I requested from a second employee if we could sit there. She said yes then in a not so nice tone stated you can't all fit.

At this point the lack of interest in our business we left and had the best service and meal at Amerikanos right around the corner. I recommend you take your business to place that wants to provide services.

I have never been treated so poorly! We are not people who are loud or poor appearance. Both employees definitely made us feel beyond unwelcomed.

We eat out several times a week as a family and are very flexible.

This was the worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant and invite the staff to review the cameras. Its pretty clear what was going on. It was between 8pm and...