The Swamp Restaurant

While it’s not the same as when it was on University, the Swamp is still one of the best places to catch a game in Gainesville. There is a large outdoor seating area where they project whatever the main game is that night. If you want to watch a game and get an outside seat, get there at least an hour before kickoff or you’ll be out of luck. There is a first and second floor with indoor seating, and patio upstairs seating. All tables are full service with food and drinks. The food is about what you would expect from a sports bar. On Fridays, they have Free Beer Fridays. You pay $10 each for a wristband and can get unlimited refills. I’m not sure what beer they use for this but you definitely get your money’s worth. There is no parking directly by the restaurant, so plan to do city parking nearby. There’s usually parallel spots available down the road.

An atrocious dining experience caused by poor management and ownership. The servers tried their best. We waited 50 minutes for a burger and wings while everyone around us got food. Our server apologized saying it would be no more than 15 minutes. After 20 minutes she apologized and said the order was next. Finally it came and this is the carrot and celery sticks

What a shame, I really wanted to like this place because it's dog friendly and has great service, but the food was just awful. I got a honey butter chicken biscuit...the chicken was like shoe leather...it was way overcooked. My husband had a burger and he said it was just ok. My daughter had chicken strips and said they were good so that's why I gave an extra star.

Great outdoor bar and grill. Outdoor seating was fabulous. The big screen tv is perfect for game days. Our server Amber was awesome and we had a very large party of about 20 over 4 hours.

Loved going to this place for Gator fans. Good burgers and cute decor with lots of historic photos of Florida Gator teams. We went on a Monday after football season so it was pretty dead, but clean, and I got one of their souvenir tees.

We have been here twice, and both were very good! They make a great hamburger, the Freshman 15, and their brunch options, like the Bourbon French Toast, are superb. The waitresses here are highly attentive and kind. The atmosphere is quite homey and exudes a college town feel, yet feels as if it belongs in a small town. Overall, this restaurant is one of the best in Gainesville, and is a great place to have a burger and their salads and fries a awesome!

Rob, the bartender, was very knowledgeable on the menu as well as amiable. We stopped on the way from Richmond, Va to Ocala, Fl to eat lunch. My son had the freshman 15 burger and said he’d marry the woman who could make him a burger this delicious. The fries were amazing, and every single ingredient was fresh and top tier. The brioche buns were exceptionally fresh, you could smell the freshness before each bite. All the servers were friendly, saying have a great day on my way out. Picking up random things from the floor that weren’t supposed to be there, keeping the place clean. You just don’t see that anymore. 1000% will come again. Thanks again team for the great lunch experience.

It’s cool there bartender girl black hair amazing. The hostess gotta grow up she was being disrespectful. Maybe she was having a bad morning but don’t take it out on us. We ended up leaving and not having anything when we tried to dine in. Again bartender was great. I’d only sit there if I ever go back.

Fantastic service, staff was friendly. If it's a weekend night I recommend arriving early if you want a good seat to watch the game on the patio. The food was good and price was average for the area. I will definitely return!

We sat at the bar and had a great time. Everyone was super nice ! We only ordered drinks and wings. They have a great setup to watch games and by other sports. Would come back for sure !

Great food and good service, came with my family and were respectful! They put effort into all of the food choices you can select on the menu! Even the kids burger is bigger and better quality than anything you can get at most restaurants! This place is one of the best restaurants to go to in Gainesville

The service was great. We had the chips and queso and hummus for appetizers and I had the Super Bowl for lunch. It came with spinach, quinoa, barley, and Chikn (vegetarian chicken). The bowl was great although the teriyaki was a little sweet for my taste I will definitely order this again with the sauce on the side. This place is great for lunch and has outdoor seating which is dog friendly

The Swamp is definitely a popular location for game days and it is nice because they have so many different screens including a huge one outside; they also have multiple stories and a balcony area. Even when it is busy the servers get to you rather quickly so good service. It is really loud in here so I would not recommend going if you are just trying to have a chill night, it is a very lively atmosphere. I am giving 3 stars mainly because the atmosphere and how loud it is just isn't my vibe, but if it is yours then you might enjoy it more than I did. The food I haven't tried but it looked good and they had lots of menu options

I would not select this restaurant if you have any other choices, I guess if you wanted a beer and watch the game it's fine, perhaps the pallet of a seven year old. The food for me is less than mediocre, and the service was severely lacking. I had to something as simple as the Caesar wrap and sweet potato fries, the fries seem like they had been steamed. The fries and chicken tenders are fries and chicken tenders, the burger and fries with burger and fries the chips and queso. The queso was OK but the chips were like crazy stale I say the one star would be for the gator bites, which was by far the best thing we ordered that night. I ordered sweet tea, and I had to ask if they put lemon in it, they said they did not which meant the tea was bad, so they were serving old tea or they never clean out their containers. They cash you out electronically so you can't even see your final check, the waitress seemed annoyed when I asked to look at the charges, and I think for the quality of the food it is extremely overpriced. I think if it was cheaper, I wouldn't feel so annoyed.

Rather overpriced but still an iconic gainesville restaurant. People absolutely love this restaurant namely for the vibes, and it's an amazing place to watch anything sports related. I got the wings and they were well cooked and seasoned, just ran at $1.50 each. All in all, the food was decent and just a little expensive. Nothing to stand out and earn a higher rating in my opinion.

We ordered their Buffalo chicken dip so we could give the pita bread to our little one. It came with stale chips. Burger didn't have flavor, even with all the pineapple and avocado on it. Sweet potato fries were very good along with the service and decor.

Super place. We arrived late, eight of us. They put tables together, the waiter was immediately on us, super helpful, the food came out perfectly, beers were cold, and we left very happy.

I had some great tortilla soup, my son said his burger was wonderful, my daughter liked her terriyaki bowl, and we split some sweet potato fries, which were very very tasty and just the right amount of crisp. The service was very friendly, not to mention fast. Our food was out in less than 10 minutes. Finally, the atmosphere at 5:30pm on a Tuesday was a relaxed vibe, very bright and clean.

Busy on game days but that's to be expected. We got lucky and found 2 seats at the bar which offered full service for food and drinks. The bartenders were attentive and friendly, even with the craziness of game day patrons. They do have a limited menu on game day, but that's expected. We had queso and chips, a poke bowl and Buffalo chicken wrap. Everything came out fresh and delicious. The environment is very similar to the old swamp restaurant - fun atmosphere!

The food was really good, a good variety for those who don't eat meat. The service on the other hand was another story... our server Amanda was not attentive to us at all. Keep in mind it was not busy when we arrived nor was it busy when we left. Our server disappeared and left us at our table for 45 minutes. She was not friendly either. The food was good but the service definitely dropped the ball.

Was excited about The Swamp restaurant reopening, but our experience was very underwhelming. To start off it took quite a while before a server actually greeted us. When we finally got our food, 2 of our orders were cold and one of those was also cooked incorrectly. I ordered the honey butter chicken biscuit and mine was one of the orders that arrived cold. It was also supposed to come with home fries, but when it arrived the waitress said they were out & they swapped for regular fries. The food tasted very basic as if it was just a biscuit, chicken and bacon assembled and drizzled in honey. Server discounted one of our bills but this experience was nothing worth eating out for!

Loved coming to The Swamp! The gator bites were delicious, some of the best I've had, along with the grilled chicken teriyaki. It was a simple dish but it was executed very well and grilled perfectly. The service itself was good, but a little slow considering we did not order much. In addition, there could be a bigger variety on the menu. It is also nice and open with lots of light coming in during the day so it was very pleasant. It would've been a 5 star, but the menu and wait could be better.

Building appears relatively new. Interior is very nice, loads of space, and what looks like an upstairs section. There are garage doors for opening to the outside when the weather is pleasant. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Food is excellent and came out hot. However. The service was terrible. There were 3 or 4 servers from what I could see, and the place was largely empty. Our server came by promptly when we sat and brought waters (yay). Then we placed drink orders. Then we waited just under 10 minutes before we saw her again, which is a true feat given that the kitchen door was to our right. I actually thought she'd gone on break until I saw her carrying what looked like 8 or 9 menus. OK, big table. Makes sense for the delay. But, you can't ask another server to give you a hand when you have a large table? She came by (eventually), apologized (points restored), said she would bring our drinks out (we could see them by the bar), and then.. We waited another few minutes for them to cross the 15 feet from the bar to our table. Then the food came out. Before the appetizer. Then we ate. And finished. And then... the appetizer arrived. No drink refills. No water refills. The only thing she brought out quickly was the check. I get it. You have a large table to work. Cool. That doesn't mean you ignore everyone everyone else. The only reason I bothered to tip is just in case it is shared with the kitchen and bar. They deserved a tip. The server didn't.

Went there for Sunday brunch for Father's Day. It was excellent. Service was great to the atmosphere was electric.

Great atmosphere, always a good place to get drinks and watch sports. The service is always good. The food is very good, a little pricey. Same with the drinks. Awesome cocktails just for a pretty penny.

Just tried this restaurant for the first time and not interested in coming back again. Pros: No wait to get seated Cons: Parking and Menu is very limited Service not great, food took forever and the waitress would disappear never to be found. Food was not good order the chicken Caesar wrap the chicken was so overcooked made it complicated to eat. My colleagues burger was inedible she couldn't even eat it.

The outside and the patio area look really cool. The inside though doesn't have as much "spirit" as the original Swamp, but it does have some cool UF memorabilia on the walls still. The food was pretty good - The Swamp Double Burger in particular was super good. Prices were pretty reasonable, and service was quick and friendly. There are also a lot of TVs so it would be great to watch games here on big game days. Overall, it was a good experience, but we hope they get more decorations to give it more "spirit".

Great spot for food & bevvies! Good service! We enjoyed our post bicycle trip around UF campus lunch there! Lavender mimosas!

Came in with a party of 9 they stuck us at a table that seats 8. There was empty tables but being it was graduation weekend they wouldn't give us another table. We squeezed in. We waited 40 minutes with no server approaching us. I asked the server at the next table if she could find our server she said she would ask. 20 more minutes still with no drinks or server I asked the hostess and she rudely said she was working on it. I stayed that was not an answer. She walked away. Finally 10 minutes later a server came. Food was ok. We are the locals from a business in town and they preferred to treat people Who could be regulars so terribly we will never have our meeting there again. All kids running this place. Stay away.

We got seated pretty quickly but no servers came to our table until maybe 20 mins in (only after we went up to the hostess and asked for someone to see us). There was no lettuce so i couldn't get the wrap i wanted to order. this is important to remember. Drinks then took another long while. Our appetizer didn't come until after all of our meals came. Various people were seated way after us and got their food even before we got drinks. When the food did come out, everyone had lettuce on their burgers. The very same lettuce they were out of! Someone in my party had to get their meal replaced with a wrap as they didn't have what he originally ordered. I understand they could've gotten lettuce in the middle of all this but all I wanted was a wrap :( Waitresses were very apologetic, i'm not sure what could've happened here but it wasn't very fun. Bathrooms were clean and food was okay. certainly not good enough to justify what happened

Okay okay...let me start by saying this is not a family Gator themed sports bar to go to on game days. Given its location it's suppose to be mainly for students who live around the restaurant. As a super fan of the gators I go to this place 4-5 hours before the game starts to make sure I am able to have a table to sit down and actually order food to watch the game both outside and in. They do not take reservations. Everyone working there are college students and from the waitresses I've had they have all been great even though at times seemingly like they are overwhelmed but still go through with their promises. I had a lot of fun watching the UF-Utah game I'm early august and i will definitely be back. just be prepared for bar food and lots of drinks. Also keep in mimd that you will most likely be paying for parking as spaces are VERY limited , hints why it's mostly for students who go there by foot.

The service was super slow. I ordered "The Land of the Free" it should have been called The land of Freeze. The patty's, eggs and potato's couldn't be colder. Not coming back! Lack of management!

The restaurant itself is in a very good location as it is very near to all the major student housing apartments. It's a clean place nice music and staff. The food on the other hand is quite underwhelming. I got the founders chicken sandwich which had very little sauce inside it and a fry grilled chicken patty. The fries were soggy and not really salted properly. Some of them were too salty and some not enough. Overall the food lacked freshness and flavor to it. But also it's important to note that the food isn't pricey. It's about $12-13 for a chicken sandwich with decent amount of fries. Pretty reasonable for a restaurant with decent location advantage. Seems to be a place for students to hangout and get drinks.

The food and atmosphere are great. The service is terrible because it's run by college kids who have no idea about what customer service really means. Also, don't plan to pay with cash unless you have exact change! Apparently a restaurant of this size doesn't have the ability to produce change for cash paying customers. At le last that's what we were told by the server.

Our server Katie was amazing! She brings an element of professionalism that is unmatched!

A lot of the kids that come here are swamped with work and just want a little break from their studies. Correctly named because the whole Gulf Coast and all of Florida is basically one big swamp. Good bathrooms and very friendly service and lots of cute people bringing the food out, and waiting for the food for that matter, but for me personally the taste was more three stars. But I have pretty high standards, and Gainesville has not great food so by their standards it's a little better, and the service and the bathrooms being nice and it beign open late and people being friendly mean that I will give it 4.

Great for Sunday brunch with a group. Everything looked amazing, portions were oversized. The black bean burger with sweet potato french fries was outstanding. Thick sliced Brioche French toast with fresh fruit looked delicious. Southwest chicken bowl was also delicious it does have jalapeños added for those that can handle spicy. Multiple custom flavors of champagne cocktails. Street Parking is free on the weekends, Everyone in our party of 8 found a space out front.

Came into swamp and had an amazing bartender named Tierney I will 100% be back for her had an amazing time

I went to the grand opening, and the following two days because I really liked the atmosphere that was provided from the old place. I really enjoyed my first two nights and probably spent closer to $200 having fun with the bar staff. Couldn't recommend that part of the bar more. Now I understand it's still a new location and there's always growing pains, but my experience on the third night wasn't the best. I had been recommending this place to everyone I know because i loved it and so a couple friends really wanted to check it out with me. The night started by walking in around 8:45 and heading to the bar to grab a drink, I knew I would want food so at around 8:50 I asked if I could place a reservation on a table if that was even a possibility and there happened to be one available to our luck. We sat down at the table and were handed menus which I was really excited to try the Freshman 15. We waited for about 25-30 minutes without anyone saying hello and next thing we know, the hostess who originally seated us came back to tell us the kitchen was closed (can't blame the messenger). She took our menus away at which point we decided it was probably time to leave. I gotta say, I really wasn't super happy with that first impression to the people I was talking so highly about this place to. I personally will be returning, but I can't say the same for them. I've heard a couple of people that also went have had somewhat similar experiences. All I have to say is that I hope they resolve this issue relatively quickly as I'd love to see this restaurant last as long as the old one did and become a new popular spot.

Food is okay and it has a good ambiance but the service is the worst. Sat at a table for 30 minutes before we ever saw a waiter after asking multiple times and waited over an hour more for food. No one on staff is well trained or cares about service. Southwest chicken bowl came with no chicken. Waitresses sat down to hang out with customers instead of running tables. Shame the management does not care

We stopped here for lunch on our drive down south and it was a pleasant surprise! Venue is cute, new and clean with very nice restrooms and outdoor seating. Italian wedding soup was very good and the grain salad was ok but didn't have much in the way of grains. Sweet potato fries were good. Service was prompt and friendly. Basically good bar fare in a good venue and just what we needed.

Bad! Yucky! Chicken sandwich was the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth- it wasn't really that edible. Why is it considered food? Maybe the burgers are better? My guess is it's bad as well. Avoid this restaurant. Wish I could give 0 stars. Very disappointed!!

Sofia A., our server, provided outstanding service during our 2 visits to the Swamp over graduation weekend. She was charming, efficient and knowledgeable about the menu. The burgers were amazing and the tuna bowl was fresh and light. We had a great meal both times! #iykyk

Just bad!! The wait staff is slow and the food is not worth what you will pay for it. Burger was over cooked and chicken was like rubber. I found a hair wrapped around the jalapeño that was put in my spicy margarita. Went to bite the pepper and found the hair. YUCK. Makes you want to go get some of that right. NO. Go elsewhere!!!!

Poor service. Came here for lunch and the restaurant had only a few tables, but yet the service was very slow. Our server seemed to be inexperienced. He did not pay good attention to our table, and never asked us for drink refills. He would disappear for some time and we would notice him outside on his phone. Most of the food our group ordered was good, but some was not. The Buffalo chicken dip, burgers, and tuna bowl were good, but the chicken wrap and chicken sandwich were not, the chicken was very dry and burnt. Overall, not terrible. The restaurant is clean and a cool atmosphere. The food seems to be hit or miss. The service today was not good, but maybe another day would be better.

My boyfriend and I had Cameron for our waitress and she was AMAZING! great service and great personality!

I've heard some comments that the swamp is a solid, "meh" at best, but I LURVE me some Swamp!!! I've been here about three times and it has yet to disappoint me. For a lady who loves her some sweet potato fries, but also some veggies in her life the Swamp has an appealing menu. My favorite dish is their veggie wrap, which isn't just some hummus slapped on a wrap and some cucumbers. It's a thick guy with tons of veggies and your choice of a side (they're crispy waffle sweet potato fries are LIFE). The latest time I went I got the Ahi Tuna Bowl with cucumbers, seaweed, ahi Tuna (surprisingly fre$h), white rice, sesame seeds, avocado and that always lovely chipotle mayo. It was pretty good! Not the BEST, but a solid 7 out of 10?! Could've used a bit more of that mayo, but I'd order it again. Overall, I love this spot and plenty of TVs to get all of your sports in.

Beautiful building with nothing to back it up. Went to G-ville for homecoming weekend. Friday night we thought we would pop over for dinner and beverages. Got seated inside right away. Very loud, could hardly have a conversation. They only had one kind of Chardonnay, a crappy bar one. Pass. Ordered a $15 cocktail off the menu. My husband, a beer. When they arrived they were in plastic cups. We looked around, no plastic anywhere but us. Not classy. We looked at the menu and it was the scaled back "Gameday Menu." It was Friday, not Saturday you ding dongs! Nothing appealed to us and we just got chips and queso. We were very disappointed and will not be back.

Service was good, but we waited over an hour for our food and it came spaced out to where there was a 20 min gap between each person getting their food. Multiple tables were seated and given their food as well when we ordered the same stuff, which didn't help our mood.

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience here, especially because it seemed like another bar on midtown. I came with a larger party and we reserved the outdoor seating, which is located upstairs. I walked through the interior of the restaurant, which was nicely decorated and clean. I would say that the outdoor seating is a little outdated, but the old tables/chairs were okay because it was clean. However, there were no fans outside, so it was uncomfortably hot during the meal. We also had some trouble with contacting waiters, since they didn't check the outdoor seating as often. We came on a weekday, so it wasn't too busy and the service was acceptable overall. As for the food, my party got a large selection of appetizers: gator bites, broccoli bites, chicken macho nachos, hummus platter, and specialty wings in honey sriracha, bbq, & mild. The portion sizes are decent, except for the broccoli bites that had about seven pieces. The hummus tasted amazing, but the platter only came with six pieces of pita, along with some fruit and vegetables - there was too much hummus in comparison to the dipping items. The gator bites came in a generous portion and were fried to a nice crisp. Everyone at the table agreed that it tasted like chicken. The macho nachos looked large, but there was only a small portion of meat and chips, covered by a mountain of shredded lettuce. However, I think the appetizer is still a nice addition to the table. Lastly, the specialty wings were not very large or saucy, but the flavors were still present. The flavors taste exactly like the description, but I wish they would toss them in the sauce a little more. My favorite was the honey sriracha, but I have no complaints about the other flavors. Don't judge a book by its cover; this restaurant definitely has good food, despite the bar vibes!

I have been coming to the swamp since I moved to Gainesville about 6 years ago. The reopening was great news. They struggle in knowing which server is working which table causing service to lack a bit. Due to past experiences, I typically sit at the bar. I highly recommend sitting at the bar. Hailey, Rob, Mia, Gianna and Josh are fantastic. They are so attentive. They are truly the reason I come back day after day.

This definitely seems like the go to spot for game days. Located right next to the stadium and definitely a cool bar scene and hangout spot. Nice outdoor seating area with a back yard feel that makes you wanna get ready for some tailgating lol. Stopped by here for lunch one day with some friends and it wasnt too bad! I got the burger and my date got the chicken sandwich. Both was pretty good but honestly nothing too memorable. Their sweet potato fries are really good so if you plan on going you gotta make sure to get those!

Food is mid, it was served almost cold and did not have good presentation. Bad service. Just no. Good location.

Nice spot for burgers, wings, bar food, etc. Depending on the time and what game is on, it can be a nice place for a quiet lunch or a wild party! I have been there many times when I visit Gainesville. I love the many different areas, again, depending on what's going on. The patio was excellent today because the weather is beautiful and we had our dog with us. We had a couple of burgers, cooked nicely with great toppings. I had "The Frat" and I really wished the cheese would be placed under the bacon, mushrooms and onions. Because I didn't eat the bun (making it Gluten Free), I couldn't enjoy those delicious toppings; it all fell apart. My daughter had a delicious shrimp bowl with jasmine rice pineapple cucumber and seaweed salad. I give them 3 stars today because our server was so sub-par. It seemed as if she had no desire to be there (assuming that was the reason for her dry, lifeless attitude). We were the first ones out on the patio, so maybe the chore of coming outside was too much for her at the time. Bad customer service should not be part of a great meal. I will look forward to having one of their nice servers next time. That was 2018... UPDATE ON 9/27/19 Awesome service and incredible new menu. Everything was so delicious. They even sold me a side Caesar salad even though they only have a full size one on the menu. I'm really impressed with this place now. So glad we came back!

Came in waited to be seated but no one came so we seated ourselves. Then the waitress came in and out of the kitchen several times helped the party next to us and completely ignored us. Got up and left since no one seemed to care to serve us. It wasn't busy either so not sure what the issue was would have been nice to at least get a hello or handed a menu.

If I could give this zero starts I would. Where do I start? We got here it was a 35 minute wait with a ton of tables open. We sat down and were there for over 2.5 hours. They filled up every table around us and had at least two parties sit at every table while we waited on our drinks, food, and our checks. There were seven of us. Two of us never got our drinks. The waiter claimed our food was delivered to the wrong table AFTER coming back to our table after an hour the order was placed and asked a member of the party if they wanted grilled or fried chicken. The tables literally have a number on a stick in the middle of them. I asked for our checks without receiving our food and he said the food was "firing up on the grill." Half of us had salads? Not to mention the wedge salads were completely disproportionate. One was the size of my head and one was the size of my foot. It's just not rocket science. Sad to say these waiters probably go to UF so all book smarts. No evident common sense. We went downstairs to get a drink and bar staff waited on us immediately. Our checks were royally messed up. Double charges and apps on checks of people that didn't even order them. Absolutely no good words for this restaurant other than the great bar staff on the first floor.

The food and drinks here were decent, although they were quite pricey. Sadly, it started raining in the middle of our meal, so we moved from a table outside to the bar indoors.

The service we received was probably the worst service we have ever had. We were seated quickly and our order was taken within a reasonable time, however, it took over an hour for us to receive our food. After our waitress took our order we didn't see her again for almost 40 minutes. She came by our table to tell us our food was almost finished and should be coming out soon. It was another 30 minutes before our food came. There were three different groups of people that came in after us, received and finished their food before we got ours. No one ever came by to tell us why it was taking so long for our food to come, no one ever came to apologize for our wait, and the waitress didn't come back to check on us again after we got our food until we flagged her down to get the check.