*DISCLAIMER LENGTHY POST ABOUT CREDIT CARD FRAUD AND THEFT*I came to this restaurant on 3-23 with my friend and son because we saw good reviews online and we were in town for a kayaking trip.The server (I'm not sure of her name because I did not receive a receipt, but she had long, straight, brown hair, and was petite in build) greeted our table approximately 10 minutes later (we barely we able to order happy hour due to her taking a while to come to the table, she came at 6:59pm). She seemed nice but she forgot a lot of things we requested so we kept having to reiterate our order to her. She would go missing a lot and for long periods of time so we had to look for her for simple things like butter, or a new drink, or even a straw.We initially gave up requesting our missing items because they just never came. We ended up ordering a apple pie to go due to my son getting restless. When she brought the bill to us, we split the payment in half which is $54.53 on the iPad she provided us. Neither one of us tipped on the IPAD because we were leaving cash.My friend took my son outside because the desert was taking forever until about 20 minutes later I stood at the front of the restaurant getting another server. Once she saw me talking to the other server she said she forgot my desert but she will go get it now. We did not leave the restaurant until roughly 9 pm (which is crazy because it was solely on her going MIA).I Checked my account on Tuesday 3-27 and noticed my bill was almost $12 more then what it was initially. My Friend stated the same thing and now I found out that the server added AN ADDITIONAL $11 tip to both of our credit cards without our approval.I have called management staff and reported this and I'm unsure of what will happen because I have not yet received my check that I have requested. They stated they will refund me the $22 in total to both my friend and I, however THIS LOOKS HORRIBLE ON YOUR COMPANY!! Please check your cameras and look at this particular employee from that night and ask if she is worth having a bad reputation for your company. If she did this twice this time she probably has done this in the past or will continue to do this in the future.THIS IS A CHARACTER FLAW, not to mention theft and credit card fraud.As a single mom it is a treat to be able to take my child out to eat with the way the economy is now days and we chose your establishment and now it has left a bad taste in our mouths because of this employee.Please do what's right for your company and for your customers and handle this accordingly.I have been in the shoes of a server and I understand how POS systems work due to me being in Hospitality Management. Once we clicked no tip and signed off on that bill it should of been on her list of sales at the end of the night as $0 in the tip portion. They're should of been no reason she should have reopened those two checks and changed that amount manually, when the customers authorized their amount and closed tabs.She got a $40 tip off of a $120 (not sure of exact amount because I have not received my receipt I requested) for doing a really poor job as a server.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Jonathan Crosby
Great seafood pasta and oysters!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sean James
Food quality has really fallen off. Food seems to still be season good, but everything taste as if it’s frozen including hamburger patties. Bring back fresh ingredients like yal used to use.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Julie Lunardo
My husband thoroughly enjoyed his lobster. I had the cedar plank scallops and, although I wasn’t a big fan of the seasoning, they were very nice. (I scraped some of the seasoning off the top.) The cheesy grits and vegetable medley were wonderful. We took advantage of the BOGO entree deal so, my meal was free! We arrived in time to also take advantage of happy hour for our drinks. The band that was playing was excellent, our server - Tally - was delightful, and we met some lovely people and dogs there (we were sitting outside). It was a very nice experience.
Some Guy Who Cooks
I love Ballyhoo. I've been going for years. The food is great. The service is great. The atmosphere is great. That being said... the prices have gotten ridiculous.I understand that restaurants need to make money and that prices are going up... but $13 for 6 pot stickers? $17 for a Greek salad before adding protein?I think the thing I'm most mad about is the fact that the Greek salad I got... I've gotten it many times in the past. I always gotten no onions or peppers, extra feta and olives. I've never been charged for those extra olives and feta. NEVER. Tonight they charged an extra $5 for the extra feta and olives. That's as much as the chicken breast you can add to the salad. Oh and by the way... an extra $5 for the extra feta and olives, but no drop in price for the removal of onions or peppers? I know... that's a bit petty and not a reasonable expectation, but still. $2.50 for a couple extra olives and $2.50 for what was honestly an unnoticeable amount of extra feta is crazy.Love ya ballyhoo... but that experience tonight drops a star. No fault of the amazing wait staff or chefs.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bonnie Bresnahan
Brooke is our Ballyhoo Bartender!!
Chuck Goodwin
Love the atmosphere. Billed as a seafood restaurant, and while the food is tasty, it's more a seafood bar/grill than true seafood restaurant. Although, they come as close as anyone in Gainesville.
Restaurant needs a face-lift. Interior is looking (and smelling) stale.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Salad, Shrimp Rockefeller
Susan Chancey
We've enjoyed going to Ballywhoo for a long time. We love sitting at the bar and get the awesome service that Justin has always given us, he is the best!
If you've never been to ballyhoo grill then I highly recommend it. The food is excellent they put on a very good presentation. The last few times my wife and I ate their The waitresses were not very attentive. I recommend ballyhoo. The crab soup is a must.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Fish, She-Crab Soup
David Patterson
Can only review the service. Sat down at 6:45. Outside was maybe 30% full, inside 50%. Waited until 7:00 for anyone to come by and say hi, ask for drinks, anything..., waste of time on our daddy-daughter date. Left without ever getting service.Place has definitely went downhill from the past.
Service: 1
Victor Del Hierro
Went on a Saturday night, not too busy. The service was great. The food was good. A little pricey for what it is but beats going to a chain restaurant.
*DISCLAIMER LENGTHY POST ABOUT CREDIT CARD FRAUD AND THEFT*I came to this restaurant on 3-23 with my friend and son because we saw good reviews online and we were in town for a kayaking trip.The server (I'm not sure of her name because I did not receive a receipt, but she had long, straight, brown hair, and was petite in build) greeted our table approximately 10 minutes later (we barely we able to order happy hour due to her taking a while to come to the table, she came at 6:59pm). She seemed nice but she forgot a lot of things we requested so we kept having to reiterate our order to her. She would go missing a lot and for long periods of time so we had to look for her for simple things like butter, or a new drink, or even a straw.We initially gave up requesting our missing items because they just never came. We ended up ordering a apple pie to go due to my son getting restless. When she brought the bill to us, we split the payment in half which is $54.53 on the iPad she provided us. Neither one of us tipped on the IPAD because we were leaving cash.My friend took my son outside because the desert was taking forever until about 20 minutes later I stood at the front of the restaurant getting another server. Once she saw me talking to the other server she said she forgot my desert but she will go get it now. We did not leave the restaurant until roughly 9 pm (which is crazy because it was solely on her going MIA).I Checked my account on Tuesday 3-27 and noticed my bill was almost $12 more then what it was initially. My Friend stated the same thing and now I found out that the server added AN ADDITIONAL $11 tip to both of our credit cards without our approval.I have called management staff and reported this and I'm unsure of what will happen because I have not yet received my check that I have requested. They stated they will refund me the $22 in total to both my friend and I, however THIS LOOKS HORRIBLE ON YOUR COMPANY!! Please check your cameras and look at this particular employee from that night and ask if she is worth having a bad reputation for your company. If she did this twice this time she probably has done this in the past or will continue to do this in the future.THIS IS A CHARACTER FLAW, not to mention theft and credit card fraud.As a single mom it is a treat to be able to take my child out to eat with the way the economy is now days and we chose your establishment and now it has left a bad taste in our mouths because of this employee.Please do what's right for your company and for your customers and handle this accordingly.I have been in the shoes of a server and I understand how POS systems work due to me being in Hospitality Management. Once we clicked no tip and signed off on that bill it should of been on her list of sales at the end of the night as $0 in the tip portion. They're should of been no reason she should have reopened those two checks and changed that amount manually, when the customers authorized their amount and closed tabs.She got a $40 tip off of a $120 (not sure of exact amount because I have not received my receipt I requested) for doing a really poor job as a server.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Great seafood pasta and oysters!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food quality has really fallen off. Food seems to still be season good, but everything taste as if it’s frozen including hamburger patties. Bring back fresh ingredients like yal used to use.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
My husband thoroughly enjoyed his lobster. I had the cedar plank scallops and, although I wasn’t a big fan of the seasoning, they were very nice. (I scraped some of the seasoning off the top.) The cheesy grits and vegetable medley were wonderful. We took advantage of the BOGO entree deal so, my meal was free! We arrived in time to also take advantage of happy hour for our drinks. The band that was playing was excellent, our server - Tally - was delightful, and we met some lovely people and dogs there (we were sitting outside). It was a very nice experience.
I love Ballyhoo. I've been going for years. The food is great. The service is great. The atmosphere is great. That being said... the prices have gotten ridiculous.I understand that restaurants need to make money and that prices are going up... but $13 for 6 pot stickers? $17 for a Greek salad before adding protein?I think the thing I'm most mad about is the fact that the Greek salad I got... I've gotten it many times in the past. I always gotten no onions or peppers, extra feta and olives. I've never been charged for those extra olives and feta. NEVER. Tonight they charged an extra $5 for the extra feta and olives. That's as much as the chicken breast you can add to the salad. Oh and by the way... an extra $5 for the extra feta and olives, but no drop in price for the removal of onions or peppers? I know... that's a bit petty and not a reasonable expectation, but still. $2.50 for a couple extra olives and $2.50 for what was honestly an unnoticeable amount of extra feta is crazy.Love ya ballyhoo... but that experience tonight drops a star. No fault of the amazing wait staff or chefs.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brooke is our Ballyhoo Bartender!!
Love the atmosphere. Billed as a seafood restaurant, and while the food is tasty, it's more a seafood bar/grill than true seafood restaurant. Although, they come as close as anyone in Gainesville.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steamed Oysters Gone, Grouper Sandwich, Calamari, Fish Chips, Firecracker Shrimp Tacos
Restaurant needs a face-lift. Interior is looking (and smelling) stale.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Salad, Shrimp Rockefeller
We've enjoyed going to Ballywhoo for a long time. We love sitting at the bar and get the awesome service that Justin has always given us, he is the best!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ribeye
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
underrated, prob best food and atmosphere at el
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Customer service is
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
If you've never been to ballyhoo grill then I highly recommend it. The food is excellent they put on a very good presentation. The last few times my wife and I ate their The waitresses were not very attentive. I recommend ballyhoo. The crab soup is a must.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Fish, She-Crab Soup
Can only review the service. Sat down at 6:45. Outside was maybe 30% full, inside 50%. Waited until 7:00 for anyone to come by and say hi, ask for drinks, anything..., waste of time on our daddy-daughter date. Left without ever getting service.Place has definitely went downhill from the past.
Service: 1
Went on a Saturday night, not too busy. The service was great. The food was good. A little pricey for what it is but beats going to a chain restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5