Food and service were great! We got the Floridian boil and several different appetizers. Our server was very friendly. They have a good happy hour and daily specials.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lori
We enjoyed the Seafood Boil for two.It was made perfect not over spiced. The sausage was excellent. The snow crab was really good. Our server Olivia was wonderful. We didn't wait long for our food. I loved the gator mural.Dietary restrictions: The menu was marked what was gluten free and the seafood boil was gluten and dairy free. They also had a dipping citrus sauce the was butter free.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sausage, Snow Crab
eric russ
I would've loved to given a higher score. But, my gumbo was served dry as a rice dish. No roux with tiny shrimp and a little protein. The chef didn't care. However, our server was fabulous. Our boil, seasoning and sauce was amazing. The service was on point. Great ambiance and atmosphere. Don't advertise cajun food and serve gumbo with no roux.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Will Morris -The Pepper Passion!!!
Some of the Best food I've had outside of New Orleans! The appetizers were great,and the Chicky Chicky Sandwich was off the Charts awesome! Cannot wait to go back! Wish there was one in Jax!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Viet Street Corn, Sauce, Fried Shrimp, Bahn MI
Maria Stone
This place is fusion done right! Everything on the menu looked appetizing. Ultimately we ordered the street corn, gumbo, and pho rench sandwich. Everything was delicious, 10/10. The staff was super friendly and the service was great. The restaurant itself was really cute, with a cool alligator mural. If I lived in Gainesville locally, I would frequent this place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matthew sims
I came here a few weeks ago, and i wasn't going to write a review. The service was on point, and the Gator tail appetizer was so good. My issue was that my girl and I had all you can eat shrimp, and afterward, I had a very strong metallic taste in my mouth. She didn't get the same experience. I recently had my first case of covid and thought maybe I had an allergy to shellfish from that, but I've eaten gumbo with shrimp from Pensacola and steamed shrimp from a restaurant in Homosassa. I did not get a metallic taste from either place. For that reason I will never go back to this place and felt like I had to write this review.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Cealidh Whalen
I would love to give this place a 10/5 just because their Cajun styled Deep South food was so amazing especially with their popular bang seasoning. Absolutely best thing I’ve eaten in years!The style of the restaurant was very cute and updated, however, the atmosphere of the staff wasn’t equally the same. We were the first to come in and there was no music, just the extremely obnoxious laughs from the staff in the background, with zero welcoming greets into the place. I had three kids with me and they were more well behaved than the staff. Sadly even my husband who is from South America after we left, said mmmm was that really all called for? They seemed rude as he stated. He was absolutely right. It wasn’t pleasant.I would love to compliment the chef!!! Congratulations you really out did yourself.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Classic Pho, Snow Crab
Lino C.
Despite being a little ways from open water, Swamp Boil serves as the perfect spot to enjoy an American-style shellfish boil when in Gainesville. The food was delicious and well-prepared. I got the crawfish and while nothing can compete with those found and prepared in Louisiana, these ones were still pretty good and worth every penny. The restaurant itself is very clean and offers a lot of tables while the service is also quite helpful and friendly. A must-try seafood spot!
Dave N.
We've visited several times and have always found the food to taste great! Our servers have been great. The kitchen can be rather slow at times even though there are only a couple of tables occupied at lunchtime.
Marlia H.
Came here because it was one of the few restaurants open on a Monday that I had been wanting to try. We ordered the street corn and tofu crunch from the happy hour menu along with an order of gator tail and a large classic pho. The street corn was decent, but I felt the quality of the corn was poor. The sauce was pretty good and I liked that the corn was fried. The fried tofu was kind of bland to me personally, but my sister did like it. The pickled red onions and cucumber on the side however, I think were the worst portions of our meal. The onions tasted like they had only been brined in water. To be honest most of the raw ingredients of each dish seemed to be poor quality. I must admit, I was disappointed in the Pho. I love pho and I personally think this was my least favorite in Gainesville. The broth tasted very strange, almost like licorice, which neither of us liked. I think I'll give this place another try, but I'll likely try more of the Cajun items as opposed to the Vietnamese dishes. We did have a great server named Jazmin who was wonderful, attentive and accommodating to any of our requests.
Server was nice, food was okay. Sauce for boil was very garlicky. I mean COVERED in garlic. Prices were average for seafood in Gainesville. I ordered a level 1 (a little spicy), tasted no spice. My boyfriend ordered a level 2 (hot), tasted no spice. Because the boil was served in a bowl and not in a bag, it got cold very quickly. Overall, wouldn't go back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Madeleine Cook
One of the best meals I’ve had in ages! I ordered an appetizer of shrimp in their signature sauce with a gorgeous little loaf to dip it in. Mouth watering. I could’ve just had that and been both delighted and full. But lucky me, I had already ordered their take on gumbo which was delicious.Everything was so fresh, seasoned extremely well and my server Olivia was very attentive and kind. The atmosphere was great, even though I came in at an unusual hour. What an awesome experience!!!! If I didn’t live six hours away, I’d certainly be eating through the entire menu. Go and enjoy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Scott B.
Food and service were off the chain. Very personable staff. I had my fill of boil. King crab, snow crab, shrimp and crawfish. The entire experience exceeded my expectations.
Jeffrey A.
I was happy to see Pho on this side of town. I've had the Pho here a few different times. it's very inconsistent my first time it was good but didn't taste like a traditional Pho. the second time I loved it tasted a lil more accurate. But a key element in a restaurant is consistency and this place is not! I had it again and this was the first time it was very bland lacked flavor had to add a lot of hoisin to add flavor. and the pickles are clearly an after thought no flavor and the red onions tasted old like they've been sitting for a while the color and flavor was off. spring rolls where good but again pickles where horrible. service is always on point as well. Im not here to make this place look bad it has potential and I want it to succeed but this inconsistent quality will make me not want it return. focus on the food it's the most important.
Andrew
One of the WORST experiences I have ever had at a restaurant. Service was awful. Came with my wife and daughter and had to hunt down our server multiple times to even put an order in. Food took forever to come out and when it did it was below satisfactory. Certain things were over seasoned and some things had no seasoning at all except wayyy too much salt. I don’t know why anyone would waste their time or money here. Honestly disgusting. The managers (or who I believed to be the managers) were all standing around not doing a thing just chatting. That place can’t be doing well financially for how they treat their customers. DO BETTER.
Food and service were great! We got the Floridian boil and several different appetizers. Our server was very friendly. They have a good happy hour and daily specials.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We enjoyed the Seafood Boil for two.It was made perfect not over spiced. The sausage was excellent. The snow crab was really good. Our server Olivia was wonderful. We didn't wait long for our food. I loved the gator mural.Dietary restrictions: The menu was marked what was gluten free and the seafood boil was gluten and dairy free. They also had a dipping citrus sauce the was butter free.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sausage, Snow Crab
I would've loved to given a higher score. But, my gumbo was served dry as a rice dish. No roux with tiny shrimp and a little protein. The chef didn't care. However, our server was fabulous. Our boil, seasoning and sauce was amazing. The service was on point. Great ambiance and atmosphere. Don't advertise cajun food and serve gumbo with no roux.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Some of the Best food I've had outside of New Orleans! The appetizers were great,and the Chicky Chicky Sandwich was off the Charts awesome! Cannot wait to go back! Wish there was one in Jax!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Viet Street Corn, Sauce, Fried Shrimp, Bahn MI
This place is fusion done right! Everything on the menu looked appetizing. Ultimately we ordered the street corn, gumbo, and pho rench sandwich. Everything was delicious, 10/10. The staff was super friendly and the service was great. The restaurant itself was really cute, with a cool alligator mural. If I lived in Gainesville locally, I would frequent this place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I came here a few weeks ago, and i wasn't going to write a review. The service was on point, and the Gator tail appetizer was so good. My issue was that my girl and I had all you can eat shrimp, and afterward, I had a very strong metallic taste in my mouth. She didn't get the same experience. I recently had my first case of covid and thought maybe I had an allergy to shellfish from that, but I've eaten gumbo with shrimp from Pensacola and steamed shrimp from a restaurant in Homosassa. I did not get a metallic taste from either place. For that reason I will never go back to this place and felt like I had to write this review.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
I would love to give this place a 10/5 just because their Cajun styled Deep South food was so amazing especially with their popular bang seasoning. Absolutely best thing I’ve eaten in years!The style of the restaurant was very cute and updated, however, the atmosphere of the staff wasn’t equally the same. We were the first to come in and there was no music, just the extremely obnoxious laughs from the staff in the background, with zero welcoming greets into the place. I had three kids with me and they were more well behaved than the staff. Sadly even my husband who is from South America after we left, said mmmm was that really all called for? They seemed rude as he stated. He was absolutely right. It wasn’t pleasant.I would love to compliment the chef!!! Congratulations you really out did yourself.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Classic Pho, Snow Crab
Despite being a little ways from open water, Swamp Boil serves as the perfect spot to enjoy an American-style shellfish boil when in Gainesville. The food was delicious and well-prepared. I got the crawfish and while nothing can compete with those found and prepared in Louisiana, these ones were still pretty good and worth every penny. The restaurant itself is very clean and offers a lot of tables while the service is also quite helpful and friendly. A must-try seafood spot!
We've visited several times and have always found the food to taste great! Our servers have been great. The kitchen can be rather slow at times even though there are only a couple of tables occupied at lunchtime.
Came here because it was one of the few restaurants open on a Monday that I had been wanting to try. We ordered the street corn and tofu crunch from the happy hour menu along with an order of gator tail and a large classic pho. The street corn was decent, but I felt the quality of the corn was poor. The sauce was pretty good and I liked that the corn was fried. The fried tofu was kind of bland to me personally, but my sister did like it. The pickled red onions and cucumber on the side however, I think were the worst portions of our meal. The onions tasted like they had only been brined in water. To be honest most of the raw ingredients of each dish seemed to be poor quality. I must admit, I was disappointed in the Pho. I love pho and I personally think this was my least favorite in Gainesville. The broth tasted very strange, almost like licorice, which neither of us liked. I think I'll give this place another try, but I'll likely try more of the Cajun items as opposed to the Vietnamese dishes. We did have a great server named Jazmin who was wonderful, attentive and accommodating to any of our requests.
Restaurantji Recommends
Server was nice, food was okay. Sauce for boil was very garlicky. I mean COVERED in garlic. Prices were average for seafood in Gainesville. I ordered a level 1 (a little spicy), tasted no spice. My boyfriend ordered a level 2 (hot), tasted no spice. Because the boil was served in a bowl and not in a bag, it got cold very quickly. Overall, wouldn't go back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
One of the best meals I’ve had in ages! I ordered an appetizer of shrimp in their signature sauce with a gorgeous little loaf to dip it in. Mouth watering. I could’ve just had that and been both delighted and full. But lucky me, I had already ordered their take on gumbo which was delicious.Everything was so fresh, seasoned extremely well and my server Olivia was very attentive and kind. The atmosphere was great, even though I came in at an unusual hour. What an awesome experience!!!! If I didn’t live six hours away, I’d certainly be eating through the entire menu. Go and enjoy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food and service were off the chain. Very personable staff. I had my fill of boil. King crab, snow crab, shrimp and crawfish. The entire experience exceeded my expectations.
I was happy to see Pho on this side of town. I've had the Pho here a few different times. it's very inconsistent my first time it was good but didn't taste like a traditional Pho. the second time I loved it tasted a lil more accurate. But a key element in a restaurant is consistency and this place is not! I had it again and this was the first time it was very bland lacked flavor had to add a lot of hoisin to add flavor. and the pickles are clearly an after thought no flavor and the red onions tasted old like they've been sitting for a while the color and flavor was off. spring rolls where good but again pickles where horrible. service is always on point as well. Im not here to make this place look bad it has potential and I want it to succeed but this inconsistent quality will make me not want it return. focus on the food it's the most important.
One of the WORST experiences I have ever had at a restaurant. Service was awful. Came with my wife and daughter and had to hunt down our server multiple times to even put an order in. Food took forever to come out and when it did it was below satisfactory. Certain things were over seasoned and some things had no seasoning at all except wayyy too much salt. I don’t know why anyone would waste their time or money here. Honestly disgusting. The managers (or who I believed to be the managers) were all standing around not doing a thing just chatting. That place can’t be doing well financially for how they treat their customers. DO BETTER.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1