This nature park’s laid-back lakeside dining room & bar serve casual seafood & gator tacos.
Dan Dowling
After coming here for 30 years, and bringing people who had never been, it has become apparent that the owners are increasingly disconnected from what the customer might enjoy.
Waited an hour for a couple of hamburgers, Sriracha chicken, and peel and eat shrimp cocktail ( that came out with the food an hour after it was ordered)
First, they make you scan a QR code and enter your own order in on your phone. I work with AI and computers most days, and this was confusing to me. Second, even using the digital ordering mechanism the food came out wrong. No excuses for this. No onions on the burger and then the mustard, which they charged 50 cents extra for, never showed up as well. You want to use fancy systems to increase your bottom line don’t do it at the expense of client satisfaction. This was a waste of an evening. Absolutely maddening. On top of that, getting all the food an hour later to get rubbery fake tasting shrimp along with the Sriracha chicken that didn’t have any Sriracha anywhere near it. It was one of the most useless food items any of us had ever eaten. The food didn’t just suck, but the experience was offensive. You can keep your digital ordering mechanism, you can keep your horrendous hour-long wait time on a not busy night. You can keep your preservative tasting rubber shrimp and your nasty chicken. This easily ranks is the worst meal I have eaten at a restaurant in at least 5 years.
The wait staff was pleasant, but after the meal I got to thinking why weren’t they pressuring the kitchen to make sure our appetizer came out first? Why weren’t they pressuring the kitchen to find out where in the hell our food was? Why weren’t we given updates in between apologizing for the slow turnaround time? Smiles are all fine when it’s tip time, it’s the service in between that matters.
… moreRicardo Martins
Excellent dining experience with a stunning waterfront view! The service was truly exceptional, and the live music created a perfect atmosphere. They offer a great variety of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks. Highly recommend this spot!
… moreGary Coleman
Great family experience in this restaurant after a thrilling airboat tour of Lake Jessup. Excellent service, good food, and lots of fun. Airboat tour of Lake Jessup was very well done. Our captain, Sam, and his assistant, Mario, were very professional and knowledgeable about the lake and the numerous types of wildlife we were able to see. We saw not only alligators (many!), but numerous birds, including herons, egrets, snakebirds, a bald eagle, and many varieties of waterfowl. Well worth the cost and very safe.
… moreErma Freeman
Courtney was amazing. She was attentive and provided great advice for food options. She had a great personality that made my husband and I comfortable. It was my birthday and she brought out a delicious chocolate cake that made my palette crave for more. The sunset here was mesmerizing. Defiantly a place to experience. If you wait for an airboat to come in you can hold a small alligator.
… moreClariann Fuentes
Loved this place, it’s like a hidden gem! Away from the chaos. I didn’t get to order food, but the beer was perfectly cold and the bartender made delicious drinks. The ambiance was very nice. Nice staff. The view is beautiful, they also have gators, birds etc. Plenty of parking too. Good prices.
… moreJames Mars
So my review is based on the whole black hammock area in general as it has the restaurant, gift shop, food/bar outside eating, and the airboat tour. It’s very cool and scenic, and the airboat tour is really a must do. As far as the restaurant, the burgers and fries were delicious. They have plenty of options as far as gator, fish, and whatnot to, but since I like alligators a lot, I didn’t want to eat them lol
… moreLady Elisabeth
This was my first time eating at The Black Hammock, and I instantly understood why it’s a family tradition for my boyfriend and his mom. The place has that old Florida charm—laid back, no frills, just good food and memories in the making.
I ordered the chicken wrap with fries (crispy, peppered, no complaints), and my boyfriend went with the pulled pork sandwich topped with onion rings. His mom got the Philly cheesesteak and fries—she’s been coming here for years and swears by it. The vibe is easygoing, the service was kind, and it felt more like sitting in someone’s porch than a restaurant.
Plus—2-for-1 margaritas all day, all night? Don’t tempt me with a good time.
We’ll be back. I get now why this place matters.
… moreJesse Garza
If you’re looking for something fun to do that the locals would do, this is the best place to go! We got to feed the gators, got to stand on the dock and saw a couple them up close, and had some gator bites! Definitely will be coming back for sure!
… moreNichole Disani
Highly recommend for family gatherings! We just had our Baby Shower in their event space & we had an amazing time. All the staff was super friendly, very accommodating and easy to work with & book. The food and drinks were delicious and fast. Our host/waitress was so sweet and fun and great about interacting with everyone at the shower. The kids present were very happy to feed the gators, visit the parrots, and pretty much wander around in between the games. I cannot recommend their services enough and I am beyond happy we chose here for our baby shower.
… moreK D
We took the family here. My wife always wanted to go on an airboat ride. I really liked the setup there. We were able to eat while we waiting for our ride. Everything we ordered was very good. Prices were not bad all things concidered. We saw plenty of wildlife, and of course gators. It was like they had them planted out there. Great place to concider on your vacation
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