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Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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4 stars I guess I was one of the few that got to try Gator's food before it closed.
when I went the service was pleasant Gator was very inviting our waitress was really informative and offered us suggestions on what we should try.. ordered the gator meat for appitizer, oxtail for entree, wife got the chicken I believe everything was really good, pricey but really good
when we went there, they were still in process of renovating and extending the restaurant to next door, if it was still open I would visit only for special occasions literally the food was pricey. have nothing bad to say about this place, they had excellent service, really nice ambiance, and excellent food, just the price was not to my liking
food ***** oxtails, gator meat a must
price $$$
ambiance ****
service ***** our waitress was on point and very informative
Frankly, I'm not surprised this place is closed. The owner is rude and without any empathy or soul. Now reading some of the latest drama around this restaurant, it just confirms my feelings about him.
We showed up for our reservation a few minutes late after a miscommunication with the hostess. Despite having a reservation for a spot that would accommodate a wheelchair, they proceeded to embarrass us and make us feel completely unwelcome. Particularly because we had a member of our party in a wheelchair (like that was her fault). She is recently paralyzed after someone crashed into her on the freeway and was already self-conscious about going out in public. The owner had her almost in tears and ended up turning us away. He was a complete ass -- which apparently is par for the course.
I agree, people should boycott his new restaurant. He is not a person of good character.
The peach cobbler butter is TO DIE FOR. If Gator's were still open, I'd order it for dessert - 2 scoops in waffle cone please.
I had the fried chicken and waffle. Chicken was good, crispy and not too oily, but having just eaten at Willie May's Scotch House in NOLA a month before, there was no comparison. Waffle was pretty good too, buttery and oh so effing delicious with that butter, I was like what diet?! What insulin problem?
While food was tasty, it is just so weird for me to be eating FANCY chicken and waffles in a nice, decorated dining room with a jazz trio playing in the other room. I actually had to dress up! What a change from where I usually get my cholesterol and carb fix in Inglewood, where it's all good!
It should be called "No Soul Cafe", because there was no taste! The food was terrible and so is goof ball gator! You should change your name to snake since you are a snake in the grass!
Not surprised they closed. At first my husband and I loved the place. Went there 3 times in the first couple months they opened. Food was pretty good and service was friendly and efficient. Then we went and the owner and hostess, who we had spoken to both several times, acted snobbish and bored by their patrons. The last time we visisted, the service was awful, "Gator" was at the counter bar getting drunk and being loud. The waiter then spilt collard green juice on my husband's pants and laughed (and offered no apology). We decided it was time to quit the restaurant, but as we left the hostess thanked us for coming and started speaking to us. We explained to her what happened and she said she wanted to make it right. She offered to speak to the owner (who was drunk at the bar) and call us to offer us something for our troubles so that we would come back. We decided to give our number, but were very curious why it could not be handled on the spot as "Gator" was there... Well, BIG SURPRISE...we NEVER received a phone call and now its closed. I think they got a little too BIG HEADED and they will have to majorly step up their act on customer service if they plan to reopen.
So, is the hostess his wife?
Gator's is CLOSED. I spoke to Gator (Glen) last Friday night and he said he and his wife would be opening a new restaurant in San Mateo on El Camino Real. I forget the name of the new restaurant.
According to the local paper-Gator's might reopen at the old Left Bank (near Whole Foods) at Saratoga/Hillsdale in San Mateo!! Let's hope he does!
Gator's lunch buffet is back!!!
$10.00 for take-out buffet items (as much as 1 box will hold)
$11.99…
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I can't believe this place is closed.
This place was constantly packed and served some amazing food.
I loved this place, me and my wife went with our 3 month old daughter and sat right in front of the chef's station it was a great experience. The food was delicious i had the ribs while my wife had the catfish, the owner was very cool stopping to talk to us a few times asking how we liked the food giving us an overview of everything it was nice. The band was playing which my daughter loved thank good it helped her keep quiet. I am a little disappointed this place has closed because we loved it
FOOD, SERVICE, & AMBIANCE were FIRST RATE!
Since it was our first time here, we wanted to sample everything ordered so we ate family style. As appetizers, we ordered the crab cakes and catfish sliders. Although the crab cakes were delicious, I think the catfish sliders beat out the crab cakes in terms of ingenuity and portion size. The crab cakes had plenty of crab and came out hot/juicy but honestly, the size of the two crab cakes was pretty disappointing. They certainly left us wanting more! The catfish sliders was a more appropriate portion size for an appetizer. There were four of them and I seriously could have just ordered that as an entree (except I had to share this time). Maybe next time...
For entrees, we had the fried chicken (YUM) and the petit filet with a side of the mac and cheese. I loved the fried chicken (no bones!) - the chicken was crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. The petit filet was also good but I know my husband was disappointed because the meat was more undercooked than what we had ordered. We had asked for "medium" but the meat was definitely bloody (I'm okay with medium rare but he's not). The mashed potatoes that accompanied the beef was yummy - full of bacon and cheese (it tasted like a glorious mouthful of the perfect baked potato). The mac and cheese was super cheesy but had no crispy crust on top (not a must but it's nice to have a crunch).
For dessert, we had the bananas foster. I was expecting something a bit more, especially for $12. There were four halved slices of banana and a small scoop of ice cream. The dessert was good but not so impressively amazing as to justify the heavy dessert price tag.
Aside from the food, service was excellent. Our server, Rachel, did a perfect job. Our waters were regularly refilled by the other staff and we had no problems getting seconds, and then thirds of the delicious cornbread. There was lovely live jazz being played in the other room but it wasn't too loud as to interfere with our conversation since we sitting in another room. One of the highlights, beside the delicious food, was talking to Chef Gator. He personally stopped by our table and asked how our food was. Now that's classy...
I'm glad to see that Gator's is doing so well - it deserves it - because previous tenants have not fared the same. It's an awesome addition to the downtown San Mateo scene. I'd be back in a heartbeat!
Gators has gotten too big for their britches. I really did like this place until we made a reservation for 6 people for my mothers birthday. We made the reservation on Wednesday, just for them to call back Saturday, day of, actually afternoon of her birthday to tell us they had no room for our party in three hours, that they overbooked. When I called to inquire about this, they responded with sorry, they overbooked. When I asked if they had taken our reservation on Wednesday, and just decided to keep booking smaller parties, (aka faster turnover) and bumped us, they really had no answer for that one. I feel that it was the most shady thing they could have done, and thanks gators for leaving us with no place to go on my Mom's birthday. Ill make sure to tell all my friends how accommodating you were.
UPDATE: they called us back after I called and complained and the chick hung up on me, and oddly enough after I posted this, and said there must have been a miscommunication, ahem, (yeah right), and that they could squeeze us in. Well, I don't feel like being "squeezed in" after all that planning, and then to have to scramble to find another place to take six three hours from now... so no thanks, too little too late. Unfortunate though, how i love the coleslaw and mashed potatoes.
3.5 stars
$10.99 Cajun lunch buffet. Served up: brown rice, potato salad, macaroni salad, jambalaya, cornbread, baked mac cheese, green beans, cheesy grits, alligator and tomato macaroni casserole, fried catfish, and fried chicken.
I'm kinda picky with southern food, since I grew up in Northern VA, but the food was good considering it was a buffet. Definitely worth the price and you can't beat the variety. Plates are huge, so we didn't have seconds. Service was outstanding.
Several big groups were there yesterday. Just call ahead and the tables will be set up to accommodate. Don't be scared of the number of patrons. Food is replenished all afternoon with a smile.
Today's Buffet Menu: Sausage jambalaya, cornbread, macaroni salad, potato salad, mac 'n cheese, green beans, grits, beef chili, rice, brisket stew, sweetened ham & pineapples, fried chicken, fried catfish, chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, white cake topped with shredded coconut.
For $11, I would say it's worth it. First of all, where can you find a Cajun buffet? Nowhere. Secondly, it's always a joy to try a bunch of little items without burning a hole in your pocket and feeling weighed down from ordering too much. Overall, the food was okay but I think if a buffet can be decent, then the food on their regular menu must be even better. I have high hopes!
I LOVED THE SERVICE. From the minute we walked in until the minute we left, it was wonderful from everyone: the hostess, our waiter, the cook, everyone. While we were in line for the food, the cook told us what each and every dish was. Even though some of our guys weren't listening, she just joked about that. Everyone just has a really good and lighthearted spirit.
I am among the limited few that are/were not impressed by the whole "Gator Phenomena". Maybe it was all the street hype - I heard rumblings that Gator was saying it was only a matter of time before he owned San Mateo. Maybe it was the waiter who used the word "genius" at least 10 times when referring the the king god messiah while I was trying to eat or maybe it was the barbeque sauce which tasted like it came from a bottle of Bulls Eye or Kraft. I've read the articles and talked to his loyal followers and I am really torn. He sounds like a great guy with a great vision - someone who really cares - but I just can't give a thumbs up. Maybe if he opens up in the future I will give him another chance, so until then.....
The place is:
-over priced
-OK food, not real soul food - no kick
-has an eating area, live music on certain nights (Fri & Sat), and a bar area
-nice servers, food took long to get to our table though
-crappy drinks from "Gina" the bartender who was busy acting a bit sleezy for tips
-hoping to meet the owner but he did not come by
-live music was OK
-2 toilets side by side in b.r...wtf?
Overall just an OK experience. I'm in no rush to come back, if I come back
Went to their lunch buffet today. At $10.99 per person...it was great!
Pros: Strawberry Mint Lemonade was deeeelish! The wait staff is very friendly with smiles all around, southern hospitality all the way.
What was served: Jambalaya, cornbread, mac-n-cheese, cajun macaroni, red beans,seasoned rice, brisket stew, collard greens, green beans, fried catfish and fried chicken.
Cons: Potato salad and regular macaroni salad tasted store bought - totally skip it so you can save the valuable tummy real estate for the real stuff. It gets busy during the regular lunch hr so go a few minutes before noon to avoid the long lines at the buffet.
This is a great lunch spot...I just can't go every week as there isn't really anything light or healthy here....just really good comfort food.
apparently they take reservations for lunch. if you arrive after 12:15, make sure you arrive with a reservation. SO busy.
they do have nice comfy couches in the front of the restaurant, but if you only have an hour for lunch, you don't have time to sit on the couch and wait while everyone around you is eating all of the goodness served up in there.
came for the lunchtime buffet (T-F only), left feeling lethargic, but oh, so happy!
was told they do change their buffet menu, not sure how often. the catfish and corn bread. man, oh man..... SO yummy!!! not a big fan of their fried chicken, but their catfish was DELICIOUS!!!
-1 for the slower service, but then again, they were busy. consider this a 4.5 star rating.
I finally hit up this spot after hearing RAVES about it from everyone and their mother.
All I need to say is,what a class act this place is. Staff is attentive and awesome. THE FOOD IS AMAZING. I had the catfish,my friend Jessie had the fried chicken,and then we shared the collard greens and mac and cheese.Oh man,explosions of pleasure in my mouth ....soooo good.
I will definitely be back
A bit pricy, so it's not a place that I'll be going to too often.
They took over the old Quizno's next door to be their bar/lounge/live-music area so it's kind of nice hangout place.
The main restaurant has music streaming through from next door, adding to the festive atmosphere.
Food: I really like their corn bread with their sweet something butter. We ordered the blackened fish which was very yummy. The pork ribs were tender and not too gooey. I am not sure how they keep them from being too dried out, but they did. They had red velvet cake on the dessert menu that evening. Since I kept hearing about this southern dessert, but have never tried it, we ordered this to try. Sadly, this was not the highlight of our meal and it ended on a too-long-waited-for, dried out, too sweet concoction.
Soul food with a fresh twist. These guys do it right instead of being a confused mess. Check them out when you're feeling flushed or want to indulge. By the way, they close early on Sundays.
Goodbye Gator's. We'll miss you.
The Sunday brunch here is awesome.
First off, live music. They had an awesome jazz/blues musician…
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Gator meat? Really? I'm ready! I've always wanted to try it, and here is my chance!
A friend of mine wanted to meet here for a get-together with our old crew from our exchange student days. I read up on the menu and was highly enthusiastic about Gator's offerings. But I also noticed that there were no prices posted online, which to me always spells "B-A-D-N-E-W-S" for my wallet.
We enter Gator's, and it's appointed in a sort of classy, hipster kind of way. You enter through the bar area, and in the next room is the dining area. The kitchen is actually only separated from the dining area by a prep counter, which I thought was kind of a nice touch.
The wait staff was very polite in getting us seated and taking our drink orders. I receive the menu, and, just as I expected, the prices are ridiculous. $19 jambalaya, $18 chicken and dumplings, etc. Needless to say, my enthusiasm quickly shrunk. How can we call it down-home Cajun cooking when the prices are more like San Francisco fine fusion dining? Ugh.
Anyways, the jambalaya offering is different on a daily basis depending on what's fresh, and it just so happened that the jambalaya of the day was alligator. Score one for the good guys.
The gf ordered the chicken and dumplings, which also looked really good.
I couldn't help myself when I saw the tiger shrimp served with grits in a savory butter sauce ($12-$14), so I ordered that as well.
Perhaps I was distracted by the catching up of old times, but I don't remember the servers being very attentive at all. In fact, we had bread plates, but bread didn't come until right before the meal! But the bread that did come was sort of a hybrid between cornbread and dinner roll (almost like sweet Hawaiian bread). The honey butter that came with it was really good.
I have to say, at first bite, it almost seemed like the food was going to be worth the price, but in the end, the saltiness of EVERYTHING killed the experience. I mean, I'm the kind of guy who salts to enhance the flavor of things, but I think the cook salts as a means of a key ingredient in every dish. The jambalaya had a nice kick and was flavorful, but overly salted. The chicken dumplings were a bit strange because the gravy has tomatoes in it, which is uncommon amongst the dish. But that also was too salty. The shrimp with grits was probably the best thing I had; the shrimp were cooked perfectly, the grits were creamy, and the gravy was buttery with hints of fresh rosemary in it (but in the end, it was overly salted as well).
What I just couldn't get over was the price of it all. Between the one appetizer and two entrees, the gf and I spent over $50! On Cajun food which was developed in response to poor people cooking with cheaper cuts of meat, spices from France and the Caribbean, and local vegetables that were also inexpensive! And here I am paying $20 for jambalaya made with alligator meat that was overly salted?
Sorry Gator's, but your Cajun is really salty, and on top of that is NOT worth the prices that you charge.
I remember when Neo-Soul first opened up in San Mateo. My husband and I were curious and looked at the menu. Our mouths were drooling already. We made a reservation once we got back to our place. When we got there we weren't disappointed. The hostess was extremely nice and very elegant. We sat near the window but the sun was setting and getting into my eyes so they let us move.
Our food was excellent! Gator even came by our table to see how we were doing. He told us a little about himself and then asked us what we ordered. He then told us how the entrees were prepared and how he used only the freshest ingredients. I like having that personal touch.
We tried to take our friends there but never remember to make reservations. This place is usually very busy when we do remember. They've since opened up a bar/lounge next door. We've been to the bar and enjoyed some live jazz. I'll have to make it back here again... soon.
Came here on a beautiful Thursday morning with my mom after reading reviews from a few people on the lunch buffet they have. Parking took a minute as we arrived during lunch time because i slept in and i didn't want to be there exactly as after a couple loops around i found a spot right across the street, yay! We got out and the meter had 45 minutes in it, woohoo this is turning out to be a good experience, tossed in a few extra quarters and we walked across the street.
There are 2 sets of doors and you want the side on the right to enter. As we walked in there is some nice seating on the left for waiting and maybe for watching live music at night? There is a bar on the far right side and it stretches about half the length of the room. There were about 6 tables in this room and more on the room in the left and the waiter and waitress were both extremely friendly. After we got seated we went up to get food since our waiter said to start and would get our drinks in a moment.
I picked up a plate and looked at the pickings that smelled delicious. First they had a cold macaroni salad and potato salad followed by cornbread. Next they had the hot dishes which had a wild rice, jambalaya, macaroni and cheese, fried catfish, fried chicken, FRIED OYSTERS fresh out of the oil, a very buttery and cheese grits, some sweet collard greens, a pasta style jambalaya (instead of rice), and also a white creamy chicken sauce with red peppers.
I unfortunately still have a cough and i couldn't enjoy the cornbread but the macaroni and cheese was good, the grits were great, the fried oysters were good but they went really fast. I liked the jambalaya and the collard greens because i've never had them sweet before. The friend catfish was also pretty good although it didn't seem as flavorful as the rest of the dishes.
As mentioned in previous posts the food is extremely rich and i didn't get much the second time around even as the waitress came to take my old plate and send "let me take that for you and go ahead and fill up a nice clean plate." The staff here was really nice and i would recommend it to others just to try once to see if it's for them but i personally know my co workers will want to go and will probably enjoy it very much.
The pricing was $10.99 each and i got a strawberry lemonade for like $3 which was very good. The waiter made a point to mention that it was freshly made and the best in San Mateo along with the Ice Tea. I don't know about the best since i haven't tried many drinks in San Mateo but it was very good and i will probably try the Ice Tea next time I go.
Food is amazing here! I absolutely loved their corn bread. It will definitely have you asking for more. I know we were...
My favorite items on their menu are the Sticky Fingers Babyback Ribs, Jack Daniels Shortribs and of course the Fried Chicken. Ordering the Mac and Cheese is a must! It's so cheesy and has a spicy kick to it.
If you're eating here for the first time... I highly recommend getting the babyback ribs! Or else you'll be drooling over when you see them go around.
I really enjoyed this restaurant. Came last Saturday night with a group of girlfriends for dinner. You really get the sense that the employees who work here truly enjoy their job. We had numerous servers attending to our needs and the host (I think he may be the owner) was very pleasant. He kept checking in with us as we had to wait a bit for a big party to leave before we could be seated.
I am normally not a big fan of heavy, rich southern style food, but damn, the food here is delicious!
We shared some catfish sliders (okay, but a bit dry), chicken wings marinated in some kind of honey sauce (fabulous!), and a butter nut squash salad (just okay).
I ordered the petite filet of beef... I am not kidding, this was the most tender piece of beef I have ever tasted... I could cut the beef with my fork! The dish was served with perfectly fluffy mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. The portions were huge so I had leftovers to bring home. Everyone enjoyed their entrees. I also tasted a bit of the lamb shank, yum!
For dessert, we shared the peanut butter silk pie (our favorite!), peach cobbler (fresh out of the oven), red velvet cake (pretty good) and a chocolate bread pudding (very dry). 3 out of 4 winners is not bad!
I would love to come back here again. The bar area was hopping as a band was playing that night.
We were all scratching our head over the ladie's restroom where they have two toilets side by side in one room. Very strange!
Wow.. that's the one word that comes to mind!
When I decide that i'm going to start training for the world's heaviest man competition, I will be at gator's every single day for the lunch buffet. I can't wait to have my forklift drop me off, and I can dig in to the amazing selection of food.
Have had several dinners here, and have never, ever been dissatisfied with anything I ate here. They can be a bit on the expensive side, but I think it is absolutely worth it.
I docked one point because the chef, gator, just needs to get over himself. He's kind of a bad combo platter of arrogant and loud, with a side of annoying. If they would hide him in the kitchen, this would be a most def five star.
Talked two couples into joining my husband and I for dinner here tonight.
I tried to do my research since we are all pretty poor, but alas not pricing on their website.
Needless to say, it was pricier than I had hoped, but I had heard good stuff so we decided to try it.
Place was pretty empty...
Sat at the front for like 5 minutes before being offered a table. Waitress took our order a little too quick. She took our drink order and it sat 5 feet away from us for 15 minutes before we finally had to ask some other waiter for our drinks.
Food wasn't impressive for the money. I'd say nothing was out of this world. It was all just satisfactory.
Party of 6. 3 beers total. Meals. 2 salads and one dessert split 6 ways: $240.00/ Basically $40.00 per person. For a soda and a steak.
Live band, friendly staff, cozy atmosphere. Food was pretty good, but maybe a bit on the pricey side. I probably wouldnt go out of my way to go there again. I actually went almost a year ago, so the menu is slightly different now.
They start you off with some corn bread which is absolutely delicious! Um, can I just have a whole plate of corn bread for my dinner? We had the grilled alligator patty and gumbo for starters. Both were good but kind of small portioned for the price. For our entrees we had the fried chicken and I think some sort of meatloaf (i honestly cant remember). Neither were blowing me away, but good. For dessert, I couldnt resist getting a slice of red velvet cake, but to my disappointment it was a bit dry and definitely not velvety.
I enjoyed the atmosphere and staff the most (and the cornbread). Otherwise, our hefty bill was definitely not worth what you get.
i have had soul food but not in a classy place like this.
For starters, our waitress was the best. Friendly, great suggestions, everything a waiter/waitress should be. Too bad I didn't get her name.
The food is excellent. For appetizers, we all shared the pineapple glazed wings, gator(yes gator) and prawns with grits.
wings-light fried with batter with a sweet glaze over it. Reminds me of korean or mongolian deep fried chicken with sauce.
gator-2 gator patties on top of a biscuit or some kind of bread. honestly, i just went for the gator patty to try it out. Reminded me of breakfast sausage patty but not as spicy. Glad I tried it. This was a very good dish.
prawns with grits-don't want to make the prawns take a backseat but they do. as tasty as they were, the grits were the bomb! I can probably say I've never had grits before, ever. And looking at grits in a fat metal pot in a cafeteria or buffet line was never appealing. So when I tried the grits here, it blew my mind. Kind of like mashed potatoes except not as heavy and starchy. If I rated the prawns and grits separately, I'd give the grits 5 stars and prawns 4.
Dinner:
I had the ribs....meat just fell off the bones. Not that the ribs were not good but I've had them before elsewhere, just as good.
Also tried the short ribs. And same here. Great good but could be found elsewhere.
I think what made dinner great was the appetizers. It started the meal off where you wanted more.
Desserts were so so. We tried the banana foster and something else. Can't remember because they were just ok.
The other side of the restaurant is a lounge area that serves food as well with live music. The entire ambience along with the food is very refreshing to the typical snooty SF restaurants or cheap eateries.
GOD BLESS THIS PLACE!
I brought a few friends in for brunch(which they only server on sunday which sucks) AMAZING! I had the chicken and waffles and creamed my panties on the first bite. It was so delicious that all sounds of my screaming son and him throwing eggie disapeared and i was in my own little world. The service was fabulous and the homemade pralines at the end of the meal were the icing on the cake. :) p.s gotta love a place that provides toothbrushes in the bathroom.
We waited 45 minutes to get seated, but we should've made reservations. (So call in advanced if you don't want to see people seated before you, especially after waiting 30 minutes and seeing all the good food.) We waited that long because we weren't that hungry to start with and we knew there would be a wait . . .
With that, once we got seated, we had great service. Though, when we saw the prices we were shocked. It's soul food! Feed the soul not the wallet.
Everything we had was delish - mac and cheese, baked chicken that tasted fried, ribs, and collard greens. The best part of the dinner was dessert - rarely do we order dessert but the chocolate bread pudding called for us. When it arrived, one bite and ecstasy overcame my sister! I never heard her moan, "Ummm!" like that before. We dove right in and finished it with the vanilla ice cream. YUM.
Oh, the owner, Gator, was very nice. He greeted us and asked if we were enjoying our experience. A little bit of home away from home.
I'm sure I've mentioned it before in some of my other reviews, but for me service can make or break a meal and with the average tasting food it certainly didn't help.
We came here on a Tuesday night with some friends we hadn't seen in awhile. One of our friend's girlfriends was visiting from Japan so the bf decided that this would be a uniquely American experience for her to try. The menu looked fabulous so I seconded the choice.
First turnoff was when we tried calling to change our reservations. From about 5:30 on I had to call back 5 times to get anyone on the other line. I wish I was exaggerating, but no one would answer the phone and I hesitated to leave a message since we were so close to the time of our reservation. When I finally did speak to someone, she asked when we'd be there, I told her and she said it was fine without asking for my name or number in our party. I guess Tuesday is not their happening night.
When we arrived, we were greeted by two different servers which was a nice touch and I thought it was going to mean attentive service. Unfortunately that was not the case. After we placed our order, it took quite a long time to get our drinks. The restaurant was not very crowded and we didn't order anything complicated. We also noticed bread plates on our table but did not receive any bread until right before they brought our entrees out. All the other tables around us seemed to receive it in a reasonable amount of time so I'm not sure what the hold up was. The server brought it out without a word about it's tardiness. Oh well...
My bf and I shared the Catfish Sliders and the Fried Chicken. The catfish was good...the catfish had a nice slightly spicy breading on it and came with a nice spicy tartar sauce. It kind of looked like a KFC snacker, but with catfish rather than chicken, and was just as tasty. The fried chicken was different than I expected. I expected regular fried chicken, but I guess I should have been tipped off by the fact that it was pan fried that it wasn't. This seemed more like a breaded chicken breast which would have been okay, but it tasted dry unless you ate it along with the mashed potatoes. There were also lemon pecan green beans. The beans were just kind of there for me. While the concept of it intrigued me, I didn't taste the lemon on the beans and the pecans were just kind of there. It seemed like such a disconnected dish.
I'd be interested to see what the place is like when there is entertainment or when they have their buffets but I would not come here again on a regular night.
4.5 stars
I went there for brunch with the girls. I haven't been in a while, was aware of the renovations and it looks like they're done with them. The new room was large, had a bar and comfy couches with an area for the jazz duo/trio.
The brunch was delish. They have chicken and waffle, people!!! http://www.gatorsneoso... The peach cobbler butter was TO.DIE.FOR. I'm normally not a fan of butter but damn. I smothered it on the waffle along with the various pastries they give at the beginning of the meal.
The biscuits and gravy (gravy had bits of sausage) was so good I wanted to drink a bowl of the gravy....
Everything I had was delicious, I will definitely starve myself and finish the whole plate of fried chicken and waffle next time! Oh and make room for the bowl of gravy.
I've been lucky enough in life to experience New Orleans "pre-Katrina." One of the best things in NOLA, besides boobs everywhere, is their delicious food. Since then, I have struggled mightily to find somewhere that even remotely compares. Thanks to a co-workers suggestion - I've found that place.
I've been to Gator's Neo Soul Cafe three times now, and have yet to be disappointed. Everything from their Aunt Gerdie Bea's Fried Chicken to their New Orleans BBQ Shrimp & Grits have been excellent. Their Uncle Bud's Mac-And-Cheese and Big Momma's Collard Greens are off the charts good. The Catfish Sliders are to die for. Their Gumbo is authentic as you can find.
Last time I was there, Dennis Haysbert (of 24, Major League and Allstate fame) was in the house. If you are craving some bomb Cajun food - don't waste your time with Roux or Kingfish... they don't hold a candle to Gator's.
Ok - so this is all about the lunch buffet...
So I walked in today and the first thing I needed was change for the meter - all I had was a $5 bill (it's only 50cents/hr for parking in san mateo downtown) - the waiter didn't have any singles so he GAVE me $1 worth of quarters! just straight up gave me - this is the kind of customer service I LOVE!
second, I came back in and was ready to dig into the soul food buffet - the lady cook came out and told me what everything was - very helpful and even offered condiments for each of the entrees...
third, the FOOD was GOOD!!! i mean seriously - i'm sitting here at my desk after lunch an hour later nearly ready to fall asleep of food coma - by far my favorite fried catfish & the fried chicken was soooooooooo good too...
fourth, my buddy and I were having a lunch meeting - so lots of talking and discussion - the only time we were interrupted was when our glasses or plates were empty - other than that, we were left alone to chat up all of our work info...
so to sum up good food, good people, good service, good prices...
I'm tempted to come for dinner now too...
I'm a 7th generation Texan, and my family comes from east Texas, which when you get west of Houston, might as well be Louisiana. I've been eating cajun food and soul food my whole life.
A few weeks ago my GF and i were walking around downtown San Mateo and stumbled across Gator's. We'd already eaten, but took a look at the menu and decided to come back. The presence of chicken and waffles for brunch led us to decide that we should come her for brunch first. So last sunday, we finally came by for brunch.
The breakfast bread plate you get for free to start out with was really good. The fruit plate, not so much. Although it was the winter, and i know they try to source all of their produce locally, so that may have had something to do with it.
I decided on the fried catfish with grits and poached eggs. The fried catfish was really good, but was just served plain. I could have gone for some kind of sauce on it or something. Same with the poached eggs. Good, but just kind of plain. The grits, though just buttered and salted, were unbelievably tasty. They were a little bit thicker than i'm used to, but still great flavor. It's good to know that someone else in the area knows how to cook up some edible grits. Some of the crap that passes for grits in the SF Bay Area is just criminal.
My GF got chicken and waffles, which came with peach cobbler butter and syrup. The chicken was really tasty, with a little kick. Definitely some cayenne going on in the batter. The waffle was a little thin (for some reason i was expecting a thick Belgian waffle), but when you got the waffle, the peach cobbler butter, the spicy chicken, and the sweet maple syrup all going in one bite, it's just lights out. Doesn't get much better than that.
To be honest, i felt the prices were a little high for what we got. I know this is a nice restaurant, but i didn't feel like anything we got was really 'dressed up' enough to justify the price (except for the peach cobbler butter, i guess), it was just a typical soul food southern brunch.
We'll have to try Gator's again for dinner, but unless someone else is paying, i just don't see coming back here to pay that much for brunch (albeit, a very good one, i just can't pay $50 for a meal that isn't dinner).
I've finally found the definition to Soul food! Great food, live music, chill atmosphere, and great people.
We ordered the "Gone with the Wings," Jambalaya, Chocolate bread pudding with some peach alcohol to finish it off for dinner.
I'm from across the bay (Alameda) and I would definitely make a trip back out to go to Gator's Neo Soul Cafe!
This place is ok.
I was hoping for more SOUL in the soul food.
Granted that some of the dishes were unique and flavorful, my whole table of 5 people all thought that they've had better.
the service for was surprisingly bad. She barely checked on us having us ask for water and remind her of our food we ordered.
For a place charging these prices, I would expect a bit more.
Gator anyone?
It's a eclectic place to enjoy a very comfortable meal with a great ambiance.
I'd say the food is rather pricey but all in all people will find the experience to be worth it. My visit consisted of great wine with only appetizers. We tried everything on the appetizer menu and each and every single one was fantastic. From rich and buttery catfish and delish gator burgers. yes. gator burgers. it actually tasted like beef. anyways. try it out. it's a worthwhile experience.
The latest Gators is closed since they decided to raise the rent!!! He will be back in August in another location near Hillsdale Mall. More Later !!
In the search fo some down home, u cant miss out of g's. for the east bayers who are used to soul… Read more »
Let me start by saying that I thought Gator's was a ghetto hole-in-the-wall soul food spot, so I was pleasantly surprised the minute I walked in to see that it was actually charming and upscale. Other than the food (which I'll get to in a sec), I was impressed by the ambiance right away. Everything from the lighting to smiling waitstaff to the great live jazz just brought the whole experience through the roof for me.
So, the food. You know how you can just tell when someone puts a lot of love into something? I got that feeling from my alligator biscuits and gravy and Ed C.'s shrimp and grits. I don't really know a better way to describe it, and needless to say, both were absolutely delicious.
This was one of only a few dining experiences I've had where everything - the ambiance, the service and the food - really came together to make it a very memorable experience.
San Mateo, CA
Category: Barbeque
San Mateo, CA
Category: Cajun/Creole
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Category: Cajun/Creole
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Category: Caterers
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Category: American (New)
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