Gary's Oyster Bar & Seafood House in Lake Alfred - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Revisited after 5 years- good service and food.

Overall... just a great place to have some seafood,oysters and a cold beer. With a hometown atmosphere and the best service around!

A very local place. Everyone is welcome, and you can have a $5 hot dog plate or a $25 stuffed flounder. Rum runner, pitcher of beer or tea to drink. Just a nice hole in the wall to enjoy yourself.

A great hole in the wall, Delicious food... Its top notch!

Their seafood is the best, but tonight I had all you can eat fried catfish strips. Hush puppies, fries and sweet tea, The hush puppies and coleslaw were wonderful. The catfish had a strange taste, but were crispy. And presented well.

Really fresh oysters and a home style oyster bar atmosphere. Fried lobster is fantastic.

I have eaten inside as well as takeout and both experiences were excellent. The oysters were fresh and cold perfect size. Clam chowder is amazing, plenty of tender clams. Everybody who works there has a great attitude and very friendly. If you sit at the bar, you can throw your oyster shells in a huge metal sink located right behind the bar counter, it’s a different experience.

I ordered a drink and it was actually pretty good. I like a strong drink and this one was good enough to not send back. I drank the whole cup, Respectively of course lol.

Service is awful. Called them at 8, and the lady said that they have oysters and we’re welcome to come in. Arrived at 8:32 she turned us back stating that kitchen is closed and no one called (I showed outgoing call on my phone that we called and this is what I’ve been told), she just turned her back and started to clean tables

Great food, service, & staff. Everyone was friendly & welcoming. The food was fantastic!

Don't let the outside looks fool you. They have great food and great service.

This place is definitely a hidden gem everything about this place is amazing from the comfort of the down home restaurant to the amazing servers to the absolutely amazing oysters. I definitely will be back any chance I get

Love the atmosphere customer service was on point inside is amazing love the seafood vibes very clean establishment came to town to visit family and wanted to have seafood tried there crab cakes dinner my sides hush puppies and fries and coleslaw very good I definitely will come back and recommend to stop by if you’re driving through or just visiting the area

Great little seafood restaurant! The clam chowder was very tasty and full of clams. I had the crab cake dinner w French fries, hush puppies and cole slaw. Nice fried crab cakes (2). Excellent hush puppies and I ordered extra. Cole slaw was creamy and worked well with the crab cakes. Good fries. Do yourself a favor and go.

Best oysters around! We always love coming here.

It’s a little mom and pops but great southern service!

Best oysters ever and buffalo shrimp!!

Best oysters and best service EVER!

What an amazing find this was myself and my wife's first visit and it is so amazing the food is absolutely out of this world we had Fried green tomatoes for an app and it was hot fresh to the table. My wife had the all you can eat clam strips and the first plate was huge enough to feed 2 people and I had the all you can eat catfish definitely amazing. This place is definitely a hot spot and highly recommended. This is a place that we all need to visit and support so that it is around for years to come.

This was our favorite spot to go for oysters, so sad that u spend $23 for a dozen of the smallest oysters u can find, looks like they are pre shucked with lots of ice just dumped on them,, no taste at all. My wife thought they were baby clams, please go back to the times where ur oysters were more then a appetizer but a meal

I heard about this place and got a lot of positive reports. So, I decided to try them out. I ordered oysters char-grilled (12), a bucket of steamed oysters, a draft IPA, a shot of patron, and topped it off with a bloody mary ( it was Bloody good). The char-grilled oysters were ok and steamed oysters were, too. They were on the small side, but my issue was with the dirty butter. It wasn't good and kinda ruined the experience. The service was phenomenal and the bartender was very cool and made a damn good bloody mary.

Great place to eat. Delicious seafood and great atmosphere!! Best crab legs I’ve ever tasted,and the fried alligator was to die for!

Gator bites were good but it wasn't even busy and it took FOREVER to get help. If you're not in any rush it's okay

Probably the best oyster bar I've ever been to. Keep up the good work!! My mother liked it so much we took her 4 days I'm a row and had different dishes every night!!

Captain Joe recommended this place. We drove an hour and a half (from DeLand)to get to Gary's oyster bar. A mom and pop shop with oysters to die for. Seafood gumbo, oysters raw and steamed (don't forget the dirty butter!), crayfish, crab legs, and lobster bites a must!!... Wishing I can give this place a 10.

Decent restaurant. The food can be great if you like seafood but there aren’t really a lot of options for children or picky eaters. The people can be a bit different but they will still serve your food without any problems. Inside the restaurant has a nice fishing and nostalgic decor and area it reminds me of older dads who are into fish and baseball. Over all 3.8/5 :)

What a great place. It's off the beaten path a little ways but worth the drive no matter where your coming from. The oysters were delicious raw or any other way. We tried them all. The servers are so friendly and treated us like regulars even though it was our first time there. I promise you it won't be our last. Great job everyone!

Good seafood, a little bit closer to Lake Alfred then Winter Haven. Nothing fancy the staff is very nice

Always enjoy Gary's. Great Food ,service and a awesome little hole in the wall. There's a reason why they are always packed.

Do not order fish stripes or oysters were small.

This is truly a hidden treasure for seafood lovers or just for oysters lovers! 💯 Why hidden? Since you reading this, you finally found it, but how long you never heard of it!)) Why treasure? Man!!! Just compare to other places!! This is way better than others in central Florida!! Service is fantastic! Atmosphere is perfect! Taste is what you were looking for! Prices are goood!!

4.5 Amanda gave us great service on a busy Thursday afternoon. Out of all our food, I would definitely order the raw oysters and conch fritters again.

Oysters were some of the best we've ever had!! If you want Oysters look no further, you won't be disappointed!

A real Florida gem. I'll go back ASAP

Gary’s : Greatest A*s Restaurant Ya’ll’ Seriously The wood paneling wall and hospitality felt like home. As we sat at the bar for our dinner service, it felt like a private meal. Not only was the food feeling straight from the sea, but our waiter must have been a merman in a past life. The way he was able to chuck oysters and advise our tastebuds was another level. Was it the aphrodisiacs or the atmosphere ? Who’s to say. Either way, I was loving every second. Although, I was missing my friend Gary whom had passed recently - I love eating raw at Gary’s.

We found this place because my father in laws is named Gary. Gary’s do it well. Where do I begin!? This place is exceptional low country cooking! First off, I’m from Ohio and typically when you leave the state you need to ask for Busch Light and places usually make fun of you for even asking. However, I asked the bartender here for a Busch Light and he said “hell yeah we got it. This is Polk County.” When I heard that I knew I was right at home. Get the raw Oysters and Cat Fish Strips. You cannot go wrong. The perfect dive coming from small town Ohio people!

Good place to eat, great food Good customer service. The only problem I have is that I placed a order over a year ago with a call in order and received a family emergency on my way to pick up my order so obviously I didn't pick up my order nor did I call to cancel but I should have but that was the least of my concerns. So I can no longer call in a order for pick up still to this day a year plus later.

I'm from Maine and if your looking for the best oysters you have to come to Gary's I cannot rave enough on how amazing they are and the homemade onion rings yummy, Carla our server was such a sweetheart no matter how busy she always has a smile. The staff and owner make you feel right at home ... I'm going to miss Gary's and Carla 😔

Gary’s is what some may call a “hole in the wall” but I call it awesome!! Oysters and everything else here has been great! However, Go early there’s a wait.

Love, love, love it. Never disappoints. Friendly staff. Goes above and beyond.

Go for the oysters and nothing else. Easily the worst fish I've ever had. Sent the broiled grouper back(wrong fish to begin with and badly overcooked anyway) and the broiled flounder was just as bad (again overcooked to the point of mush). Ordered medium rare steak-came out blue (seared on the outside and cold/raw as raw could be inside like maybe cooked from partially frozen?). Fish dip wasn't good either-it tasted like canned fish was mixed in and there were hard chunks also. They don't use real butter for baked potatoes or seafood. There was a grit of sand in my salad. The raw oysters were fine. Service was excellent though. Extremely underwhelming.

Great local seafood spot. High quality and friendly atmosphere.

First time visiter. I hate leaving poor reviews, but there were so many positive posts that after my experience I felt I needed to share. I got the special with crab, scallops, shrimp, catfish, and sides of salad, hush puppies, and baked potato. First off, for just under $40 I expected decent portions. Nope, none of that here: Crab: very small, and who doesn’t like butter?! The “butter” tasted rancid to me and I stopped using it. The waitress never checked if the meal was good, and at the end I asked if that was real butter….nope! 🤢 Scallop: tasted ok, very small, and honestly I make a better blackened scallop myself. Shrimp: again- small, barely warm, not deveined, and didn’t see cocktail sauce? Catfish: small, seasoned ok, and slightly gristly on some edges. Hush puppies: good. The sweetest ones I’ve ever had. Only got 3 small portions. Salad: yep, small, and the two huge onions were sharp tasting, not cut, and almost dominated the salad. One grape tomato cut in half. Again, sorry but the drab atmosphere, small portions, ok tasting, and for the love of God no real butter - I wonder what the people eat that rated this 5 star. Now it is an oyster bar, and I did not try that. But sorry, I’m not going back.

This is a must go to if you're in the area. Food and service are AAA

Other than waiting 1 hours 45 min for a seat it was great.

Amazing place , my son and I loved that place 🦪🦪🦪🦪

Best oysters around! Belly up to the oyster bar.

Some of the best seafood in Central Florida!

Small very friendly family run for 40 years Don't let the appearance fool you Well worth stopping in

Food and service are always great!!!

Im from out town and found this place on google. The food and very good and the staff is all very friendly.

Great food, friendly staff. Well worth the wait, excellent as always. We always go there is we are in the area.

Great seafood and worth the money you spend.

What can I say? The catfish is excellent, and the oysters we saw being eaten at various tables looked so appetizing! Not a single complaint did we hear from anyone. Our entire meal was delivered exactly as requested by a wonderful waitress. The decor is reminiscent of so many taverns you will encounter near the waterfront in southern states, although this particular place isn't on the water. If you're interested in good seafood, and not looking to dine in lush surroundings, you'll love Gary's. The prices are very reasonable!

It's rustic the prices are not bad for what you get . I mostly get the fried catfish it's always crisp. And for 3 bucks more all you can eat . I never get that because the plate is full

Hunter is a amazing bartender great atmosphere as well. Will be going back soooooon.

YUMMY,.......$$$ Worth it....We'll be back soon.

We had a great meal here a few Sundays ago. The raw oysters were some of the best we've tasted in the area... Nice and briney! They were shucked and served to us right on the bar, and our server/shucker was extremely helpful letting us sample one of each variety before locking in to our total number (we ended up getting half and half because both were excellent). We also had the gator appetizer, which was ok, as well as the fried mushrooms which were pretty good. The standout appetizer was the conch fritters. We also got the gumbo and clam chowder, both of which were great. We loved Gary's and will definitely be back!

Ordered steak med well. Came rare ordered new potoes. Got baked. Over half of steak was fat and uneateabal. Verry disappointed

Awesome people, especially Carla! Wonderful food!!🙂

This place is off the hook! Excellent service! Excellent oysters regardless of raw or steamed!

First time at Gary's, but it will not be the last. The food and atmosphere was great and the service was outstanding! Keep up the great work.

Best oysters raw or steamed! Try the First and Ten Hot Sauce!

It's as good as the place is old and it's always been there. Broiled red snapper is delicious!

Best oysters I've had in years. Fresh, briny and beautifully shucked. Fried entrées are great, but I want more than two hush puppies. Cole slaw is nicely tangy to offset all that fried stuff. My one complaint is that they need more seafood sandwiches like fried clam rolls, and at a decent price. If get a dozen oysters (and I usually do), I don't want a bog entrée.

Great food and service was great too

The people that work there are more like family. The prices are reasonable and the quality of the food is always exceptional

This place is a must for oysters 😋... but be patient they are busy ,but you won't be disappointed. Have a drink while you wait .

While the food was decent, it was quite pricey (even in this day of "high prices"). Service was on point.

Went for dinner for hubby's birthday. Conch fritters were just ok with a strange flavor in them. Clam chowder was very good. Hush puppies were delicious. Stuffed shrimp had a mediocre crab mixture. I ended up just eating the shrimp. Hubby had what I think they called Chef Special. It was fried everything. The scallops were delicious. The catfish was all breading with no meat. The gator was ok. Shrimp was good. Frog legs were ok. The dish was definitely not worth $37. Service was very attentive and friendly. We left feeling underwhelmed and over-charged.

It's very good food, but nothing special, their sides are mediocre,, and im a huge fan of sides but their fish selection is very good, also it being picnic style, the prices are high for what you get. Known for their oysters which I don't eat, so I can't say.

Had the oysters on half shells was ok. The oysters was small

I've been going to this place since I was 5 years old, my dad worked here and a lot of my family did back in the seventies and eighties. So sad that Gary is gone now! He'll be forever missed!

We just left the place and Amanda was our server. She was so sweet and kind. We will surely be back because of her warm spirit.

It was a pretty good experience. Those parmesan oysters are 🔥!

Get the oysters with Parmesan and jalapeños! Best hush-puppies, hands down! Great friendly staff.

It was amazing food and excellent service. Carla served me and she was a happy little hostess which made me feel right at home. I had a cocktail called leg spreader which all I needed was 1 but ordered 2, it was so good, then I had lobster bites for appetizer, They are now my favorite thing to eat in this world. You must try them. For my entree, I got fried clam strips, baked potatoes and broccoli.. That was also delicious and even better the next day. It was a lot of good for a good price. I give it 6 stars

What an amazing restraunt! It has truly exceeded all expectations & now officially our date night spot! Amanda took care of us and we came back again not only for great food, But her wonderful service!

WAY over priced for frog legs and they were small $4.50 a set. Horrible

This was the first time at this place, my wife loves oysters and she said they were excellent. I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, the clams, priced $19.95 on the menu but when the check came they charged $21.95.they also tacked on $2 for using a credit card, this is the only restaurant I have ever been to that charged to use a credit card. I also thought the prices were extremely high! Red lobster is much less expensive. The fries, coleslaw and hush puppies were good but the clams didn't resemble clams in any way, very bad, nothing but a flaky coating, I couldn't even find anything that resembled a clam. The waitress was very nice and patient. I'm pretty sure I'll never go back.

Below average everything. Even the Pepsi tasted bad.

Drove over an hour to check this place out, it was well worth the drive! A few friends and I sat at the oyster bar and enjoyed some of the biggest oysters I have had in awhile. I recommend you get there early to avoid waiting and ask for the "dirty butter" if you are having the Fried Lobster or Oysters. I now know why this place has been open for over 35 years.

Food and service was excellent!!!

The best oysters in Polk County.

Always great fun eating oysters at the bar.

For the first time, we are leaving Gary’s disappointed. The Parmesan oysters were extremely small with no taste and were overcooked. Server was not interested in our comments regarding poor size and quality of the oysters.

We went for crab claws but they did not get their order in unfortunately. Took over an hour to get our food it was okay but a touch cold probably due to the fact the AC was set at 61 degrees so for us the place was uncomfortable due to the coldness. Server was not very friendly and rarely checked on us unless we flagged her down.

I came in with a party of four, ordered 3 dozen oysters and they came out so quick and they were very good! We all got fried dishes and it wasn’t too heavy, nice staff. We came from out of town, very good experience!

Fantastic!!! Food and service were outstanding!

Soooooooo GOOOOD!! 😋 No waste here!

Do not eat here. This place will make you so sick for 3 days. I came here on Tuesday night with my family and we were sick for 3 days from food poisoning. I talked to the owner Drew and he basically told me to seek medical attention and to come back so they can comp our meal. I told him I don't want your food to make me sick again and he said I was rude for saying that. They have ruined our entire vacation and you should never eat here if you don't want to be sick. I asked for the owner boss's number or corporate and he gave me the number of the restaurant. Basically just telling me to get over it. People need to make things right and this guy is a piece of work. We didn't even get an apology. Nothing like oh. I'm so sorry your family is sick. This guy does not care.

Normally we love little spots like this. But our entire family ended up with food poisoning a few hours after eating here. This place would be great if it wasn't a foodborne illness threat.

Oysters and scallops are fresh, staff is great, and beer is cold. Recommend getting there early, this place is very popular and for good reason.

THE best Oyster Bar in Lake Alfred! I love it here! Great food, great service, very consistent and always fresh! Now if we can just get them to open for lunch maybe two days a week, we'd all be in heaven!

My visit to Gary's was nothing short of amazing. The service was excellent, and the staff were attentive, knowledgeable, and courteous. They made sure that my dining experience was top-notch from start to finish, making me feel like a valued guest. The oysters, as the name suggests, are a must-try at Gary's. Fresh, plump, and succulent, each one was a delightful taste of the ocean. The variety of sauces and accompaniments available allowed me to customize my oyster experience, adding a touch of personalization to my meal. But the true star of the show was the all-you-can-eat catfish strips. Crispy, golden, and perfectly seasoned, each strip was a mouthwatering morsel of flaky, tender fish. It's not an exaggeration to say that I could not get enough of these delectable catfish strips. The all-you-can-eat option is a fantastic deal and allows you to indulge in these delicious bites to your heart's content. Gary's Oyster Bar and Seafood House is a diamond in the rough - a hidden gem that I cannot wait to visit again. With its fantastic service, fresh and flavorful seafood, and cozy atmosphere, it has easily become one of my favorite spots for a memorable dining experience. If you're in Lake Alfred or the surrounding area, do yourself a favor and visit Gary's Oyster Bar and Seafood House. You won't regret it!

Off the beaten path for the normal area visitors but totally worth the trip for a raw or cooked seafood experience. My family really didn't know what to expect but we're very surprised with the quality of food and would eat here again and again if we lived in the area!

The food was gross and the waitress was worse but the owner made it right. I have to give credit to the owner only!

The restaurant is very small, but food is worth every minute you have to wait.

Old school Florida seafood place. Emphasis on food and service. Oysters exceptional. We visit every year on our vacation

Every time my husband and I come to Florida, I want to eat at least once at Gary's. My favorite is clam strips, and their coleslaw is the best around!!! We always have the best service every time!! Everybody needs to go here!!