Puddle Jumpers Lakeside Grill & Bar in Tavares - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

We had a group of 17 go in for dinner. Our server, Jennifer, was absolutely amazing! Food and drinks were delivered very timely. The food was delicious!! We had requested separate checks for each couple before we even ordered, and the couples were not seated right next to each other. Jennifer handled everything perfectly and was very friendly and went out of her way to make sure everyone was happy. She hustled the entire time we were there—and always with a smile.

Food was good. Steak little over cooked but all in all great place

Can not say about food. Did not get waited on. Several employees talking with other employees.

Excellent atmosphere, service, and food!!

Very nice stayed on patio as the sun slowly went down . Peeled shrimp 🦐 was delicious. Served the happy hour beers at the same time rather than bringing out one let me finish it and get the 2nd beer 🍻 server was super nice

Went to a wedding reception here. The bartenders were amazingly attentive. There was a great view of the lake, and the planes, though none were taking off. Possibly due to the rain. The food was okay, it was a buffet, but it was sandwiches and soup. I don't normally eat that so it was okay. The chicken salad was the best though. Overall good place to enjoy.

Dirty. Slow service and greasy food.

Something changed, the food wasn't as good. I was a little disappointed. I will try again because this is my favorite restaurant to eat and relax and watch the planes come in.

We got there and didn't realize they were closing in 30 min. But they accommodated us and the food was fabulous. As always.. We love going here!! ❤️ 💯

Super waitress. Great burger. All 4 of us enjoyed our food and service. Nice watching the seaplanes.

Love the view of the lake and the vibe inside. There’s a picture of the inside of a cargo plane on the wall. The food was good. There are plane exhibits outside.

Was seated as soon as we walked in the door. Asked if we could sit outside on the patio where our hostess wiped a table off for us. And asked if that table was good. Our waitress Bianca was at our table within the next few minutes asked for our drink orders and answered a few questions we had about some of the food on the menu. We gave her our food orders. She gave us updates on our food and brought us refills on our drinks without having to ask. After our food was served she would check on us to make sure everything was good. She was so pleasant and had a smile on her face. Had great service and would come back again. My daughter said she needs to be the employee of the month and this is coming from a 13 year old and I agree. The owners need to make Bianca employee of the month. Thank you for the great service.

We had about 40 people in the upstairs room with a beautiful view! Michelle and Alexis were our servers and they were wonderful! I definitely recommend this place for the service, atmosphere and food!

The service these two provided upstairs today was a 10!

Good place for a bite on the water. Check out their specials.

always love coming here with my family great food and drinks!

Fantastic place, great food and service!!

Puddle Jumpers did not disappoint for sure!! Amazing food. We went in on a Monday early evening. The specials for the evening were 50% off burgers and 25% off drinks. We got the best burgers I have had for like $8.50. Burger was cooked and seasoned perfect. We also got the pork rinds and Maui bites-also amazing. The amount of food served was huge portions They were offering various specials throughout the week. This is a must try restaurant if in the Lake Dora area.

One of the best burgers ever! It was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Great place for a visit with an old friend.

Fun place to stop. Food was hot and good. Even though they were busy service was attentive from everyone. New favorite place to hang out watch some sea planes.

my husband and i went to Puddle Jumpers Sunday June 30th around 11:45 this was our first time and it will be my last we sat at the bar the bartender she never acknowledged us finally i asked if there was a bar upstairs she said they had to setup,still did not ask if we wanted a drink,i asked for a menu she gaves us one still did not ask if we wanted something to drink a gentlemen sat down beside me he wanted to order a drink she started to walk away he said can i order a drink she never acknowledged him either i said to him i guess not i said to the gentlemen she has a personality of a TADPOLE!!!!!! My husband and left i wish i got her name she needs a class in customer service and needs to get a personality

Great food, service was awesome, nice clean restaurant. Will definitely stip here again!

Good food with friends. Service and food was as great.

Good food and friendly service.

The Fish and Fries is excellent !

I had the Mahi tuna and grilled shrimp tacos....YUMMY! My husband had the pj sweet and spicy wings. They were tasty and not hot. Great atmosphere and beautiful view

Beautiful spot near the lake. Eat outdoors to enjoy the view if you can.

Awesome food, great portions and excellent service! Highly recommended this jewel right on Lake Dora.

What a great place to go, The food was good The staff were awesome The airplane motif is great

Nice place a little expensive, but I guess everyone is.

Great place to chill by the water. Good food good people

My husband and I love to eat by the water. This place is great for this, but more importantly, we heard that they had lobster bisque. Being from New England, it's really hard to find a good lobster bisque. The ones we received here were the best we have had in nearly 3 years. Topped with cream and Sherry, and priced very reasonably. Upon the suggestion of our server, Sandy, we ordered the Pitadilla appetizer. It's like a quesadilla but made with pita bread. This was stuffed with tender chicken, as well. We highly recommend it and don't forget to top it off with a Mimosa or Spanish Sangria!!

Good food and amazing service with a view of the seaplane port. Great place to grab a bite and a beer.

Good service . Great environment

Love dining on the lake also it has an aircraft parking for waterlines and boats.

My waitress was great. The big issue is understaffed for the number of patrons. Makes it hard to make everyone happy.

We had the Diablo Burger with a big grilled jalapeno on top. Delicious!

Me: We went to Puddle Jumpers. Every single person within earshot, in unison: DID YOU GET THE ONION RINGS??

Puddle Jumpers Lakeside Grill & Bar did a wonderful job making a private family event memorable and special for us! I wish I could give more than 5 stars. Jon and his team were with us each step of the way from answering initial questions promptly, showing us the venue space (although we live locally and dine there frequently), accommodating our load-in schedule, confirming the menu and drink arrangements which were priced well for the great value received and even listening to sound check with the most supportive event team members to ensure all went smoothly. We have visited with Brandi, Alexis and Sandy over the years, and were truly impressed with their level of care and service for our event. Brandi went out of her way to ensure all went as planned and has always been so kind and professional. Sandy did a fantastic job and is so pleasant, supportive and efficient. Alexis is excellent and so personable and professional. We cannot say enough positive things about our experience. This was a very important event for our family and guests and it was handled perfectly from our perspective. The food was excellent and there were lots of selections for different nutritional preferences. Our guests had a fabulous time, and we could not have done it without Jon, Brandi, Alexis and Sandy! What a great team. They even coordinated with team members not assisting with our event to help us achieve the best results with regard to our videographer and performance. We are most grateful and highly recommend this event space and team!

Used to love this place, BUT when I saw a server deliver food for a patron who turned right around and placed the plates on the ground for his dogs to eat off of😳, I was done. I LOVE DOGS, but I would not bring mine to a dining establishment and think it's ok to let them eat off of the plates. It's one thing to let patrons bring their dogs to a dining establishment with outdoor seating, but to let them eat off of plates that other patrons will use, is unacceptable.

Great place. Food was superb. Server was fantastic. Host was not very friendly. Loved the view. We got the high flying onion rings. Best onion rings I have had in a very long time. Mahi Bite basket was super. Lots of fish.

Lame compared to the other bars in the area. Not directly on the water. Patio is fenced in so you have to walk through the restaurant. Wierd. Food took a long time and wasn't very good. Service was extremely slow. 🐌

Great food, server was very friendly and attentive. We'll definitely go back! The Shrimp, fish and margaritas were delicious!

Everything I'm experiencing now is special to me

First time here and I plan to go back, and the food was marvelous. I said on the back patio and watch the seaplanes come in.

The food was great as usual but we had to wait a long time again to place our order.

Fish was ok. Fries were undercooked and barely warm. Good atmosphere. Great service.

Hostess was so rude right when you entered the door. Bad attitude about how they couldn't sit us right away and we weren't even in a rush. She was already arguing with the customers previous to us and once she "greeted" us it was rude and condescending. If you don't like your job, then quit but don't treat the customers badly when we didn't do anything to you.

Excellent Burgers, and service was great.

Food was good and service was good, but there was a mixup and our one hamburger order arrived later than other orders. Waitress was kind and apologetic.

Nothing good to say.....but the view. There are many other places here for that!!

Great wings and wonderful service

Sunday 4/21/24 A riding group of 25 of us had the up stairs and a delightful server. Alexis V was great and handled all of us wonderfully. The only hiccup had the whole time was a warm soup- way to go and amazing job Alexis!! N

Cold beer, great food and great location.

Best tacos I've ever had! Friendly staff, great service

Great Food! Service is excellent and we love the atmosphere!

This is our new go to place. We went to Tiki West and we never were waited on after 12 minutes. So we decided to leave and give Puddle Jumpers a try. We were very happy.

The food and service was excellent 👌

You want to be outside in this restaurant

Great Atmosphere Good Food Wonderful Service

great place to hang out ,great food and atmosphere. Enjoyed watching a few planes take off from the water. location is wonderful'

Sat for over 45 minutes waiting for lunch and it wasn’t lunch time. Not cool. Server was not attentive. Food was good but not worth that wait.

The one thing that keeps me coming back to this place is Cynthia. She is amazing. So full of personality and experience. I am convinced she could serve that place blindfolded. I’ve been coming for years. The food is getting so boring. I will however always the sweet and Spicy Tacos. Which of course I was recommended by Cynthia. I always get a side of Pork Ri da because where else has homemade ?

We have been there 3 or 4 times and always have a good meal.

View is wonderful! Service was ok, they were extremely busy but we weren’t in a hurry. Because it was a Friday, had to have the special of fish and chips. All was good. Was fun watching the sea planes land and take off!,

The server, Tyra, was amazing. She provided some suggestions on our order. The food was very good with lots of flavor. The view of the lake from the inside dining area was an added bonus.

Great food , service was excellent and our group of 6 had a great time

I love go to bingo on Thursday nights but the food has become not good and not having dessert the one they have is very dry and not good

What a great town, met mayor who was extremely outgoing and enthusiastic about Tavares city, definitely going back

I was disappointed by this place. Hostess grudgingly gave us a table outside in the sun. Tables and chairs needed a clean.Waitress was very slow, even though she got an assist from another waitress. Margaritas were great, burgers just average. Only one stall restroom for a large establishment.

Try to drop by Puddle Jumpers whenever in the area. If you get the chance, you won’t be disappointed. Ask for Tyra as your waitress. She’s definitely another reason to stop in.

Great Location, Great Service , Super Nice atmosphere, Friendly , - Food is rubbish - needs a chef and some ideas - could be easily be amazing with a menu change and some quality food choices

We sat inside due to windy weather, but there were a lot of people outside. Our server actually told us that she forgot about us. The atmosphere inside seems dark and drab, but since we sat by the large window, we could look outside. Our food was very good, he had fish tacos and I had fish and chips. My husband mentioned again a week later how good his meal was there. We have been here several times.

Enjoyed the food and loved the lake view! If you like Mozzarella Sticks you’ll enjoy the Half Moons appetizer and the Onion Rings and sauce were delish! Definitely will be back and get more than just appetizers!

Had the tower of onion rings and was disappointed, literally 1/2 the size of what's advertised on Facebook etc...Don't waste your money as an appetizer.

Nice lake view with seaplanes landing and taking off under the canopy outside. Salad with teriyaki chicken was ok. Crab cakes were really good as an appetizer.

Worst service I had!! They won’t check on you won’t ask about your service worst place on Tavares to be.

Wings burnt. Fried Mahi plain and weird texture. Bad service. No refills. Gave us wrong items as well. Fried mozzarella and pretzels with beer cheese excellent!

Both and Service were Top Notch! The atmosphere was relaxing, sea planes taking off and landing throughout our visit...

Overlooking the lake and watching planes taking off and landing on the lake. Great atmosphere, good food , inside and outside seating.

I am so glad this was not our first time here. They need to hire more servers and apparently cooks! Amy, our server, was fantastic. They need to hire more folks like her, but she was run ragged on a Wednesday at 2pm in the afternoon! It took a long time to get anyone to even come to our table for drinks, but once Amy got to us, things were fairly smooth. The food here is excellent, everything made here, but my soup was immediately followed by my tacos. Soup, lobster bisque, was delicious but lukewarm! Had to send it back for reheating. Definitely give this place a try. The atmosphere/view is awesome of Lake Dora and the seaplane. Maybe they will hire more cooks and servers to have things run more swiftly and smoothly.

Wasn't a huge fan of the crab cakes but she was nice enough to removed them from my bill after seeing i took one bite.

Excellent time with outdoor seating overlooking Lake Dora. Service could have been better. The best thing about this restaurant is the view.

Four friends from New York loved the food and especially our waitress Sandy. Great friends and a gorgeous waitress.

I wish I could leave a better review because the food is good! But I went yesterday for a birthday dinner with friends and the toilet in the men’s room was overflowing with human waste, The urinal was also overflowing and the floor was soaked. We told three people and they just didn’t care. And they wouldn’t clean it up. The food is good but I don’t feel comfortable going there anymore because of the mess. If you go, beware!

The food wasn't anything that you've never seen before, but everything was tweaked slightly to make the dishes unique. My wife and I shared the nachos which were a nice surprise with the home made chips instead of tortilla chips. Enjoyed them far more than I expected to. Then my wife had the Gosh Jam It Burger which was simply incredible. Can't go wrong with caramelized onions and bacon jam. I had the jalapeno toast BLT and it was also amazing. 10/10 experience and our waiter was great.

Maybe we went on a bad day,but the salad was warm and the lobster bisque was not tasty at all and a little cold. The server was friendly and the location fantastic.

Unfortunately, the fact that you can smoke cigarettes on this patio with children.... at a RESTURANT. Where people are eating food... completely killed this entire experience for me. Never coming back.

Good service and food I love jukebox bingo On thursday nights

Beautiful town and I'll be back

My husband and I come fairly often, and our favorite thing to get has been the Asian sesame shrimp bowl. However, they've suddenly decided that loads of corn in the pilaf make it better, when in actuality it makes it very unappealing! Another issue we have is being ignored for a good while when you're standing by the door hoping to be seated when they aren't even that busy. This has happened a few times, and customers should at least be acknowledged when they come in regardless of whether they can be seated immediately or not. The view is great, so hopefully they can get the other issues sorted out so they don't lose customers.

They recently discontinued the sweet potato tots & replaced them with sweet potato waffles. I was concerned that the waffles would be overcooked & dried out but decided to chance it. They were overcooked & dried out. I don't know why they discontinued the tots. It's harder to dry out a thicker tot, IMHO. I won't be getting the waffles again. The sangria and (house) draft beer (small mug) were overpriced ($10 & $5.39). The burgers were very good, though. Service (Sandra L.) was also very good.

Kelbi was a breath of fresh air .

Breeze off the lake. Good food, good service, and visiting friends.

I ordered the Cajun chicken sandwich and it was delicious. Melissa was very courteous and attentive, I came with a large group and she was completely on top of everything. 10/10 recommendate

This was my family and my first time attending puddle jumpers the food was great. I got the crab cakes and Mahi bite which both were prepared with excellence and the service was great I definitely can’t wait to come back!!!

Good food , good price , good parking , will return.

Puddle Jumper is a very relaxed place for friends and family to gather in the warmth of the Florida winter, or anytime for that matter. We were there for an afternoon lunch with family members from around the country. It is literally situated across some old railroad tracks from the Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) on Lake Dora in Tavares, Florida. If you are an Aviation Nut. This is the place for you. You can get up close and personal with the seaplanes and their pilots. Seaplane sightseeing tours are available as well. The restaurant staff was very friendly and eager to please. Our server was SUPER friendly and very patient with our party of seven. She had a great smile too! As for the food, I ordered the turkey sandwich. It was very well prepared. The tomato slice tasted like it was home grown. The same for the lettuce. It was an excellent choice. As for the onion rings and other deep fried selections, not so much. Thus the 3 star rating. The grease made the rings glisten in the sun. Not very appetizing. Nevertheless, I encourage everyone to give the restaurant a try. Maybe this was a one time fluke. Enjoy!!

We really enjoyed lunch. It was our first time visit with friends from out of state.. It was fun to watch the planes come in and takeoff. The food was really good . And the brown sugar cake was good but very sweet would highly recommend this restaurant and we will be back.

Great food, service was a bit slow but they were understaffed for the amount of people there. It's a nice location on the shore of Lake Dora.