How great we feel every time we are here at The Gator Club! If you visit our town and want to be part of Sarasota nightlife you cant miss this club. The atmosphere is a lot of fun. Not just the live bands downstairs always play great music but also upstairs the DJ. Great drinks! Always a good vibe and everyone is very welcoming.

We went there yesterday for happy hour. The drink prices were reasonable and our bartender (German gal) was awesome and mixed some pretty good drinks. . We plan to adventure back in the near future.

The bartender (young brunette lady) forgot I gave her my card to start a tab.. calls me out in front of dozens of people singling me out to follow her to the bar only for her to realize she misplaced my debit card. How embarrassing that was. I never felt so ashamed and I finished my beer and left immediately. Didn’t apologize or anything she was very rude and nasty. Never going back to the gator club. I was so ashamed Made me look like a fool in front of so many people. Paying customer treated like I was stealing. Pathetic.

Security is rude. Kicked us out IMMEDIATELY after we arrived because someone from our party was too drunk but had not even had a drink before we arrived. Dragged my friend down the stairs for no reason. If you want to have a good time, do not come here. Period.

Its a pretty cool place

I love this place but why cant they update their website? Their latest tweets are from 2016...

I was hanging out with a buddy of mine and he wasn’t allowed in because he had his foreign ID .. I’ve been here w several other tourist friends before and never had this happen.. very odd thing

Amazing staff, owner and location.

Well, Ive never been here. But from a having a career in management there is enough reviews here to warrant a possible change.It seems there is an overwhelming common denominator regarding your security. The worst thing you can do is not listen to your customers. There is a reason why all these fortune 500 companies spend millions on reviews and feedback. Good luck.I had to give a star indicator to write any kind of message. I dont know if you warrant 3 stars...I just think comments about security is telling.

Have never been to the Gator Club as a customer, however have been planning to go for a while now. Two nights ago my girlfriend and I were playing Pokémon Go downtown and were asked by a man for money. When we said no he began following us. As I’ve lived in a city before, I know how important it is to be able to read your surroundings and react accordingly. I pulled my girlfriend into the Gator Club and watched as the strange man rounded the corner and stayed there. I informed the bouncer of what was going on and he went above and beyond to walk us out of the establishment and stand guard until the man saw him and walked back the way that he came. I made sure to wish he bouncer a good night and we took a short walk to our car. Had it not been for the bouncer I’m certain that we would’ve been mugged. This was on Tuesday night. I can say that the Gator Club just gained two customers and I feel incredibly safe there. Thank you for looking out for the ladies downtown and we will DEFINITELY be back soon!

Had an amazing night here celebrating NYE. The staff are accommodating and will spark a conversation with you (when they’re not so busy. After reading all the bad reviews about security, I would like to point out that the security are NOT there to be your buddy. They are there to keep people safe and I think they do a fantastic job. In the world of bars, you have to except trouble when you’re surrounding by drunk people and some, that clearly drink too much and can’t handle it. This is not the bars fault and after being a randomly attacked by a very drunk man, for no reason... it was a pleasure to see them act immediately, professionally and calm. If it wasn’t for you guys being so responsive, it could have gone a very different way and for that I am forever grateful. Everyone makes mistakes, we’re only human and if you get penalised for something, even if you are not in the wrong there is always a reason and I believe that it’s how you behave towards the staff, will reflect on their behaviour to you.Bartenders Fantasia and friendly, lovely venue with comfy seats and a smoking are up stairs (inside). Drinks are averagely priced, great music and a great vibe. Don’t be out off by the bad reviews, you can’t please everyone and I can only imagine how hard their job must be. Keep it guys, we will back! Thank you!

I cant stand to go to a club and have to breath cigarette smoke. That is the case here and it is the only one around that still allows smoking inside. Besides being unhealthy, the place stinks from the smoke! Continued...Since I cant respond to the owners response, I can only edit mine. I have only reviewed on 3 sites but at your request, I will go to all the others. And as you know, the real problem is with your staff not keeping the rules you state you have about smoking. And you would rather keep your staff happy than your customers. Poor way to run a business!

If you are looking for a place to go on a Saturday night look no further. If Johnny diamonds playing you’ll have one of the best bands around.

The gator club had wonderful employees! Jay, Jason, & Jessie! They were the best! Highly recommend this bar for a goodnight out in downtown Sarasota, FL

What a fun bar to visit while in Sarasota! We went with a group of friends on a Saturday night and they had a live band playing 90s/early 2000s sing alongs. It was a blast. The drinks were very reasonable and service was quick enough for a packed bar!

A must stop for me whenever I’m in Sarasota! Drinks are stiff. Bartenders are friendly and there are great bands on the weekends!

Great place for dancing, cocktails and live music. The only problem is they allow smoking inside. You leave smelling like smoke and are exposed to 2nd hand cigarette smoke. I want to have fun not die of lung cancer. Send the smokers outside !!!!!

I was denied entrance because my ID wasn’t from the “USA” ? I guess tourist aren’t welcome here..

Ive been going here for a few months now and every time i walk in its always so pleasant to be greeted by the staff. Its nice to decide whether you want to hear a live band play downstairs or if you go upstairs you can see a DJ playing. Drinks are always good and tasty.

Always a fun night out. Good music.Update 1 year later: Discovered they have reggae night on Thursday’s with an amazing live band. Usually I’ll go on weekends and they have two floors to choose from with different music. But Thursday was really fun too!Plus, someone accidentally bumped into me and spilled my beer....not even 5 minutes later the security brought me a new one. You can’t bear the service here and the people that come are always nice too. (A more mature crowd) Definitely recommend.

Super sketch crowd and weird bartenders. Smokey, unfriendly and the blonde bartender CANNOT do math. Watch your check / change. Will not go back. Lots of other places around to get a drink.

Security here is extremely over the top. As someone whos bounced before its extremely unprofessional to try to watch anyone use the bathroom between the deviders reguardless of the circumstance. Then again maybe some of your security is on the down low. Wont ever be back. Keep your 5 bucks or 10 whatever the cover is go to smokin joes down the road security wont stare at you while you relieve yourself

Absolutely rude security!!Treat people without any respect.there is constructing going on at Main Street and we were not sure from which side we‘re able to enter the location because there was no clear signage(sign was down)Started yelling at us and pointing with finger on our group!Thanks!there are many more opportunities to have a beer with friendlier stuff!

Whats not to love?

Or public safety. Reference to your sign

The bartenders at Gators will steal your heart. Quality bar run by even better people. Its worth your time.

Great place, a lot of fun. I think the bouncers should take a chill pill though and not get violent with people. In three occasions I’ve witnessed them overreact and even hurt people. I’d suggest management to encourage staff to start treating people with more respect. Most people are actually really nice, they should start assuming that everybody is nice, more likely than not, that’s going to be the right move.

Love the bar and the atmosphere, although it could be better with friendlier staff especially the door guys. Seems like they are looking for trouble and try to intimidate, very rude.

If you like a place with horrible service, smokey, dirty, sticky with a bunch of aggressive steroided out bouncers than this place is for you. The place was nice in the early 90s. A complete dump today. Needs a complete makeover and an entire new staff.

Overzealous bouncers for no reason whom solicite fights but are afraid to do anything off the property. A tiny bartender whom took advantage of my forethought to not want charges pressed against me even though I was the one being assualted and lies fabricated about. A cocktail waitress whom lies and instigates but also gets naked at parties which would have been fun and all if we werent dating and I asked her not to ahead of time since I knew there were butt fiends afoot. Manager whom acts nice to your face and has no inclination of finding out the truth of what happens and why at her establishment. Negative stars if possible but unfortunately I cannot. I will not support this establishment and many people are doing the same.UPDATE: I expected no less than your lame reply. Remember how you praised me for doing the right thing and allowing us to speak first which you seemed so appreciative of but yet went against your own word and have employees that are fakes and liars whom youd rather support than the people doing things proper in your community. Good luck with that. Take care yourself.

First time there and the owner gave me free admission for life i love it

My best friends band play here all the time and I just about got thrown put by the bouncer by the stage for saying hi...also the bar tenders are completely rude and morons. Wont switch the games up on TV and have no idea what a drink is. Fun but not worth the trip

One of the best live music clubs in downtown Sarasota. The Daisy Dukes Band plays here once a month and the place is super fun when they are here. The place has two bars and a live music stage on the main level, with TVs for watching the games. There are 2 more bars on the upper level with a dance room and a billiards room. Its conveniently located on Downtowns Main St., and theres a parking garage across the street.

ALL RIGHT JEALOUS MEN MY BAD LADIES HMMM RIGHT

Jamie is absolutely wonderful and Jenny at the bar always greets you with a smile. Great Atmosphere

Be aware. Bouncers are very aggressive here for absolutely no reason and for people half there size. I have video of them throwing my friend down the stairs almost breaking his neck. They are lucky I don’t take this further and he is fine. Won’t be returning anytime soon along with the others I was with.

Its a Great Night Life Experience and Definitely a Great Multiracial Downtown Night Life Experience and should be taken into consideration by many other nightclubs nationwide

Always a pleasure.I dont visit at night much....have to get up early for work.Never had a bad experience there.Definitely a must see venue when visiting downtown Sarasota

They have cherryoki on Wednesday night and I sang for the upstairs ( She Talks To Angels) all around great place!!!

Nice place to dance. ....clean as well as spacious dance floor space.GO upstairs and play some pool and grab a cocktail.Downtown Sarasota is fairly safe ......cops all over the place.Dont drive take a cab. UBER!!Pretty much the only nightlife thing to do in Sarasota.Note: Warning !! DANGER!!I HAVE BEEN GOING TO GATORS FOR YEARS DURING THE MONTH OF MAY .I HAVE A timeshare in the area.For some reason people over drink and the night air is warm.Well.... people have a tendency to fall going out the door of GATORS.I have witness several injuries of people falling on the side walk from tripping on the steps of Gators.Why doesnt this get corrected???Way to many unnecessary inquiries.

Place is ok, but we encountered extremely poor customer service here. Bartender mixed up cards and got tabs wrong. On top of openly refusing to help (sayd she was sure its not her fault), her cursing at customers seemed to not bother the other staff. She asked security to take us out (and they did) without even willing to double check her work.We ended up talking to a manager in the morning and resolving the problem. The crowd isnt bad but Id avoid any further head aches with this bar.

Great! I will definitely go back!

Great place to hear live music & have drinks and a fun time.

Decent night club.. Kind of small though. Has upstairs d.js and live bands down stairs. Gets pretty crowded by 11:30pm. But definitely Worth a night out if the band or DJ is good!

Every single time Im in town this is where I go! Downstairs they often have live music, upstairs they have karaoke (some nights) and pool. Absolutely love this place.

The location, area, and establishment along with staff are lovely, inviting and pleasant. The drinks are reasonably priced and delicious Matt makes awesome drinks! THANK YOU. The DJ however, on Sat 6/3 was HORRIBLE! He played the same songs over & over. (you should not here a song more than once on a blend.) He did not even flow from one to the next. I could have connected my phone and played Pandora w/ads and it would have been a HIT!.

We where looking for live music, preferably salsa or merengue. But we found a live Jamaican band instead. Perfect! The server was very friendly and hospitable. We danced like we havent danced in a long time! I do have pictures on my phone, maybe ill upload them when I have more time.. Great place for a night out in Sarasota!

I am somewhat of a regular weekender at The Gator Club and I have only good things to say about the place! The staff is very courteous and friendly, the location is easy to access with ample parking to the back of the building and the building itself although old and historic, has a character of its own. They have such a wide variety of music going on their and the age ranges from 21-71! I know that you cant make everyone happy but the place is always packed and people always seem to enjoy themselves there!I highly recommend The Gator Club! See you there!

Great sounds with their free reggae night.

After having a wonderful sit down discussion today with the owner about the attitude of one of their doormen last night, I got to know him, and Im glad I did. He took almost a whole 2 hours out of his day to make me feel welcome at this establishment. However awful I was treated by an employee clearly did not reflect the amount of respect the ownership/management have for Veterans/the disabled!! Family owned and operated, it used to be an old brothel. The upstairs features a DJ at night in the midst of beautiful woodwork and every kind of whiskey imaginable, they have the largest selection in Sarasota. The downstairs features a stage with a large bar and a smaller one by the door. It is where they have live music, perfect for dancing! All things considered it is a very nice place. The reason I gave it 4 stars was the attitude of that one employee as I said above but, dont let one bad apple spoil the tree.

Good atmosphere. Good drink prices. Excellent live bands.

This is one of the most unique places to go in sarasota. Everyone is always nice and service is fast. They do have a dress code and entertainment is great. This is a plea you for sure want to go to. Bartenders are hot and security guys are big bald and beautiful.

From the sounds of it.. the Gator Club has gone down hill now that Ernie Ritz doesnt owned it!! Very sad to here.. it was a awesome place to go and grow up when he was the owner. It was always clean, good service, and the owner cared! I was proud to send people to the Gator club whom were visiting Sarasota.. I guess Ill send them elsewhere. SMH

Great place to have a good time. Always a good selection of music and the upstairs is where it really gets going!

Exterior can be seen in movie Greatest Show On Eath in the parade scene going thru town. Historical place. Interesting interior downstairs. Wife and I met here. If you havent been, drop in at least once.

Very rude management and security.

This place is perfect. Downstairs is a bar and the dance floor with some seating. Upstairs has low lighting with comfortable lounging areas, a tv, a second bar, and an overall quiet atmosphere where you can still hear the live music downstairs. It has something for everyone here, without being too overcrowded.

Do you have to be 21 to get in?

Great Service And Great Live Music

Great bartenders great prices, these two guys stole drinks I tried to tip the bartender as much as I could cause I felt bad she was a nice girl. An to do a good deed like that an be treated absolutely HORRIBLE BY SECURITY when a women told me to leave a spot that no one was sitting in cause she claims I was stealing her spot light an when I refused to leave cause I was waiting on a friend she threw a drink in my face this security guard gave me two sprained wrists a hematoma in each wrists an when I tried to grab my money off the floor he punches my sister in the back several times as shes trying to get my phone off the ground keep in mind this guy is 4x times our size my sister is 54 an as he comes back over to me to remove me from the club as Im trying tell him he pulled my top down he pushes me so hard the downtown side walks are huge an I still landed in the street with my breasts exposed GREAT place SECURITY IS COMPLETY HORRIBLE AN DOES NOT MAKE THIS PLACE FEEL SAFE AN ABUSE OF POWER EMBARRASED FOR YOU HOW YOU GUYS MADE THE ESTABLISHMENT LOOK SECURTY GUARD BEING EXTREMELY FORCEFULLY NEEDS TO BE FIRED HE IS THE WHITE BALLED ONE VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED WILL BE POSTING PICS

Great place for live music and drinks

If I could break this rating down into two floors down I would...2nd floor is poppin and the 1st floor is just kinda there

Live music. Full of people. Great comfort!! 8 dollars a drink.

Its a great place.

The music selection is very poor and lacking. I dont enjoy the live bands that perform downstairs and the DJs that perform upstairs really stink. Not a wide variety of females to socialize with here, so if youre into women with different shapes and sizes its slim pickings.The only thing I like about this club are the drink prices, and the great location with plenty of parking spaces. Unless this club figures out a way to broaden its customer base more diversely, I dont recommend coming here.

Fun place to dance. Live bands downstairs and a dj upstairs. Can be quite hot on crowded weekends and bathrooms are tiny. Drinks are reasonable.

The Gator Club has it all. Friendly service, great live entertainment, reasonably priced drinks, great mixture of younger and older crowds, and to top it off, this two-story bar has the delightful aesthetic of an early 20th century saloon... mostly because, it was an early 20th century saloon, established 1913. If you have the opportunity, visit the upstairs bar, play a game of pool, then relax on a chaise lounge with a cocktail. Definitely bring a friend along, if you can, to share the experience.

Great live music

Ive been here twice. Very interesting place. On the weekends, the night is full of bands on the 1st floor and a DJ on the 2nd floor. Im not one for DJs, but the place was packed and would be perfect for anyone who does! I havent seen the game area, but I hear theres billiards and such. They have music all week, or at least every time Ive gone by. Great place to relax, drink great beer, and meet new people during the week.

The atmstophere was real nice.it has two floors. Live band downstairs and DJ upstairs. Dj plays nice music to dance to but cuts it short while dancing. Some stuff he mixed was good and some stuff was ok. There is a $5.00 cover fee. But overall it was nice . security is all over the place too.

Hard to beat a Main Street Saturday lunch. The empanadas and fish tacos from the Farmers Market and The Gator Clubs wonderful Bloody Marys.

Love this historic venue. Great service, reasonable prices, magical vibe

Great place. The Staff are very professional. There are 2 floors for music. There is also a great variety of beer & liquor. I highly recommend. Fridays and Saturdays tend to be their busiest nights. Sunday to Saturday, down stairs, there are a variety of bands of varying genres of music that play, although for the most part they are pretty consistent with the line up day. Upstairs, where there is a pool table and bar and kind of reminds you of a 1950s penthouse or gentlemens club, there are sometimes events and on Fri & Sat there is a dj. Most of the djs are good, playing hip hop and EDM. Something for most.

We paid five bucks at the door and the place was empty drinks were over priced and the DJ upstairs was late and played a lot of house music, I thought I was at a drag show. I finished my drink and left feeling like I just got punked by Ashton kutcher. Save your outfit for a place thats jumping.

Love the place

This is a two-story bar. Downstairs is more of a rock Club and upstairs has just recently turned into a lounge with tables you can sit at as well as a pool table. They offer a full bar with specialty drinks but is a little pricey.

Great historic nightlife. Live music downstairs. Hip hop do upstairs.

Cool place. Poorly managed. Update* sent email as management requested. Still no response...

The best live music choice downtown, period. Downstairs is live music and upstairs and DJ dance music

Multiple areas with different types of music, usually a live band downstairs and dance music upstairs. Good Location.

Music, dancing, and pool. Band downstairs and a DJ upstairs. Monday and Tuesday open tables and no cover. As a local, I think this is the place to check out if youre new in town. Cover $5 after 9pm and it picks up by 10:30-11:00.

One of the best venues in downtown sarasota. Expect great live music and a excelent selection of whisky, wine and craft beers.

Historical building with a neat vibe in the heart of SRQ. Sit upstairs by the window and people watch.

Old house-style made into 2 story bar. Pool tables upstairs. Fair rock band. Not the friendliest atmosphere. Small, crowded and cramped. Gator is OK to stop for an over-priced drink ... but there are so many nicer places to go for a good time - I would not recommend. Previous poor reviews are correct - do not waste your time and $ at this old bordello. Bring your friends elsewhere.

I was there once and it was really nice. Want to see upstairs soon.

Great location, cool decor, reasonable prices.

Historical significance, part of the movie Palmetto with Woody Harelson was made there and great nightlife entertainment.

I was very disappointed in Gator Club management. Ive been to gator club several times, and had a very good experience till the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I lost my phone there, and when I called looking for it two days after the loss, the employee notified me they didn’t find any iPhones. The girl who answered the phone told me she would wait for a manager to open the safe where it could possibly be. Later they called me back saying there is not iPhone.A week later - thanks to the technology- I received a message on my new Iphone, that my lost phone was turned on and located at the specific address. I called police and filed the report. The officer went to the location, and guess who had my iPhone? It was a Gator Clubs owner. Police officer brought my phone back to my apartment, and told me the owner had my phone in her safe all this time, and decided to bring it home to charge it. Remember, they told me they didn’t have my phone. On the screen my lost phone had a message: “it is a lost phone, please call this.. number” The owner had never called that number. I just found it to be very suspicious.It is shameful for somebody to hurt reputation of a popular club in such a way.

Cool little bar with upstairs lounge as well

Cool feel friendly staff, drinks are too high to garnish 5 stars though.

Great bar great scotch very cool vibe

I know Imost of the people who work there including the owners it is a wonderful place to go and Rachel it was not a two story old house back in the day,it was a bordello

Always a great time good music and crowd.

I liked that there was an upstairs and downstairs. Upstairs was a DJ which is not for me, downstsirs was band which was awesome.

Dj kept us dancing, yummy drinks. Id go back!

Great drinks !! Guaranteed a great band downstairs !! Upstairs DJ are always great too !! I like the fact you can change it up with 2 levels music all in same building !! Been there a lot NEVER a bad time !!

Fun place at night with a huge variety of people

Great place to dance your ass off!!

Strong drinks, great bands!

Always An Awesome Time