Linger Lodge Restaurant & Bar

“My family and I are in Bradenton for a softball tournament, and my dad found this restaurant so we decided to eat here. As soon as you walk in, there’s kind workers greeting you, and there’s taxidermied animals covering walls and display cases. The atmosphere alone was lively and exciting. I would recommend sitting outside, there is a great view of the scenic riverfront ambiance. Although, the food was subpar. The blackened shrimp was delicious. But, the gumbo was closer to a manhattan style chowder (tomato base) than a gumbo, it was tomato based and gumbo shouldn’t be tomato based. The ceaser salad had a funky flavor, that none of us really liked. There was a scavenger hunt on the kids menu, you had to go inside and look along the walls for certain animals, it was fun and playful for kids. After finishing it, show it to a server and you’ll get a prize from a treasure chest. Overall, the experience, history, and atmosphere were superb, but the food was mediocre.”

“We arrived as a group of 15 people at 4:40. Our server was Kim and she was fantastic. She was very attentive to our group and was polite and just a fun lady. Our salad arrived at 5:17 and it was very fresh and tasted great. My hamburger arrived at 5:27 and it was cooked perfectly and had great flavor. The fries were cooked to perfection and had just the right amount of salt. The brioche bun was excellent. The hush puppies someone had ordered I tried one and it was dry and had no flavor, they took them back and brought us some that was much better. Kim was great if I hadn’t said it enough. She was taking care of another huge group and did a fantastic job for everyone. The baked caramel flange was pretty dang good. Will I go back? Yes I will.”

“We found this place through our Air Bnb and im so happy they told us to come here. This is the classic old florida restaurant vibes but with the great food to go with it. The atmosphere is amazing and everywhere you look is something weird or peculiar. I wanna go back now just so I can look around more. But as for the food, I got the gator dinner(fried) and this has and probably will be the best gator I've ever had. You'd think its easy to make fried gator good but so many dry it out and make it bland but these were juicy and flavorful and the fries were great as well. We were so full we couldn't touch any appetizers or desserts but they looked amazing from other tables. The servers were very welcoming and treated us like family practically unlike a lot of other chain restaurants that claim to do so. This restaurant is a must go on your road trip or dinner plans or even make it the road trip 🤣”

“Dined here for lunch with my wife on 3 February, 2026 on our way home from a medical appointment in Tampa. Had been wanting to come here for quite some time (several years), and the opportunity finally presented itself. Essentially, it's an old hunting lodge "cook house" with a very authentic and rustic atmosphere inside. It dates back to the late 1940s when this place was literally out in the boonies and in the thick of a live oak shaded wilderness. There are tons of amateur taxidermist mounts inside the main lodge dining room that include at least 15 very large Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, possums, a coyote, a giant 10 foot gator, a wild turkey, a bobcat, and I think I even saw a fox too. Apparently it was a "shoot, skin, dress and cook" hunters' lodge when it first opened. Since about the early 1990s, it's been encroached upon by a large ranchette - style acreage-homed subdivision that you have to wend your way through the streets of to get here from the SR-70 exit off of I-75. Once you get close to the lodge, you'll also see there is a relatively new and somewhat crowded RV park that does not have any spaces with trees or shade. Fortunately this RV park lies on the front side of the Lodge, so it doesn't despoil the view of the Braden River out back of it. There is no "this way to the Lodge" signage to guide you here through the residential area, so you'll need your GPS and the address from Google Maps to get here unless you are a local and are familiar with all of the winding roads in this now, heavily built-out residential area. You can, however, get here directly from SE Bradenton via the two-lane Linger Lodge Road, which used to be the only way in an out of this area. The lodge building sits on a high bank overlooking the Braden River, which is only about as wide as a large creek here (maybe 25-30 yards wide here). It has a nice outdoor screened-in patio deck with a pleasant and serene view of the river and quite a few outside tables. Inside, there is a large dining room with about 15 tables as well. There is also a landing dock out back, and you could probably get here by putting up the Braden river in a shallow-draft pontoon boat, flats boat, or jon boat. There is also a good-sized indoor bar in the SW Corner of the lodge building that provides access to the outside deck via a set of french double doors. We arrived here right at opening time (11:30 am), so we were seated by the friendly hostess immediately. Our server Sergio was there to take our drink order within one minute, and was also quick to return with the drinks to take our food order, and then deliver it within 15 minutes. We both had the Pit Smoked Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches, and while a bit pricey at $20 each, were a good sized portion and tasted delicious. We probably could have shared on sandwich, as we were stuffed when we finished. I'm not sure we'll dine here again, but that's only because it's a 45-mile drive north of our home and through heavy traffic congestion, but I will say that if you are visiting the east Sarasota area out near the University Mall, Lakewood Ranch, or anywhere in East Bradenton, it's definitely worth a stop in for lunch or a sunset time supper to check out the authentically rustic inside and outdoor atmosphere and enjoy some of their made-fresh and delicious pulled pork BBQ.

“Tried the gator burger. Its flavour was similar to pork with Donair spice. Only had 1 to 2 chewy bits, no different than a rough piece of steak. I would order again”

“Different? Yes, for sure. A bit pricey but WELL worth it. Surrounded by a travel trailer park on one side and the Braden River and OLD FLORIDA on the other. Loved it. I mentioned to our server that the gator bites were too small to suit me yet tasty. Loved the frog legs, Catfish too was flavorful. Our first visit, almost locals, we will LINGER here again. Dang that's a big gator mount and many other fun to see displays. Great server too.”