Why a recommendation? Because I had a good meal there myself when I visited and it is also a place that gives artists, especially young musicians, the opportunity to perform. Good food and good music come together. It fits.
Keaton Lee
Overall dining here was just frustration after frustration.
We arrived and waiting next to the "please wait to be seated sign" before the person running the karaoke night said we could just sit anywhere we like. We then waited at least another 10min before anyone greeted us and gave us menus.
The food was a overpriced rip off. The assumption is that a "Stuffed" burger would be a pretty large meal. Instead when I received my $18 Hawaiian teriyaki burger, it was a single patty with 4 pineapple chunks in between two buns with a little very light coating of teriyaki sauce on the patty. It also came with a plain bag of chips. There was no lettuce, tomato, onion ect... If I'm paying $18 for a meal, I shouldn't have to depend on the rest of my party to share their meal so I can feel somewhat full.
Our waitress was pleasant, but up until our meal was almost finished, I didn't get a single refill on my drink. I suppose I could have made it a point to call her over and ask for another one, but that's not my job and that's basic hospitality. Instead, I got to eat my overpriced, dry burgers with nothing to drink to wash it down.
We also used the pool tables. Very clearly on the machine is says something like "Doesn't give change". That was understood so I figured that I would use a single dollar bill and two quarters (as a single game is $1.50) it took the dollar and then refused to take my quarters, so we just dumped another dollar in knowing we had a $0.50 credit towards the next game. When I asked if there was some different chalk (as there were small exploded chunks), the bartender made fun of me like I was some picky drama queen. When we got done with our first game, we of course put in another dollar so we could use our $0.50 credit, when we were almost done (we had something like 2 solids and 4 stripes left), some gal came over and very coldly told us that they were closing. We asked if we could finish the game and she snapped back that we had 5 mins.
Overall IMO unless you're looking for somewhere to get ripped off for overpriced food that will leave you hungry and to be treated like you don't matter and are a nuisance, I'd steer clear.
Go check out puddle jumpers next door. Sure they might not have all the yard games, but the food is the same price and will definitely will you up. Also I've never been to Puddle jumpers and received treatment like I did at the Dog house. Instead, everyone is always very nice and very attentive.
I won't be going back to the dog house if I have a say when making pur dinner plans.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Burger with a Side of Onion Rings
Carmencita Saldaña
Excellent customer service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
George Schmauch
The workers were friendly enough and the avocado toast was delicious, but the deviled eggs were a bit of a letdown. That's not the reason for the low rating, however.
What turned us off was that we called ahead to ask what time the kitchen closed that evening, since we didn't want to risk showing up right beforehand and be "those customers". We were told that the kitchen closed an hour before actual closing time, so we went there. We ordered some appetizers, enjoyed some drinks, and asked the bartender for the menu again to order a bit more. We were handed the menus, made our decisions, and asked to put in our order. That's when the bartender informed us the kitchen was already closed. This was an hour and a half before actual closing time and we couldn't have been looking at the menu for more than 5 or 10 minutes, max.
Now, maybe the person I spoke to on the phone made a mistake about the time the kitchen closes. Mistakes happen and we would've understood. But, combine that with the fact that the bartender never gave us a heads up that we needed to order fast, due to the kitchen closing soon and, suddenly, a minor mistake turns into a ticked off customer who won't return and writes a bad review on Google. Normally, we'd have stayed a while longer and had another round or two, but we were still hungry, so we asked for the check. When we got it, there was an extra drink on our tab, which also needed to be corrected. They apologized and said they probably accidentally hit the wrong button, which is certainly a possibility. However, with the other issues, it now appears more like a pattern. After the avocado toast, we had every intention of returning the next evening to have dinner and try some other food, but decided our money would be better spent elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
S Kayui
This was an absolute thrill to find. The food was great the best part is they love dogs .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jay
4-Star Review for The Tavares Dog House
Our first visit to The Tavares Dog House was a mix of highs and lows. Upon arriving, there was no clear direction on whether to wait or seat ourselves, and no one greeted us at the door. We ended up seating ourselves and waited for an employee to notice us. Eventually, Ryan came by to take our drink orders, though it seemed being a server wasn't his usual role. He mentioned he was new and wasn't very familiar with the menu.
Once we ordered, drinks came promptly, but it took about 15 minutes for our food to arrive, which wasn't baf even though the place wasn’t busy—just three dining tables and a few locals at the bar. The food itself was solid: the onion rings were crispy, the wings flavorful, and the burger, while only served well done, was still satisfying. It would’ve been nice to have the option for a medium-cooked burger.
The vibe picked up with karaoke and a cornhole setup, which added a fun touch to the atmosphere. Overall, it was an okay first experience. Despite a few service hiccups, we’ll definitely give this place another shot, as it seems to have potential.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Burger with a Side of Onion Rings, Wings
Annabelle Zinn
My server was bre and she is amazing! Very attentive and friendly. She made sure we all had refills
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Samson “ELEMENT” Cazeau
Great place great music live bands, family orientated great customer service nice place to come for a night out on the town
So, we came here for lunch today and their lunch menu is pretty limited. We left without ordering. We came back for dinner tonight. Today was our first time here.
The menu looks pretty good. The service is pretty slow. The atmosphere…. Eh. Literally everything is served on paper. Plastic disposable cups, paper plates, paper straws, plastic silverware.
And we happened to come here on Bingo night. Not a fan, but maybe you are.
The service is pretty slow, but the staff is friendly. We ordered several appetizers and a burger. The Caprese Salad was okay. So were the Brussels Sprouts and the Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño. Not horrible, but not great. Just okay.
I ordered the stuffed queso burger. It’s a pretty small burger for $18. The server asked my desired temp for the burger (I never volunteer a temp on burgers because almost no one can get it right). I replied, “medium”. I was just telling my date how overcooked my burger was, dry as could be and I don’t know why they ask for temp when their staff can’t cook it to temp. The waitress walked by just as I was showing how overcooked it was and said, we temp them all, but because of seasoning, they always look overcooked. Lol, okay.
Anyway, an $18 burger it was not.
Try Tiki West. The food is absolutely better and the service is at least as good. Same goes for Puddle Jumpers. Both within walking distance of The Doghouse.
It’s a pity. I really liked then menu, but the establishment can’t pull it off.
I visit Lake Dora a couple of times a year, and the only place I eat is The Dog House Sports Bar connected to the hotel Citrus on the lake; formerly, the Key West Resort Hotel. The waitresses and bartenders are fun, courteous, and do a great job taking care of their patrons. Payton, a female bartender, is the best and remembers all the crew by name when we return! The service, food, and bands are fantastic! This is a great place for a home away from home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
J Dad
Employees like Maddie and Cat make us want to return to the Doghouse in Tavares. Maddie the General Manager is totally customer oriented and welcomes everyone who comes through the door. Cat our server was always checking on us which we appreciated since it was busy. Lots of activities and totally kid-friendly!
Kid-friendliness: Lots of inside and outside activities for kids. Kids menu and on Thursday they can make their own pizza!.
We went to this place by just stumbling onto it and I have to say that the service there was unbelievable the waiter's name was Bobby I've never met such a personable waiter before in my life and the wings with their house dry rub was the best I've ever had and I eat a lot of wings it doesn't get much better than this I highly recommend it
Food: 5
Service: 5
Scott M
Awful food, terribly slow service, ridiculously loud inside room. We waited more than TWO HOURS for our food - drinks were constantly empty, the server was nowhere to be found, and once the food did arrive, the burgers were completely overcooked and tasted like nothing but burnt beef.
Do yourself a favor and go try Puddle Jumpers or one of the other close by restaurants - you'll thank me for saving your time and money!
Why a recommendation? Because I had a good meal there myself when I visited and it is also a place that gives artists, especially young musicians, the opportunity to perform. Good food and good music come together. It fits.
Overall dining here was just frustration after frustration.
We arrived and waiting next to the "please wait to be seated sign" before the person running the karaoke night said we could just sit anywhere we like. We then waited at least another 10min before anyone greeted us and gave us menus.
The food was a overpriced rip off. The assumption is that a "Stuffed" burger would be a pretty large meal. Instead when I received my $18 Hawaiian teriyaki burger, it was a single patty with 4 pineapple chunks in between two buns with a little very light coating of teriyaki sauce on the patty. It also came with a plain bag of chips. There was no lettuce, tomato, onion ect... If I'm paying $18 for a meal, I shouldn't have to depend on the rest of my party to share their meal so I can feel somewhat full.
Our waitress was pleasant, but up until our meal was almost finished, I didn't get a single refill on my drink. I suppose I could have made it a point to call her over and ask for another one, but that's not my job and that's basic hospitality. Instead, I got to eat my overpriced, dry burgers with nothing to drink to wash it down.
We also used the pool tables. Very clearly on the machine is says something like "Doesn't give change". That was understood so I figured that I would use a single dollar bill and two quarters (as a single game is $1.50) it took the dollar and then refused to take my quarters, so we just dumped another dollar in knowing we had a $0.50 credit towards the next game. When I asked if there was some different chalk (as there were small exploded chunks), the bartender made fun of me like I was some picky drama queen. When we got done with our first game, we of course put in another dollar so we could use our $0.50 credit, when we were almost done (we had something like 2 solids and 4 stripes left), some gal came over and very coldly told us that they were closing. We asked if we could finish the game and she snapped back that we had 5 mins.
Overall IMO unless you're looking for somewhere to get ripped off for overpriced food that will leave you hungry and to be treated like you don't matter and are a nuisance, I'd steer clear.
Go check out puddle jumpers next door. Sure they might not have all the yard games, but the food is the same price and will definitely will you up. Also I've never been to Puddle jumpers and received treatment like I did at the Dog house. Instead, everyone is always very nice and very attentive.
I won't be going back to the dog house if I have a say when making pur dinner plans.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Burger with a Side of Onion Rings
Excellent customer service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The workers were friendly enough and the avocado toast was delicious, but the deviled eggs were a bit of a letdown. That's not the reason for the low rating, however.
What turned us off was that we called ahead to ask what time the kitchen closed that evening, since we didn't want to risk showing up right beforehand and be "those customers". We were told that the kitchen closed an hour before actual closing time, so we went there. We ordered some appetizers, enjoyed some drinks, and asked the bartender for the menu again to order a bit more. We were handed the menus, made our decisions, and asked to put in our order. That's when the bartender informed us the kitchen was already closed. This was an hour and a half before actual closing time and we couldn't have been looking at the menu for more than 5 or 10 minutes, max.
Now, maybe the person I spoke to on the phone made a mistake about the time the kitchen closes. Mistakes happen and we would've understood. But, combine that with the fact that the bartender never gave us a heads up that we needed to order fast, due to the kitchen closing soon and, suddenly, a minor mistake turns into a ticked off customer who won't return and writes a bad review on Google. Normally, we'd have stayed a while longer and had another round or two, but we were still hungry, so we asked for the check. When we got it, there was an extra drink on our tab, which also needed to be corrected. They apologized and said they probably accidentally hit the wrong button, which is certainly a possibility. However, with the other issues, it now appears more like a pattern. After the avocado toast, we had every intention of returning the next evening to have dinner and try some other food, but decided our money would be better spent elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
This was an absolute thrill to find. The food was great the best part is they love dogs .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
4-Star Review for The Tavares Dog House
Our first visit to The Tavares Dog House was a mix of highs and lows. Upon arriving, there was no clear direction on whether to wait or seat ourselves, and no one greeted us at the door. We ended up seating ourselves and waited for an employee to notice us. Eventually, Ryan came by to take our drink orders, though it seemed being a server wasn't his usual role. He mentioned he was new and wasn't very familiar with the menu.
Once we ordered, drinks came promptly, but it took about 15 minutes for our food to arrive, which wasn't baf even though the place wasn’t busy—just three dining tables and a few locals at the bar. The food itself was solid: the onion rings were crispy, the wings flavorful, and the burger, while only served well done, was still satisfying. It would’ve been nice to have the option for a medium-cooked burger.
The vibe picked up with karaoke and a cornhole setup, which added a fun touch to the atmosphere. Overall, it was an okay first experience. Despite a few service hiccups, we’ll definitely give this place another shot, as it seems to have potential.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Burger with a Side of Onion Rings, Wings
My server was bre and she is amazing! Very attentive and friendly. She made sure we all had refills
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place great music live bands, family orientated great customer service nice place to come for a night out on the town
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Quesadilla, Pretzel Bites, Wings
So, we came here for lunch today and their lunch menu is pretty limited. We left without ordering. We came back for dinner tonight. Today was our first time here.
The menu looks pretty good. The service is pretty slow. The atmosphere…. Eh. Literally everything is served on paper. Plastic disposable cups, paper plates, paper straws, plastic silverware.
And we happened to come here on Bingo night. Not a fan, but maybe you are.
The service is pretty slow, but the staff is friendly. We ordered several appetizers and a burger. The Caprese Salad was okay. So were the Brussels Sprouts and the Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño. Not horrible, but not great. Just okay.
I ordered the stuffed queso burger. It’s a pretty small burger for $18. The server asked my desired temp for the burger (I never volunteer a temp on burgers because almost no one can get it right). I replied, “medium”. I was just telling my date how overcooked my burger was, dry as could be and I don’t know why they ask for temp when their staff can’t cook it to temp. The waitress walked by just as I was showing how overcooked it was and said, we temp them all, but because of seasoning, they always look overcooked. Lol, okay.
Anyway, an $18 burger it was not.
Try Tiki West. The food is absolutely better and the service is at least as good. Same goes for Puddle Jumpers. Both within walking distance of The Doghouse.
It’s a pity. I really liked then menu, but the establishment can’t pull it off.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 3
Jackie ♡♡
Restaurantji Recommends
I visit Lake Dora a couple of times a year, and the only place I eat is The Dog House Sports Bar connected to the hotel Citrus on the lake; formerly, the Key West Resort Hotel. The waitresses and bartenders are fun, courteous, and do a great job taking care of their patrons. Payton, a female bartender, is the best and remembers all the crew by name when we return! The service, food, and bands are fantastic! This is a great place for a home away from home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Employees like Maddie and Cat make us want to return to the Doghouse in Tavares. Maddie the General Manager is totally customer oriented and welcomes everyone who comes through the door. Cat our server was always checking on us which we appreciated since it was busy. Lots of activities and totally kid-friendly!
Kid-friendliness: Lots of inside and outside activities for kids. Kids menu and on Thursday they can make their own pizza!.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Quesadilla, Chicken Wings, Pretzel Bites
Very nice atmosphere great pricing food was great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wings
We went to this place by just stumbling onto it and I have to say that the service there was unbelievable the waiter's name was Bobby I've never met such a personable waiter before in my life and the wings with their house dry rub was the best I've ever had and I eat a lot of wings it doesn't get much better than this I highly recommend it
Food: 5
Service: 5
Awful food, terribly slow service, ridiculously loud inside room. We waited more than TWO HOURS for our food - drinks were constantly empty, the server was nowhere to be found, and once the food did arrive, the burgers were completely overcooked and tasted like nothing but burnt beef.
Do yourself a favor and go try Puddle Jumpers or one of the other close by restaurants - you'll thank me for saving your time and money!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
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