Gator Jake’s Bar & Grill

Sterling Heights, United States

3.4

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 586-983-3700
Address:
36863 Van Dyke Ave, Sterling Heights, MI, 48312
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
680 ftVan Dyke & 16 Mile
920 ftMeijer Park and Ride
0.9 mi15 Mile & Van Dyke
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Good For
Late Night
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
No
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
No
Smoking
Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes
Has Pool Table
No

Today

Today 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Closed now
Local time (Sterling Heights) 10:14 AM Saturday, June 21, 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Tuesday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Wednesday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Thursday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Friday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Saturday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Sunday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am

Description

Specialties

If you’re looking for some great food in a sports bar, you’ve sure come to the right place. Gator Jakes Bar Grill Patio offers everything you’re looking for! With the best in Creole and Southwestern food, backed up by thick, juicy steaks, succulent fish, and tasty, filling pasta and sandwiches, we’ll put a great meal in your mouth and a smile on your face.

Want to watch the game in great company? We’ve got a full-​service bar that offers many brands of beer. And if that’s not enough to hold your attention, we’ve got live entertainment and a dance floor and a jukebox for those of you who want to kick up your heels a bit. If you’d rather play a game than watch one, we’ve got games, pool tables and dartboards. Our kitchen’s open until two in the morning, so we can help you party late into the night. Come by today.

History

Established in 2004.

Gator Jakes has been operating with the current owner since 2004.

Meet the Business Owner

David C.

Business Owner

I have been in the restaurant/​catering business since I was a child. Our family grew up owning Alcamo’s catering and sausage company (now closed). I grew up in Sterling Heights and graduated from Stevenson H.S. and have two degrees from Wayne State University. I take the pride in owning Gator Jake’s and strive to have great food, great beer, and a great atmosphere for all of our guests.

Enjoy!

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20 reviews of Gator Jake’s Bar & Grill

No registration required
Place rating: 2
Berkley, MI
Pros: beer and food
Cons: I avoid this place for lunch since the service has been too slow. Recently decided to try it for after work dinner. Ends up slow service isn’t just a lunch problem. Wait staff isn’t very attentive.
So maybe it’s a good place if you want to milk your drink and sit for a while.
Place rating: 3
Fraser, MI
Finally got a table! It’s a typical bar setting. Pretty loud and surprisingly filled with all dudes – maybe that was just the experience on a Thursday afternoon. Makes it feel hooters-​esque or maybe we just caught it on business meeting night of the month. Our waitress changed a couple times during our meal which I always find weird (that’s a complaint anywhere I go that this happens because I feel like I have to tip even more) but I’m sure it’s because they’re always busy. I’ll be sure to go again because their jambalaya was delicious, it will never be a regular stop for me but I would suggest you go to try the mardi gras themed food at the very least. Might be a good place to drink on a Saturday night rather than a dinner date.
Place rating: 2
Harrison, MI
This place used to be AWESOME. In the past few years it has become dirty and run down. The food also used to be AWESOME. Last time we went my fiancé got food poisoning.
Place rating: 5
Toledo, OH
I like this place. It’s a sports bar that does sports bar well. I take my son there who is under 18 because he is a huge sports nut. We leave before ten and it is always a good time. No problems at all. TVs are everywhere. This is the best place to watch football on Sunday. At least one of the screens will be playing the game you’re after. If the Lions are playing, you’ll always know when we score since the Detroit fans will cheer and a siren will sound if you haven’t figured it out. The food is typical sports bar food. Great chicken wings. Nice breading and the meat just falls off the bone. I prefer them over other establishments that claim it to be their specialty. The nachos are enough for at least three people. I’ve had several of the salads. My son likes their sandwiches. Never felt I had bad service there and I have been there at least a couple dozen times. I love the reviewers that come once then leave a scathing review and swear to baby Jesus they will never come back. It’s a sports bar. Get ever yourself. You want five star service you may need to spend a few more dollars. They have reasonable prices for the bar food and a great selection of alcoholic beverages if you plan on partaking. Cheers.
Place rating: 5
New Baltimore, MI
Had a Groupon so thought we’d try somewhere new this mid-​afternoon. Our waitress was great at recommending dishes and couldn’t have been more accommodating and lovely. Hubby couldn’t stop raving about the New Orleans cajun shrimp/​rice/​spicy sauce dinner he had for $ 9.99 which included 12 large snappy shrimp and I couldn’t believe how much is received with the chicken fajitas. Not a lot of chicken, but the tri-​colored peppers and onions cooked with it were delish which was delivered on a sizzling platter. Served with a huge cold dinner salad with homemade ranch, a huge plate of fries (that didn’t taste like the oil was old) as my choice for potato, a plate of fajita fixins and 4 tortillas. All for $ 10.99. The hubs was geeked about the beer choices and all the tvs in the place… and about finishing my food as well as his. Nothing bad to say. Good prices for good food… and so much of it!
Place rating: 5
Clarkston, MI
Went before Rick Springfield concert. Food was excellent and the beer, so many varieties and so little time to try them all. Staff was very nice
Place rating: 4
Macomb, MI
Food was awesome. Not to crowded for a Thursday afternoon. Waitress was nice. Food came fast. Will definitely be back.
Place rating: 4
Utica, MI
When we moved to this area, friends of ours suggested we meet up for drinks here. I was surprised at how large their dining menu is though. I am skeptical of bar food but I ordered a pizza because they did look tasty and they aren’t badly priced either. THIS IS NOW MY FAVORITE PIZZA EVER! I loved it! I’ve also tried a few other things on their menu like the salmon and some of their burgers and everything has been great, and the portions are huge too. They have over 30 beers on tap which is cool if you like beer, I don’t but this is great for my husband lol… I took off 1 star because the service is kind of hit or miss here. There are a few servers that are extremely nice and efficient, others have been not so great. I am a former server so I’m taking everything into consideration :) anyway, I love Gator Jake’s, try them out!
Place rating: 3
Alexandria, VA
Great place for watching sports, having drinks and for bar food, but not for dinner. Sirloin steak was good, but green beans were out of a can and bland. Our Tuna steak was good, but overcooked. For lunch or drinks with friends great, but not for dinner.
Place rating: 5
Sterling Heights, MI
The jambalaya is awesome Great patio always hVe a great time and it’s keno heaven Great selection of beers on tap and lots of hi def tv’s my new hangout!!!
Place rating: 1
Charter Township of Clinton, MI
Horrible service during lunch. I had to flag down the waitress to get our check. The waitress stated that I should have told her we were on lunch. SORRY It was 12 – 1 on a Thursday. My coworker and I will not be back!
Place rating: 3
Sterling Heights, MI
This was a good choice for an early dinner and catch up with an old friend for a Friday evening.
I’m surprised for as long as I’ve lived in and around the area, that this was my first visit to Gator Jakes. It wasn’t bad.
The place was pretty busy… The bar was loaded with happy hour goers, and the restaurant was very busy too with people getting their dinner on. I’ll bet this place really gets hopping for the bar scene once dinner subsides.
Our service was great. Waitstaff was attentive.
The food was okay. They have a lot on the menu. I was craving fish and chips, so this was my choice tonight. This was frozen fish you could tell. The taste wasn’t anything to write home about, but the portion size and the sides that came with the dinner were pretty good. Good, not great. I would maybe try a sandwich next time, or a wrap.
All in all, not a bad place to stop up for a beer or a light meal. They seemed to have a lot to choose from on the drink menu.
It’s pretty close to home, so I’d say, I will go back again.
Place rating: 4
Macomb, MI
Love the food and atmosphere. Staff is great!!! Cajun style for sure! Love their burgers
Place rating: 5
Sterling Heights, MI
Great burgers and fries. Friendly atmosphere. Very affordable. Can play Keno, the lottery and the like at the bar.
Place rating: 3
Sterling Heights, MI
Got 2 burgers, one fries and coleslaw as a carry out. Over charged on the coleslaw today and fries and short changed too. Dry buns, tasteless burgers. Won’t be going here again.
Place rating: 4
Saint Clair Shores, MI
The service has gotten better in the past year or so, maybe because a couple of the bad waitresses aren’t there anymore (or I haven’t seen them in my last few visits). The food and deals are still good, especially the daily specials and the $ 2 Budweiser drafts. I give this place business because of the price and the food, and it’s just a nice place to hang out. Many TV’s in this joint, too.
Place rating: 1
North Miami Beach, FL
We have been to gator jakes several times and always enjoyed ourselves. But on a recent visit, we had our catalytic converter from our vehicle stolen from their parking lot during our Thursday visit between 6 pm and 9 pm. When we asked the manager if the restaurant had security cameras in the parking lot, she said the only camera was focused on the rear employee door — no surveillance cameras or security in the parking lot. Sterling Heights policeman stated that they have over 5 calls a week regarding this problem.
The manager never asked for our information — Very disappointed that this restaurant doesn’t care about their customers & their safety. Be very careful there!
Place rating: 4
Memphis, TN
This trip to the Detroit area, we stayed in Sterling Heights. After reading some Unilocal reviews, I decided to try out Gator Jake’s Bar and Grill. It had a lot of 5 star reviews. Plus, I looked at the menu, and it was inexpensive.
The theme is New Orleans. The colors are the colors of Mardi Gras.
It’s a very open space with a huge wrap around bar with lots of televisions.
I had a whiskey and water. It was only $ 4 (it was not a super strong pour, though).
I ordered the steak, which was only $ 9.99 and it came with a house salad.
G’s entrée also came with a salad. He ordered the tuna steak with broccoli and rice. He liked his sides, but felt the tuna steak needed some extra spice.
‘
I enjoyed my meal. I had the steak cooked medium rare with green beans and cajun fries. Everything was tasty.
This restaurant is also ahead technologically. They take your order at the table on a tablet. The tablet is connected to the POS (point of sale) system so the order went straight to the kitchen from the table. When we paid, she scanned the card on the same tablet. The credit card never left my sight. I like that.
Good food. Cheap prices. Cheap drinks Good service.
Place rating: 1
Royal Oak, MI
We came in for dinner last night and had the absolute worst experience. I will not be coming back anytime soon. It’s sad when you know your being discriminated against because your a group of ladies. The large group of men next to us had two servers and never had beers less than half full…
We waited 15+ minutes to be greeted. We were only greeted because I went and found the manager and asked her if we could please get some service. She was too busy busing tables to notice us. From that point our waitress was a hot mess. We never got the appetizer we ordered. My food was wrong and when I sent it back they just took off the wrong item and sent it back five minutes later. Thank god it wasn’t a food allergy or I would be deathly ill right now. No refills and we were lucky we got our checks. A 45 minute dinner that turned into an hour and a half. The saddest part was watching an elderly couple get the same treatment we did last night. The women finally had to walk around the restaurant to find the waitress to get boxes then we saw her go ask the bartender for her bill. After the couple left the manager bussed the table. What a joke.
Place rating: 4
Farmington, MI
Does anyone want to wrestle a Gator??? Don’t worry no University of Florida fans around.
Not me. Not here. But you may have to wrestle a hunger before you come here.
Being newer to the Sterling Heights lunching places someone at work asked me if I wanted to grab a bite. So we sit down and he says «Do you like burgers?».
WellI didn’t get the nickname Buger Boy for nothing. I checked out the the nice looking pictures in the menu, you know the ones that look so good you can taste them. Then the food arrives and it looks nothing like the picture.
Not here. I tried the *Hurricane Burger* ½ pound ground round blackened & topped with Jack cheese, grilled peppers & onions. Fantastic! The jack cheese tickled my tongue when blended with the blackened spices. Throw in a few hot pepers and this is one really good burger. This one rates right up there with some of the best in the area. Did you ever try gator jerky? Ewww. not good. But anyway, the service here was fast and friendly. Next time I stop by here I’ll have that burger again with a beer, AFTER work.