The Watering Hole, Sebring, FL

The Watering Hole
6813 US 27 South, Sebring, FL 33876
863-382-4554
http://www.wateringholesebring.com/
Restaurant open Mon-Sat, 4pm-10pm. Lounge and package store open 7 days.
Plenty of parking in the dirt lot.
Cash only; they have an ATM inside.
Casual. Can be dark inside.

Visited: Dinner, Dine-in
Most recently: December 2009

The Watering Hole has been in Sebring for a very long time, and really did start out as a watering hole for the local cowboys way back in the day. It's now a really good steak and seafood restaurant, but still maintains some of the casual cowboy-ness with its large wood plank tables and large communal-ish dinig room. There's also a 14'+ alligator named Bully that lives there, and if you're lucky, you may actually see Bully move.

As soon as you walk in, you smell garlic, and the entrees come with the house garlic bread which is quite tasty and not for the faint of heart. The bread is toasted in the same area as the dining room, so the smell really pervades everywhere.

All of the dinners come with green salad, fruit salad or cole slaw. The green salad is nicely sized and very colorful. It has romaine as its lettuce base topped with pretty bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. The fruit salad was a very nice mix of melons, fresh pineapple, and grapes.

Entrees also come with a very nice fruity garnish of a strawberry, a third of a peeled banana, and a thick slice of grapefruit. Very pretty. You also have your choice of potato: baked, parsleyed red, or fries. In all, very generous portions.

In addition to the menu items, you'll also see their meat and seafood specials at the hostess podium. We got the special of the day Porterhouse ($21.95). YUM! It was well cooked and comes slathered in the same garlic butter that is on the bread, and a baked potato. It was a great price for the quality and size of the meat and for all that comes with it.

We also got the Cowboy-size Fillet Mignon (as opposed to the Cowgirl-size) with Fries, the special of the day Ribeye ($15.95) with parsleyed red potatoes, and the very nicely sized Fried Shrimp (choice of grilled, fried, or sauteed in the garlic butter) and potatoes.

We saw someone at the next table over have the fettucini (with a number of menu options), and I think we'll try that the next time we visit.

Everything was very tasty, and the service was good and southern friendly.