We’re looking for good seafood/lunch and breakfast places between those two cities, and dinner places in Ft. Myers. Any ideas?
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For dinner in Ft Myers the University Grill isn’t bad, and we love Pinchers for lunch on their deck.
Following because we will be in Cape Coral next month and need recommendations!
We were surprised to find that there was going to be a huge parade celebrating Thomas Edison, who wintered in Ft Myers next door to Henry Ford. That meant that a lot of roads were closed, so we couldn’t travel much. On Friday evening we went to Traditions in Sanibel, a high end place with very good food and beverages, and a lovely singer (there Friday nights). The next morning I had a good breakfast at the First Street Bar and Grill, and a surprisingly good lunch at 1025 (surprising because it looked more like a bar). A trip to First Street Scoops for ice cream (cookie dough. The hell with the CDC and its warnings) that was great. Everything was slammed for dinner, so we foraged among our leftover fruit from the trip and a good charcuterie board from the hotel bar. We stayed in the Luminary hotel, which was excellent – and we got a corner room with a great view of the parade and the fireworks. The nest day we had lunch at Cubans Be Like in outer Ft Myers, and it the Cuban was pretty good – others were ordering seafood, which seems to have been the thing to do.
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SWFL people, if you were doing an 80th birthday for Mom which special places would be on your short list. There will be 11 of us, extra points if any of the places have a large round table that can accomodate that group.
Staying in Ft. Myers. We are/were from Broward county so my knowledge of nicer places in Ft. Myers area is zero.
Thanks for any suggestions…
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A great choice would be Traditions on the Beach at the Island Inn in Sanibel. It’s an historic property on the beach, and the food and service are great. I’m not sure about the round table for 11, but they may well be able to do it. I think they have some private rooms, but not sure. See my write up at https://johntannersbbqblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/28/traditions-on-the-beach-sanibel-island-florida/
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Thank you, will certainly check it out.
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The Luminary is a very nice hotel downtown, with great river/marina views and a lot within walking distance if you’re not staying on the beach. Also, a friend had recommended La Trattoria Napoli very highly, but we couldn’t get there due to the parade noted in my hotel review. We had a good lunch at 1025, just FYI – not suitable for a dinner.
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Thank you John, we had a lovely meal at Traditions. Everything was very good to excellent. Lamb tagine, lamb chops were standouts. Crabcake was excellent as well. Not a lot of food pics, so here’s some family
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glad you liked it – but not surprised! Thanks for the report!
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Off topic, but hope you guys are ok down there.
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Amen.
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We’re planning an April 2023 trip to see friends in Fort Myers with side-trips in the area S. to Bonita Springs, Naples and Everglades City and N. to Siesta Key. Thanks for the ideas posted here last year, and I’m interested in other recommendations for tasty casual dining in the area.
You asked for casual:
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WOW - thanks for this - from the photos it’s surprisingly similar to National Park lodges in Glacier NP. I will look more for a menu and also call to be sure they’re not closed due to hurricane damage – their website seems pretty bare-bones.
The Rod and gun Club is worth a visit and a drink, at least. There are better places to eat, not least https://johntannersbbqblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/16/havana-cafe-of-the-everglades-chokoloskee-florida-2/ which sots on a shell island created by indigenous people.
And here are extensive recommendations, all types, for Marco Island Goodland, the neighboring fishing village. https://johntannersbbqblog.wordpress.com/?s=marco You really need to stop by Stan’s Idle Hour and Little Bar. The seafood in that area is as good as you can get anywhere
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Thanks for these! We’re up for seafood of all sorts, and interesting sights. But are super-light (e.g. half-a-glass-of-wine) drinkers so we’d not normally go to a “Bar” spot.
@johntannerbbq Sad to read the current TripAdvisor reports of that Rod & Gun Club – terrible rooms (none in the historic building) and bad food. Sounds like the historic building’s interior is damaged / unkempt, too. As you say, maybe the drinks are worth a stop, but we’ll eat and stay elsewhere.
It’s a few years since we stayed in Naples so places may well have changed. But, assuming they are as good now as they were then, I’d suggest Osteria Tuila (Italian), BhaBha (Iranian), USS Nemo ( awful name, good seafood) and The Local (farm to fork).
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@Harters - thanks for these additions to my list. All say “top restaurant” of some sort on their websites, and continue to have recent happy ratings and comments. At the menu prices listed for most fine-dining, it looks like we’ll be doing lunches at such spots, and probably try some Food Trucks for evening meals. The plate charges (for folks like us who split entrees so we have room for dessert) are disclosed and seem to hover around $6 now - sticker shock.
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