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Waterfront Restaurants
I Seafood and I Eat It...
Culinary adventures at waterfront seafood restaurants prove a delight for the taste buds and a treat for the soul.
By Juliette Reynolds
I Seafood and I Eat It...
Culinary adventures at waterfront seafood restaurants prove a delight for the taste buds and a treat for the soul.
By Juliette Reynolds
  Thistle Lodge at Casa Ybel Resort |
With 590 miles of coastline, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel offers up a number of restaurants where dining in sight of blue-green waters be it salt, fresh or a combination of the two pleasantly punctuates a day spent out of doors.
Check out this list of the tried-and-true.
Sanibel
Thistle Lodge at Casa Ybel Resort has got to be one of the most romantic spots on the planet. Well-known for spectacular sunsets, this restaurant features small dining rooms on various levels connected by intricate woodwork, and an aesthetic inspired by the tropics and Victorian architecture. For the best view, request a table in the conservatory area, or in the elegant turreted room. Dishes of note include the Crab Cake Martini and Seared Snapper (my delightfully delicate version was served on a leek-blue crab ragout with a cilantro reduction). Asian and Floridian items meld with classic French cuisine on the adventurous menu, which includes daily sushi selections. The restaurant is also known for its prime, aged beef. Service is welcoming and professional.
Gramma Dot's offers up an altogether different experience. This restaurant is on the grounds of Sanibel Marina, and its wooden frame holds only screening as a buffer from the elements there are no plate-glass windows here. A white-painted interior sets the stage for a seaworthy theme ship's wheels and brass nauticalia. There really was a Gramma Dot (born at the turn of the last century), whose family continues her legacy of love for Sanibel Island. From the award-winning menu, expect beautifully presented seafood (try a mesquite-grilled grouper sandwich and their homemade potato chips) and casual fare served in elegant baskets. (A nearby table was enjoying juicy burgers.) The knowledgeable staff is friendly, and not a little tongue in cheek with their observations on life, the universe and everything...
Fort Myers Beach
Snug Harbour certainly lives up to its name in its recently revamped multi-story space on the Intracoastal Waterway in the shadow of the San Carlos Bridge. On a recent evening, a family fished from the pier and the Key West Express catamaran cruised by as we dined waterside, ensconced on the wide porch under the stars. The vast menu captures all that is good of the fruits of the sea, including fantastic ahi tuna (served as an appetizer or full meal with a delicious ponzu sauce) and locally caught snapper, seasoned with the house blend yum. If you go with kids, be sure to let them take a gander (with 3-D glasses on!) at the impressive diorama that wraps around walls inside.
JoJo's at the Beach puts you in mind of a regatta, a sail at sunset, a jaunt along the coast with its seashore-themed, primary-colored interior (which could just as well be called an exterior, as the restaurant is open to the elements albeit under the large canopy
 Cabbage Key Inn, Cabbage Key |
Matlacha/Pine Island
What can you say about Bert's Bar and Grill in Matlacha, except to note it's one of the last vestiges of that dying breed of canteen the Florida seafood joint on the water. Oh, it's a bar alright, the kind that finds salty dogs belly up to it at 11 a.m. But go for the food and the view (and go by boat the restaurant has its very own (small) dock). And the friendly faces. All sorts of folk stop in for the excellent grouper sandwich and other delectable seafood delights, served down-home style in paper-lined baskets. You'll appreciate the freshness of the fish as much as the proprietors do, who get their catch down the road, across the bridge my point is from local fisherman just in at the docks.
At the southern tip of Pine Island in St. James City (that city part is a bit of a stretch...) sits another venerable salty dog in the form of The Waterfront Restaurant, a century-old former schoolhouse complete with its own canal-side marina. The appeal here is the rustic, wooden interior plastered with customers' drawings (some of them are quite artistic) and the fresh-from-the-gulf fare, including local grouper and fresh Florida mahi-mahi. The menu is extensive, so you might have to come back more than once.
Fort Myers
Okay, so it's not really waterfront more like in the water but the Sanibel Princess yacht offers a surf-side experience like no other in the Fort Myers-Sanibel area. Cruising from the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, the Princess makes you feel like one (or perhaps a prince?) as it traverses the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River and makes its way along the mangrove coast, sometimes going upriver, sometimes over to Sanibel Island. Brunch and dinner cruises feature complimentary glass of champagne and an extensive buffet. Sailing times vary, but dinner cruises are typically from 7 to 9 p.m. Call the number listed below for current schedules.
Boca Grande & Outer Islands
Much has been written about the charms of Cabbage Key, an island comprised of equal parts Calusa Indian shell mounds, mangrove forest and literary inspiration. Its Inn is a must-stop-over for the fishing-and-cruising set, and the Inn's most famous culinary interpretation is none other than the Cheeseburger in Paradise, named for the Jimmy Buffett tune said to have been penned on site. The peel 'n eat shrimp give the ample burger a run for its money, and the grouper sandwich lives up to area standards. A star sweet attraction is the frozen key lime pie. I know it sounds weird, but try it it tastes like a frozen limeade, and refreshing doesn't even come close.
If you go
Bert's Bar and Grill, 239-282-3232, www.bertsbar.us
Cabbage Key Inn, 239-283-2278, www.cabbagekey.com
Gramma Dots, 239-472-8138
JoJo's at the Beach at the Pink Shell Beach Resort, 239-463-6181, www.pinkshell.com/restaurants_jojos.cfm
Sanibel Princess, 239-466-4000, www.sanibel-resort.com/shprincess.html
Snug Harbour, 239-463-4343, www.snugharborrestaurant.com
Thistle Lodge at Casa Ybel Resort, 239-472-9200, www.casaybelresort.com
The Waterfront Restaurant & Marina, 239-283-0592, www.waterfrontrestaurant.com
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