My favorite place right now is Inca Kitchen. It's amazing Peruvian cuisine, about 20 minutes from downtown Naples. Reservations are necessary.

http://www.incaskitchen.com/home/index.php

Other favorites for dinner are Campiello, Bites in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton, and IM Tapas.

For lunch, Grouper and Chips for incredible fried grouper or Tommy Bahamas which has a very nice courtyard and a great pork sandwich.

You can check my posts on the Florida board for more extensive reviews or suggestions. The weather is great.

Ended up having a martini at the bar at Shula's (very nice pour, good crisp blue cheese olives), then on to Campiello's for dinner at their outside bar. Food was good--not great--and what a scene! Still, it was a nice spot for a solo diner, provided she doesn't mind fending off 60+ y/o pick up lines Had an order of beef carpaccio that was very good, a small caesar salad that was adequate (I was craving something green and the selection wasn't extensive) and a half order of spaghetti with veal meatballs that looked good based on the guy who was eating an order next to me. Took most of the pasta back to the hotel and ate it for breakfast the next day--nice sauce with good chunks of roasted tomato, meatballs a bit bland, a nice parm incorporated.

Best meal was lunch the next day--a clam strip roll from Swan River Seafood scarfed down in their parking lot (had the dog with me). Great stuff--perfect coating and meaty (sometimes fried clam strips are an excuse to eat fried batter--not necessarily a bad thing.) Still, these were flavorful, tender and delicious. Good spicy cocktail sauce too. Highly recommended if anyone's in the area.

I'd gotten some Naples recommendations from folks here, but unfortunately with our date in Naples being Valentine's, our pickings were slimmer than I'd have liked -- lots of places were booked solid. I ended up booking a tapas place, Lamoraga. A little pricier than similar places in Chicago, but very tasty food, great service.

The dishes we ordered included calamari (nice touch to include some toasted almonds), lamb skewers (we enjoyed, but I can't remember any details), burrata (delicious, but should have had ripe tomatoes or something else used -- one of my restaurant pet peeves), patatas fritas with bravas sauce (not patatas bravas, but really good frites), and probably the best lobster bisque we've ever had: perfectly balanced, creamy, sweet, silky textured soup with bits of lobster and a foam of cream on the top. We may have had another dish too, but I don't remember, and if so, it was something off the V-day menu, not on the regular menu.

Lamoraga
3936 North Tamiami Trail
Naples, Florida 34103
239.331.3669
http://www.lamoragarestaurant.com/

Joel,

Glad you enjoyed Lamoraga. It's one of our favorite restaurants. It's been a while since I've posted about Naples dining and there's been a slew of good restaurants that have opened the last few years. Here's a short list of our current favorites for anyone else who may be visiting.

Incas Kitchen still going strong with a new location across from Mercato shops.
Hob Nob
Tulia
Bay House and Tierneys Tavern at the Bay House
Omei for great Peking Duck
South Fork Grille
Mereday's Brasserie
Fuse
Masa

I'm going to be in Naples for 3 days in March. I've made reservations at Fuse and Bha Bha Persian Bistro. Any opinions on either of them would be appreciated. Also looking for a recommendation for a fish shack to get good, fresh stone crabs. Thanks.

I ate at Fuse a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. I did a short review on Chowhounds. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/100404 ... 82#9417582

Haven't been to Bha Bha in years so I have no opinion. I've heard people like it but feel it's pretty pricey. If you're looking for something ethnic and different I really recommend Inca's Kitchen. I would recommend Pincher's Crab Shack for stone crabs. It's a fun place. I usually stick to more basic items on the menu. There's a few of them in the area as it's a local chain. If you are near downtown Naples there's one in Tin City.

Check out the menues at some of my recommendations on the previous post.

It won't win any fine dining accolades but for a really good red tablecloth Italian dinner with great service and a price point that will enable you to bring the whole family, I'd recommend Joey D's on Immokalee west of I-75.

It's located in a strip mall on the south side of Immokalee. Pasta dishes pleased everyone in our party and the all-meat pizza ordered as an app was delicious and well-executed. The joint has a bar and table dining on one side and the kitchen and more table dining on the other side. We went at 630pmn on a Sunday night (February and there was a :20 minute wait.

Joey D's Italian Restaurant
2356 Immokalee Rd
Naples, FL 34110
(239) 597-8545
http://www.joeydsnaples.com/

They have another location in Golden Gate, too, but I can't report on that.

Davooda

The holidays are a distant memory already, there goes Florida:



Record heat, totally lucked out. I've been coming down to see my dad for 40 years, there've been plenty of times where it's upper 50s and drizzling. This trip more than made up for the cold years.

Usually stay on the Atlantic coast, but we decided to skip the Airing of Grievances and headed over to Naples for some west and wewaxation. I hadn't been here for 10 years, I usually went to Marco Island every summer as part of a business conference. But yeesh Naples has totally turned into Beverly Hills East, with the corresponding good food

A few notable meals, Cafe Lurcat on the main 5th Avenue strip. Great weather to eat outdoors on the patio. We split a fairly reasonably priced plateau de fruits de mer, including stone crabs. Pretty hard to mess this up as long as everything is fresh, which it was:


Best meal was at Osteria Tulia, again on 5th Avenue with an outdoor patio. In a tourist town you appreciate a kitchen putting forth the extra effort, "better than it had to be" is high praise and this fit the bill. Everything was excellent: house made sausage with lentils, tomatoes with burrata, and cacio e pepe. Molto bene!




I strapped on my white shoes and belt and sprinted over at 5:00 sharp to Truluck's to catch a table in the bar for the Happy Hour special. This is a pretty good deal, $6 call your own martini's and all sorts of briny temptations on the happy hour menu. We easily made a meal out of these. Took a look at the regular menu, that seemed pretty outrageous I wouldn't bother with that - plus the bar was fun, very lively:


Our waiter at Osteria Tulia highly recommended A Table Apart in Bonita Springs since it was a short ride from our hotel. The chef is Hawaiian, so he knows how to handle a fish. The room is pretty dated, certainly not a glamorous setting but the fish was delish. My wife had the swordfish special, and I had the Tri Tail, which is a regular menu item. Both were very good. The wine list was short but well thought out, we got a $35 bottle of White Bordeaux that was just fine paired very well with the fish:



Somewhat off topic but - Yeehaw Junction! Gawd how many times have I driven past that god forsaken place on the Turnpike, smack in the middle of the state where you just want to get the endless drive over with. But google maps took me down some back road state highway and I stumbled across the Desert Inn whilst searching for a pit stop. This place was awesome, loads of character which is quite welcome in this most sanitized of states. Definitely check it out if you're mindlessly blowing down the turnpike it's a welcome respite - everything you could desire in a dive road house in the middle of nowhere, all that's missing is Swayze:



Vaya con Dios baby!

Anything new? Going next week!

I'll be more towards North Naples. Sounds like grouper and shrimp is the way to go. Looking forward to the markets.

25-35 seems like the range for entrees on most of the menus of the reccos above, yikes! Interested to see how 3 26 year olds enjoy this town.

For a good and inexpensive meal, I have always liked Pelican Bend in Isle of Capri. Pelican Bend is known for their sauteed fish of the day (roughy or grouper) served with baked sweet potato and ice cold lettuce wedge with creamy garlic. They have good frog legs and fried chicken as well. Was here late last month and had lunch on way to Marco Island and dinner on way of town to airport. Lunch was blackened grouper with sweet potato fries in the chickee hut.

Pelican Bend is on the water and has an awesome sunset views from the chickee hut out back. Also has a great 2 for 1 happy hour, however, only serve beer and wine.

Pelican Bend: 219 Capri Blvd, Naples, FL 34113

If you go to Marco Island, there is a hidden gem known as Leebe Fish. It's owned by a family that owns a commercial fishing boat. They serve a fried or grilled fish of day taco or fish platter served with black beans and rice. The fish is typically mahi mahi, white roughy, snapper, or grouper. I was here last week and ate lunch here daily. The fish was mahi mahi and was always fantastic.

leebe fish: 350 Royal Palm Dr, Marco Island, FL 34145

dirtyappraiser wrote:For a good and inexpensive meal, I have always liked Pelican Bend in Isle of Capri. Pelican Bend is known for their sauteed fish of the day (roughy or grouper) served with baked sweet potato and ice cold lettuce wedge with creamy garlic. They have good frog legs and fried chicken as well. Was here late last month and had lunch on way to Marco Island and dinner on way of town to airport. Lunch was blackened grouper with sweet potato fries in the chickee hut.

Pelican Bend is on the water and has an awesome sunset views from the chickee hut out back. Also has a great 2 for 1 happy hour, however, only serve beer and wine.

Pelican Bend: 219 Capri Blvd, Naples, FL 34113

If you go to Marco Island, there is a hidden gem known as Leebe Fish. It's owned by a family that owns a commercial fishing boat. They serve a fried or grilled fish of day taco or fish platter served with black beans and rice. The fish is typically mahi mahi, white roughy, snapper, or grouper. I was here last week and ate lunch here daily. The fish was mahi mahi and was always fantastic.

leebe fish: 350 Royal Palm Dr, Marco Island, FL 34145

Thank you so much! I'll pay the price for some fresh grouper and shrimp no problem, but I've put a pin in those spots.

Other restaurants that have caught my eye:
Mr Big Fish
http://www.gomrbigfish.com/
754 Neapolitan Way
Naples, Fl 34103
Phone: (239) 213-9342

SWAN RIVER SEAFOOD
http://www.swanriverseafood.com/menus/
3741 Tamiami Trail North,
Naples, FL 34103

The Bay House Restaurant
http://www.bayhousenaples.com/menu.html
799 Walkerbilt Rd, Naples, FL 34110

Hi Photoboothe,
Have a great time next week. The three of you might enjoy a drink and appetizer at Gumbo-Limbo, the Ritz-Carlton's outdoor bar/restaurant. It is a beautiful place to watch the sunset.

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/naples/naples-beach/dining/gumbo-limbo

You can find a crazy amount of reasonable and delish happy hours w/food and drink in Naples: Pinchers, Cafe Lurcat, many others. One of my favorite meals was at Lurcat outside on their little porch. Lurcat also has the most amazing manchego/apple/chive salad and fresh donuts!

http://cafelurcat.com/PromotionsFL.aspx

Just had some great black grouper and hush puppies at Deep Lagoon. It's a restaurant + seafood market combo which is a real winner. Prices are fair and I've just encountered the biggest shrimp I've ever seen. It's like, as big as my hand.

Too full for key lime pie, but the couple next to us got a whole pie to go and I believe they have a couple local awards so seems like they've got a winner there.

http://www.deeplagoon.com/
Right off route 41 and Immokalee

Wish I had seen the post earlier so I could've chimed in. I hope this isn't too late to help.

Doc's on the Beach near Bonita Beach Rd. is great for lunch. It's right on the beach overlooking the gulf and has terrific grouper sandwichs( I prefer it grilled). The owner is from Chicago. Sit upstairs for the view among Chicago sports memorabilia.

Inca Kitchen is still great but has gotten pricier. Grouper and chips is a longtime favorite for fried grouper. Pinchers is good for seafood, especially happy hour. Osteria Tulia is my go to place for Italian-rustic as opposed to the ubiquitious new york italian(not that there's anything wrong with that). A previous post mentioned Bay House, which I recommend, however I usually go to Tierneys Tavern & Claw bar which is attached to the restaurant and more moderately priced. It's also fun as it's their bar area and there is usually music in the evening-at least during season.

RevrendAndy wrote:Wish I had seen the post earlier so I could've chimed in. I hope this isn't too late to help.

Doc's on the Beach near Bonita Beach Rd. is great for lunch. It's right on the beach overlooking the gulf and has terrific grouper sandwichs( I prefer it grilled). The owner is from Chicago. Sit upstairs for the view among Chicago sports memorabilia.

Inca Kitchen is still great but has gotten pricier. Grouper and chips is a longtime favorite for fried grouper. Pinchers is good for seafood, especially happy hour. Osteria Tulia is my go to place for Italian-rustic as opposed to the ubiquitious new york italian(not that there's anything wrong with that). A previous post mentioned Bay House, which I recommend, however I usually go to Tierneys Tavern & Claw bar which is attached to the restaurant and more moderately priced. It's also fun as it's their bar area and there is usually music in the evening-at least during season.

Doc's was actually the first place I went to on Thursday night since it's my friend's favorite place! Too funny. I had blackened grouper tacos and they were great. Beer was cold. Chi decorations made me feel like I was still in Chicago but looking out into the gulf.

I'd go back next time I'm in town. Thanks for confirming our pick!

Returning for 5 days in November and looking forward to checking out more recommendations listed above and expanding my reach to Marco Island

In Marco Island, there is a joint called Jack's Lookout. It is on stilts above the water near a marina. You can see the water through some of the floorboards. Good atmosphere and if I remember right, they still allow smoking. They have limited food, good bar hot dogs and chili. I also remember that on Friday afternoons they had a raw bar with oysters, shrimp, and stone crab. I loved that part. The oysters were served on a Bud platter with ice. Good joint if you like joints.

Puckjam wrote:In Marco Island, there is a joint called Jack's Lookout. It is on stilts above the water near a marina. You can see the water through some of the floorboards. Good atmosphere and if I remember right, they still allow smoking. They have limited food, good bar hot dogs and chili. I also remember that on Friday afternoons they had a raw bar with oysters, shrimp, and stone crab. I loved that part. The oysters were served on a Bud platter with ice. Good joint if you like joints.

Sounds like my kind of spot. We'll definitely be on Marco one day so I'll put a pin in it now! Thanks!

Jacks is a great place. It's a charming dive. Jacks is beer/wine only and only roller hot dogs, chilli, and sometimes chowder. The dogs are from Costco and the chilli comes out of a can. Last time I was there was in August and they were out of chilli and dogs. The occasional raw bar is no more. The place is located on Bald Eagle and is a low key dive with great views, cute bartenders, and old time florida charm. Been going here for 45 years.

If looking for food, down the street is the Snook Inn, great views, live entertainment, decent food. Better choice is Pelican Bend or Island Gypsy on Isle of Capri. Pelican bend is old school florida with awesome sauteed fish of the day, frog legs, and fried chicken. I you lucky you may get hogfish!!

If you want to stay on Marco and want low key I love Sandbar, Leebe Fish, or Crazy Flamingo for fish of the day plate.

Cafe De MArco has awesome prawns.

Marco, Isle of Capri, Goodland, and Everglade City were hit hard by Hurricane Irma. Goodland and Everglade City were rocked . I was there early in October and most places on Marco were open or almost ready to open. Never made it to Isle of Capri. However, Everglades City and Goodland were devastated and most places were not open. I am sure Stans, Little Bar, Triad, Havana Cafe, Kirks Seafood could use the patronage.

I will be hitting Naples for a little fun in the sun this weekend and have pulled a lot of great ideas from this thread. Any new additions or overlooked dives that I should be aware of?

Already have a lot of higher end places on the list (seems to be a trend in Naples) but I am definitely open to suggestions! Seafood heavy and happy hours are a bonus, but really any cuisine and any price point, if it is great!

A nice one-two to consider is dinner at Buzz's Lighthouse and a before or after drink at the Vanderbuilt Beach Resort right on the beach across the street.

https://www.buzzslighthouse.com/

https://www.vanderbiltbeachresort.com/

I'm telling you, DClose, it's worth the drive...


From Naples, get on 41 towards Miami, then turn right at Hwy. 29 and drive about 10 miles south into Everglades City. Veer right just before the bridge, and on the left a little down the road will be Grimm's Stone Crab. Probably less than an hour point-to-point depending on where you are in Naples.

An extremely nondescript building, you can get caught-that-morning large stones to go for--when I was there in January--$31 a pound, and that's about 5 big ones per pound. Mediums just aren't worth the work. For perspective, 4 of us were totally satiated on six pounds. As fresh as you're going to get anywhere in the US, I guarantee it.

Probably should buy a shell cracker and some of their magnificent mustard sauce while there, and bring a cooler and buy some ice in town to keep those babies chilled.

Oh, if you're in the mood whilst in the vicinity, on the south side of Everglades City is the Island Cafe, which dishes up the best frog legs I've had in many a moon. Meaty, and better 'n chicken!

Grimm's Stone Crab
919 Dupont St.
Everglades City, FL
(239) 695-3222



Island Cafe
305 Collier Ave.
Everglades City, FL
(239) 695-0003