Dining Guide
A selective guide to Naples-area restaurants, encapsulated from previous reviews by Chelle Koster Walton, NI's food and wine editor.
Restaurant: Alexander’s
Hours: Lunch Monday-Friday; dinner daily
Food: Continental and American, with global influences
Atmosphere: Modern café style
Price: Lunch $7-$13; dinner appetizers $3-$10, entrées $13-$23
Address: 4077 Ninth Street North, Naples
Telephone: 239-262-4999
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No, but will accommodate
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: March 2002
Alexander’s satisfies cravings for the both hearty and heart-healthy.
Restaurant: Andre’s Steakhouse
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Steak
Atmosphere: Uncomplicated in decor, with a bit of Swiss chalet flair
Service: On top of everything and extremely helpful
Price: Dinner appetizers, $2.50-$14; entrées $15-$29 per person
Address: 2800 North Tamiami Trail, Naples (also in San Carlos Park and Marco Island)
Telephone: 239-263-5851
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: November 2003
Andre’s earns its kudos and longevity through sheer know-how and top-quality meat.
Restaurant: Anthony’s Trattoria
Hours: Lunch Monday-Saturday, and dinner daily
Food: Italian
Atmosphere: Unpretentious and casual, with outdoor seating
Service: Slow at times
Price: Lunch $2-$8; dinner appetizers $5-$8, entrées $11-$19
Address: 28340 Trail’s Edge Boulevard, Bonita Springs
Telephone: 239-947-2202
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: April/May 2000
Anthony’s offers hardy, earthy fare, the stuff of huge Italian family feasts.
Restaurant: Arturo’s
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Italian
Atmosphere: Large, lavish, Romanesque dining rooms and informal patio seating Service: They treat you like family
Price: Appetizers $4-$10, entreés $15-$39
Address: 844 Bald Eagle Drive, Marco Island; arturosmarcoisland.com
Telephone: 239-642-0550
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: March 2006
Arturo’s lives up to its motto, “The art of fine Italian food and fun.”
Restaurant: Au Paradis
Hours: Dinner Monday-Saturday
Food: French Floridian
Atmosphere: Intimate, homey
Service: Personable and perfectly timed
Price: Entrées $20-$30
Address: 11412 Tamiami Trail East, Naples
Telephone: 239-775-7667
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: Summer 2002
A secret garden with a sense of family, home and hearth.
Restaurant: Baleen
Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
Food: Inventive seafood with global influences
Atmosphere: Handsome, Gulf-front ambiance
Service: Uneven timing, sometimes glitchy
Price: Lunch $9-$17; dinner appetizers $8-$17, entrées $20-$31
Address: LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, 9891 Gulf Shore Drive, Naples
Telephone: 239-598-5707
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: December 2002
Big on flavor, variety and seafood with a spectacular Gulf view.
Restaurant: Bamboo Café
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: French
Atmosphere: Intimate Parisian bistro with art nouveau sconces and tobacco-stained walls
Service: French, friendly, helpful and well-timed
Price: Appetizers $6-$15; entrées $19-$29
Address: 755 12th Avenue South at Crayton Cove, Naples
Telephone: 239-643-6177
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full liquor
Full Review: May/June 2004
Bamboo Café is a series of pleasant surprises with a healthy, home-cooked approach.
Restaurant: Bay House Restaurant
Hours: Dinner Monday-Saturday
Food: Seafood with global treatments
Atmosphere: New England nautical with mangrove river views
Service: Well-timed, but not particularly forthcoming
Price: Appetizers $5-$12; entrées $18-$30
Address: 799 Walkerbilt Road, Naples
Telephone: 239-591-3837
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: February 2007
Bay House, above all, delivers what its succinct but well-conceived menu promises.
Restaurant: Bayview Restaurant
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Creative American
Atmosphere: Mediterranean milieu with lively bar and harborside patio
Service: Quick, unfussy, good-natured
Price: Appetizers $5-$19; entrées $16-$25
Address: The Esplanade, 740 North Collier Boulevard, Marco Island
Telephone: 239-389-4511
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: July/August 2004
Vivacious and versatile, the menu eschews Italian persuasion, presenting a large, interesting and varied selection.
Restaurant: Bha! Bha! A Persian Bistro
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Middle Eastern
Atmosphere: Ottoman palace meets South Beach
Service: Attentive, but sometimes poorly timed
Price: Lunch and dinner appetizers $7-$14; lunch entrées $10-$17; dinner entrées $20-$26
Address: Pavilion Shopping Center, 847 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples, bhabhapersianbistro.com
Telephone: 239-594-5557
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Beer and wine
For more than a decade, Bha! Bha! A Persian Bistro has been awakening palates with Middle Eastern peasant dishes and modernized spin-offs.
Restaurant: Bice Ristorante
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Authentic Italian
Atmosphere: Sleek and modern—all mahogany, white linens and mirrors (outdoor seating for smokers)
Service: Italian, professional and decorous
Price: Lunch appetizers $6-$15, entrées $8-$13; dinner appetizers $9-$15, entrées $16-$32
Address: 300 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-262-4044; bicenaples.com
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full liquor; $15 wine corkage fee
Full Review: January 2005
Bice bites the Italian competition with a taste of long-simmered heritage.
Restaurant: Bistro 821
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Creative, well-rounded selections of contemporary cuisine
Atmosphere: Modern, chic, bustling with kitchen on show
Service: Personable, knowledgeable and efficient
Price: Appetizers $4-$13; entrées $18-$29
Address: 821 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-261-5821, bistro821.com
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: Summer 2003
Bistro 821 is the maverick of Fifth Avenue South, the menu benefits from an injection of fearless creativity.
Restaurant: Bleu Provence
Hours: Dinner Monday-Saturday
Food: French nouvelle
Atmosphere: Bright (sacre bleu!), intimate and charming inside, patio seating outside
Service: Authentically French, but not snobby
Price: Starters $7-$19; entrées $17-$34
Address: 1234 Eighth Street South, Naples
Telephone: 239-261-8239
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: February 2000
The restaurant’s flavors speak eloquent French, but are infected by the neighborhood’s joviality enough to rub out any of the stiff snobbery one might fear from a French café.
Restaurant: BluSushi
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Sushi
Atmosphere: Feng shui simplicity meets designer drama
Service: Casual, friendly, and infinitely helpful
Price: Appetizers, sushi and rolls, $2-$13; combo platters $25-$30
Address: 1170 Third Street South, Naples
Telephone: 239-403-9901
Reservations: No
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full liquor
Full Review: April 2005
This Fort Myers spin-off sits back from the bustle of Third Street South and feels alternately cosmopolitan and hidden.
Restaurant: Blue Water Bistro
Hours: Dinner nightly
Food: Seafood, bistro-style
Atmosphere: Large, flashy, tightly packed dining room, plus lots of patio seating
Service: Helpful and professional; at times too busy to be timely
Price: Appetizers, $5-$16; entrées, $9-$30
Address: Coconut Point Mall, Estero; gr8food.net
Telephone: 239-949-2583
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: July/August 2007
Blue Water Bistro does fish with bite.
Restaurant: BrickTop’s
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: American
Atmosphere: Cozy booths gathered around an exhibition kitchen, rotisserie and grill
Service: Extremely accommodating
Price: Appetizers $8-$13; sandwiches and entrées, $9-$34
Address: Waterside Shops, 5555 Tamiami Trail North, Naples; bricktops.com
Telephone: 239-596-9112
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full, but limited
Full Review: December 2006
The sleek wood handsomeness sparks expectations of exacting perfection, while the pervading aroma of meat over the fire appeals to primeval appetites.
Restaurant: Café Lurcat
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: New American
Atmosphere: Contemporary with sweeping staircase from first-floor bar to high-ceilinged dining room with outdoor balcony seating
Service: Competent and professional
Price: Appetizers $6-$13; entrées $17.50-$36
Address: 494 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-213-3357
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No, but serves burgers and grilled-cheese sandwiches
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: December 2004
The familiar and the exotic: Café Lurcat deftly balances comfort with intrigue.
Restaurant: Campiello Ristorante
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Interpretive Italian
Atmosphere: Like an Italian plaza
Service: Top-level in terms of timing and assistance
Price: Lunch and dinner appetizers $8-$18; lunch entrées $10-$19; dinner entrées $12-$44
Address: 1177 Third Street South, Naples, campiello.damico.com
Telephone: 239-435-1166
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Live; laugh; eat; repeat. Campiello lives its gustatory motto to the fullest.
Restaurant: Chops City Grill
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Fine steaks and seafood with an Asian flair
Atmosphere: Sophisticated, with a large, open dining room
Service: Well-timed, but not always overly accommodating
Price: Appetizers $6-$9; entrées $15-$32
Address: 837 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-262-4677
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Three entrées available
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: November 2002
The food clinches the deal, playing double duty with the name Chops to create a coalition of fine grilled cuts and chopstick cookery.
Restaurant: Cilantro Tamales
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Modern Mexican
Atmosphere: Cozy with bright yellow sponged walls and handsome pottery
Service: Friendly, knowledgeable, efficient
Price: Appetizers $1-$6, entrées $6.50-$12
Address: 10823 Tamiami Trail North, Naples
Telephone: 239-597-5855
Reservations: No
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: January 2004
A Mexican dining experience that’s as authentic as it is creative.
Restaurant: Charlie Chiang’s Restaurant & Lounge
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Asian
Atmosphere: Modern Eastern indoors, patio dining outdoors along the Cocohatchee River
Service: Extremely welcoming; competent and helpful throughout the meal
Price: Appetizers $2 and up; entrées $8-$37
Address: 12200 Tamiami Trail North at Doubletree Guest Suites, Naples; charliechiangs.com
Telephone: 239-593-6688
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full liquor
Full Review: September 2006
Harmony and creativity are palate-pleasing at Charlie Chiang’s.
Restaurant: Coast
Hours: Breakfast and dinner daily
Food: New American
Atmosphere: Open, airy and urban upscale with outdoor balcony seating
Service: Friendly and spot-on
Price: Appetizers $9-$16, entreés $18-$34
Address: Edgewater Beach Hotel & Club, 1901 Gulfshore Boulevard North, Naples; edgewaternaples.com
Telephone: 239-403-2000
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: October 2006
Coast, despite its uncomplicated name, is anything but simple.
Restaurant: Côte d’Azur
Hours: Dinner Tuesday through Sunday
Food: South provincial French
Atmosphere: Charming, but tightly packed
Service: French in accent, efficient
Price: Appetizers $8-$18; entrées $30-$36
Address: 11224 Tamiami Trail North, Naples; cotedazurrestaurant.com
Telephone: 239-597-8867
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: February 2008
Côte d’Azur’s earthy and salty flavors capture Provence’s essence in its intriguing blend of country fare, exotic ingredients and slow-cooked goodness with a menu that executes French technique with perfection and joie de vivre.
Restaurant: Escargot 41
Hours: Dinner Monday through Saturday
Food: Classic French
Atmosphere: Lacy tablecloths atop burgundy linen, formal table settings, intimate appeal
Service: Perfect table service
Price: Appetizers $6-$95; entreés $24-$37
Address: Park Shore Shopping Center, 4339 North Tamiami Trail, Naples; escargot41.com
Telephone: 239-793-5000
Reservations: Recommended, with up to a month wait in season
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Wine
Full Review: April 2006
Escargot 41 does French cuisine classically and flawlessly.
Restaurant: EVOO Market & Bistro
Hours: Lunch daily except Sunday; dinner daily
Food: World cuisine
Atmosphere: Sleek, modern bistro style, with tall ceilings to lend spaciousness to an otherwise small room
Service: Competent
Price: Lunch entrées $10-$18; dinner entrées $20-$39
Address: 13240 Tamiami Trail North; evoomarket.com
Telephone: 239-444-2020
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: May/June 2007
World cuisine, with global inspiration and sauces that do more than moisten fish and meat—they perfect it.
Restaurant: Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Steaks
Atmosphere: Muted light, dark wood and club intimacy
Service: Over-the-top and on top of things
Price: Appetizers $7-$24; entrées $21-$36
Address: 8985 Tamiami Trail North, Naples
Telephone: 239-598-2424
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: February 2005
Fleming’s transcends “steakhouse” in even its most overindulgent context. Expect a dining experience unlike many in Naples.
Restaurant: The Grill
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Southern Italian
Atmosphere: Grand, neoclassic dining room with courtyard and street-side alfresco seating
Service: Authentically Italian, at times reticent and curt
Price: Appetizers $8-$11; entrées $15-$23
Address: 700 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-659-7008
Reservations: Yes, for dinner
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: September/October 2001
In an era of fusion and food experimentation, Vergina’s menu needs no translation, as long as you are familiar with classic Southern Italian cookery.
Price: Appetizers $12-$200 (caviar), entrées $37-$49
Address: The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, 280 Vanderbilt Beach Road
Telephone: 239-598-3300
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: December 2005
For seriously special occasions, The Grill at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples cannot be topped.
Restaurant: Handsome Harry’s Third Street Bistro
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Fine American and Italian
Atmosphere: Part steakhouse, part bistro—stylish and exceedingly classy
Service: Friendly and generous
Price: Lunch and dinner appetizers $6-$15; lunch sandwiches and salads $8-$16; dinner entrées $18-$48
Address: 1205 Third Street South, Naples; handsomeharrys.com
Telephone: 239-434-6400
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: March 2007
Handsome Harry’s Third Street Bistro lives up to its name. The food is as smart as the place is pretty.
Restaurant: Il Bellagio
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Classic and creative Italian
Atmosphere: Elegantly appointed dining room with high ceilings and special-effects lighting with seating arranged for conviviality
Service: Friendly but unpolished
Price: Dinner appetizers $5-$8; entrées $10-$24
Address: 492 Bayfront Place, Naples
Telephone: 239-430-7020
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: April 2003
As Naples’ spectrum fills up with Italian restaurants in every shade, Il Bellagio has defined its own hue.
Restaurant: Le Lafayette Restaurant
Hours: Lunch Monday through Saturday, and dinner daily
Food: Classic French
Atmosphere: Popular patio seating in a garden setting under an awning; indoor seating has less atmosphere and more formality
Service: A study in perfect teamwork
Price: Lunch $8-$38; dinner appetizers $7-$22, entrées $28-$46
Address: 375 13th Avenue South, Naples, lelafayette.com
Telephone: 239-403-7861
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Wine
Full Review: October 2007
Le Lafayette Restaurant is a swoony, melt-into experience from start to finish.
Restaurant: Lemonia
Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; Sunday brunch
Food: Tuscan
Atmosphere: Elegant, rich and roomy, with tables well-spaced
Service: Perfectly mannerly
Price: Lunch entrées $9-$18; dinner appetizers $8-$15, entrées $23-$32
Address: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, 2600 Tiburòn Drive
Telephone: 239-598-6644
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full liquor
Full Review: March 2003
One can taste the Old World traditions and the patience of simmering pots in each bite at Lemonia.
Restaurant: Maxwell’s on the Bay
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily, Sunday brunch
Food: Seafood and Continental cuisine
Atmosphere: Handsomely appointed with picture-window bay views
Service: Personal, warm, efficient
Price: Lunch appetizers $4.50-$15, entrées $10-$21; dinner appetizers $4.50-$15, entrées $23-$45
Address: 4300 Gulf Shore Boulevard North, Naples
Telephone: 239-263-1662
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: January 2006
Maxwell’s lets you feel part of a grand occasion and at ease simultaneously. Gourmet yet familiar. Comforting.
Restaurant: Naples Tomato
Hours: Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday
Food: American Neapolitan
Atmosphere: Part warehouse, part grocer
Service: Not up to par with the food
Price: Lunch entrées $8-$20; dinner appetizers $7 and up, entrées $17-$35
Address: 14700 Tamiami Trail North, Naples; naplestomato.com
Telephone: 239-598-9800
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Wine
Full Review: August 2006
Everything is pared down to basics, because the food is what Naples Tomato is all about.
Restaurant: Nektar
Hours: Lunch Monday-Saturday; dinner daily
Food: Mediterranean
Atmosphere: Minimalist modernism
Service: Friendly and relaxed
Price: Lunch entrées $11-$18; dinner appetizers $7-$15, entrées $17-$34
Address: 849 Seventh Avenue South, Naples; nektarnaples.com
Telephone: 239-435-1882
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: May/June 2006
Nektar, like its eponymous fruit, is a hybrid of great beauty and refined taste.
Restaurant: Pazzo! Italian Café
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Italian
Atmosphere: Handsome, warm and modern with open bar and kitchen; sidewalk seating for smokers
Service: Slow with the bread and check, otherwise helpful and friendly
Price: Appetizers $5-$10, entrées $15-$28
Address: 853 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-434-8494
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full; bring-in wine allowed with restrictions and corkage fee (call first)
Full Review: February 2004
The tendencies are Italian, heavy on the Tuscan that is so au courant, but this is not your grandmother’s Italian.
Restaurant: Preston’s Steakhouse
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Steak and seafood
Atmosphere: Two small, elegant, club-like rooms with cove booths, exquisite molding and simple but elegant adornments
Service: Professional, helpful, well-timed
Price: Appetizers $5-$16, entrées $20-$45, $79 for porterhouse for two
Address: 109 Ninth Street South, Naples
Telephone: 239-435-1986
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: January 2007
Preston’s does steak, pure and simple.
Restaurant: Randy's Fish Market Restaurant
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Seafood
Atmosphere: No frills, just some cheery Caribbean touches in the dining room and adjacent Tap Room
Service: Extremely helpful and good-natured
Price: Appetizers $5-$11; lunch entrées $7-$14; dinner entrées $15-$37
Address: 10395 Tamiami Trail North, Naples; randysfishmarketrestaurant.com
Telephone: 239-593-5555
Reservations: No
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: April 2007
Randy’s serves seafood the old Naples laid-back way.
Restaurant: Ridgway Bar & Grill
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Continental/American
Atmosphere: Purely Old Naples casual, with a fine edge of elegance, but slightly crowded
Service: A bit off timing-wise, but cordial
Price: Lunch appetizers $4-$12, entrées $9-$18; dinner appetizers $4-$15, entrées $14-$38
Address: 1300 Third Street South, Naples
Telephone: 239-262-5500
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: September/October 2005
Provides a comprehensive, balanced selection of Continental classics and purely Ridgway creations.
Restaurant: Ristorante Farfalla
Hours: Dinner Monday-Saturday
Food: Fine Italian
Atmosphere: Intimate, contemporary, handsomely appointed
Service: Accommodating but a little slow at check time
Price: Appetizers $5-$12, entrées $16-$27
Address: 21301 Tamiami Trail South, Estero; ristorantefarfalla.com
Telephone: 239-495-9912
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: November 2005
Ristorante Farfalla creates a flutter of Italian dining excitement.
Restaurant: Roy’s
Hours: Dinner nightly
Food: Hawaiian fusion
Atmosphere: Smart and intimate
Service: Helpful and professional
Price: Appetizers $7-$16; entrees $21-$38
Address: 475 Bayfront Place, roysrestaurant.com
Telephone: 239-261-1416
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: December 2007
Roy’s Hawaiian fusion cuisine is perenially fresh and bold.
Restaurant: Sale e Pepe
Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
Food: Regional Italian
Atmosphere: Palazzo-style Renaissance replication with terrace seating Gulf-side
Service: Perfecto! Never rushed, never lacking
Price: Lunch $7-$19; dinner appetizers $9-$12, entrées $18-$29
Address: Marco Beach Ocean Resort, 480 South Collier Boulevard, Marco Island
Telephone: 239-393-1600
Reservations: Yes, for dinner
Children’s Menu: No, but will accommodate
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: September/October 2002
Sale e Pepe treats diners like royalty with regional Italian cuisine fit for a palace.
Restaurant: Shula’s Steak House
Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
Food: Steaks
Atmosphere: Corporate boardroom meets the Miami Dolphins
Service: Well-timed, knowledgeable
Price: Lunch appetizers $4-$15, entrées $9-$80; dinner appetizers $8-$15, entrées $22-$150
Address: Hilton Naples & Towers, 5111 Tamiami Trail North, Naples
Telephone: 239-430-4999
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: May/June 2005
Words such as “handsome” and “prime” also describe Shula’s Steakhouse, but “rich” sums it up best.
Restaurant: Strip House
Hours: Dinner nightly
Food: Steak
Atmosphere: Intimate and sexy
Service: Right on
Price: Appetizers $11-$17; entrées $28-$51
Address: Naples Grande Beach Resort, 475 Seagate Drive, Naples; striphouse.net
Telephone: 239-598-9600
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
If the tasteful nude photographs on the wall don’t clue you in, the velvet-flocked wallpaper and red curtains will. This steakhouse has taken the rich club look to a high-class bordello level. The obvious sensuality of the place plays well with the over-the-top luxuriousness of the menu.
Restaurant: Tanglewood
Hours: Breakfast and dinner daily
Food: Nouvelle Continental
Atmosphere: Casual elegance with exhibition kitchen and fountain views
Service: Well-timed and attentive but not quite up to par with the restaurant’s overall quality
Price: Appetizers $6-$12, entrées $18-$26
Address: Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa, 5001 Coconut Road, Bonita Springs
Telephone: 239-444-1234
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Half portions offered
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: March 2004
The dinner peaked immediately and never once dipped below top-shelf flavor and stellar quality with flair to spare.
Restaurant: The Turtle Club
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Seafood and steak
Atmosphere: Multi-windowed with Gulf views and smart decor
Service: Friendly, knowledgeable and efficient
Price: Appetizers $6-$14; entrées $18-$27
Address: Vanderbilt Beach Resort, 9225 Gulf Shore Drive North, Naples
Telephone: 239-592-6557
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full liquor
Full Review: April 2004
Cleverly disguised as a casual resort beach club, the Turtle Club exceeds all expectations for dwelling in that vaunted culinary territory known as a local secret.
Restaurant: Trilogy
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Asian-Continental fusion
Atmosphere: Relaxing booths, live piano
Service: Slightly underinformed, but energetic and enthusiastic
Price: Lunch salads, sandwiches and small plates $8-$24. Dinner entrees $21-$37
Address: 720 Fifth Avenue South Naples, trilogyofnaples.com
Telephone: 239-261-1221
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
It’s hard to choose—Trilogy offers a menu of too many too-good choices, including several selections in Lite Bites¬; Soup, Chowder & Flatbreads; Sushi; Pasta Alla Minute and Butcher Block; and Fin, Fowl and Shells.
Restaurant: The Tropical Reef Seafood Restaurant
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Food: Floribbean
Atmosphere: Simple, with white linens, butcher paper, and tables close together
Service: Perfectly timed, relaxed and informed
Price: Lunch appetizers $4-$8, entrées $6-$13 (sandwiches, salads, lobster roll, hot ‘n’ crunchy chicken or grouper); dinner appetizers $4-$11, entrées $16-$24
Address: 8050 Tamiami Trail North, Naples
Telephone: 239-591-4385
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: September 2004
Tropical Reef adheres to these standards: use of fresh, available ingredients and resourceful, labor-intensive, flavorful preparation, while adding a purely Naples seal to its brand of island cuisine.
Restaurant: Truluck’s Seafood, Steak & Crab House
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Steak and seafood
Atmosphere: Casual indoor and outdoor seating with lively ambience and handsome appointments
Service: Tip-top—when the server arrived minutes late with a glass of wine, he took it off the check
Price: Dinner appetizers $7-$40, entrées $16-$35
Address: 698 Fourth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-530-3131; trulucks.com
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full liquor; $15 wine corkage fee
Full Review: March 2005
In a new generation of chain restaurants redefining dining experience, Truluck’s is a stroke of good fortune.
Restaurant: Turner’s Lobster House
Hours: Lunch Monday-Saturday, Sunday brunch, and dinner daily
Food: New England style
Atmosphere: Nautical, with big wood-framed windows for boat-watching
Service: Accommodating, with an occasional timing glitch
Price: Appetizers $5-$13, most entrées $8-$24 (lobsters up to $73)
Address: Naples Bay, 909 10th Street South, Naples
Telephone: 239-261-4355
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: February 2006
Head downtown for down east flavor, and visit Maine without need of a parka.
Restaurant: USS Nemo
Hours: Lunch Monday-Friday and dinner daily
Food: Seafood with an Asian persuasion
Atmosphere: Small with a stylish submarine theme; sidewalk seating for smokers
Service: Helpful and able, but a little slow at times
Price: Lunch entrées $8-$15; dinner appetizers $5.50-$14, entrées $13.50-$30
Address: 3745 Tamiami Trail North, Naples
Telephone: 239-261-6366
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Beer, wine and sake cocktails; bring-in wine allowed with restrictions and corkage fee (call first)
Full Review: December 2003
Finding this Naples seafood restaurant tucked into an inconspicuous strip center on the North Trails isn’t easy, but it is well worth the search.
Restaurant: Vergina
Hours: Lunch Monday-Saturday, dinner daily
Food: Southern Italian
Atmosphere: Grand, neoclassic dining room with courtyard and street-side alfresco seating
Service: Authentically Italian, at times reticent and curt
Price: Appetizers $8-$11; entrées $15-$23
Address: 700 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-659-7008
Reservations: Yes, for dinner
Children’s Menu: No
Bar Service: Full
Full Review: September/October 2001
In an era of fusion and food experimentation, Vergina’s menu needs no translation, as long as you are familiar with classic Southern Italian cookery.
Restaurant: Wylds cafe
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Continental
Atmosphere: Modern and understated with white linen
Service: Top-notch
Price: Appetizers $4-$14; entrées $17-$25
Address: 4271 Bonita Beach Road; wyldscafe.com
Telephone: 239-947-0408
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Beer and wine
Full Review: November 2007
Restaurant: Yabba Island Grill
Hours: Dinner daily
Food: Floribbean
Atmosphere: Reggae-charged, colorful, open
Service: A bit green
Price: Appetizers $3-$8, entrées $7-$24
Address: 711 Fifth Avenue South, Naples
Telephone: 239-262-5787
Reservations: Yes
Children’s Menu: Yes
Bar Service: Full, specializing in rum
Full Review: Summer 2000
Island seabreezes blow gently through the menu, but so do gusts of new American meddling, resulting in a blend of creativity and folk cuisine, heavy on the creativity.
