Most individuals who journey to Fort Myers, Florida accomplish that to expertise the seashores, nature parks and sunshine — however many additionally come to eat the native meals. On this article, I’ve highlighted my prime 5 eating places in Fort Myers and the encircling space (together with an excellent lunch spot on Sanibel Island), so that you’ll be capable to get pleasure from some scrumptious meals throughout your Southwest Florida trip.

Oxbow Bar & Grill (Downtown Fort Myers)

Oxbow Bar & Grill is a comparatively new restaurant, situated inside the previous Artwork of the Olympians museum constructing on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers. The restaurant is owned by Mainsail Lodging and Growth, the identical group that owns the Luminary Resort & Co., an Autograph Assortment property within the Marriott portfolio.

Demand for reservations at Oxbow is excessive, with each locals and Luminary Resort friends vying for a desk. I used to be lucky to safe a midweek dinner reservation and had an excellent expertise on the restaurant.

I ordered the 12 oz. Grilled Prime New York Strip Steak, which is paired with mashed potatoes and carrots. The purple wine discount sauce gave the steak a scrumptious taste and the meal was a spotlight of my journey to Fort Myers. The Oxbow is a restaurant I’ll wish to go to once more throughout my subsequent journey to Southwest Florida!

Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille (Fort Myers Seashore)

After I requested locals for restaurant suggestions, Doc Ford’s is a spot that got here up many times. It’s such a success that there are actually 4 areas all through Florida — St. Petersburg, Captiva Island, Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Seashore — the latter being the one I visited.

The meal to eat, I used to be instructed, is the restaurant’s signature dish: Yucatan Shrimp. The recipe for this tasty meal got here all the best way from Quintana Too, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula, and won’t disappoint! These steamed peel-and-eat shrimp are served in a dressing of actual butter, garlic, gentle Colombian chilies, recent cilantro, and Key lime juice, together with a bit of French bread. You possibly can’t go to Fort Myers with out tasting these scrumptious shrimp!

Ford’s Storage (Downtown Fort Myers)

If you happen to love burger, look no additional than Ford’s Storage in downtown Fort Myers. The restaurant has a Henry Ford theme, with the chassis of a Ford Mannequin T suspended over the bar.

The entire restaurant’s burgers are a half-pound of USDA Black Angus Beef, which the restaurant guarantees are served recent and by no means frozen. There are a great deal of distinctive burger recipes, however I went the boring route — ordering the “American Commonplace” burger with the same old fixings of romaine lettuce, tomato, purple onions and pickles on a barely toasted brioche bun.

I paired the burger with the Ford’s Previous Common cocktail, made with Woodford Reserve (my favourite bourbon), blackberry brandy, pure cane syrup, bitters, orange and filthy cherries! It was a scrumptious mixture!

Gramma Dot’s Restaurant (Sanibel Island)

Situated on the Sanibel Marina on stunning Sanibel Island, Gramma Dot’s is an reasonably priced lunch spot with a laid-back environment. The menu consists of the standard seafood fare you’d count on from an island restaurant, plus burgers, rooster, salads and the like.

I ordered the crab cake sandwich, which comes with two crab desserts, do-it-yourself chips and a serving of recent fruit. It’s a tasty meal in an excellent location for beneath $20, a deal that’s arduous to go up. Seating is accessible each inside and outdoors, however make sure to verify the climate report! For wheelchair customers visiting the restaurant, observe that the loos are usually not wheelchair accessible.

The Lodge (Downtown Fort Myers)

BBQ in downtown Fort Myers? Sure, please!

The Lodge, situated on First Road throughout from the historic Arcade Theatre, provides basic BBQ in a restaurant themed as a mountain lodge. It’s an odd mixture that one way or the other works.

I ordered smoked brisket and turkey breast, with macaroni & cheese, broccoli and corn bread. It was an actual consolation meals, and a pleasant change of tempo from all of the seafood I used to be consuming alongside the Florida coast! The restaurant maintains a bar-like environment, with a big collection of beers on faucet and TVs with stay sports activities in each path.

Extremely Really useful Fort Myers Eating places I’ve But to Attempt

Fort Myers is seen by many as a vacation spot for (sea)foodies, so I requested the locals I met the place they favored to eat. Along with the eating places I visited and included on this record, the next record of eating places got here extremely really helpful and I sit up for making an attempt them out on a future go to to The Seashores of Fort Myers & Sanibel.

Featured picture courtesy of The Seashores of Fort Myers & Sanibel.