Karen T. Bartlett
Overheard in a stylish boutique: Person A: "Where’s a great place to have dinner right on the water?" Person B: "Ah, let me get back to you on that." Predicted outcome: Person B never will get back to Person A.
The truth is some secrets are just too precious to be shared, except among friends. This month,
Gulfshore Life shares just a few of our waterfront dining treasures, from frankly funky to gloriously glam. After that, you’re on your own.1. Practically Barefoot
Cold beer, juicy burgers, fried oysters and
fried, well, everything. It doesn’t get beachier than Doc’s Beach House (at the
end of Bonita Beach Road, 27908 Hickory Blvd., 239-992-6444).
O
riginally a 1930s teahouse, The Mucky Duck is an old wooden beach house with a surprisingly good menu and an unparalleled sunset spot at the western end of Captiva. Dine inside or on picnic tables on the sand (11546 Andy Rosse Lane, 239-472-3434). Family-friendly Quinn’s on the Beach at the Marco Island Marriott has a huge lunch and dinner menu and live-ly music nightly (400 S. Collier Blvd., 239-394-2511). Gumbo Limbo at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, offers the classiest chickee-hut beachfront food and libation in Southwest Florida. Take the boardwalk through the mangroves to a little slice of Tahiti. Dress code: beachy chic (280 Vanderbilt Beach Road, 239-598-3300). 2. Down at the DocksTwo Old Naples icons are The Dock at Crayton Cove (at the City Dock, 845 12th Ave. S., 239-263-9940) and Kelly’s Fish House Dining Room, just over the Gordon River Bridge with views of Naples Bay, Tin City and fishing boats bringing in your dinner (1302 Fifth Ave. S., 239-774-0494). Across the bay in Tin City are picturesque wharfside restaurants Riverwalk Fish & Ale House (239-263-2734), and Merriman’s Wharf (239-261-1811).
3. Under the Bridge
You can’t get much closer to the incoming shrimp
boats than the restaurant at Matanzas Inn. Real casual (416 Crescent St., Fort
Myers Beach at the foot of the Sky Bridge, 239-463-3838).
4. By Land or Sea
Iconic is the word for the Snook Inn, Marco
Island’s best-loved marina restaurant. You just want to break out in Jimmy
Buffett (1215 Bald Eagle Drive, 239-394-3313).
T
he Green Flash sits between Mile Marker 38 on the Intracoastal Waterway at 15183 Captiva Drive. You’ll find locals lurking at the bar and manatees lurking around the dock (239-472-3337). 5. Strictly By BoatA meal at Cabbage Key (Mile Marker 60 on the Intracoastal Waterway, 239-283-2278) or Useppa Island (Mile Marker 63, 239-283-1061) is well worth the scenic boat ride. Cabbage Key, eight miles north of Captiva, serves fine stone crab claws and Key lime pie, and Useppa’s Old Collier Inn (nautical chic) is pure old money sportsman’s club.
6. On the Bay
First date? Chic, intimate, romantic Marie-Michelle’s
Restaurant on the Bay is pure South of France on a patio overlooking Venetian
Bay (4236 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., 239-263-0900).
7. Resort Chic
You’ll thank us for these tips: Baleen at La
Playa—very polished (9891 Gulfshore Drive, 239-597-3123); HB’s On the Gulf—Old
Naples flavor in the Naples Beach Hotel (851 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., 239-435-4347);
Thistle Lodge—splendid Victorian (2255 W. Gulf Drive, Sanibel,
239-472-9200).