Now that my picks for the 10 Best New Restaurants are online, I have a confession: It was extremely hard narrowing down the top five in Lee County—so much so that I was half-toying with the “11 Best New Restaurants,” which rolls off the tongue as easily as "She sells seashells."
The one that had me hemming and hawing, seesawing up until the last minute was Time to Eat in Cape Coral. Like the others that did make it in the top 10, the food is excellent—everything down to the amazingly pillowy, piping-hot bread that is made in-house by the restaurant’s chef-owner. He’s from Cuba by way of a long stint in Spain, which is why there is a charming mix of Old and New World influences on the menu: There is a sizeable selection of tapas but just as many or more entrees. The creamy béchamel in the salty Serrano jamon croquetas (pictured) warms you up as much as a glass of red wine or whiskey, and the porcini risotto writer Artis Henderson discovered just keeps getting better and better with each bite.
If you’re like I am, and good food knows no bounds, take the white-knuckle drive up dusty Del Prado in the Cape for some home-cooked hits that certainly left an impression on this food lover. (And don’t be scared by the first impression—the fluorescent-lit room on view from the street is not the main dining room.)
To plan a visit:
Time To Eat
1311 Del Prado Blvd. S., Cape Coral
(239) 573-6360
