Seafood Restaurants in the Fort Myers Sanibel Area

"I want seafood for every single meal," a college friend from Minnesota once declared when she arrived to spend a week at our Sanibel Island home.

It’s a common request from visitors who understand the tradition and availability of fresh fish and shellfish in Lee County restaurants. Here are some local favorites.

Fort Myers Beach

Matanzas Inn – Endearingly slouched on the banks of Matanzas Pass, it serves traditional fare including the Matanzas Steamer, fried shrimp and seafood-stuffed grouper.

Beach Seafood Market & Restaurant – You know it’s fresh when it’s inside a fish market. A local secret, this shrimp packer serves prepared meals, including all-you-can-eat fried shrimp and fish specials, which are available fried, steamed or grilled.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands

McT’s Shrimp House – America’s favorite shellfish comes more than 20 ways, from steamed in the shell to Cajun and Oscar styles.

The Timbers – Its fish market stocks the kitchen with fresh local product served indoors ‘neath jaunty market umbrellas.

Sweet Melissa's – This island delight sells seafood in flavor-packed, small-plate portions for the ultimate in fish-noshing.

Fort Myers & Cape Coral

Shrimp Shack – Two equally colorful and popular locations sell the tried-and-true in seafood platters and baskets. There’s a third location in Bonita Springs.

Blue Pointe Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill – Top nouveau in seafood, it sells a sweeping variety of domestic oysters and fish, from local black grouper to Lake Erie perch and walleye.

The Prawnbroker – A sister restaurant to Sanibel’s Timbers, it too combines fish market with fresh cuisine.

3 Fishermen Seafood Restaurant – Cheese grits come with the fried, grilled, broiled or blackened fish, crab legs special, gator tail and other delicacies, including daily fresh fish specials from local waters, in a modern strip-mall storefront.

Skip One Seafoods – You can taste the freshness in an overwhelming menu selection of seafood platters, from fried scallops to grilled mahi and grouper and coconut shrimp.

Maine’s Best – Lobster’s king here, but you can get just about anything that ever swam, prepared and served without pretense.

Boca Grande & Outer Islands

PJ’s Seagrille – Expect the utmost in fresh and ingenious at this former Boca Grande theater. Daily menus reflect the local catch.

Cabbage Key Inn – The epitome of the old-time seafood shack; for the best in fresh fish, go for dinner, but go by boat (there’s no bridge to the island).

Collier Inn – Diners sup on what’s pulled from the waters that surround the inn on Useppa Island, from the famous grouper sandwich to shrimp tempura and crab cakes.

Rodes Fresh & Fancy – What began as a humble fish market has grown into a house where classics reign in the form of fried oysters, fish-n-chips and grouper sandwiches.

Big Hickory Seafood Grille – Practically in the water, its ramshackle position on the water by Hickory Pass Bridge guarantees freshness.

Pine Island

Waterfront Restaurant – Popular with boaters, it looks and cooks totally fish shack, with fried seafood baskets and platter combos.