SWFL RESTAURANT WEEK
HAPPENING
NOV. 30 through DECEMBER 13
SWFL RESTAURANT WEEK
Various participating restaurants in Lee and Collier counties
Dates: Thursday, Nov. 30 through Wednesday, Dec. 13
Info and Menus: SWFLrestaurantweek.com
THE EVENT
Southwest Florida has joined a national movement for foodies. Restaurant Week invites diners to experience local fine dining at an affordable price with participating restaurants offering three-course, prix-fixe menus for $25 or $35, now through Dec. 13. This year, the Restaurant Week event (which actually extends for nearly two weeks) is expanding from Naples into Lee County.
“We’ve expanded to include Sanibel to Marco and everything tasty in between,” says Guy Clarke, co-owner of The Food Idea Group and founder of BaconFest Naples. In 2016, he teamed up with Restaurant Week founder Rafael Feliciano, who brought the event to Southwest Florida three years ago.
“The underlying purpose of our company is helping our food scene grow,” explains Clarke. “We saw this void, and with void comes opportunity.”
For years, Southwest Florida dining had been dominated by steak and seafood establishments, but diversity has been growing. Now the region offers much more to excite those with elevated taste buds. Through Restaurant Week, Clarke and Feliciano aim to bring more exposure to the culinary creativity of local chefs.
A charitable component is added with the First Bite event which precedes Restaurant Week. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz of Bonita Springs, the Nov. 15 event invited guests to sample “tastes” of their Restaurant Week menus while raising funds for the Humane Society of Naples and Gulf Coast Humane Society.
Restaurant Week is now a biannual event (the next one will be May 31-June 13, 2018). Last year, Restaurant Week was responsible for directing 3,200 guests to dine at participating restaurants, Clarke adds.
Participating is easy:
- Go online to SWFLrestaurantweek.com.
- Pick a restaurant.
- Make a reservation or walk in.
- Order from the Restaurant Week Menu.
Participating restaurants in the Estero/Bonita Springs area include South Fork Grille, DeRomo’s and Roy’s Restaurant — each offering a $35 per-person, prix fixe menu including a choice of starter, entree and dessert. Entree options at South Fork include seared salmon, glazed chicken, bourbon pork chop and grilled ribeye. DeRomo’s will offer a choice of tortellini, grilled salmon, New York strip or chicken marsala. And the Roy’s menu offers hibachi grilled salmon, spicy whitefish, braised short ribs or a combo of Misoyaki butterfish and blackened ahi. These and more restaurant menus may be viewed on the SWFL Restaurant Week website.
Restaurants participating in Fort Myers Restaurant Week:
Blue Point Oyster Bar & Seafood
DeRomo’s
Izzy’s Fish & Oyster
King’s Kitchen
LaMotta’s
Roy’s Hawaiian Restaurant
South Fork Grille
The Firestone Grille
The Fish House Restaurant
The Melting Pot
The Standard
Thistle Lodge