naples restuarant for anniversary
Mar 16th, 2014, 06:46 AM
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naples restuarant for anniversary
Hi
Hope you can help.
I am in Naples this summer and treatring my wife to an anniversary dinner. I wondered if anyone could recommend anywhere? My wife loves fish but also adores rissotto. I have been looking at the following:
1 Bistro 821 which seems to serve a nice rissotto;
2 Dock at Crayton Cove which gets equally as much mention as Bistro in the various books I have consulted. Although on one review board it was suggested that the standard had dropped.
3 Ridgeway Bar and Grill - which I assume is more a steak place which again would be another of my wife's choices.
The setting is also important, so on (near) the water would be good.
We are staying near 5th Avenue.
Many thanks for all your help.
Steve
Hope you can help.
I am in Naples this summer and treatring my wife to an anniversary dinner. I wondered if anyone could recommend anywhere? My wife loves fish but also adores rissotto. I have been looking at the following:
1 Bistro 821 which seems to serve a nice rissotto;
2 Dock at Crayton Cove which gets equally as much mention as Bistro in the various books I have consulted. Although on one review board it was suggested that the standard had dropped.
3 Ridgeway Bar and Grill - which I assume is more a steak place which again would be another of my wife's choices.
The setting is also important, so on (near) the water would be good.
We are staying near 5th Avenue.
Many thanks for all your help.
Steve
Mar 16th, 2014, 01:16 PM
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The Turtle Club is on Vanderbilt Beach and if you reserve well ahead you should be able to get a table on the beach and watch sunset. I was there about three weeks ago and the sunset and food were outstanding.
Mar 17th, 2014, 01:14 PM
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You would need a car to get to the Turtle Club. It's 8 or 9 miles from 5th Avenue. If you don't have your car with you it would probably be easier to go to one of the restaurants on or very close to your hotel. Naples has lots of great options.
Mar 17th, 2014, 05:05 PM
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Yes, for unique, sitting ON the beach at The Turtle Club is special. Not spectacular food or service, but who cares if you're on the beach for sunset.
Ridgeway's isn't a steak place, but quite good and pretty upscale. The Dock is great but VERY loud and casual -- think TGIFridays on a screened porch.
Bistro 821 is really very good. Ask for Doug as a server and tell him Patrick from Fodors sent you. He'll take good care of you. And yes, their risotto is delicious.
Probably the most upscale for seafood is Trulucks.
Ridgeway's isn't a steak place, but quite good and pretty upscale. The Dock is great but VERY loud and casual -- think TGIFridays on a screened porch.
Bistro 821 is really very good. Ask for Doug as a server and tell him Patrick from Fodors sent you. He'll take good care of you. And yes, their risotto is delicious.
Probably the most upscale for seafood is Trulucks.
Mar 17th, 2014, 10:32 PM
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Thank you so much. I am revising my plan and may take in all the recommendations ie try them all over the week but decide on the best option for the anniversary, Im now leaning to Bistro, the rissotto may clinch it.
Steve
Steve
Apr 3rd, 2014, 05:01 PM
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I have just returned from Naples and had dinner for the third time at Le LaFayette. It is located at 13th Avenue and 3rd Street, but not on the water. The French ambiance is perfect for an anniversary celebration as it is elegant and the service impeccable. While waiting for your meal you are served an amuse bouche--free of course! The owner/chef came to our table after our meal to introduce himself and ask how we enjoyed our meal.
I have been to Bistro 821 but found it busy, crowded, loud and service rushed although food very good. But that was in March so it will be more relaxed, I'm sure, in the summer.
I have been to Bistro 821 but found it busy, crowded, loud and service rushed although food very good. But that was in March so it will be more relaxed, I'm sure, in the summer.
Apr 3rd, 2014, 05:39 PM
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Yes, the atmosphere of the two places is like night and day. Bistro 821 is busy and "boisterous" and trendy. Lafayette is more quiet. I only wish the food was better at Lafayette than it is. And that the servers were more trained and had some personality. The last time there we asked to move because there was a bright light shining right in my face.
Apr 6th, 2014, 06:47 AM
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I have booked Bistro 821 so sticking with that. We may try Lafayette also at some point (if we dont run out of time), I have bought a great book by Chelle Walton titled "Sarasota, Sanibel, and Naples" the restuarants they recommend besides Bistro, are Barbatella; Bha Bha; Chez Boet; The Dock at Crayton Cove; Escargot 41; Handsome Harrys Third Street Bistro; Sam Bucco Bistro; Sea Salt. What do you think?
Apr 6th, 2014, 10:47 AM
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I have been to The Dock at Crayton Cove. Very, very casual and I wasn't too impressed but it is on the water. Good place for boaters to stop and have lunch. Escargot 41 is very good but have not been there this year. It is tucked in a corner of a shopping mall next to K-Mart. Handsome Harrys is closing.http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/...-street-south/.
The other place that was a surprise was Café Normandie on Highway 41 next to The Best of Everything. It reminded me of a small French Bistro. I don't know the other places you mention. Maybe NeoPatrick can give you an update on these places.
Our favourite place is The Bayside at Village on Venetian Bay. Probably because it is close to where we stay and the prices are reasonable plus tables have white tablecloths!
The other place that was a surprise was Café Normandie on Highway 41 next to The Best of Everything. It reminded me of a small French Bistro. I don't know the other places you mention. Maybe NeoPatrick can give you an update on these places.
Our favourite place is The Bayside at Village on Venetian Bay. Probably because it is close to where we stay and the prices are reasonable plus tables have white tablecloths!
Apr 6th, 2014, 12:37 PM
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By the way, The Bayside overlooks Venetian Bay. Upstairs you need a reservation. Downstairs you do not. There is also a rooftop section to which I have never been. To answer your question, I have eaten just about everything on their menu. From liver and onions, to the fish of the day, hamburger, meat loaf and mashed potatoes, salads, crab and spinach soup, chicken salad sandwich, coconut shrimp--all good. For some reason I cannot find the kitchen when in Naples so I eat out a lot!
Apr 7th, 2014, 04:12 AM
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I like Bayside, although like many Naples restaurants, one turn off for many people is that it has a VERY old demographic. (And I say this as a social security receiver myself!).
OK, that list, I'll try to comment on each, but it seems a kind of odd compilation:
The Dock at Crayton Cove, I've been going there for some 40 years -- even before I lived in Naples. It's ultra casual and boisterous. Decent, but not great food. Just like of an open air casual dining institution. But incidentally, I happen to like Riverwalk at Tin City better -- it's sister restaurant which seems not quite so crowded.
Barbatella, just a couple years old, but perfectly delightful, casual Italian, nicest if you sit outside. Really good thin crust pizzas, and generally very good food at more reasonable prices than places like Campiello which "tends to take itself too seriously".
Bha Bha. We last ate there in January. Now I'm no expert at Persian food, but I've always thought it is very full of flavor. Everything there seems so bland. It just doesn't do much for me, maybe because they try too much to appeal to a broader base of people who might be turned off by "too different" food. In fact, I felt a surprisingly large portion of their meal is essentially just very "Americanized" dishes with the slightest hint of "Middle Eastern".
Chez Boet: Kind of fun, but it seems to lack any real "buzz" or feel to me. Their main thing is Tagines, but the one we had seemed like nothing but fairly bland rice, very little other ingredients for the rather high price. I also has a rack of lamb there once for something like $35 and there were honestly not four decent bites of lamb -- it was tiny and ALL bones. Just seems very overpriced for what feels like a "strip shopping mall restaurant".
Let me add in here, Blue Provence, which is right across the street from Chez Boet. It is perhaps a little more expensive than Chez Boet, and is also "casual French" but is SO MUCH more worth it, in my book. The atmosphere is nicer, especially in the candle lit garden, and the food is really very good and abundant. In fact, I've always kind of thought Chez Boet relies on the business they get from people who just can't get into the much larger but way more popular Blue Provence.
Sea Salt -- OK, actually owned by the same people who have Barbatella. But it just seems so "pretentious". We had the most obnoxious waiter there one night who kept telling us how wonderful everything was -- was he trying to convince us? Don't get me wrong, it's really very good food, however.
Escargot 41. I've honestly never been and friends who have seem to offer widely differing opinions. I know it has an almost cult-like following, but I've heard too many stories of really slow and bad service, and poorly cooked items that had to be sent back to give it a try.
Handsome Harry's -- as mentioned it is probably closing. There is a lot of drama going on there. I like it much better for lunch, but as a spring off from Tommy Bahamas, I'd honestly prefer just to go across the street to Tommy Bahamas -- always good and lots of "fun" atmosphere.
Sam Bucco Bistro? I've never heard of it and looked it up. There are a ton of newer places way north towards Bonita that I just never get to.
Cafe Normandie -- never had dinner there, but an absolute favorite for lunch. Really excellent food that reminds you of the same food you'd get at a good Paris bistro for lunch!
I guess the bottom line is that while I'm in NYC or another big city, very fancy and somewhat "pretentious" dining can be fine, but while in Naples, I really prefer more casual, laid back, and just really good food. It seems more and more of Naples restaurants try to be "too grand" for their own good. Even Campiello, which I have loved from when it opened, now seems to have so much "attitude".
OK, that list, I'll try to comment on each, but it seems a kind of odd compilation:
The Dock at Crayton Cove, I've been going there for some 40 years -- even before I lived in Naples. It's ultra casual and boisterous. Decent, but not great food. Just like of an open air casual dining institution. But incidentally, I happen to like Riverwalk at Tin City better -- it's sister restaurant which seems not quite so crowded.
Barbatella, just a couple years old, but perfectly delightful, casual Italian, nicest if you sit outside. Really good thin crust pizzas, and generally very good food at more reasonable prices than places like Campiello which "tends to take itself too seriously".
Bha Bha. We last ate there in January. Now I'm no expert at Persian food, but I've always thought it is very full of flavor. Everything there seems so bland. It just doesn't do much for me, maybe because they try too much to appeal to a broader base of people who might be turned off by "too different" food. In fact, I felt a surprisingly large portion of their meal is essentially just very "Americanized" dishes with the slightest hint of "Middle Eastern".
Chez Boet: Kind of fun, but it seems to lack any real "buzz" or feel to me. Their main thing is Tagines, but the one we had seemed like nothing but fairly bland rice, very little other ingredients for the rather high price. I also has a rack of lamb there once for something like $35 and there were honestly not four decent bites of lamb -- it was tiny and ALL bones. Just seems very overpriced for what feels like a "strip shopping mall restaurant".
Let me add in here, Blue Provence, which is right across the street from Chez Boet. It is perhaps a little more expensive than Chez Boet, and is also "casual French" but is SO MUCH more worth it, in my book. The atmosphere is nicer, especially in the candle lit garden, and the food is really very good and abundant. In fact, I've always kind of thought Chez Boet relies on the business they get from people who just can't get into the much larger but way more popular Blue Provence.
Sea Salt -- OK, actually owned by the same people who have Barbatella. But it just seems so "pretentious". We had the most obnoxious waiter there one night who kept telling us how wonderful everything was -- was he trying to convince us? Don't get me wrong, it's really very good food, however.
Escargot 41. I've honestly never been and friends who have seem to offer widely differing opinions. I know it has an almost cult-like following, but I've heard too many stories of really slow and bad service, and poorly cooked items that had to be sent back to give it a try.
Handsome Harry's -- as mentioned it is probably closing. There is a lot of drama going on there. I like it much better for lunch, but as a spring off from Tommy Bahamas, I'd honestly prefer just to go across the street to Tommy Bahamas -- always good and lots of "fun" atmosphere.
Sam Bucco Bistro? I've never heard of it and looked it up. There are a ton of newer places way north towards Bonita that I just never get to.
Cafe Normandie -- never had dinner there, but an absolute favorite for lunch. Really excellent food that reminds you of the same food you'd get at a good Paris bistro for lunch!
I guess the bottom line is that while I'm in NYC or another big city, very fancy and somewhat "pretentious" dining can be fine, but while in Naples, I really prefer more casual, laid back, and just really good food. It seems more and more of Naples restaurants try to be "too grand" for their own good. Even Campiello, which I have loved from when it opened, now seems to have so much "attitude".
Apr 7th, 2014, 06:01 AM
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You're right about The Bayside having an old demographic. Several times we had to move our chairs to allow a wheelchair or walker through! I forgot about Blue Provence. Didn't go this year but remember having an excellent meal there.
Apr 7th, 2014, 06:09 AM
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Many thanks - there is more than enough to keep us busy. On the evening of our anniversary we will take a stroll to watch the sunset probably Naples Pier - any suggestions for pre dinner drinks - we are both big beer swillers (not very romantic and we also like cocktails) and wondered whether the Old Naples Pub would fit the bill or maybe Tommy Bahamas?
Apr 7th, 2014, 07:09 AM
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Tommy Bahamas will be jammed with people waiting for tables and very loud at the bar. I don't see anything very special about Old Naples Pub. How about Ridgeway's, where you can have drinks outside at the "counter/bar"? Or maybe inside with music? Close walk to the pier.
