Sanibel and Captiva Islands offer a variety of dining options. The islands are most noted for their many great seafood restaurants nestled in cozy tropical shopping centers to Gulf front dining under palm trees. On Sanibel, Traders Store & Cafe is one of the most popular restaurants with a fantastic location on the island’s main thoroughfare Periwinkle Way. Traders serves up American cuisine ranging from barbecued baby back ribs, macadamia-crusted grouper, swordfish to sesame-seared tuna salad with Asian slaw and wasabi vinaigrette. There is a casual atmosphere with a friendly serving staff.

Thistle Lodge on Sanibel Island offers a historical beachfront lunch and dinner dining overlooking the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Dine indoors or outdoors while you watch the palms sway in the breeze and soak up the spectacular sunset. Thistle Lodge offers a full bar on site, children’s menu, happy hour and early bird specials. On the other hand, Ellington’s Jazz Club and Restaurant is a new and popular addition to Sanibel and offers great cuisine, class and some very cool cats! Ellington’s has a welcoming atmosphere with fantastic live jazz while you dine on Floridian style seafood dishes with their own twist. Start off with Dizzy’s Swingin’ Fried Lobster Ravioli or Fitzgerald’s Duck Confit Bruschetta. Unique soups and salads include Coltrane’s Clam Chowder, Gershwin’s Tomato & Mozzarella Duet and The Cotton Club Caesar. Entrees include Sinatra’s Surf & Turf, Pasta Brubeck, The Duke’s Red Snapper and many more delicious meals.

Another popular restaurant on Sanibel Island is Biddles Bucket offering a family-friendly atmosphere. The restaurant serves hamburgers and other fun fare and is located in a cheery, pastel-colored building in the commercial district of Sanibel. This establishment is family-owned and the owners have taken the time to make the restaurant popular with children. Biddles Bucket-simply “The Bucket” to locals-has attractions such as an arcade and a frog tank which can keep the young ones busy before the meal arrives. The family owns another establishment off-island which serves more adult fare and which was voted the most romantic restaurant in a local poll.

On Captiva Island there are three restaurants of particular note. First, The Bubble Room on Captiva offers something very unique. This restaurant is an eclectic collection of items and memorabilia decorating its tables and walls. There is an electric Choo Choo Train that runs on elevated railroad tracks overhead throughout the dining room. The Bubble Room is as notable for its décor and design as it is for its food. The cuisine includes family-friendly dishes, which come at an affordable price and waited on by their cheerful Bubble Scouts.

Second, The Mucky Duck, which constitutes a very English-style pub, and is the only restaurant on the island which is directly on the beach with ocean views of the Gulf of Mexico. After eating, take a long walk on the beach, do some shelling and sit back and watch the sunset. All this makes it a favorite with locals and visitors alike. Another popular lunch and dinner restaurant for tourist and the locals is The Green Flash on Captiva. The Green Flash is located on the waterfront on Roosevelt Channel, overlooking the bayside Intracoastal Waterway. The restaurant serves up great seafood and is navigable by automobile and boat alike and offers water views of Pine Island Sound from every seat.