Restaurants in Estero

Owners Ines Josupeit and chef James King join culinary forces at Table 209, a bistro tucked into the historical buildings and sunny harbor walk of Punta Gorda. James brings his 20 years of experience working in kitchens throughout San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland to the restaurant, cobbling fresh seafood, prime meats, and seasonal ingredients into innovative gourmet dishes. Every Monday night, Ines grabs the culinary baton, pulling from her own German heritage to simmer up an authentic menu of traditional German sausages and potato pancakes. Out in the dining room, local artwork festoons the walls, as guests sit around white tablecloths, illuminated by flickering candles that stop passing cavemen dead in their tracks. Outside in the patio, glimmering strands of hanging lights cascade above rows of tabletops and lush plants.

Before moving to Naples in 1994, Lisa and Philippe Boët spent nine years in Paris, retreating to the French countryside on weekends for traditional, home-cooked meals with ingredients from the gardens and farms of family and friends. The duo re-creates that authentic experience at Chez Boet French Home Cooking, where a culinary staff headed by Lisa whips up French classics such as french onion soup, bouillabaisse, steak frites, and fondue made with imported French and Swiss cheeses. The Boëts' commitment to using locally sourced seafood and locally grown, organic, and seasonal ingredients has since earned Chez Boet the distinction of being the Naples' first certified green business.

Meals commence in the restaurant's 2,000-square-foot facility, which houses a main dining room, bar salon, and a covered outdoor terrace. Tones of raspberry, eggplant, and pomegranate grace the walls alongside wallpaper that depicts classic Piero Fornasetti portraits, which guests can admire and mimes can challenge to lifelong no-speaking contests. Along with live tunes by pianist Bob Terri on Thursdays, Chez Boet hosts special events and themed luncheons throughout the year, which have included jazz brunches, author-attended book launches, and a Moroccan-themed dinner with live belly dancers.

Tiki torches cast a flickering light across The Real Macaw's outdoor patio, where guests divide their attention between plates of Caribbean cuisine and picturesque views of the nearby waterfall. Named for the real macaw parrot whose occasional squawks add a colorful soundtrack to each meal, the restaurant has earned local renown for its fusion of Floridian ingredients and Caribbean flavors. This fusion is fully apparent in the macadamia-nut-encrusted goat-cheese salad, which culls its featured ingredient from the Turtle Creek dairy farm in Palm Beach county. Other exemplary dishes include Trinidadian-style crab cakes, wild salmon roasted over cedar wood, and salsas brimming with tropical fruits. On certain nights, the percussive sounds of alligators chomping on roasted duckling join with live music to drown out the parrot’s incessant requests to not allow alligators in the restaurant.

At Tropical Palm Cafe’s island-themed bar, mixologists shake cocktails and diners split deep-fried calamari with housemade marina. Chefs draw upon experience accrued during nearly two decades in business to roast racks of New Zealand lamb and stuff fillets of sole with crabmeat. Live entertainment during occasional shows fuels happy chatter and distracts tablemates from the fact that you are still wearing the T-shirt that ruined Thanksgiving.

Originally from Sao Paulo, Cafe Brazil owner Denise Santos curates a menu of authentic cuisine that speaks to the diverse tastes of her native country with its steak and seafood entrees, fluffed risotto, and house-specialty Brazilian churrasco. Renowned for its all-you-can-eat buffet and a wait staff that speaks fluent Brazilian Portuguese, the intimate hotspot welcomes homesick ex-pats and locals seeking to expand their horizons seven days a week. Flanked by tiled walls, an ornate bar with gold trim, and an Amazonian jaguar ready to pounce on plates, simple wooden tables play host to meals served for lunch or dinner. Palm-leaf ceiling fans call forth gentle breezes to kiss diners’ shoulders, and live entertainment on select nights feeds hungry ears with the sounds of bossa nova, samba, and sizzling orchestras of thin-cut steaks.

At Jaegerhaus, just about everything is imported from Germany: the age-old family recipes, the curtains, and perhaps most importantly, the man who cooks the food. Chef Sebastian Heyer and his family moved to the United States in 2009 to fulfill their dream of opening a German restaurant.

The Heyers soon transformed a local Naples establishment into an old-time Southern German café, and established a business that has earned multiple Naples Daily News Readers' Choice awards in the categories of "Best German Food" and "Dishes Most Fun to Pronounce Incorrectly." Inside, dirndl-clad servers deliver authentic German eats, such as wiener schnitzel, or schweinehaxe—a skinless roasted-pork shank. Visitors can get cozy amid the intimate dining room's curio decor, or slide up next to the trellis-lined, exposed-brick bar while sipping on domestic and imported beers.