Restaurants in Naples

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.

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.

Giant vibrant fish swim across pale blue walls toward a sign painted with a familiar song lyric, "From sea to shining sea." That's because the bounty of America’s waterways is the focus of Capt. Marcos Seafood & More, with its chefs serving up seafood medleys of crab, shrimp, and lobster tails. Wild-caught fish star in simple dishes that highlight their freshness, such as hot seafood soups and cool, crisp taco salads. Homemade sauces accent salmon fillets, which can be prepared to order, along with most dishes on the menu.

Mexican paintings, pottery, and stained glass pepper Mr Tequila Grill's dining room, as diners relax and gaze upon walls that blend vibrant yellows with fiery reds that echo the heat coming out of the kitchen. Amid this setting, waiters serve plates of chicken-stuffed burritos, chimichangas, and sizzling fajitas featuring shrimp, steak, and veggies, all served on a hot skillet. However, Mr Tequila's chefs aren't content to just cook Mexican favorites. They also experiment with multicultural items such as cheese-steak tacos, which transfer the ingredients and flavors of the Philadelphia favorite into a crispy shell. To complement these eats, bartenders craft margaritas and open bottles of imported Mexican beer.

A stern statue of a Chinese soldier, flanked by a twisty shrubbery, greets patrons to Charlie Chiang’s Naples, a Chinese bistro and lounge with roots in Washington, DC. Familiar dishes such as general tso's chicken are sprinkled throughout the menu, but the kitchen specializes in more rarified Chinese-inspired fare, such as creamy sesame jumbo shrimp and sweet soy-glazed spare ribs. Other specialties include creative sushi rolls and the flaming steak Christiana, whose rum-soaked morsels are flambéed tableside by the chef's pet dragon.

Charlie Chiang's modern interior favors long, sleek lines and bursts of bright color. Carmine partitions stretch up from each booth, and a diffused rosy light glows through thin jets of water in a central fountain. On a spacious open patio, outdoor heaters and shady umbrellas protect guests from the vagaries of climate while still allowing them to chat with mermaids in the nearby Cocohatchee River.

Futuro’s whimsical dining room bursts with eye-popping colors. Bright green clapboard shutters festoon yellow walls lined with disarmingly rectangular blue booths. Nearby, domestic and imported beers fill frosty glasses at a hot-pink tiki bar. Flamingo lawn statues and wall art shaped like mermaids, sea turtles, palm trees, and sand dollars further enhance the eatery’s laid-back, beachy vibe.

Just beyond this casually quirky space, chefs bustle in the kitchen, crafting housemade pizza dough and bread for hot subs that ensconce everything from philly cheesesteak to eggplant parmesan. They also sling half-pound burgers, 15 flavors of wings, and hearty pasta dinners that are smothered in more marinara sauce than Chef Boyardee’s bath towels.