Restaurants in Naples

The Thai Thais

The Thai Thais are two customer-favorite restaurants in Naples, Florida. Despite their name, they don’t just serve Thai food, but also venture into Japanese eats. Here’s what people have been saying about them:

Thai Thai Noodle Bar

 

“Nicest staff there ever was! We love their tom ka kai noodle bowl.” – Dani S.

 

“We are visiting Naples and decided to come to this spot. Let just say that the food was amazing. My husband and I enjoyed the sushi. So yummy!” – Angela O.

 

“Delicious! A hidden gem.” – A L.

Thai Thai Sushi Bowl

 

“We have eaten here a few times . . . food is always great!” – Christina F.

 

“Absolutely delicious food—all 4 of us really enjoyed every bite. The soup was yummy. Best Thai I’ve had since living in Hawaii. The curry dishes were excellent!! Atmosphere was nice too. Beer and wine only.” – Valerie B.

“Wonderful experience! From the food to the service, flawless!” – Lili O.

Should You Use Chopsticks to Eat Thai Food? Chopsticks are common in a lot of Asian countries, including China and Japan. But in Thailand, people don’t use chopsticks to eat their food. According to the food writer Leela Punyaratabandhu—who runs the Thai cooking blog SheSimmers and who wrote the cookbook Simple Thai Food—you shouldn’t only use a fork, either. Instead, it’s key to have both a fork AND a spoon. "The fork pushes the food into the spoon, transporting both the sauce and the rice. But if you transport that same bite with [just] a fork, all the liquid falls through," she said. "It's even worse when you use chopsticks."

T-Michael’s Steak and Lobster House

 

Two words: dolphin atrium. Sure, T-Michael’s has giant steaks and delectable Maine lobster. But does that even matter when there is AN OPEN-AIR ATRIUM WHERE DOLPHINS COME SAY HELLO TO GUESTS? No, it does not. The only thing that matters is that this waterfront restaurant on the Venetian Bay frequently has dolphin guests swimming by to say hello.

 

The Grill

 

With its location inside the Ritz, it’s unsurprising that The Grill is known for its ambiance, excellent service, and really great steaks. Favorite cuts here include the dry-aged new york strip and delmonico, which can be accompanied by foie gras or transformed into surf ’n’ turf entrees. Don’t let the fancy food and location fool you, though; this place is fairly relaxed.

Pinchers Crab Shack

 

Do you ever find yourself thinking that crab tastes better than lobster? Do you feel strongly that crab, not lobster, should be considered the best of the best? If you do, Pinchers is the place for you. This seafood joint has a range of seafood dishes, but it really sets itself apart with its crab offerings, from blue crab claws served with garlic bread to crab clusters served one of three ways.

Skyline Chili

 

Naples is home to a large community of former Midwesterners, so it’s not shocking that a Cincinnati, Ohio, staple like Skyline found a home here. What might be shocking is how authentically Cincinnati it is. As one of our customers put it, “Delicious!! Just like eating back home in Cincinnati!!”

If you’ve never had Skyline’s chili before, just know that it is its own thing. A secret blend of spices—(cough) cinnamon—means it’s unlike the typical chili found throughout the rest of the country.  

Michaelbob’s Championship Ribs & Steaks

 

The best ribs in Naples come from . . . Denmark? You might be surprised to find that the ribs at Michaelbob’s are imported from Denmark before being slathered in an award-winning original-recipe barbecue sauce. Co-owners Lou Bavaro and Bob Mattson obviously know what they’re doing, though, as their restaurant has won about 100 awards since opening in 1979. For instance, Michaelbob’s recently won the Naples Daily News award for Best Food in Southwest Florida.

La Cuisine Peruvian Restaurant

One of Naples’s best international restaurants is La Cuisine, where farm-to-table ingredients delivered daily go into traditional Peruvian dishes. Cooks whip up crispy pork belly and peruvian bouillabaisse, grill lamb and pair it with cilantro sauce, and slice sashimi-style fish for the raw bar. Everything tastes authentic, according to our customers, who have said things like, “Buen servicio amabilidad, comida original. Nos gusto bastante.”

Ario

At the JW Marriott on Marco Island lies one of the area’s best‚ if not the best, steak and seafood joints. Ario, which takes its name from the zodiac elements of water and fire, wows with its local seafood and steaks aged for 35 days in an onsite aging room. Its menu also delights with unexpected delicacies. There’s an octopus starter smeared with ink aioli, a black caesar with black bread and black garlic, and a butter-poached lobster tail sprinkled with popcorn. One of the most delightful is the Billionaire baked potato, topped with caviar, uni butter, bottarga, creme fraiche, truffle, and some actual gold leaf. And at $27, thousandaires can afford it, too.

Order These Cuts at a Steakhouse

If you really want to get the most out of your steakhouse meal, order a nice cut of beef:

 

• Rib eye (AKA delmonico): highly marbled, one of the richest tasting cuts of beef
• New york strip (AKA kansas city strip, top sirloin): tender with good marbling
• T-bone (AKA porterhouse when it’s cut wider): highly tender in one part with good marbling in the other