The lobster mac and cheese was as good as other reviews indicated, enough for an entree. Unfortunately, the crab cakes were fair at best. Sesame Tuna was excellent, and Cioppino was very good but very rich. Great view and sunset at outside tables; reservations needed. Will go again next year.
Review Source:Seafood was fresh and good. Big place and really busy but Chris worked hard to take care of us plus many others. Had to wait for a table, but the wait was no longer than what we were told. Only quibble - the bartender really didn't offer many choices for wine. When we finally sat down and saw the menu it had many better by-the-glass choices.
Be aware: if you use a coupon, they will automatically add the tip (18% on the full tab).
We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Fresh Catch Bistro. Our party of six was seated after a short wait on a busy Friday night  - we had made reservations.  Our server was friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive without being intrusive.  We were all pleased with our entrees; the grouper was fresh, expertly prepared, with sauces and sides that complimented, but did not overpower the delicate flavor of the fish. Â
The restaurant is nicely situated on the setting definitely contributed to our enjoyment of the meal. Â
Fresh Catch is not inexpensive, but we felt we received good value for our dining dollar. Â We all agreed we would return again
Let's play "Plus one; Minus one."
+1 for taking reservations over Open Table and having my table for five ready when I arrived five minutes early.
+1 for having a Yelp offer: a free drink coupon upon check-in
-1 for having to purchase an entrée ($25 and up) in order to get the free drink
-1 for the waitress not knowing about the free drink Yelp offer
-1 for the waitress bringing the drink to my table and then telling me she was going to charge me for it because I only ordered a soup and a salad but not an entrée. Â
(So far, we're at negative 1 for a score!)
+1 for free bread and an oil-pesto dip. Â But -1 for it being white bread and not whole grain (picky, I know)
-1 for my Jack & Coke having a lime in it without asking, and -1 for the lime being old
+1 for a very tasty house salad with intricate layers of flavor and vitamin-packed ingredients
+1 for a real live candle on the table
+1 for a tasty, if not filling, bowl of clam chowder.
-1 for prepackaged soup crackers. Â -1 for prepackaged soup crackers that were also stale. Â STALE FOOD ON THE TABLE? Â NO!!!
-1 for the restaurant's design. Â (I may fly off the handle here) Â There are dark blue and light blue sound deadening panels hanging...well...everywhere. Â Mounted to the ceiling, mounted to the walls, suspended from the vaulted ceiling... very weird. Â Instead of putting up drapery in a few places to absorb sound, they hung loads of panels that didn't match the rest of the room AND they put up cheap blinds on all the windows...every window had a set of blinds with a manufacturer's warning sticker on the front. Â The lighting was not thought-through: almost no direct light in the whole place leads to a weird washed-out feeling. The traditional wall sconces had nothing to do with the elaborate brass chandeliers, which had nothing to do with the blue hanging lights over the kitchen bar, which had nothing to do with the tropical leafed ceiling fans. Â The ceiling fans had light kits on them, and they were being used to light an entire row of tables. Â All that, with the dated wall panels and carpet simply means one thing... RENOVATE!
+1 for an excellent dessert assortment
-1 for having a nasty bathroom.
+1 for windows that look directly out on the ocean.
+1 for having huge sliding windows that can open when it's warm.
One of the best eating experiences in a while... Food was soooo good and very reasonably priced for the portion and how nice the establishment is. Â Wahoo was very good and wife had some delicious dish in a martini glass. Â We had a tasty! bottle of wine for just $26. Â The waiter went out of his way to get our 17month old pickles from the restaurant below too... He insisted. Everyone was so curtious. Â
And the best part was the view of the sunset from the deck, looked like the inside would have been the same too.... Â All seating works. Â
Opens at 5, packs out quick(was on a Wednesday), so suggest a reservation... Â All railing tables were already reserved and we got there at 5:05. Â
Crayons and color page was a nice thought too... Â
Gotta try it.
By far the best dining establishment on Fort Myers Beach despite what another restaurant may claim! Food, service ambiance and few were outstanding. Our server, Chris, was attentive, informative and personable. Â His recommendation of the crusted grouper was right on!..I know where I'm spending my dining dollar!
Review Source:Maria, my bartender and server, was excellent. She was very friendly and made my dining experience worth the trip to Ft. Myers Beach. The food was decent, but not spectacular. I ordered the oysters sashimi, and without question, I had a piece of shell in my mouth. Concerned I might chip a tooth, I didn't finish them. I'm not sure I really enjoyed all of the flavors together. It was too much for me. My crab legs were delicious, but I'm not sure you can go wrong when you dip anything in butter.
The ambiance was nice and the staff seemed VERY hospitable and friendly. Seems like a great place for happy hour or a sunset.
I took my mother here for Xmas eve dinner. If you're in Ft Myers Beach for a holiday, make a reservation!!! They were packed!
This place is great and THE best food we had during our stay.
The restaurant itself is a bit pricey and not particularly elaborate in decor... but the staff is great! The place was clean! the food was AMAZING!
We had the tuna martini - AWESOME!!! It's fresh tuna sashimi with seawead salad, veggies, and an awesome sauce. GET IT!
Then I had the surf n turf prime rib with lobster tail. All i can say is WOW. Perfectly medium rare meat, lobster was not over-broiled, veggies were crisp n the mashed potato was creamy out of this world!
My mother had the scallops grilled with a citrus blanc sauce, with veggies and salad. She loved it. Â The only thing i'd say is that for the price, they could make better veggies - they not frozen!
Their bread is great too!
We got the chocolate mousse cake to share for dessert. WOW!!
A++++!
I visited this restaurant with my husband, parents, and sister & brother-in-law. Unfortunately, it was after dark, so if there was a view, we couldn't tell. The dining room was just a big open space-not much ambience. Our server was attentive. The food was just so-so. I enjoyed the bread with the pesto dipping sauce, but the garden salad was unexciting and my brother-in-law's caesar salad was missing the dressing! Â Our entrees were somewhat underwhelming. Nothing stood out as particularly good. Desserts were yummy. i wouldn't go back-many better choices in the Ft. Myers area.
Review Source:Excellent food. Â Great atmosphere. Â Attentive servers. Â We sat outside overlooking the beach. Â I had the Spiced Pecan & Cranberry Crusted Grouper and my friend had the Stuffed Salmon. Â Both entrees were very fresh, flavorful and well presented. Â The Caesar salad is huge and mess to eat, so be warned! Â All in all a great experience. Â I would go back if in the area again.
Review Source:nWe ate here twice during our stay in Fort Myers Beach. We never eat twice at the same restaurant when we're on vacation as we try to eat at as many places as possible. This was an exception!
The lobster mac & cheese was OMG sooooooo GOOD! In fact, we had that the 2nd time we visited too.
I had the blackened scallops both times and they were cooked perfectly and just melted in your mouth. Â
We also tried the oysters rockefeller, escargot, and the crab cakes. All were very good except the crab cakes - we actually sent them back as they were inedible.
I had a few friends who recommended Fresh Catch and then read the review so I thought I'd give it a try. Â It is by far the best restaurant on Fort Myers Beach!
We arrived Friday and thought we would stop in for Happy Hour. Â Our bartenders Maria and John were great and made us wonderful martinis. Â We ordered the Lobster Mac'n Cheese which was rich, gooey and had a whole lobster tail on top! Â I'm a Lobster Mac'n Cheese fan and this was the best I ever had. Â We also had the Oysters Rockefeller and the Fried Calamari. Â Both were wonderful. Â The staff talked to us and even the owner introduced himself. Â We liked it so much we went back for dinner with friends. Â We were greated by everyone like we were family. Â John and Maria remembered what we drank the night before. Â This time we sat at a table outside. Â The sunset was perfect and the view was the best on Fort Myers Beach. Â We had the Grouper and the Cioppino, and licked our plates clean. Â Our friends ordered a Caeser Salad and the presentation was beautiful. Â The only reason not to try this great restaurant is it will make it too difficult the next time we want a reservation.
We HAD to be there on an off night. We drove from Naples to have dinner oceanfront, very high expectations as it's #4 on tripadvisor and had great Yelp reviews. Our waiter was not all smiles and giggles. We commented that he must be busy (since we waited about 30 minutes to even place our order, etc) and he said someone called out and the restaurant hadn't been this busy all off season. Our food was totally subpar. My grouper was very rubbery and definitely reheated (microwave?) Ad's dinner was better (something with mayo (?) but his oysters starter was gross. The oysters were HUGE and way too many flavors kicking around for raw oysters. For $120 bill, it was definitely subpar, not worth the hike from Naples.
Review Source:I have lived in this area since 1972 and leave it to Yelp to help me find another place to dine that I didn't know about. Â This is off-off season for our area so we were the first ones in the door at 5:15 and had the place to ourselves until about 6.
After reading about the killer happy hour deals we decided to jump in and try the peel & eat shrimp, oysters on the 1/2 shell and oysters rockefeller. As promised all were a whopping $5 and the portions were impressive. So here we are at one of the reasons for the missing 5th star...the shrimp was "fishy" and the cocktail sauce was wimpy...the rockefleller should have been called "spinach & cheese" on the 1/2 shell and the raw oysters were just...okay. So onward to the main courses...prime rib for my hubby and grilled salmon for moi. My salmon was done perfectly (med) and my veggies were al dente and not drowning in sauce so I was a happy camper. My hubby's prime rib was also done perfectly ( med rare) and you could taste a nice hint of the herb rub used on the roast. The only deal breaker (again for the missing 5 th star) was that the "steak fries" were quartered baked potatoes...brown in the middle with that already been cooked once taste. Hello...baked potatoes can be recycled in many ways but not that way. We washed all the above mentioned down with a tasty Pinot Noir named Van Duzer from the Willamette Valley region of Oregon.
It was nice to see that the servers were helpful to the bartender (who seemed to be new on the job) while she was the only one with customers.
We will return...for the beautiful beachfront view, the good service and the food...a nice place to have in your little black date book.
First off, I need to say that this place is not a $$ it is DEFINITELY a $$$. All of the entree's are $18-$30. Not a cheap dinner by any means. But thank you yelp for helping me find a good place to eat. I personally would not feel comfortable in shorts and a t shirt here, like some of the other reviews stated. Thank goodness we dressed up, as it is a little more upscale.
HOWEVER, the food and service here was great. The lobster Mac and cheese was delish with big pieces of lobster in the baked goodness. YUM! I ordered fried shrimp  with mixed veggies and they were just as good (wasn't feeling like a fru fru plate). My mother got the pecan crusted grouper and it looked amazing.
The view is great but once it gets dark out it is really hard to see your plate if you are by the railing. Sunset is wonderful.
Will def go back next time I am in Ft. Meyers visiting the 'rents.
I have been to NYC many times, and I would rate this right along with the best in the city. Â The Chef's choice- with the side salad and pecan/cranberry crusted Grouper was to die for. Â The Mahi Mahi grilled with fruit Salza was also done to perfection. The cocktails were generous and healthy tasting. Â Service was very attentive and the fresh baked bread and pesto was fantastic. Â The view- dining on the patio was wonderful. The evening was cloudy, but the surprising sunset was just beautiful. Â The dining experience was top rate and you must eat here and experience top notch service and food. Â I would suggest this restaurant to anyone and certainly is one of, if not the top restaurant in the area.
Review Source:Easily the best happy hour deal in Ft. Myers Beach, and this deal would give happy hours in San Francisco a run for their money. Most app plates are $5, huge, and delicious, including perfectly fried and not-at-all-greasy calamari, steamed Gulf shrimp (though all steamed shrimp requires Old Bay spice, and Florida's version of Old Bay is inauthentic and reaks of cloves--just stick to the drawn butter instead), and the most yummy, cheesy lobster mac and cheese (that might be $7--no worries-it's worth it). N.B. The Oysters Rockefeller is interesting, and rich with Pernod, but Gulf Oysters, in my opinion, have to be fried in a po-boy or just left in the water.
Beer and glasses of wine are also discounted.
The restaurant is perched over a stretch of white sand beach, and in August you won't have any trouble spotting huge sting rays trolling the shallow waters. If you're lucky you might also catch some manatees.
But the gorgeous view notwithstanding, the real reason to come here (after the food) is the service. Grab a seat at the bar and chat with Maria, who is lovely, funny and full of tips about local spots to hit.
We could not believe this place was not more crowded. Now that I've left, I'm willing to share this secret with the rest of you.
What a Catch.
Enjoy.
wonderful food. I had the pecan crusted grouper and my husband the grilled tuna. the pesto and olive oil with bread was great and our appetizer of the caprese tower was delicious. it was a bit pricy but we both felt that the price matched the quality of the food. go, your taste buds won't regret it!
Review Source:Had a really nice early evening with my family. Eight of us descended on the bar for specialty martinis, appetizers and desserts. The calamari and escargot were outstanding and the crab cakes and caprese were very good. We had an excellent selection of desserts including a satisfying creme brûlée, a decadent chocolate volcano, a super-moist carrot cake, and a "bar-side" bananas foster (out of this world) Service and atmosphere were relaxed, yet refined. If I lived here I would be a regular and frequent diner! If you go say hi to Maria at the bar!
Review Source:Fresh Catch Bistro in Fort Myers Beach was delicious! My husband and I had a wonderful dinner. We started outside on the patio with a gorgeous rainbow/sunset setting, but when it started raining the staff was so nice to bring us inside, when we were ready. We still had a great view through the large windows. Our server, Hugh, was wonderful and so was the bartender (blonde, cannot remember her name). We had the oysters shashimi, the blackend grouper and the Alaskan king crab legs. All of the seafood tasted very fresh.
Review Source:Everything was beyond excellent. Our waiter Jason was outstanding, always refilling our drinks without us even having the chance to ask for a refill. I went with my mother, father and sister; two glasses of wine, 2 lemonades, 3 sodas (free refills too!), 1 appetizer (lobster Mac and cheese; absolutely fantastic), 4 entrees, and 2 deserts and our bill was $155. In my opinion for that amount of food and beverages for 4 people is not overly priced at all! Great place and great food!
Review Source:FCB is a restaurant on the beach, not a beachy restaurant. There's a difference.
Atmosphere: You won't find a sandy floor, buckets of beer nor the occasional tipped over wooden bar stool. Very clean and open dining area inside. The wall of windows facing a very peaceful stretch of white sand beach and 18-20ft ceilings really make for a great space. Outside may be even better. A narrow stretch of deck allows everyone an unobstructed view, only 10 feet or so above a huge stretch of beach.
Crowd: Tourists in shorts and tees - no swimsuits - to business casual corporate types. Several couples and a couple of families that were seated a comfortable distance from each other.
Service: My life is centered around improving customer experience in the retail world and the same is true for the food industry - the people who interact with customers on a daily basis are the most important asset. FCB has great service. We are talking great service for ANY restaurant.
Besides always being prompt and courteous, halfway thru our meal, while on the deck, we had a pesky fly (common at dusk on beaches) that wouldn't leave my co-worker alone.(I told him to shower more than once a week!) The waiter noticed his arms flailing, saw that he was not on fire and quickly moved us to a new table inside, right next to the window. Never for a second did he make us feel like we were being high maintenance. In fact, we had a primary waiter, but occasionally each of the other waiters would check on us. I don't know if this level of service is the norm in Fort Myers beach, but I would be proud to have this team taking care of my customers.
Food: After the super fresh bread with pesto and infused olive oil, we moved on to the mozzarella caprese and crab cakes. I have yet to meet a crab cake I didn't like, but my buddy from Boston gave them the thumbs up, so I assume they were good. The caprese was excellent. The red and yellow tomatoes were so vibrant, I thought they were injecting them with artifical color. Drizzled with balsalmic and a lot of coarsely ground black pepper - gave it a nice crunch here and there.
We each had the grouper prepared a slightly different way. You can choose from several specialties, but can also build your own meal with choices of cooking method, sauces and sides using mahi mahi, grouper, shrimp, scallops, steak, squirrel and chicken.
I went with grilled grouper and lemon butter. If you are gonna have fresh fish, why cover it in heavy sauce or blacken away the flavor, I ask?? Â It was as good as any I have had. My co-worker had it grilled with the carribean sauce and loved it. Entree salads and sides were standard fare, nothing memorable. The dessert tray looked wonderful - bananas foster, multi-layer choco cake, etc - but we were stuffed from the generous portions already ingested.
Value: We did two apps, 6-7 call drinks and three nicely portioned entrees (on the top end of the menu) Â for $140. That's good value, even for the suburbs anywhere in the country.
If you have a hankering for overly fried, tasteless tourist food with waiters dressed as pirates pushing multi-colored frozen drinks and body shots on you, keep on driving. But, if you prefer a relaxing environment, with a beautiful view, fantastic service and food, please visit FCB.
Disclaimer: Squirrels are NOT on the menu, just seeing if you were paying attention.
Visit this place! Great portions, good value, decent wine list. We were 6, and had apps- king crabs, escargot, lobster Mac, calamari, tuna martini. Tuna and Mac were awesome, calamari was great and very big, king crabs were big and the escargot was ok (something flavor-wise didn't work but still good). Main courses / sea bass with risotto, Tuna, sesame encrusted, grilled sea bass with Pan Asian sauce, chicken breast  and grilled scallops. All were great. Bread and pesto were fantastic. Qupe Syrah at $56 decently priced.  We were stuffed and considered out $380 tab with tip to be a great deal.
Update - went back 2 days later - had some kobe burgers and a bunch of apps and 2 glasses of wine and total bill was $230 for 6. Enjoyed it just as much.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
