Happened upon Joanie's on the way to Naples. Â Cute funky decor, wonderful staff, like family, and they treat you the same. Â We had burgers, charbroiled...one of the best I've ever had. Â We liked the place so much we stopped in again the next day on our way back! Â Highly recommended.
Review Source:Another place and another time......
Joanies is it. Â You have been to many places before but not like this.
Driving a long lonely road punctuated with an occaisional  indian owned farm surrounded by chain link fencing dug into the earth so the gators can not get in is NOT your typical route to good food; but that is Joanies.
The staff could not be nicer, the music is friendly and the 'honor system' beer is cold.
Strangers just chat with each other. Be prepared to tell where your from, where your headed and what you ordered for food; it's that kind of place.
I stumbled on it years ago on a trip down from Boston and now seek it out whenever I am in south FL. Â You should too.
Bon apetit'
Chuck from Boston
We spotted Joanie's a year ago on our annual Florida vacation. Â Yesterday we returned, and glad we did. Â We were there for a late lunch. Â They were serving 35 people on a tour bus plus almost every table had customers. Â They even had some musical entertainment. Â The music was a bit loud for us because we wanted to be able to talk to each other, so we took a table on the porch.
Wife had gator salad; I had shrimp with avocado. Â We shared fried tomatoes, and we had some Key West Ale. Â All was good, and considering the number of people they were serving we were amazed that they did it so well.
We also enjoyed the photo exhibits in the hall and rest rooms!
I would not give it one "$" rating, however. Â "$$" at least, but worth it.
We'll make it a regular stop on future trips to that area.
I had the great fortune of stopping in Joanie's a few days ago and it was a great adventure back in time. Â Joanie's reminds me of places I've been many years ago - a local swamp pub/restaurant with great food and art and atmosphere! Â The people that worked there were great! Â Friendly and helpful and the Gator Tail was the best I ever had! Â The Grilled shrimp served over home made salsa and fry bread was fantastic!!! Â The prices are a little high for a number of items - but being the place is full of artifacts and art and is a trip back in time - it makes it worth the price. Â I feel like I could spend a month going through the place and not see everything.
The people that some in are interesting too - there were a few Park Rangers in for lunch and they were talking of Panther sightings and Bear sightings and othere interesting stories. Â I am looking forward to visiting again. Â (I hope soon). Â I wish it wasn't a 2 day trip to get there.
Don't postpone joy - stop in for some grub and a cold one and look around at the visually stimulating, music filled, trip back in time. (I posted some of my images that I took here)
We discovered this wonderful funky roadside gem while driving on the Tamami.  Since it was holiday week traffic was a bit busy. We stopped for lunch and we were so surprised how happening it was!  We grabbed a table on the inside porch enjoying the delightful sounds from the band. Service was very good. Loved the grouper sandwich I would skip the Fry Bread save room for the peanut butter  yummy!!
Review Source:We frequent the Everglades several times a year and have gone to Joanies  at least three times. Sadly all three visits were not good experiences and we will not return.  Unfortunate, because the inside of this cafe has so much character and swampy charm!  The wait staff is painfully slow and borders on just ignoring customers in favor of chatting it up in the kitchen.  The prices are absurd for the quality of food they offer.  I got a 1/2 lb of peel and eat shrimp($11.95) thinking it would be hard to go wrong with such a simple dish, however it came to  me having been steamed,frozen,and then steamed again.  Essentially they were mush and very small.  Husband got the famous crab cake sandwich ($13.95) which wasn't cooked all the way through and had more filler than crab and had zero crab taste.  Also ordered the fry bread with salsa (5.95).  Salsa consisted of big chunks of squash, zucchini, tomato and onion which wasn't conducive to eating on the flavorless bread.
After visiting Joanie's three times and having a similar experience each time I believe this review is more than fair and it's not that we just caught them on an off day. Â
For better food and service (albeit less charm) visit Everglades City.
My girlfriend and I were on our way back to Sarasota from Miami and we decided to drive through the Everglades in hopes of seeing some Florida wildlife, we were both starved when I drove past Joanies Blue crab Cafe I had a hunch about this place and quickly made a U turn. We started out with some peel and eat shrimp which were really tasty & fresh and also had some some fried green tomatoes which were outstanding & by far the best I ever had we ordered a crab cake sandwich which we split considering it was huge and it was sooo sooo good and filling. The staff were very friendly and the Owner Joanie stopped by our table to see if everything met our standards which it exceeded I can't wait until we move to the Sunshine state so we can visit Joanies again & again & again.
Review Source:This is a place to be seen - if it weren't in the middle of nowhere in swampsville! Â LOVED the fact that this restaurant has its own resident croc and pheasant (or was it a peacock? Â who cares - it was awesome!). Â And the live music playing in the background just set the scene... it was a kind of honky tonk blues and it made me feel like had been transported to a different place and time.
The food was pretty decent, but honestly, that's not what made this place. Â It was the atmosphere. Â And what an atmosphere at that! Â Honestly, if you find yourself driving across southern Florida, you HAVE to stop into this place and say hello to Joanie - you'll be glad you did.
Great swamp food! Hubby and I tried the gator with fry bread- yummy and totally unexpected. Â The gator wasn't your run-of-the-mill fried unidentifiable meat nugget! It was cut into strips with no breading and sauteed in garlic-yumminess! We also had fried green tomatoes - a little on the greasy side, but still delicious!
Great atmosphere! Guy strumming his guitar and singing classic Americana was really cool. The place is clean and service is friendly. There were quite a few families, so I guess this is a good place for kids too.
Oh, really cool feature: grab your own beer from coolers or fridge- it makes you feel even more at home at this down home place!
I love these hole-in-the-wall finds along the road. This shack is tucked away near the Shark Valley Bike Trail in the Everglades. By the time we got there around 4PM, they were out of crab. After a visible sigh, we ordered the peel and eat shrimp, red snapper sandwich, cucumber salad and grilled corn. Everything is made to order and soooo fresh. Portions here are huge and sandwiches come with fries, hush puppies and coleslaw. They have a great selection of beers as well. Definitely a must try if you're in this neck of the woods.
They also have sauteed gator and frog legs but my stomach was feeling less than adventurous that day. But please try it and let me know how it is!
Oh, and they have live folk music and outdoor porch to enjoy it!
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 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
