Exotic Naples elegance: New Fifth Avenue South game-changing restaurant sets November opening

Exotic Naples elegance: New Fifth Avenue South game-changing restaurant sets November opening

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

As if Fifth Avenue South couldn’t get any more fun, it will with the newest outpost of Le Colonial.

As a (very minor and junior) member of the PR firm that helped open the original restaurant in 1993 on East 57th Street in Manhattan, my first impression was that of a glamourous movie set from a bygone era.

The space was exotic and seductive, with banana trees and lush potted palms evoking laid-back elegance.

The concept: Fine-dining French-Vietnamese cuisine nestled in a lush setting evoking the romance and soft architecture of Saigon in the 1920s. The restaurant quickly developed a loyal clientele that remained devoted until its 2019 closing.

It was among the first restaurants anywhere to make lounge dining a haute trend with comfortable, luxe furnishings paired with elegant and delicious small-plate options.

But don’t just take my word for it.

Read more about Le Colonial in Naples on naplesnews.com.

More dining news:

Find a home convenient to excellent dining in southwest Florida. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

3-story hotel, Aqua restaurant to replace Pastrami Dan’s, Liki Tiki BBQ on 9th in Naples

3-story hotel, Aqua restaurant to replace Pastrami Dan’s, Liki Tiki BBQ on 9th in Naples

J. Kyle Foster | Naples Daily News

A three-story boutique hotel and Naples’ Aqua restaurant will replace the Liki Tiki BBQ and Pastrami Dan’s Restaurant building at 590 Ninth Street N. in Naples. Preliminary design plans garnered unanimous approval from the Naples Design Review Board Wednesday.

Under the proposed plan, the existing single-story building will be knocked down and replaced with a high-end boutique hotel called Aquarius with Aqua on the ground floor.

The Stojkoski family, who is the petitioner, owns the 1963 building on the corner of Sixth Avenue North and 41/Ninth Street North; Liki Tiki in both Naples and Fort Myers Beach; and Aqua, which opened on Fifth Avenue in 2011. Aqua will move from its current location to the Ninth Avenue location, MHK Architecture’s Mark McLean told the board.

Read the full story on naplesnews.com for some of Naples history and more.

How many rooms and how big will they be?
MHK’s design for a hotel with 18 transient lodging units with a pool/amenity deck, outdoor bar amenity and the restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating was approved with 11 conditions, including requirements for site plan, outdoor dining and transient lodging approvals by City Council prior to final design review.

The hotel will have one-room suites aimed at people visiting nearby NCH’s Downtown Baker Hospital. The suites range in size from 760 to 1,463 square feet. The hotel will have two VIP suites that can be combined into one 2,500 square foot three-bedroom, two-bath suite that would have a separate entrance, McLean said.

Photos and more on naplesnews.com

Find a home in Southwest Florida. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

Waterfront North Naples restaurant reopens

Waterfront North Naples restaurant reopens

10 months after Hurricane Ian

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

What to know

BALEEN Naples, the exquisite waterfront restaurant with endless water views at the chi-chi LaPlaya Beach & Resort, announced its “soft reopening” Monday.

The popular restaurant had been closed for nearly 10 months since Hurricane Ian slammed the Southwest Florida coast Sept. 28. It’s been refurbished and a new menu is in place.

Despite being closed for so long, its rank has risen to TripAdvisor’s No. 2 restaurant in town among 626 listed. Baleen also recently maintained its “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator in 2023.

What hasn’t changed? It’s still super expensive and splurge-worthy for the gorgeous Gulf vistas.

Read more about BALEEN with photos on naplesnews.com.

Find a home close to fine dining in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

10 Best dishes to try at new Naples, Marco Island and Bonita Springs restaurants

10 Best dishes to try at new Naples, Marco Island and Bonita Springs restaurants

Editor’s note: Condensed from JLB review on naplesnews.com. See the original mouthwatering photos and complete descriptions along with contact info for the restaurants.

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

This week, we’re rounding up JLB’s top 10 favorite dishes from Naples, Marco and Bonita’s new restaurants.

For those of you counting, we also list two honorable mentions whose inclusions come with caveats: one is new-ish to me, and maybe you too, but we’ve not featured it in the paper. The other features rotating menus, less an issue for summer, but when it first opened, its offerings varied weekly and by day.

Restaurants are listed alphabetically, not preferentially.

Boutique Sweet Couple
The dish: Hazelnut dacquoise, aka Kyiv cake, $15
Kyiv cake is a less refined version of a hazelnut dacquoise; most versions have two layers of baked nut meringue; French dacquoise usually three or four layers.

Casa Cotzelli
The dish: Spaghetti burro alici, $18
Sometimes, the simplest thing on the menu is the best. Spaghetti tossed with anchovy butter might be the comfort dish of the year.

Casa Neri
The dish: Salumi di Mare, $26 for a small size
…slices of succulent smoked swordfish, smoked tuna plus a beet juice-citrus marinated salmon…

DiGusto
The dish: Burrata, prosciutto and arugula salad, $22
Aside from vegans, who doesn’t love billowy burrata?

Fernweh Ice Cream
The dish: “Blueberry Vineyard” sorbet infused with wine, $10
Fernweh is different because it handcrafts each sophisticated flavor daily using premium ingredients, and you can taste the difference.

Kim-Chi Grill
The dish: Chicken bulgogi, $18
After biting each of the six components in this bowl ― all stand-alone delicious ― I broke the perfectly poached egg then slathered it over the rice..

The Med
The dish: Octopus a modo mio, $22
Meltingly tender and served in a sumptuous well-balanced puttanesca sauce chockful of the sea creature,

Old Vines Supper Club
The dish: Potato-crusted crab salad
If you see this dish posted as a course, book a reservation.

Ori’s Bakery & Cafe
The dish: Breakfast empanada, $4.50
Everything is baked from scratch and served fresh from the oven by Ori Reed

PJK Neighborhood Chinese
The dish: Dan Dan noodles, $24
Spicy but not incendiary and served in a gorgeous Instagrammable bowl that we were told was designed exclusively for PJK.

Wolfmoon
The dish: Vegetarian croque monsieur, $18
… delectable grilled-cheese-ish sandwich. Did I mention the from-scratch bread baked with premium flour

Yacht Club Subs
The dish: Waldorf chicken salad minnow, $12
Oh that bread! Each bite was better than the next but don’t just take my word for it.

Do you want to find a home near these wonderful restaurants? Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

Restaurants: 2 new in Naples, 3 chef changes

Restaurants: 2 new in Naples, 3 chef changes

…including a local Food Network cheftestant

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

Local restaurateurs are shaking things up this summer. A Peruvian restaurant in East Naples has a new owner who’s also the top chef there. The town’s (arguably) most famous punk-rock pizza purveyor trades barbecue at Bayfront for a new brew-focused concept. His chef from another venture is now at the new spot.

And we have three more chef moves making news at high-end hot spots in Naples.

Read all the chef changes on naplesnews.com.

Find a home in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

Naples, Fort Myers restaurants among Top 100 in US

Naples, Fort Myers restaurants among Top 100 in US

Naples, Fort Myers restaurants among OpenTable’s Top 100 in US for outdoor dining

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

Not too surprising, Naples and Fort Myers restaurants were well represented in the new OpenTable “Top 100” favorite outdoor finds in America.

The restaurant reservations platform, as determined by “verified diner reviews,” awarded Florida 17 total nods, with Naples and Fort Myers representing 5% overall ― more than any other destination in the state. Only California had more winners, with 31.

Alberto’s on Fifth
During season, the line to dine at Alberto’s can stretch down the street. Off-season, it’s less competitive. A recent visit with my college alumnae social group was outside, where we enjoyed the restaurant’s two-course al fresco deal with a glass of wine for $35 per person. True story: a bestie found love on a blind date there that she attributes to Torino-born chef-owner Alberto Varetto’s food.

Campiello
And the awards keep coming to Campiello, which earned a 2022 spot on OpenTable’s overall Top 100 best nationally in December, the only restaurant in town noted.

The Claw Bar at Bellasera Resort
Live like you’re on vacation at this glam spot that channels Beverly Hills and London’s late Le Caprice (IFYKYK) vibes, albeit sunnier and a tad more casually. Seafood towers, great burgers and potent martinis (make it gin for authenticity) paired with sunbrella seating on the patio adjacent to the hotel pool is an idyllic way to spend time.

See the other restaurants that made Open Table’s list on naplesnews.com.

Contact David to find a home in Naples near these noted restaurants. David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086