Waterfront Dining in Naples, Honestly Assessed

Naples has three kinds of waterfront restaurant, and confusing them is how people end up disappointed. There is Gulf-front, where you look at open water and sunset. There is bay-front, where you look at boats and mangroves. And there is canal-side, where you look at a seawall and someone's dock. All three get marketed identically.

Gulf-front: the sunset tables

There are very few of these, because almost all beachfront in Naples is residential or resort. The beachfront restaurants at the north end — the Turtle Club area near Vanderbilt, and the beach bars at the resorts — are the main options, and they book out in season weeks ahead for sunset seatings. Expect a premium and expect to want it anyway. Ask specifically for a sunset seating time rather than a table 'with a view'; they are not the same request.

Bay-front: the boat tables

This is the larger and more interesting category. Bayfront and Tin City on Naples Bay put you over the water with boat traffic going past at idle speed, and both have dock space. Further out, the Isles of Capri and the Cocohatchee River area north of town have the unpretentious, fish-came-in-this-morning places that locals actually rate.

What to order

• Grouper, if it is local — ask which species and whether it is fresh or frozen; a good kitchen will tell you plainly
• Stone crab from mid-October to mid-May. This is the one seasonal delicacy worth planning a trip around. Claws only; the crab is returned to the water.
• Hogfish, when you see it. Underrated, delicate and hard to get outside southwest Florida.
• Pink Gulf shrimp from the Fort Myers Beach fleet
• Skip: anything called 'fresh catch' with no species named

Booking

From January to April, Naples is one of the harder restaurant towns in Florida. Reserve two to three weeks ahead for anything with a view, eat at 5:30pm or 8:45pm if you did not, and understand that 'season' pricing is real. In August you can walk into almost anywhere.