Reviews for Sweet Melissa's Cafe in Sanibel, FL
Dinner, service ambiance fabulous. Hannah was efficient and very nice. Really enjoyed the octopus appetizer. It was tender and... delicious. The scallop entree was perfect with risotto. Shared the key lime bread pudding. It was really tasty. Read more
Warm, friendly atmosphere, accommodating service, well made drinks, fresh creative food. My husband had the duck; very good! I... had to try the award winning fish stew and was not disappointed. Packed full of melt in your mouth seafood. I love that theyoffer a petit portion which was a perfect size for me. Read more
Very delicious and unique dishes, french inspired. The set menus for holidays like New Year's are an extra special treat.... Hearing Melissa communicate with the chefs from the open kitchen gives a rare experience that directly connects you to theartists behind the decadent dishes. Read more
It's not often that you find a restaurant while traveling that you love so much you go back for a second time! Melissa's... restaurant is not your average Sanibel "grouper" sandwich place. Her food is inspired, creative and sooooo good. As reviewedbelow it's way above 5 stars!! I enjoyed the James Beard Award Winning Fish Stew both times; IT WAS THAT GOOD! Creative menuofferings like crispy sweetbreads and goat cheese cheesecake. The night we were there they had carrot cake with triple cheesefrosting. Who does that!? They offer intimate outdoor dining and our servers was excellent with a delightful personality. Icannot say enough great things about this chef and restaurant. Try it you will not be disappointed. One of the best restaurantsever! I want to go back to Sanibel just for Sweet Melissa's Read more
Highs: Atomposhere, Live Guitar Lows: Expensive, Limited Menu, Quirky Taste Combinations, Poorly Executed. The sum of the parts... do not equal the whole. If this was a sports analogy you could say they scored alot of points but poor execution and too manymistakes cost them the win. Maybe one star is somewhat unfair but when you spend over $180 on a dinner out you would like tocome away feeling good about it. So many good reviews and we were lured into this place by the online menu which had someinteresting appetizers and entrees. We went to celebrate our anniversary hoping for something memorable, which it was but not ina good way, we got there to find the menu was different, which I know happens but what was offered was not anything stellar tochoose from with only 5 entrees and some bizarre sounding sting-ray wing special. Not a chicken dish to be found. Trying tofind a variation of flavors not to be redundant between the appy and entree, I went with the mussels and frites the wife had thegrilled octopus one of her faves, the mussels were good, French fries with them tho? I can pass on that! wife loved the octopusvery tender, BUT they served with with Korean BBQ sauce too over-powering, when less is more, simple, fresh lemon, EVOO andcilantro would have been better. Plus the brussle sprouts were charred looking outside but basically raw inside. Bread anddipping oil (which was good) did not get to the table until we were almost thru our appetizers course. Then came wine debacle#1: saw on the wine list a very interesting Cuvee, ordered a bottle, the blend on the bottle was not what as described on thewine list, different by far, opted for something else. Entrees came, Mrs. Ordered the smoked tenderloin because there wasn'tmuch to choose from, asked it be cooked MEDIUM, the steak arrived and after two slices it was found raw inside, sent it back,returned a few minutes later still on the rarer side (see photo) sent back again, got it to a point it w Read more
Delicious! A super nice place to have a romantic dinner. The outdoor seating ambiance is really nice, and live music really adds... to the charm of this gourmet restaurant. The grilled octopus appetizer and the watermelon salad were perfect starters. The duckand red fish entrees were both cooked perfectly. The key lime bread pudding is a nice way to end a delicious meal. Read more
Marvelous!! Fish stew is common food. You can find it up and down the coasts and throughout the islands. Fresh ingredients, ... good seafood, etc. And it's all good to very good. What chef Melissa uses is the best shellfish, the best fish, the best spices, tomatoes and wine.. and cooks it all perfectly! Tender scallops, great, plump mussels and clams, fresh shrimp and classic,perfectly done fish fillets. Garlic was not raw or bitter. Sausage was a nice counterpoint and not overpowering. You were gladthey served it with grilled bread so you could sop up every single drop of the sauce. Our Server was quiet, professional andwore a mask and gloves. Social distancing and outside seating are part of the program. A little more expensive, but we'll worthit! Take your best date and go enjoy the soft piano jazz and ambclassic, We'll be going back! Read more
I almost hate to rate this James Beard recognized cafe as a 1 star. We went with another couple who love their fish stew, a... clientele favorite. We were dinning at 5:30 and feel that both my wife's stew and my oysters were under cooked and over spicy.My wife had the octopus small plate appetizer. Tasted a bit like lobster, but it had a sauce that was like a strong BBQ saucethat over powered the octopus. My oysters were a bit gelatinous inside, under cooked. The mole sauce was way over powering andto be avoided. The seared top was heavily dusted with a very salty seasoning, I had to scrape it off or just tast salt. My cubedvegetables were also undercooked and without taste. My wife's stew was also undercooked, with raw garlic and other vegetables.Sorry, Melissa, likely won't be back. Read more