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  • Sweet Melissa's Cafe

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Sweet Melissa's Cafe
Sweet Melissa's Cafe

Sweet Melissa's Cafe Details

  • Dining Style: Fine Dining
  • Website: http://www.sweetmelissascafe.net
  • Email: sweetmelissascafe@yahoo.com
  • Phone: (239) 472-1956
  • Hours of Operation: Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday 5pm Closed Sunday
  • Payment Options: AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: Contemporary American, Tapas / Small Plates
  • Executive Chef: Melissa Talmage
  • Dress Code: Smart Casual
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Chef's Table, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Farm to Table, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking Area, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Wheelchair Access, Wine, Wine Bar
  • Entertainment: Acoustic Guitarist Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday Evenings

Getting there

  • Cross Street: Casa Ybel
  • Parking: Private Lot
A word from Sweet Melissa's Cafe
Executive Chef Melissa Talmage offers a divinely creative menu sure to fit any foodies dream. Serving lunch and dinner, Chef Melissa challenges your taste buds to explore an array of different textures and tastes. Our dinner menu is broken into sections and the entrees are offered in half portions… to give you the ability to try a few different dishes in one visit. We also offer an extensive wine list to enhance your dining experience. Come join us for another side to island dining.Continued
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerBest Overall
  • Diners' Choice WinnerBest Ambiance
  • Diners' Choice WinnerBest Food
Diner Reviews
  • "Sweet Melissa's is a number of steps above most of the other Sanibel restaurants. We had a wonderful dinner here, and appreciated the option of getting smaller plates of the entres, even of the night's specials. We couldn't have been happier with our experience!"
    Dined on 4/11/2014
  • "Great service our server was super nice and helpful. The menu had fun options like small plates as well as full and petite entrees. We sampled the rabbit pate, sweet breads, pork belly and clams, foie gras torchon, roasted beet salad. Everything was delicious. I would go back next time I visit Sanibel Island."
    Dined on 4/12/2014
  • "We've eaten here twice over the two trips here and are going back tonight. The food is creative and gourmet. We appreciate good food and thought this is some of the best we 've had. Don't miss the grilled romaine. It was fun trying the different small dishes, which we love."
    Dined on 4/12/2014
  • "Love our dinners here. Had the special of the evening which was grilled Char. What a wonderful dish. The grilled ceaser is to die for. Thank you all, service, food and ambiance is the best on the island."
    Dined on 4/1/2014
  • "Very nice time. Highly reccomend the fish stew. Also great to have the small plate option"
    Dined on 4/10/2014
  • "One of our most favorite restaurants in Southwest Florida -- every time we are there we have a special experience, thanks to the genius of Melissa! Local ingredients, imaginative dishes, lovely range of choices, including half-entrees and great wine list, especially by the glass, which is unusual for many restaurants. It's tempting not to tell anyone else about it, but the word is out."
    Dined on 4/9/2014
  • "Dinner and service were excellent. Melissa's is always inventive in its food dishes and always consistently well prepared. Service, too, is always attentive but never intrusive...even when the restaurant is crowded there is no visible pressure to get up and go."
    Dined on 4/9/2014
  • "I always come back to Sweet Melissa's to see what new small plates are being offered and to make a meal of them. They have a wide range of ingredients and are always interesting. It's an enjoyable experience to share them with a fellow foodie and/or loved one. Waitstaff is amenable to arranging such a meal in any fashion desired."
    Dined on 4/5/2014
  • "We have been visiting Sanibel for over 10 years and this is by far the best fine dining experience we have ever had! We will definitely come back...."
    Dined on 4/4/2014
  • "An evening beginning was perfect. The watermelon, feta cheese and heirloom tomato salad was refreshing and the swordfish special with spaghetti squash was outstanding, we had tickets for a show and were perfectly on time with the excellent service we received. No wonder this is our favorite rest aurant on Sanibel!"
    Dined on 4/4/2014
  • "Whatever was happening at the old location was much better than the current. Too much growth compromised quality? Much better experience our last time to Sanibel. The previous location was a quaint, a special experience in terms of ambiance, food and service. Nelson needs to pick it up."
    Dined on 4/4/2014
  • "very good selection of appetizers and entrees, but you should definitely leave some room for desert - flourless chocolate cake! the wine list is very nice and very reasonably priced"
    Dined on 4/3/2014
  • "The food was still very good for this area just not as good as I had remembered based on 2 previous experiences in 2010 and 2012. Would definitely recommend over other restaurants on this island which are not "fit for foodies"."
    Dined on 4/2/2014
  • "The food is what it's all about, beautifully presented and delicious. Interesting taste combinations but not forced. The menu isn't extensive, but everything is good, and the daily specials add variety. Our server was friendly and attentive."
    Dined on 3/31/2014
  • "This was our third visit to Sweet Melissa's and will not be our last. Really good food very nice staff and a good restaurant for any occasion"
    Dined on 3/31/2014
  • "Menu was just the right size with a good variety but not overwhelming. Innovative food, not the same old thing. Beautifully prepared and delicious. I had the short ribs which were fork tender and my husband had the fish stew. Both were yummy. Banana pecan dessert with caramel gelato was a perfect dessert. We will be back on our next Sanibel visit."
    Dined on 3/31/2014
  • "More formal than most places on Sanibel. Very good service, a few interesting specials and incredible fish stew."
    Dined on 3/28/2014
  • "Dined for the third time at Sweet Melissa's on our last vacation evening on Sanibel. Our server was extremely knowledgeable and recommended perfect courses to meet our appetites. The arctic char special and tuna entrees were fresh and nicely prepared, certainly among the best we've ever eaten. Our romaine salad was different and we're going to steal the recipe to serve to our friends. The chocolate cake with sorbet dessert was the perfect finale to a great meal. The course spacing and the timing were perfect - the service never lagged and we never felt rushed. Finally, thanks for allowing us to bring our own wine. We highly recommended Sweet Melissa's, but probably not a good spot to bring young children."
    Dined on 3/29/2014
  • "My son and daughter-in- law were visiting --- it's one of their favorite restaurants on Sanibel. We were not disappointed. The restaurant was not as noisy as usual so we were able to really enjoy Michael David's music. The food was excellent and consistent. We all got the beet salad which was great. My fish stew was wonderful as usual. The desserts were tasty. Our server was friendly and attentive. It was a lovely evening"
    Dined on 3/26/2014
  • "Every time we go to Ft Myers we try to have at least one meal at Sweet Melissa's. The food and service are outstanding. We've never been disappointed."
    Dined on 3/28/2014
  • "For celebrating a speical week on Sanibel we chose Sweet Melissa's as our final night out. Parking was easy in the restaurant's well maintained lot. We walking in the were greated by the guitar player and hostess who seated us immediately. We think that the food is the best on Sanibel. It distingushes itself in the novel flavors, multiple textures and pleasing presentation. My hard to impress wiife was impressed. Melissa served our salads. We thought it was a nice way for her to have contact with the customer. Dessert was chinese inspired ice cream with five-spice powder and perhaps some ginger - fantastic."
    Dined on 3/28/2014
  • "Food was eclectic and well prepared. Different array of flavors. Room was a little cold and medium steak a little overdone or it would of been 5 stars all around"
    Dined on 3/27/2014
  • "If your dinner starts at 5 pm, the entrance door will be unlocked exactly at this time. if you're minutes earlier you've to waint before the closed door. But after you admit the quality of the meal is superior and the service is good. The overall decor of the rooms however is not of the refined taste as it would fit to the excellent meal."
    Dined on 3/27/2014
  • "The petite smoked filet was perfectly cooked and beautifully presented on a bed of sautéed spinach and truffled mashed potatoes. I nearly licked the plate clean!"
    Dined on 3/26/2014
  • "A rare restaurant experience. We were delighted!! Small plates and creative delicious food at fair prices."
    Dined on 3/25/2014
  • "Great food. Try the special salads and the cheese plate."
    Dined on 3/21/2014
  • "too much hype! very limited menuand choices. very accomodating but the food is much too salty and that overpowes the other flavors. would not return!!"
    Dined on 3/19/2014
  • "This was our second visit this vacation..I really wanted seafood but nothing on the menu piqued my interest.i ended up ordering the braised short ribs which were delicious but not the seafood I wanted.they should put Chilean sea bass on their menu!"
    Dined on 3/18/2014
  • "I had the scallops for my appetizer which were great. Salmon special was also great. Overall, it's a wonderful place! Great food too!"
    Dined on 3/18/2014
  • "This is our favorite place to dine on Sanibel. The spices used are always surprising and delicious. Familiar cuts of meat are prepared in interesting ways accompanied by vegetables cooked to perfection. The tasty fish stew provides a variety of seafood lightly seasoned and so good my husband orders it every time. No matter what the entree', it is always presented in an eye appealing way. We cannot say enough positive things about 'Sweet Melissa's'. And, Melissa is our sweet daughter's name."
    Dined on 3/18/2014
  • "One of the gems of Sanibel Island's dining is Sweet Melissa's. We had dinner outside on the screened in porch one night and it was absolutely wonderful. The food was excellent and varied. They are kown for their fish stew, and now we know why. A rich boulliabase (sp?) loaded with clams, mussels, shrimp and tender fish. One of our teenagers had the salmon special, which he referred to as "life changing", and I must say, it was outstanding. From beef tartare to yellowtail sashimi and everything in between, it was a hit. Don't miss the key lime white chocolate parfait for dessert. Our service was perfect, and the wine list was very good. If you are down in Sanibel make Sweet Melissa's one of your dinner destinations."
    Dined on 3/17/2014
  • "Great place to dine. Nothing could have been better. Everything from the parking through service was wonderful."
    Dined on 3/17/2014
  • "pleasant but service could have been better. began by spilling water and then beer and no apology for either."
    Dined on 3/14/2014
  • "Waitress was very good. Cucumber Fizz was very good. Grilled Caesar also very good. Bread and olive oil very good. Mussels were great. Fish stew was good. Pasta Carbonara was very bad. We would still return and try it again."
    Dined on 3/15/2014
  • "Outstanding food and excellent service - on the expensive side but high quality dining experience."
    Dined on 3/7/2014
  • "...on Sanibel and for that matter, just about anywhere."
    Dined on 3/13/2014
  • "We had been there on a previous trip to Sanibel and knew we would return especially for their grilled romaine salad..to die for! Our waitress was very helpful in suggesting we might like to do their small plate option.I had ordered the rack of lamb and the small plate came with two ribs which was plenty for me after having the salad.Great option!"
    Dined on 3/13/2014
  • "We go to Sweet Melissa's when we're at our Sanibel house. We love the food and the service. Our wait person was knowledgeable about wines and menu items. I'm still bummed that they took my favorite salad off the menu ( arugula, hazel nuts, avocado croutons, orange segments) but the beet salad was very good. The mushroom soup with truffle oil has become a "must have"! They missed our request for patio seating which was unfortunate. Ambiance is OK but nothing special except for the guitar player who wasn't working the night we were there. We really like this place!"
    Dined on 3/10/2014
  • "This was our first trip to Sweet Melissa's, even tho we had vacationed on Sanibel for years before building a joys and becoming winter residents. It is by far the nicest and best meal we have ever had on the island. The fact that you can get half portions of the main dishes is unique and attractive do you can have a salad or appetizer and main course and not be stuffed. It's pricey but worth it. Hard to get reservations for some nights so plan ahead. A truly elegant dining experience."
    Dined on 3/12/2014
  • "The food would hold its own in New York or Toronto."
    Dined on 3/10/2014
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Diners' Choice Awards
  • Southwest Florida Winners
  • Best Overall
  • Best Food
  • Best Service
  • Contemporary American
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Ft. Myers Winners
  • Best Overall
  • Best Ambiance
  • Best Food
  • Best Service
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Romantic
  • Special Occasion
  • Most Booked
Learn more ›