Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille - Ft. Myers Beach — Restaurant in Florida

Best food on the island! I first went to Doc Ford's on Fort Myers Beach in 2014 and they are even better in 2018. We came here on our second night here at the beginning of January 2018 and have been hard-pressed in a whole month of Fort Myers and Naples food exploring to find anywhere that surpasses it. As a result, we've been to Doc's four times this month and intend to go again on our last night here at the end of the month. They are, not surprisingly, usually quite busy so I suggest reservations, though they will make every effort to seat you swiftly even if you don't have them.

The recurring Monday night special can't be beat. Jumbo scallops pan-seared in a sweet chili sauce, served alongside Squid Ink linguine with loads of crab meat, shitake mushrooms, fresh corn and asparagus in a lemon-butter sauce, topped with shaved Parmesan. Everything works together in perfect harmony and the balance of flavors from sweet to savory is just gorgeous.

The Yucatan Shrimp are enormous. Plump, pink and perfectly cooked, in a blend of butter, garlic, chilies and cilantro that will knock your socks off. I have never had shrimp that I would eat the legs from, except for these. Be sure to ask for an extra half loaf of bread for dipping so you don't miss an ounce of sauce. One note - if you have them as an appetizer, they can slightly dull your palate for the rest of your meal as they're quite zippy. #WorthIt

A few other highlights: The Paella is packed with fresh, perfectly cooked seafood - mussels, scallops, shrimp and large chucks of fish. It is rich and flavorful as a paella should be and the rice is perfectly cooked. The Island Shrimp and Grits are fantastic - the same fat gulf shrimp are dusted in masa flour and served over a jalapeno cheese grit surrounded by a tangy tomatillo sauce. The grits have all the jalepeno flavor without killing you with spice - and the dish is topped with julienned carrots and zucchini strips and a few crisp-cooked green beans which lighten what might otherwise be a heavy dish. The conch chowder is made with a great, thick, dark roux which makes it by far the best on the island. Last, but not least, the brownie desert - is HUGE. Easily shared by two.

I am dying to try the Banana Leaf Snapper and may do so on Tuesday when we go again. All I can say is, keep up the...

We had dinner reservations for my father in law’s birthday as this has always been one of his favorite places to have dinner. We were greeted and checked in for our reservation by a kind and enthusiastic staff member. We were sat, met our waiter who got off to a great start but we were soon disappointed by the wait time for our drink order which was mixed with both alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. We waited ten minutes or more for simple draft beer and one bottle of beer. We placed our appetizer order as well as our food order and this was brought out by food runner staff and never saw our waiter again until we were almost done eating and all three of our beers were empty. Never once did he come to check on how the food was, which one of the burgers ordered as medium had come out almost rare, and we had wanted to order water during this time as well. I was in the middle of ordering a side of mayonnaise and about to ask for a water and additional drinks when the waiter walked away from me to focus on ringing up other patrons in the POS system which was in close proximity to our table. We live here in Florida, we patronize a good number of restaurants on a regular basis and it’s actually quite sad that we were treated with a lack of interest and care. It is season here in Florida and we understand how busy things get however; this was A Monday night, we had reservations and we were looking to have a great birthday dinner as we have had times before. It seemed like just because the tables were seated and full that the experience was not made to be special nor did it seem any attention was given to assure we had a good dining experience. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice and the hostess station upon entering was full of kind staff. We will not be returning to this establishment as the service from our waiter and the mediocre meals we had and will instead look for other places to spend our money and to celebrate. Do better Doc Fords. The locals are...

My favorite restaurant, Doc Fords, Fort Myers Beach, let me down this evening. We had visitors from out of state visiting so a total of six seniors went to Doc Fords. The 3 guys were all big guys. One 6'6, one 6'4 and the other was no little guy. We were there at 4 p.m. so the place was half full. They seated us in a booth. I told the hostess the booth was too small for our group but she said it was a 7 person booth and they'd put a chair on the end.

When the waiter came I said I don't think there's enough room on the table for all the plates. He said sure there is. When the food came they placed everyone's meals including the bowls for shells in front of all the guests but there was no room to put my meal at the end of the table. They started removing the shell plates from others and moving things uncomfortably closer and I finally said just take my meal away.

The rest of our party started eating but the pleasant mood was gone. At some point into the meal someone that might have been the manager came to the table and offered to move us to better seating. I told him I wasn't going to have everyone pick up and move there now partially eaten meals. He said it wasn't a big deal and left. I guess they thought I was being unreasonable because no one apologized for the inconvenience. Doc Fords not providing acceptable seating ruined what should have been a pleasant dinning experience and is not the type of service I've received in the hundreds of times I've been to Doc Fords. I'm posting in the hopes of preventing someone else from having a similar situation. In retrospect, when our request for a larger table (putting 2 together) was ignored, we should have left and took our $$$...