JWB Grill — Restaurant in Fort Myers Beach

We have been secret diners for fine restaurants in the past, so we were excited to taste and review the cuisine at this brand new establishment. Let’s start with the space itself: 5 out of 5 -phenomenal location, wonderful aesthetic, open Kitchen Service: 5 out of 5 -Devon, our server, was attentive and knowledgeable-very impressed; the Manager Hafid swung by twice and was very kind Drinks: 4.5 out of 5 -Wife ordered the sparkling cucumber gimlet; she loved it and got a second; prices were a bit steep for alcohol; beer especially is 20% overpriced for a a nice restaurant in the area Food: 4 out of 5 -Pricing and menu could use a little refinement; food overall was very good -Appetizer: 4 out of 5-Short Rib Empanada-portion was good with 2 servings; dough was excellent, packed with tender shredded beef-could be enhanced with onion, pepper, or some veggie -Entree 1: Burger and fries-3.5 out of 5- bacon burger cooked perfectly- for the price, it needed more- I added guac to the burger recognizing this; bacon was cooked perfectly, cheese was absolutely fantastic-very good. Fries leave you wanting, again for price, expecting gourmet fries a la garlic Parmesan…bland run of the mill fries -Wagyu Beef Stir Fry: 4 out of 5- one of the more popular dishes on the tables around us, the fragrance & aesthetic were wonderful; beef was a little overcooked; dish desperately needed a starch - a small bed of rice or noodles Desert: Home made Key Lime Pie: 5 out of 5-Crust was phenomenal, key lime flavor exceptional, mint garnish was a fine touch- highly recommend! Gourmet pie.

Long story short, the hotel is still sorting itself out, as is this restaurant. Great potential here…pricing, sides, and maybe bread starter would go a long way. Example, after adding guac, the burger came out to $28; yet the burger was on par for something in the range of $16-$20, even considering aesthetic/location. Stir fry was likely around 10%-15% high for the plate for this area…be prepared for an unusually high premium charge. Service and location are Top Notch. I would recommend this as a fun date night...

We came here tonight with my husband and my visiting parents, and unfortunately the experience was very disappointing. At first, things started well—our server, Tina, was very friendly and helpful with questions about the menu. But after that, the service and food quality went downhill.

We ordered a second glass of wine well before our appetizers, but it only arrived after we had already finished eating, and only after asking two other staff members. For our main course, both my dad’s and my filet mignon were badly overcooked—mine (ordered medium rare) came out medium well, and his (ordered medium) came out well done. While Tina did send them back, mistakes like this are not acceptable for the price point. When the replacements finally came, my dad’s was closer to medium rare, but by then my husband and mom had already finished eating, so we just accepted it.

Ordering dessert was also frustrating. We ordered a raspberry sorbet and mango crème brûlée but were served a raspberry sorbet and key lime pie instead. After pointing this out, the key lime pie was taken back and eventually returned to us with the explanation that this was a free dessert for the filet inconvenience. The crème brûlée we actually ordered took another 15 minutes to arrive.

Overall, the food was overpriced for the quality, and the service felt disorganized and inattentive. The view was nice, but that was the only highlight. One last note: being handed a card with a QR code to leave a review at the end felt out of place for a restaurant that’s supposed to...

We were only here for an afternoon so I can’t comment on the rooms. The public spaces are quite nice. The location is fabulous. That is the best thing about it. The hostess was very welcoming as mentioned in other reviews. Once our server realized we were not going to run up a large liquor bill, she was rather indifferent. The food took quite a while even though the restaurant was almost empty. I wasn’t that hungry so I ordered Brussels sprouts and a grilled chicken breast. My husband ordered a burger. The other couple ordered octopus and a burger. My items came separately and were not delivered together. The chicken was in a shallow bowl so cutting it meant rocking the bowl and almost knocking it over. They should have plated the 2 things together on a flat plate. The chicken was tough but seasoned well. The sprouts were drenched in too much glaze. My husband’s burger was lukewarm but tasted ok. The octopus has some weird green topping which we didn’t like. The place is so expensive and we don’t feel it is worth it. They will probably get their business from people there on business who don’t care about prices and people on vacation who are splurging. Earlier in the day we snacked at the bar near the shop and had really good grouper bites, reasonable margaritas. Our server was terrific too. The margarita in JWB was $17…then add tax and tip. If you want to eat at Margaritaville, eat at the casual bar or LaTeDa near the incredible pool. Great people watching, scenery and better food in...