Circa 1990 aerial of South Seas. -CAPTIVA ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY / COURTESY PHOTO

It was a first for me: Caesar salad prepared and served tableside. Fancy! The hallmark of a singular dining experience for the islands of Sanibel and Captiva at then-named South Seas Plantation. It was the early 1980s, and my husband-to-be, a former captain at King’s Crown restaurant, wanted to impress me. It worked – to the grand finish of bananas foster flambe.

“King’s Crown was our crown,” said Andreas Bieri, who was recruited from Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head in the early 1970s to help create what South Seas’ new owners envisioned to become one of the finest hotel dining experiences in the nation. “It was, at that time, absolutely the best restaurant around (Southwest Florida). There was no competition.”

Andreas Bieri (Center back) with other South Seas chefs, 1976. -ANDREAS BIERI / COURTESY PHOTO

European-trained Bieri came on as sous-chef in 1973, the year Mariner Group opened South Seas on Captiva Island. He advanced to chef a few years later and remained in South Seas kitchens until 1980 – a period many consider the resort’s culinary heyday. Bieri later went on to make a name for The Mucky Duck on Captiva, where he still holds the reins as it recovers from recent hurricane destruction. He also helped start and operate Green Flash on Captiva.

“I believe the King’s Crown was in the top five restaurants in Florida in the ‘90s,” said Harold Balink, who started as sous-chef in 1991 after apprenticeships at prestigious houses at Le Cirque and The Greenbrier resort and at The Flagstaff House restaurant. He advanced to executive chef at South Seas in 1994.

“The service, wine list and food were exceptional,” he says. “It made me who I am today. I had so many incredibly talented, smart, tough people pushing and teaching me. I would not be where I am without South Seas and the people I worked with.”

One of Southwest Florida’s top chefs today, Balink went on to buy a restaurant in Georgia and later on Fort Myers Beach and in downtown Fort Myers, where Harold’s on the Bay and H2 earned him acclaim. Then, Cru in Bell Tower shops and Harold’s capped that reputation. The latter, in south Fort Myers, continues to refine as Balink prepares to open Vybe Whisky & Wine Restaurant in Bell Tower and solidify his reputation.

It’s that same level of talent present-day South Seas culinary management searched out when Timbers Company took over ownership pre-hurricane Ian. “We were looking for the passion and experience to bring this property to its former glory and beyond,” said Scott McGregor, current director of food and beverage and a veteran of fine resort dining management.

Like South Seas of old, today’s resort operates three main restaurants covering different bases. Back in the 70s, it was nautical and casual Cap’n Al’s and family-friendly Chadwick’s along with fine-dining King’s Crown. Today, King’s Crown is gone and Harborside stands at the high end: “White tablecloths, fine, high-end, luxury feel,” said Executive Chef Thomas Cook. It specializes in Italian cuisine and fine steaks.

Redfish Grill has the same casual, seafood verve as the old Cap’n Al’s. Newest on the scene, the Beach House opened in November 2025 to take family-style dining a step above with glass walls looking out at the beach and elevated coastal cuisine from the kitchen.

“The majority of our resort guests have been coming for years and years, first as children, now coming as adults. Very generational,” said McGregor. “We didn’t want to create concepts that moved away from what existed before. We spun each restaurant to be more contemporary and luxurious, while achieving that old Florida feel but with elevated dishes.”

Through the decades between the 1970s and 2020s, South Seas has changed hands a few times. Eventually, owners dropped “Plantation” from its name. Today, all the restaurants and resort amenities are accessible only to resort guests and owners and members of the Captiva Club.

Harold Balink. -TRK PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY PHOTO

“The advantage of that is for guests and members, to be able to create great, personal experiences,” said Cook. “We’re not doing quite the numbers on purpose. We’re not trying to do high volume.”

“We can really dial into what our core guests love and enjoy rather than have to generalize to the masses,” McGregor added. He and Cook searched for the brand of passion that had made South Seas a shining model of culinary excellence in the past.

Christian Vivet — whose training in France and stint managing the erstwhile University Club in Fort Myers led him to the position of manager for King’s Crown in 1996 — said Balink had some of the heaviest influence on the culinary talent South Seas spawned back then.

Vivet himself went on to create his own Blue Windows Catering in Fort Myers, followed by Blue Windows Restaurant in south Fort Myers, and, after he sold that location to Balink, Blue Rendez-Vous on Sanibel Island. He has since retired.

MeriStar Hotel Company took over where Mariner Group left off. King’s Crown continued to establish a reputation as a breeding ground for some of the area’s most successful chefs and restaurateurs. In 2002, it transferred a young chef by the name Amy Visco from a sister property in South Carolina to reopen King’s Crown and serve as executive chef after its eight-year closure.

“South Seas launched my career in Southwest Florida,” she said. “They were supportive in providing me with a beautiful opportunity to showcase my AAA knowledge and skills, creativity and passion. The (King’s Crown) restaurant was a perfect trifecta of ambience, unique culinary experiences and impeccable service.”

From there, Visco served as executive chef at Ellington’s Jazz Bar and Restaurant, Sunset Grill and Sanibel Fresh, all highly esteemed houses on Sanibel Island. Ellington’s is now Cielo; Hurricane Ian closed Sunset Grill and Sanibel Fresh in 2022. Harvest & Wisdom at Shangri-La Springs hotel in Bonita Springs snatched up the talented chef, now Amy Visco Schmicker, where she brought her polished experience and the organic cuisine she championed at Sanibel Fresh.

In 2012, under the LXR/Blackstone banner, Charles Mereday arrived to South Seas. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University Culinary School in Charleston, S.C., he had worked and owned restaurants from New Jersey to France, Philadelphia to the U.S. Virgin Islands. He credits South Seas for developing his muscle for high-volume operations.

The Beach House which opened November 2025. -SOUTH SEAS / COURTESY PHOTO

“My favorite thing about South Seas was the team of people,” Mereday said. “It was great to learn and work with so many people from all over the world. There are literally people from almost every country out there. It’s a very beautiful place to work.”

From South Seas, Mereday hit Naples like a whirlwind, opening Mereday’s Fine Dining, La Brasserie, and Alto’s in a very short time and taking an already highly developed dining scene to a new level.

Three years later, it was back to Philadelphia, then St. Croix in the U.S.V.I. Currently, he owns and operates Cosmos Bistro, a French concept in Evansville, Ind. But, he says, he’s always on the lookout for an opportunity to return to Southwest Florida to brandish his style of coastal cuisine with Southern flair.

In that way, South Seas perhaps learned from the chef. The current food and beverage team actively looked for chefs with local and Southern vibes, said McGregor.

“Thomas, a huge part of his career has taken him through large resorts in Nashville,” he said, “He takes that culinary expertise and throws that Southern spin into savory and almost family-comfort food.”

And although Southern food is nothing new to Southwest Florida, Chef Cook just may have the recipe for raising the bar on local cuisine once again by setting new standards for the genre.

The Beach House which opened November 2025. -SOUTH SEAS / COURTESY PHOTO

Chelle Koster Walton writes about travel and food for USA Today 10 Best.com and Naples Illustrated, and has covered Florida and the Caribbean for dozens of publications.