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Circa 1990 aerial of South Seas. -CAPTIVA ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Crown restaurant, wanted to impress me. It worked \u2013 to the grand finish of bananas foster flambe.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cKing\u2019s Crown was our crown,\u201d said Andreas Bieri, who was recruited from Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head in the early 1970s to help create what South Seas\u2019 new owners envisioned to become one of the finest hotel dining experiences in the nation. \u201cIt was, at that time, absolutely the best restaurant around (Southwest Florida). There was no competition.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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Andreas Bieri (Center back) with other South Seas chefs, 1976. -ANDREAS BIERI \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 a period many consider the resort\u2019s 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.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the King\u2019s Crown was in the top five restaurants in Florida in the \u201890s,\u201d 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.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe service, wine list and food were exceptional,\u201d he says. \u201cIt 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.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
One of Southwest Florida\u2019s 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\u2019s on the Bay and H2 earned him acclaim. Then, Cru in Bell Tower shops and Harold\u2019s 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.\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that same level of talent present-day South Seas culinary management searched out when Timbers Company took over ownership pre-hurricane Ian. \u201cWe were looking for the passion and experience to bring this property to its former glory and beyond,\u201d said Scott McGregor, current director of food and beverage and a veteran of fine resort dining management.\n<\/p>\n
Like South Seas of old, today\u2019s resort operates three main restaurants covering different bases. Back in the 70s, it was nautical and casual Cap\u2019n Al\u2019s and family-friendly Chadwick\u2019s along with fine-dining King\u2019s Crown. Today, King\u2019s Crown is gone and Harborside stands at the high end: \u201cWhite tablecloths, fine, high-end, luxury feel,\u201d said Executive Chef Thomas Cook. It specializes in Italian cuisine and fine steaks.\n<\/p>\n
Redfish Grill has the same casual, seafood verve as the old Cap\u2019n Al\u2019s. 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.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of our resort guests have been coming for years and years, first as children, now coming as adults. Very generational,\u201d said McGregor. \u201cWe didn\u2019t 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.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Through the decades between the 1970s and 2020s, South Seas has changed hands a few times. Eventually, owners dropped \u201cPlantation\u201d from its name. Today, all the restaurants and resort amenities are accessible only to resort guests and owners and members of the Captiva Club.\n<\/p>\n
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Harold Balink. -TRK PHOTOGRAPHY \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
\u201cThe advantage of that is for guests and members, to be able to create great, personal experiences,\u201d said Cook. \u201cWe\u2019re not doing quite the numbers on purpose. We\u2019re not trying to do high volume.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can really dial into what our core guests love and enjoy rather than have to generalize to the masses,\u201d 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.\n<\/p>\n
Christian Vivet \u2014 whose training in France and stint managing the erstwhile University Club in Fort Myers led him to the position of manager for King\u2019s Crown in 1996 \u2014 said Balink had some of the heaviest influence on the culinary talent South Seas spawned back then.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
MeriStar Hotel Company took over where Mariner Group left off. King\u2019s Crown continued to establish a reputation as a breeding ground for some of the area\u2019s 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\u2019s Crown and serve as executive chef after its eight-year closure.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Seas launched my career in Southwest Florida,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were supportive in providing me with a beautiful opportunity to showcase my AAA knowledge and skills, creativity and passion. The (King\u2019s Crown) restaurant was a perfect trifecta of ambience, unique culinary experiences and impeccable service.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
From there, Visco served as executive chef at Ellington\u2019s Jazz Bar and Restaurant, Sunset Grill and Sanibel Fresh, all highly esteemed houses on Sanibel Island. Ellington\u2019s 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.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
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The Beach House which opened November 2025. -SOUTH SEAS \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite thing about South Seas was the team of people,\u201d Mereday said. \u201cIt 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\u2019s a very beautiful place to work.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
From South Seas, Mereday hit Naples like a whirlwind, opening Mereday\u2019s Fine Dining, La Brasserie, and Alto\u2019s in a very short time and taking an already highly developed dining scene to a new level.\n<\/p>\n
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\u2019s always on the lookout for an opportunity to return to Southwest Florida to brandish his style of coastal cuisine with Southern flair.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas, a huge part of his career has taken him through large resorts in Nashville,\u201d he said, \u201cHe takes that culinary expertise and throws that Southern spin into savory and almost family-comfort food.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
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The Beach House which opened November 2025. -SOUTH SEAS \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n