{"id":389597,"date":"2026-09-03T20:38:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T20:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/389597\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T20:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T20:38:27","slug":"the-dish-bimini-bait-shack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/389597\/","title":{"rendered":"The DISH: Bimini Bait Shack"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bimini Bait Shack\u2019s grouper dinner (blackened option). -LAURA TICHY \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

The Dish: Kitschy tiki bar fun\n<\/p>\n

The Place: Bimini Bait Shack, 17501 Harbour Pointe Drive, Fort Myers; 239-360-2248; www.biminibaitshack.com<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

The Details:\n<\/p>\n

While technically bearing a Fort Myers postal address, with its panoramic sunset views of the Sanibel Causeway and San Carlos Bay the Bimini Bait Shack in Punta Rassa feels a world removed from the bustle of the city. To set itself apart from the several dozen other tiki bars in Southwest Florida, the exact world this restaurant strives to evoke is one we grew up watching on TV \u2013 Gilligan\u2019s Island \u2013 and it does a good job of capturing that whimsical atmosphere. The building itself is a giant, breezy hut on treehouse-level stilts over a lot that provides ample free parking. (There is an elevator available.) Rope swing seats allow you to literally hang out at the bar, which has fish swimming through it because it\u2019s actually a large, U-shaped aquarium. Live entertainment performs on a stage above the bar, backed by cardboard cutouts of Gilligan with Ginger and Mary Ann. Patrons tip the troubadour and request songs by hand-cranking a wacky conveyor belt with coconut shells attached to carry cash and notes up to the performer, reminiscent of the crazy contraptions the Professor invented on the show.\n<\/p>\n

Between the raw bar and teasers sections of the menu, there are 20 appetizers to choose from, so ask your knowledgeable server to help guide your choice. The Bimini Island mussels ($15.99) are a popular starter to give your table a taste of the sea. Briny mussels in the shell arrive in a white wine and lime broth swimming with garlic, tomatoes and cilantro, with cheddar biscuits for dipping. Be sure to ask for a spoon because you\u2019ll want to slurp every drop of the hearty broth thick with vegetables.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tBimini Bait Shack\u2019s Bimini Island mussels. -LAURA TICHY \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tBimini Bait Shack\u2019s authentic Caribbean Island rum cake. -LAURA TICHY \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY
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The kitchen prepares the fish on the grouper dinner ($28.99) to your choice of grilled, fried, blackened or beer-battered with a tropical pineapple-mango pico de gallo on the side. If you choose blackened, the seasoning has a true kick to it, and the fish is cooked to give it crispy edges while the center stays moist. You get to choose one side, plus another of those crusty, herbed cheddar biscuits round out the plate. Other mains include several barbecued meats from the restaurant\u2019s smoker, steaks, seafood tacos, a variety of sandwiches, and even the option to bring your own fresh catch for the kitchen to prepare family style.\n<\/p>\n

With eight mostly tropical choices on the dessert menu, it\u2019s hard to choose, but the authentic Caribbean Island rum cake ($7.99) is hard to beat. Generously sized for two, it\u2019s a true pound cake, baked with dark rum and walnuts, that soaks up the generous pour of an intensely rummy butter and crystallized-sugar sauce that\u2019s definitely not for the kiddies. A white chocolate mousse serves as a tasty garnish. Of course, you could also try one of the thirty tropical drinks on the cocktail menu for dessert.\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bimini Bait Shack\u2019s grouper dinner (blackened option). -LAURA TICHY \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY The Dish: Kitschy tiki bar fun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-389597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}