No one has time to eat out at every restaurant in the county while they’re on vacation. But at the Annual Taste of Lee Food Festival, you can sample as many Lee County restaurants as your stomach will allow.
The Sixth Annual WINK Taste of Lee features the best of restaurants from Lee County. Attendees can also look forward to a kids area, and non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and live music. Located at Centennial Park in downtown Fort Myers, the food festival is set against the ultimate backdrop of the Caloosahatchee River. Taste of Lee is a great event for the entire family, no matter how old you are.
What is the Taste of Lee County?
More than 5,000 attendees come every year. Taste of Lee helps area restaurants gain exposure and introduces them to people who otherwise may not have heard of them or haven’t yet had a chance to try their food. Live music is performed on the mainstage throughout the day while kids enjoy arts and crafts, playing in the bounce house or climbing on the rock wall. What makes this event different from other area festivals like it is that the participating restaurants get to keep all of their proceeds. The average food vendor sales earned is $2,000 and top earners sell more than $3,000.
Restaurants Featured at the Taste of Lee
- Amore Italian Market & Bakery
- Enjoy pasta with clams, lobster tail and Cape Pops.
- Arekie Fusion Cuisine
- Try the frozen mint lemonade or chicken empanada.
- Bonefish Grill
- This restaurant serves fish sliders and Bang Bang Shrimp.
- Burger Que
- Caribbean Flair
- Enjoy shrimp and fish tacos, conch fritters and mac n’ cheese.
- Coasting Donuts
- Try mini donuts, churros or fried oreos.
- Deep Down South BBQ
- Divine Donuts
- They serve kronut holes, maple bacon bars and apple fritters.
- Eat Bold
- Farmer’s Corn
- Enjoy cheddar corn, Mexican street corn and hot Cheetos corn.
- JP’s Hot Fish
- Kiss My Ice
- Enjoy different snow cone flavors and sizes.
- Kona Ice
- Shaved ice is available.
- Lobster Lady
- Try the Caribbean mahi mahi, lobster mac n’ cheese or jumbo sweet chili bacon wrapped shrimp.
- Longhorn Steakhouse
- Love Boat Ice Cream
- They provide ice cream cones, cups and floats.
- Maverick Grille
- Enjoy the baklava, gyro or chocolate salted pretzel brownie.
- Nawty Hogg Back Yard BBQ
- Try mini tacos topped with macaroni and a mini BBQ sundae.
- Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery Food Truck
- This popular Cape Coral spot is serving up volcano rolls, a pressed cheeseburger and Chinese five-spice fried chicken.
- Pinchers
- Plaka 2 Greet Restaurant
- Try the chicken souvlaki, saganaki and spinach pie.
- Royal Chef Kitchen
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House
- Enjoy barbeque shrimp, sliced tenderloin sandwich and surf & turf, which is half of a tenderloin sandwich and barbeque shrimp.
- The Chee-Wopp Guy
- Indulge in a sarma, breakfast casserole or Chee-Wopp sandwich.
- The Dawg Pound
- This restaurant is serving up the cowboy hot dog with cheese, bacon, sautéed onions and barbeque.
- The Standard Restaurant
- Enjoy wings with chili rub, radio city egg rolls and key lime cups.
- Tijuana Flats
- Try beef tacos, black bean tacos or chicken tacos. Learn more about the best tacos in Southwest Florida.
- Uncle Dan’s Olde Fashioned Kettle Corn
- This restaurant will have fresh squeezed lemonade, Mexican street corn and kettle corn.
- Wonderland Cookie Dough Co.
Where is Taste of Lee?
Taste of Lee is in Fort Myers, Florida. Centennial Park is located at 2000 W. First Street in the downtown Fort Myers River District. It’s situated along the beautiful and wide waters of the Caloosahatchee River and it’s a short walk to downtown Fort Myers’ boutiques, galleries and restaurants. If you have time, you won’t regret a quick walk around the block. The Spanish architecture and unique shops are charming and worth a look.
Centennial Park
This 10-acre park has room to stroll, picnic and enjoy the tropical atmosphere. There’s plenty of room for restaurants at Taste of Lee, and there are also seating options for you and your loved ones.
Caloosahatchee River
Downtown Fort Myers is bordered by the mighty Caloosahatchee River’s southern banks. The river travels through Lee, Hendry and Glades counties. This is the body of water you see when you go over the two bridges from downtown Fort Myers to North Fort Myers, and the two bridges that lead to Cape Coral from Fort Myers. Boating is a central part of life here and since the weather is favorable during most months of the year, you’ll often find boaters, kayakers and paddle boarders taking advantage of its calming beauty. If you’re looking for a boat rental while you’re in Southwest Florida, Port Sanibel Marina has a variety of options. When you stay a Royal Shell vacation rental, you’ll receive 30% off boat rentals at the marina. And if you’re staying at a waterfront property with a dock, they’ll deliver the boat to you.
Southwest Florida Vacation Rentals
Taste of Lee is one of Lee County’s most beloved annual events. There’s no better way to bring people together than with food, and it’s incredible that the public gets to try the best of Lee County restaurants in one place. Gather the entire family, recruit your friends and make a day of it. There are food options for all types of palates and you’ll be downtown, too. Explore the shops and restaurants after you get your Taste of Lee. If you’re too full after the festival, you can get drinks at The Firestone Skybar & Martini Bar, Social House or any other of the unique bars.
Let us know what you think of Taste of Lee! Contact us today and book your vacation with a Fort Myers vacation rental today!
