Home Food A Lovely Visit to Old Florida at Buzz’s Lighthouse

A Lovely Visit to Old Florida at Buzz’s Lighthouse

Jun 9, 2019

Buzz’s Lighthouse (BL) is a restaurant in Naples, Florida that opened in 1980, and is still family run by some of the original owners. I am sure little has changed here since then, both in ambiance and menu selection. In my mind, Old Florida cuisine is peppered with things like grouper, key lime pie and Florida stone crab. The Menu has all of this and more.

The interior of the restaurant is unique and is a time capsule from when the restaurant first opened. Should you decide to dine outdoors, there is plenty of shade and wonderful views of Vanderbilt Bay.

On my first visit, my dining companion (DC) and I sampled a few of their seafood items.

DC ordered a piece of broiled grouper on salad greens. What fish is more representative of Florida than grouper? DC’s choice was a very healthy piece of grouper on salad greens with a balsamic vinaigrette, the greens a substitute for bread. This looked delicious which DC confirmed.

The restaurant claims that one of its signature dishes is its grouper reuben. I ordered my fish blackened on the recommendation of our server.

This was a wonderful take on a corned beef reuben, with coleslaw, white American cheese and thousand island dressing served on toasted rye bread. What was really good about this sandwich was that is was made properly, with buttered rye bread that was toasted in a skillet. If you’re on a diet, forget about it if ordering!

I had to try their clam strips and ordered a starter portion to go. They were served with fresh lemon, tartar and cocktail sauces. They were ok, not the best I have had but not the worst and certainly filling.

I came back a second time to try a non-seafood item, the Philly cheese steak. This was a delicious sandwich made in a most traditional way and almost guaranteed to satisfy a Philly cheese steak lover. A very generous portion of chipped top round, sauteed onions and cheese grace the inside of a soft hoagie roll. It comes with chips but one can upgrade to fries for a minimal charge. This is not necessary as the sandwich alone is almost enough for two.

After a meal, if you have room, BL also serves key lime and peanut butter pie off the menu for dessert. I did not have room for any of this on my two visits but am sure they are every bit as good as what was sampled.

BL is unique in Naples and is literally a walk back in time to 1980. The food is simple but excellent, reflective of Old Florida cuisine that seems to be rapidly disappearing. The views from the outside deck are pleasant, the prices reasonable and the service good.

It’s rare, but most of the servers and staff have been working here for decades. This is a good sign in that not only BL must be a very good family run place to work, but the staff keeps BL running as it was from the beginning.

It’s almost a living museum in North Naples and a culinarily sound one at that. I hope that readers will dine here. One day it will be gone, and you will miss a visit to an era harder and harder to find in contemporary Florida.

It’s a wrap for another post on Forks.

Buzz’s Lighthouse

9140 Gulfshore Dr. N.

Naples, FL 34108

(239)597-2551

Buzz’s Lighthouse Website

Open 1130AM to 9PM Tuesday-Sunday; Open 1130AM to 9PM Mondays January 7-April 9; All major credit cards accepted.

[vc_message message_box_style=”3d” message_box_color=”blue”]Peter Horan, Southwest Florida Forks, posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com, June 10, 2019

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