Sports bar food: Where to eat and watch football from Naples to south Fort Myers
Dave Osborn
The best part of football season is, well, football is back but the second best part is the food.
If you're not tailgating and want to eat well while watching your team score touchdowns, Southwest Florida has many options from Naples to Fort Myers.
We've sampled food from a few sports spots, from burgers to salads to bang-bang shrimp.
More:Football fans flock to Southwest Florida sports bars
Pelican Larry's Raw Bar and Grill
Where: 1046 Pine Ridge Road, Naples
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Prices: Appetizers ($5.95-$11.95); pizza ($12.95 or $15.95); oysters of the half shell ($11.95 or $17.95); burgers ($9.95 or $11.95); salads ($5.95-$12.95); sandwiches ($7.95-$16.95);
More information: 239-649-0800 or pelicanlarrys.com/pineridge/
Anyone who enjoys watching sports — especially football — in Southwest Florida likely has visited a Pelican Larry's. The bars are a brand in this region, with the most famous being the first on Pine Ridge Road, just east of U.S. 41 in Naples.
The interior features a more streamlined look, with TVs showing games or sports shows anywhere you look. The food options, likewise, are aplenty.
Try a "Larry's Local Pick," as the menu states in red letters with a bright yellow highlight. We opted for the oven-broiled casino oysters consisting of freshly shucked oysters, topped with garlic and herb breadcrumbs, butter and bacon.
"Baked until golden and served with fresh lemon," the menu reads. Options for casino-style are eight clams ($12.95) or six oysters ($14.95).
Diners also can't go wrong with the "konk chowdah," ($5.95), a mildly spicy red broth with generous portions of conch, a shellfish connected to Key West.
And we enjoyed the best gator bites ($9.95) I've ever tried. These were not chewy at all (as most gator bites are), with meaty, lightly breaded nuggets heaped on a plate with lemon slices and a tartar-like dipping sauce.
If the game goes into overtime, try the chocolate and peanut butter pie ($6.50), with an Oreo-like crust with drizzled chocolate.
Database:Sports Bars in Southwest Florida
Kruk's Philly Steaks
Where: 6434 Naples Blvd., Naples
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday
Prices: $7.79 for The Kruker; sandwiches start at $6.99; sides are french fries ($2.79), bay fries ($2.99) and beer-battered onion rings ($4.99)
More information: 239-572-8128 or krukssteaks.com
While Kruk's Philly Steaks is not technically a bar because no alcohol is served, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy watching a game there and eating tasty food.
Try the Kruker cheesesteak, named after franchise owner and nine-year Major League Baseball player John Kruk. A three-time All Star, Kruk is an icon in Philadelphia, and he helped the Phillies win a World Series in 1993.
The Kruker is shaved steak with American cheese, fried onions, ketchup and mayonnaise.
The restaurant is decorated with a baseball theme, and it offers more of a family-friendly atmosphere to watch a game because there is no booze served.
More:Kruk's Philly Steaks should beef up its sandwiches in North Naples
South Street Naples
Where: 1410 Pine Ridge Road, Naples (southwest corner of Pine Ridge and Goodlette-Frank roads)
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Prices: Appetizers ($11-$18); salads ($14-$16); entrees ($16-$21); Tex-Mex ($13-$19);
More information: 239-435-9333 or southstreetnaples.com
Patrick's boom boom shrimp ($15), battered crispy shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce. Served with a side of buttermilk ranch.
Chopped honey pecan chicken salad ($15), which is chopped seasoned chicken breast, honey-roasted pecans, blue cheese crumbles, tomatoes and dried cranberries on top of fresh organic mixed greens. All of it is tossed in honey-lime vinaigrette.
Craft beer-battered fish and chips ($17), with mild white fish fillets, are lightly fried and served with a side of fries, cole slaw and tartar sauce.
South Street has a Philadelphia theme, so it's a big Eagles bar when the Super Bowl champions are playing.
More:South Street spices up local music scene with nightly shows, national acts
Duffy's Sports Grill
Where: 21253 Stoneybrook Golf Blvd, Estero
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday
Prices: See https://www.duffysmvp.com/menu
More information: https://www.duffysmvp.com/ and 239-301-0944
Forget the TVs that fill walls at Duffy's Sports Grill in Estero, near Miromar Outlets. It's the NFL and college football helmets that fill the partitions and sports between booths, making a choice of where to sit based more on which team you cheer for.
For Michigan and Ohio State fans, those two helmets are next to each other to settle any concerns of "I'm not sitting by that team."
Food choices likewise cover a lot of territory, so we covered sea and land. The coconut-crusted Mahi fingers ($9.99) offered a nice way to start our visit. Hand-breaded with sweetened coconut and Panko bread crumbs, the fancy fish-sticks dipped into the orange ginger sauce with ease, and we finished them off in a matter of minutes.
The full rack of baby-back ribs ($19.99), with fall-off-the-bone meat, would make you smile even if your team trails late in the fourth quarter. Our platter, with two side options (ours were onion rings and broccoli), arrived in two long slabs smothered in Jack Daniels Single Barrel BBQ sauce.
There's plenty of other comfort food options, such as the homemade meatloaf ($11.99), a tender blend of beef and pork made daily with ketchup already on top.
Boston Beer Garden
Where: 2396 Immokalee Road, North Naples
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Prices: Appetizers ($7.99-$21.99); salads ($8.25-$13.99); sandwiches ($9.99-$14.99); burgers ($9.99-$16.99); entrees and everything else ($9.49-$21.99)
More information: bostonbeergardennaples.com and 239-596-2337
Modeled after bars in Beantown, Boston Beer Garden is a spacious place to chill out for a game with tables and booths, or saddle up to the bar and order some Sam Adams — or a myriad of other brews, including many from Florida — with your favorite food.
A few options we tried were the appetizer sampler, turkey wrap and French dip.
Begin game day with the platter ($15.49), a sampling of BBG's best appetizers: Italian egg rolls, five wings and soft pretzel halves served with ranch, marinara and white queso.
The wrap ($9.99) includes sliced white turkey, scallions and Havarti cheese served with cranberry chipotle and sour cream. So if you want an early taste of Thanksgiving, the turkey wrap is kind of like what you'll eat for meal No. 3 or 4 on turkey day when the relatives start leaving.
If the game heads to overtime, order the French dip.
Late night bites:Southie-inspired Boston Beer Garden a night option
Other places to check out
- Timeless in Naples offers buy-one-get-one beer and other specials on football weekends.
- Bokamper's Sports Bar and Grill in North Naples and Estero is serving up new items such as buffalo chicken tater tots, a fried green tomato po’boy and 100 percent all-natural and antibiotic-free ribs.
- Miller's Ale House in North Naples has a football menu worth checking out.
- Dylan's Draft House is in East Naples.
- Zookie's Sports Pub and Grill is a family-owned local bar in North Naples. Try the spicy fried pickles.
- All-American Sports Bar and Grill is closer to downtown Naples.
- Foxboro's is a big Boston "bah," so think Red Sox, Patriots and more all the time.
- Harold's Place in Naples is a sports bar in a tropical setting.