Southwest Florida has another waterfront dining option, and it’s a good one.
Bimini Basin Seafood & Cocktails made its highly anticipated Cape Coral debut on Feb. 28.
“It’s been a long haul, but I’m super excited,” said Grant Phelan, CEO of Phelan Family Brands, which owns the new venture. “Cape Coral is such a fantastic market to be in. There’s so much potential here.”
Especially for a 225-seat casual seafood restaurant with open-air dining and 30 dedicated boat slips in Bimini Basin. It’s located behind the new Bimini Square development off Cape Coral Parkway in South Cape.
“The whole restaurant, inside and out, is all open,” Phelan said. “There’s not a bad seat in there. I like to say it’s an infinity-edge restaurant. You can see the basin from any seat. We’re trying to take advantage of Southwest Florida, especially in these months with this weather. Come sit and enjoy the breeze.”
And customers have been doing just that in droves.
“We’ve been super busy,” Phelan said. “Busier than we anticipated.”
A best-of-the-best menu is offered
Besides the view, the menu plays a major role in the early success.
After all, Bimini Basin Seafood is the best of Phelan brands.
“I took the most popular dishes from four of our restaurants and put them on the menu here,” Phelan said. “That’s how I created Bimini.”
Phelan Family Brands, which Grant owns along with his father Tony, includes Pinchers, Phuzzy’s Boat Shack, Texas Tony’s, Two Fillets, CJ’s on the Bay, Deep Lagoon Seafood, Chops (Bonita and Naples), Pazzo, Keewaydin’s, Hogfish Harry’s and The Bay House.
Some of the dishes that made their way to Bimini include the miso-glazed Chilean sea bass from Keewaydin’s, hogfish Bimini style from Hogfish Harry’s, Deep Lagoon’s popular chili rub tripletail and Pinchers’ hot crab & cheese dip that “everybody loves.”
“I love the lobster roll,” added Phelan. “The black grouper Oscar I had for lunch yesterday. Our fish & chips are really good, too. Other than seafood, we have great baby back ribs from Texas Tony’s.”
Standouts on our visit included some of our favorite crab cakes around (served with a glorious Key lime mustard), the crispy fried hogfish handheld with mango jalapeno remoulade, the Keewaydin’s sea bass, the Phelan recommended black grouper Oscar — that comes topped with a crab cake (bonus!) and a delightfully shareable slice of carrot cake.
Soups & salads, more appetizers, steaks (filet and -Tbone), a handful of handhelds, a couple of pasta dishes, seafood bar (including an impressive tower) and a variety of fresh fish served your way round out the menu.
On the cocktail side, you’ll find signature margaritas, mojitos, spritzes and martinis, plus frozen drinks, ciders & seltzers, beer, wine, seltzers and more.
Tropical, easy-breezy vibes inside and out
It’s all served in a tropically airy, polished casual setting where a sea of fish — from dolphinfish to marlin, sharks to snook — grace the walls alongside paintings by Leoma Lovegrove (including an original!).
“When I think of Bimini, I think of the Bahamas,” Phelan said.
High and low dark wood-topped tables with surprisingly comfortable chairs — woven in white, blue, turquoise, yellow and orange — fill the 9,000-square-foot high-ceilinged space. The stone-cut bar-topped parallel bars are coveted first-come, first-served spots. There’s also a small seafood market inside.
The impressive project was four years in the making.
“We have been working on it for quite a while, from meeting with the developer to drawing the plans,” Phelan said. “It all took a long time. Construction finally started in January of 25.”
And less than a week old, there’s more to come.
“I’m looking forward to further developing the restaurant,” Phelan added. “We’ll add live music down by the dock, add tables. It’s going to be really neat.”
For now, it’s off to a strong start. Reservations, even during lunchtime, are pretty much a must.
Customers have been showing up even before the doors open at 11 a.m.
Happy hour (Bimini Bites from 2-5 p.m. and Bimini Sips from 2-6:30 p.m. daily) is already a must, too.
“We always do happy hour,” Phelan said. “It’s all about providing value. We want guests 365 days of the year. What you enjoy in March will still be here in November. We’re getting our feet under us. We’re taking care of the guests we have now.”
Bimini Basin Seafood & Cocktails, 458 Tudor Drive, Cape Coral; open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; park in the parking garage next door or use the free valet parking; (239) 347-7033; make a reservation through OpenTable; biminibasinrestaurant.com or follow on Facebook
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Highly anticipated waterfront seafood restaurant opens in Cape Coral
Reporting by Robyn George, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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