Top Restaurants in Florida Condos

By: Denise & Melissa Stewart 

Sweet Melissa’s Café in Sanibel Arms Condos, Sanibel, FL

What’s better than living in a beautiful condo? Well, living in a beautiful condo with delicious food is definitely better. Sanibel Arms Condominiums is an Island Paradise with breathtaking views of the beach, sunshine all year, and canals full of marine life, like dolphins and manatees. Aside from being a gorgeous condo building, Sanibel Arms is home of the 5^th ranked restaurant in South Florida’s top 10 restaurants by USA Today: Sweet Melissa’s Café.

Sweet Melissa’s Café’s chef, Melissa Talmage, makes it easy to see (and taste) how this restaurant is ranked 5^th in South Florida. All of the dishes are made fresh everyday with the freshest seasonal produce, seafood, and meats. Sweet Melissa’s is known for their seafood, which isn’t surprising considering that Sanibel has some of the best fishing. The menu is full of contemporary American classics with new twists that appeal to both locals and visitors. The menu includes New Orleans style BBQ shrimp and grits, fish stew, roasted lamb chop, curried crab salad, ricotta ravioli, and sous vide coconut ginger chicken thighs. The café also has an extensive wine list with a knowledgeable staff to make recommendations of the perfect wine pairings with your meal.

You can never forget about dessert. Sweet Mellissa’s Café will satisfy you sweet craving. Its dessert menu has foie gras beignets, key lime white chocolate bread pudding, and banana pecan studel. You can also satisfy your sweet tooth with dessert cocktails. They include a white chocolate raspberry martini, keoki coffee, and cappuccino martini.

Sweet Melissa’s Café has something unlike any other restaurant: lime-elo sorbet. The lime-elo is a 21^st century fruit that was born in Sanibel, FL. Only a few years ago, a Sanibel resident discovered that his key lime tree and Mineola tangelo honeybell tree in his backyard had created a naturally germinated hybrid. The resident called this fruit the lime-elo. Sweet Melissa’s Café has turned this natural wonder with a delicious taste into their own, unique sorbet. You can buy the homemade sorbet by the pint in addition to having it for just dessert. 

This restaurant has come a long way in seven years. It has been recognized by USA Today, received various awards from every major South Florida publication, and was awarded first place for the Best Appetizer at the 2010 Sanibel Island Taste of the Island. Even Opentable, a widely-used restaurant reservation program, has recognized Sweet Melissa's for its achievements in food, service, and overall experience. Chef Melissa said that she believes the restaurant’s success can be “attributed to our unique approach to the traditional dining experience” and that she wants “all of our guests to feel like I'm coming to their house for that night and that I'm cooking just for them, in a laid back, fun, relaxed atmosphere.” Chef Melissa Talmage was also chosen as the "Best Chef For a Chef" Vintner Dinner at the Southwest Florida Wine and Food Festival.

Sanibel Arms Condominiums is not only a great place to live but also a great place to dine. Everyone at Sanibel Arms is "Welcomed With Open Arms," so the next time you’re in Sanibel Island, you should stop and look at Sanibel Arms Condos and dine at Sweet Melissa’s Café.

For information on condos in the South Florida area, please contact Denise at 866-783-6011 or denise@condo.net