Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille

Great ceviche, and fish tacos. Prices were reasonable and the portions nice.

Fantastic food and fantastic service! Great selection of drinks and menu. prices not terrible. Definitely a must go when you are in the area!

We were looking for a place to have dinner that was good for both adults and kids… we lucked out by finding this place. They are so accommodating and they have a bit of everything. The food is wonderful and the service is great! I highly recommend it!

I had the fried shrimp meal and it was absolutely perfect. The coleslaw was amazing. I would definitely go back.

Best restaurant! It is a MUST if you’re by the area. And ask to be taken care of by Jon. By far, the best server ever. His service was like no one else’s! You also have to order the Yucatan Shrimp. The sauce is to dye for. Order the pound! And extra bread so you can dip it in the sauce. I’ll definitely be passing by again!

The Mister and I ate here several times when visiting Captiva. It’s a bit generic if you opt for table service; the bar is the place to go for a good atmospheric experience. And the food, while mostly average, had a few standouts, namely the Yucatan shrimp.

While staying at South Seas went over a couple times and listened to live music on the patio. Food was very good both times, try the Yucatan shrimp, fish tacos and steamed oysters. Wait staff was friendly and helpful in regards to choosing the right food.
Must do again when we come back.
Very convenient if you are staying at South Seas, this locations seems to change hands every couple of years, this is the best one yet.

I was ready to write off all the restaurants in Captiva until we discovered this place. The Yucatan shrimp was amazing and my wife’s pecan Crusted Grouper was incredible! Atmosphere is nice and server very attentive.
We are a picky couple who eat out every night and live in Weston, FL

This place was busy but only a wait if you wanted to sit outside. Service was slow but friendly. The food was good but nothing outstanding. It was a little overpriced in my opinion.

Manager Steven was outstanding. Great customer service and management skills
Tip: Arrive early (or send your husband early then join him later) during season gets very busy

This was my first time at Doc Fords Captiva same great food and service as Sanibel. I happen to be a fan of Caribbean Rum they have a very good selection, the aroma of Zaya Rum from Trinidad in intoxicating, sweet and nutty.
We started with Grouper fingers prepared to perfection. The Conch chowder was thick and complex with various spices very good! The Paella was loaded with jumbo Shrimp, Scallops, Muscles, Fish, tomatoes and rice, it did not disappoint. The rest of us had Grouper sandwiches also excellent. We all shared a piece of KEY LIME PIE just the right amount of tart with sweet, my favorite Key Lime is a stand out from Cocomo’s Grill on Marco Island the owners wife. Makes it fresh daily. I would certainly recommend Doc Fords to anyone visiting Captivia Island.

Great place. Probably the best place on Captiva. Kelcie, our waitress, was really great. Amazing food and great deserts. I would highly recommend!

We visited Doc Ford’s twice on our 5 day stay (I wouldn’t have minded if we went a third time). Even though it is a part of the south seas resort it is quite affordable and was about 100 yards from our room. The wait is about 45 minutes to sit outside but it didn’t bother us the slightest. We walked around the beautiful, epic grounds just enjoying some family time and enjoying some Mojitos from the bar (MOJITOS ARE SOOO GOOD AND ONLY 6 BUCKS). We chose to sit outside for the ambience but inside was also very cool. We really enjoyed the cerveche, grouper sandwich, paella (awesome), shrimp tacos, and the quinoa with avocado
Super friendly, islandy, excellent food, and affordable!!!

We have enjoyed two trips to Doc Ford’s on Captiva. We like the outside dining. In the afternoon they have a singer/​guitar player. Our drinks and food have been good. We had good service too! My husband and brother-​in-​law enjoyed having a drink in the inside bar on another visit. This is a good place to take the kids. The staff is friendly. I will also post photos.

I was thinking this was a 2 – 3 star restaurant, Meh was how I felt when I left therefore we go with 2 stars… we got there late Monday evening ~8:00pm, it was still fairly full, I’d say ~80% and it was loud, my wife and I were sitting across a small table and could barely hear each other speak…
The food was average (but huge portions), I would liken it to a Chili’s or Applebee’s but a little less stylish, our server was awesome, that was a real plus for us.
on a side note, I was going to edit the rating to 1 star based off the back of the restaurant, my wife and I passed by several days in a row and saw fruit and veg stored outside adjacent to trash… not cool at all

Huge portions… good service… but greasy, mediocre food. Sorry but we were unimpressed!

From host to server to kitchen, a bad night. Folks were pleasant enough, but when the food came out, they had forgotten two dishes and the burgers were raw and still cold in the middle. They apologized. 15 min later they brought new burgers, but not the forgotten dishes. Asked if we wanted anything else. We ordered a second glass of wine. Then the manager came to apologize. But the glass of wine never showed up. Food was generally ok, and they offered free dessert and wrote off the missing appetizer. All was ok.
But as we’re leaving, I stopped into the bathroom and saw our waiter come out of the bathroom stall and head straight back into the restaurant without washing his hands. Wow.

While in Ft Myers/​Sanibel for a weekend getaway, we discovered Doc Ford’s. We drove to this location all the way from the east end of the Sanibel Causeway only to discover later that there’s another Doc Ford’s half the distance closer. (My mistake was to let the man to look it up. :p)
It was a windy and not too hot day so we chose to sit on the patio. There are lots of tables on the patio and even more tables inside. The place is huge! We were here around 1pm on a Sat yet there were only a handful of patrons. Apparently, Sept and Oct are slow months for tourists. After a bit of research on Unilocal,I knew exactly what we had to order… Yucatan Shrimp. The bf went further and ordered Yucatan Shrimp Tacos, with rice and beans for side. I had a cold that weekend so didn’t have the appetite so I decided on something small… Seared Tuna Appetizer.
The ½ lb of Yucatan Shrimp (I think there were 10 large shrimps) was amazing! The combination of chilies, butter, juice from key limes and fresh cilantro is just so perfect. We could have eaten 2 lbs each. If you like shrimp, I HIGHLY recommend this dish.
The Yucatan Shrimp Tacos the bf got, I was told, were delicious as well. The shrimps are tossed in the same sauce as the Yucatan Shrimp dish, but he swears the sauce is more concentrated so the taste is more evident. He also liked the rice and beans very much.
My dish, the Seared Tuna App, wasn’t good, however. The tuna was decent, but the noodles that it sits on top was not good. The sauce it was mixed in is too peanuty for my taste. Also, they’re cold noodles, which is also not my taste. I basically just ate the tuna while wishing I had ordered more Yucatan Shrimp.
Next time we’re in Ft Myers/​Sanibel, we’ll definitely check out the other Doc Ford’s locations and eat more Yucatan Shrimp.

A local gentleman at YOLO Watersports recommended that we check out the new Yucatan Shrimp tacos at Doc’s, so we decided to heed the advice and check out the Rum Bar nearest our rental house in Captiva.
The facility was very clean, decorated in typical tropical-​fishing fashion (think Long John Silvers with a bit more taste), and had ample indoor and outdoor seating. As it was a sauna-​esque 88 degrees with 140% humidity, we took the inside option.
Our waitress was patient with our many questions about the menu and drinks, and did a great job of relaying specials with excellent detail. Refills were prompt, and the food was served shortly after ordering.
Three out of five of us got the aforementioned tacos. Another had the Oriental Panko Grouper, and the last had the Taco Chicken Salad. All were happy with the tacos and accompanying sides; the salad was gone in seconds (and provided a bit of sweat on the brow due to some heat!), and the grouper was great, but the side rice and vegetables with it were even better.
We were one of only three or four parties in the very large and well-​air conditioned interior of the building, so had a section nearly to ourselves. TVs around us televised the evening’s MLB games.
Dessert was offered and sounded very good, but everyone was far too full due to healthy portions.
Food = ³⁄₅
Facility = ³⁄₅
Service = ³⁄₅
Ambiance = ³⁄₅
Value = ⁴⁄₅

Have you ever seen a place sell out? That’s what it felt like happened between our visit 3 years ago to the Sanibel location, and our experience at the Captiva spot.
The décor is completely manufactured and dull, with no personality at all. Chain build all the way. It feels like a Bubba Gump or a Red Lobster.
The menu offers the usual island grub with a couple of signature items, like the banana leaf snapper.
We started with calamari (good) and steamed oysters (gritty and full of shell bits). I had the shrimp and grits, which involved a cubic meter of grits and six smallish, soggily breaded shrimp. Not bad enough to send back, but not good.
My wife had the yucatan shrimp, which were probably the best dish on the table. Had plenty of flavor and were cooked well. Plenty to choose from for the kids.
Service was good and friendly; mixed drinks were weaksauce.
As much as I enjoyed my previous visit to the other location, this one just didn’t hold up.