The Sandbar

Stopped in with a party of 6 on a Wednesday night and we were very pleased with the atmosphere. Very friendly staff. A little bit on the pricy side ($ 25/​entrée) but when on vacation or looking to spend a little more on something fancy it was worth it. Had the blackened grouper which was amazing. Chicken parm was delicious, and the snapper on special was to die for. Nothing beats the boom boom shrimp though. Highly recommend!

Took a little time but we are warming up to the staff here. Brian — so charming… Francis — man of mystery… This is a secret place so if you get here for happy hour check out the $ 5 appetizers– boom boom shrimp was our favorite.

We enjoyed our visit to this restaurant. The food is excellent while the service was good. We were greeted and our drink orders were filled quickly, but it was quite awhile before our server took our order. Oysters on the half shell are served with a house made cocktail sauce which was quite spicy with horseradish, but delicious. The bread served with olive ok and balsamic was perfectly toasted and hot when brought to the table. Mmmm. The fish stew filled with black grouper, red snapper, mussels, and shrimp was perfectly flavored, and the coconut crusted red snapper with sweet chili sauce was delicious. Key lime pie is made in house, tart with lime zest.

First time visitors, and we had a great meal. Stone crabs were delicious, as was the steak my wife had, and the grouper that I enjoyed. Service was really solid, and prices were quite fair. Very diverse menu. The hostess could have used a little more charm, but all else was great. We will be back!

Lets face it… Sanibel is full of island institutions that sit on the main drag and offer the same food from place to place with few distinctons. As a long time visitor (30+ years) and part of a family that is fortunate to own property on the island, I’ve seen plenty come and go. Visitors don’t really take the time to seek out those places off the main road but, in the case of The Sandbar, they are making a HUGE mistake and missing out on one of the gems of the island food scene, in my humble opinion. Let’s break it down in my usual way:
LOCATION & PARKING
On West Gulf, oceanside-​of street, about half mile shy of Rabbit Road. No traffic, easy parking, ample lot size.
FOOD/​SERVICE/​MENU/​BAR/​ATMOSPHERE
American. Steaks and spectacular seafood with daily specials. Attire is island casual. Seating is around 75 — 100 best guess — not cramped, and reservations are accepted and recommended. They will not seat you until your entire party is present. Service is amazing and staff is helpful and knowledgeable on product and preparation. Steaks are prime grade and cut beautifully. Prepared spot on to desired doneness. Portions are above average and pricing is reasonable given portions. Note. Baked potato side is enormous. Full bar and full license. Great pours at good price. Selection will please most. Service is prompt and attentive. Staff to patrons ratio is good.
PRICING
Very good given comparable establishments on island.
BOTTOM LINE
Make it a must while staying.

We love this place. Come here every year and consistently good. Wedge salad us a great start. My sister had blackened mahi mahi, my mother had chicken Parmesan and I had the steak. All very good.

What a great experience. Everything was wonderful. Boom Boom Shrimp, Stone crab claws, Grouper, Oysters Rockefellar, all excellent.

Seated promptly upon arrival. Appeitizers: Boom boom shrimp were covered in a sweet sauce with just a bit of hot after each bite. Grouper bites were flaky and very tasty dressed in a light batter and served with a butter sauce. Both were excellent. Main course: salmon was flaky and delicious. Served with perfectly cooked rice that was almost sweet to eat and crunchy green beans. Added a garden salad for one dollar and the meal was fantastic. Everything was hot when delivered to the table. One of the best dining experiences i have enjoyed in recent memory and prices were very reasonable. I would definitely dine at the Sand Bar again and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking for awesome food and a great dining experience. You won’t be disappointed.
Also, ask to be seated in Brandy’s section if you have a choice. She was a fantastic, fun and attentive server who totally completed the overall dining experience.
Six Stars!

Good restaurant with a more authentic feel. It is nice to be off the main drag and the ambiance is laid back but classy. Grab a drink and the shrimp appetizer at the bar and head to your table for a nice seafood dinner. Good experience.

Love this place. My go-​to spot every year.
Great Happy Hour, and delicious grouper. This place is a must.

Nice prices during happy hour but be prepared to wait. We had the boom boom shrimp & potato skins & a couple drinks for under 20 bucks. A good deal on SANIBEL.

Never been a seafood lover until now! Frances the jovial bartender recommended the coconut snapper with orange butter sauce. SO good! Came with nice medley of green beans and carrots and basmati rice. Also ordered a filet. Tender enough to cut with a fork. Could use a sauce though (zip, Demi-​glacé, etc). Split the wedge salad, fresh as could be. Fresh hot baked bread & butter to start with a balsamic olive oil to start. The key lime pie is good, but not to die for.

On my last night of vacation my family and I came here. Wow — what a meal I’ll remember! I had the Salmon, and it was exceptional. When you go, ask for Sheryl, she really made the night! Highly recommend!

Great food but I was a little disappointed that the chef’s weren’t wearing any gloves when preparing the food. Washing your hands is okay but no one ever knows.

I’ve eaten here 4 times now and love it. I get the scallops each time. My family has gotten the steak and shrimp dishes and also love them. Had the king crab appetizer last time and that was tasty. It was the first time my nephew had had king crab so it was great to see him work at. He is now a fan too. Food gets 5 stars.
Reason for only 3 stars is that we were seated in the back area on a table that was placed on a slant. Craziest thing that has happened to me in a restaurant. There are no tablecloths and the tables have a slick gloss on them. Four of the 6 of us had silverware slip off the table. We just mad a joke out of it. Then my mom’s glass of water fell, the waiter brought over paper towels and gave them to her (my 80 year old mom) to clean up the mess herself. Really?!
I’ll go back, but will refuse to sit at that table.

First time in this place and I LOVED IT! The service was awesome; Joe served us and was very friendly, telling us the specials and keeping our drinks full. I ordered the coconut encrusted sea bass with rum sauce: the flavor was great, it was well cooked and delicious! I’ll definitely come back!

Restaurant
Very nice inside. The bathrooms were clean and the large window with flowers hanging outside was very nice
Service
Many open tables so we were sat quickly and the server was pleasant. It was our anniversary so I went to the bar to surprise my wife with some bubbly and was told that they only had it by the bottle but when my wife did not drink her wine, it had started to go bad, they offered a glass of sparkling wine.
Food
VERY SALTY! everything was overly seasoned. We couldn’t even eat the bisque or chowder, but still got charged.

You must eat here!!! This place has the best food on the island!!! Hands down! Our table ordered the following and we loved it !: King crab legs, red snapper special, seafood pasta special which was grouper shrimp and mussels served in a Cajun cream sauce with fettuccine, steak, and crab cakes. There was so much food. Our only regret is that our stomachs were not as big as our eyes. It wAs delicious. Service fantastic. Great personality server. And wonderful atmosphere. Don’t let the name fool you. It’s NOT a bar but there is one in it. I would definitely go back again and again!!! Yum

This is one of the few restaurants on Sanibel that takes reservations so call ahead! Despite visiting Sanibel many times, this was our first visit to The Sandbar. It is a bit off the beaten track but very popular. We were seated on-​time and taken to a booth in the back. It was very, very noisy… it’s a small place. My husband and I each had a cup of soup (only $ 3) and I can honestly say it was the best clam chowder I’ve ever had! Delicious! My hubby had the tomato basil soup and he enjoyed that as well… We also split the Caesar salad which was enough for two, easily.
I ordered the scallops and my husband had the macadamia encrusted grouper. His was great… but my scallops were undercooked and sat in an odd sauce… I had an immediate stomach issue and barely made it back to the room in time… will return but will NOT order the scallops.

Party of seven — Plenty of trouble. What do 7 little old ladies at lunch have in common? Nothing. And our server accommodated us with a smile. This one wanted lime in her tea. That one wanted something not offered on the menu. The other wanted a smaller version of the salad offering. But the Sandbar (and our server) made ALL of us happy.
The food made us even happier. Chowder, crab cakes, blackened salmon — perfectly seasoned and simply delicious.
This place should be packed whenever the doors are open. It’s that good