Best Italian Dining in the Fort Myers Area

It's so funny.....when I first updated this list over a year ago for 10Best, a travel and tourism division of USA TODAY, I excitedly told a restaurant owner the next time I went in, that he made the top 10. He sneered "ya, but #7!"

He obviously thought he should've been higher. I said YES #7! Out of the hundreds of Italian joints in our area YOU were in the top. Still not good enough for him. And after looking at the list a second time, he was right.....I moved him to #5. HA!

But this is new list (click to read). Yes, some of the longtime local favorites are still on there but there are some new contenders in town. MANGA!

Linguini and clams, restaurant bumped from the list ;-(

Lingering at LaMotta's

It always makes me feel good when I'm feeling bad.....Italian food. There is something about tomatoes and basil and garlic and cheese and pasta and.....well, you know!

Not only does LaMotta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria (Fort Myers, FL) have the Italian classics you know and love (including delicious pizza), Chef Carmelo has a few tricks up his sleeve, like shrimp and grits ($12). The seared shrimp are drizzled in a spicy bada bing sauce, and the grit cakes are full of the shellfish; pleasing presentation and taste.

Shrimp and Grits 

For more seafood specialties, LaMottas makes a decadent lobster ravioli full of claw meat, and a creamy, delicious lobster risotto too.

I loved how the Filet Florentine ($23) was presented. Served over spinach, the eight ounce filet was topped with melted mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and prosciutto, wrapped to look like a flower.

Filet Florentine

Another super dish for carnivores is the New York strip ($21), smothered in a savory mushroom demi-glace. Get some bread to sop up all of the delicious juice.

New York strip in a mushroom demi-glace

But my favorite was the Sicilian Osso Bucco with meat so tender it fell right off of the bone. The slow roasted pork was served over pasta with hearty red sauce; talk about comfort food on a dreary day.

If this wasn't enough, the table also sampled a plate of crisp, Italian fried chicken; flavor and texture fantastic. And the pasta sachette ($17); pasta purses stuffed with cheese and served in a mushroom demi-glace cream sauce. The garlic rolls were particularly nice when dipped in the sauce.

As we lingered and lamented at full we were, the desserts came out and the lemoncello was poured. You will leave LaMotta's full, satisfied, and maybe with a slight touch of guilt. Not because of all the calories you consumed but because you paid so little for so much goodness!