Yelp's Top 100 restaurants in Florida: Who made the cut in Naples, Fort Myers

Yelp released its Top 100 restaurants in Florida list for 2023 based on the platform’s user reviews. Fort Myers and Naples claimed three spots on the list at numbers 57, 84 and 100.

Only one restaurant on the list is a repeat winner from 2022: Café Flore (No. 23), Petar’s (No. 59) and Rumba Cuban Cafe (last year’s overall fifth place winner) are absent this year.

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And the winners are

Uncle Rico’s Pizza (No. 57): Although this popular pizza joint didn’t earn bracket love from News-Press readers, Yelpers love it. Take Chris R. from Cape Coral whose review said, “The pizza was everything you want in a pie, CRISPY, CHEESY, FLAVORFUL, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it while I'm writing this review.” (2960 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers; 239-362-0083; unclericospizza239.com)

Organically Twisted (No. 84): Starting as a food truck in 2013, John Hart's Organically Twisted emerged as Naples must-visit vegetarian-vegan-gluten-free temple. OT dropped 52 spots from 2022’s showing. Barrett B. from Lehigh Acres posted, “This is vegan done right. Done with love and done with skill. Don't let the hippy art fool you, they are serious about having a good time.” (13040 Livingston Road, North Naples; 239-302-8669; organicallytwisted.com)

Walnut meat tacos at Organically Twisted.
Walnut meat tacos at Organically Twisted.

Dixie Fish Co. (No. 100): After Hurricane Ian slammed the restaurant, it re-opened Feb. 23, earning the last coveted slot on Yelp’s list. Dylan D. of Fort Myers posted “Overall, Dixie Fish Company is a great choice for a casual seafood dinner or a relaxing lunch by the water. The fresh seafood, attentive service and beautiful atmosphere make it a standout choice.” (714 Fishermans Wharf, Fort Myers Beach; 239-233-8837; dixiefishfmb.com)

Dixie Fish Co. on Fort Myers beach offers stunning, overwater views of Matanzas Pass.
Dixie Fish Co. on Fort Myers beach offers stunning, overwater views of Matanzas Pass.

More on Dixie Fish:Historic Fort Myers Beach restaurant pummeled by Hurricane Ian reopens

Reviews or keyboard gangsters?

Decades before social media was born, Woody Allen’s "Annie Hall" opened with a joke about two women eating at a Catskills resort where one says, ‘Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.’ The other says, ‘Yeah, I know, and such small portions.’’

In addition to Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook's review groups can serve as forums for employees — current, former or disgruntled — because no proof of dining at a restaurant is required.

Vincenzo Betulia owns and operates four of Naples's most popular restaurants: Osteria Tulia, two locations of Bar Tulia and The French Brasserie Rustique. His company Campagna Hospitality Group employs nearly 400 people.

“We deal with entitlements, negative guest behaviors, and what I call keyboard gangsters. On social media, everyone is a chef, everyone has their opinion and everyone wishes to share their opinions with the world. I can't change that, but what I can tell you is that we’re beyond proud of what we do. We're very passionate about being the best we can and we try to make sure everyone has a great time at my restaurants,” Betulia said.

Michael Bolton and Vincenzo Betulia at The French.
Michael Bolton and Vincenzo Betulia at The French.

Pike Howard is Director of Finance & Development and part-owner of Felipe’s Taqueria, a chain of five restaurants with two locations in Naples. He agrees.

“It’s brutal and unfortunate. I can write what I want on review platforms whether true or not, and there’s no accountability from the writer or the platform, but the reviewed business has 100% accountability. You can flag them or report them, but nothing ever happens.”

Restaurant owners and managers might first see complaints about a guest’s experience on social media instead of hearing them during the visit when problems can be corrected and explained.

“We know we cannot please 100% of the population and that tastes are very personal. If we don't meet expectations, servers, managers and restaurant owners can always fix an issue whereas Google, Yelp and Tripadvisor cannot,” Betulia added. “We strive to make sure everyone leaves happy.”

Since the pandemic, Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press have (for now) discontinued subjective star ratings.

Diana Biederman is Naples Daily News food and restaurant reporter. Connect via diana.biederman@naplesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples, Fort Myers restaurants on Yelp's Top 100 in Florida 2023 list