8 Best Restaurants in The Everglades, Florida

Make a pit stop at Coopertown Restaurant for local flavor and delicacies sourced straight from the swamp. This eatery opened in the early 1960s as a sandwich stand, and it has long been a favorite among the famous and the humbly hungry. In addition to catfish and shrimp, house specialties include frogs' legs and alligator tail breaded in cornmeal and deep-fried. Sandwich options include burgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese. Restrooms are outside. The restaurant is part of Coopertown's The Original Air Boat Tour business that dates back to 1945.

This quaint eatery is inside the farmers' market on the edge of town, and it's big on serving fresh vegetables and seafood. A family of anglers runs the place, so fish and shellfish are only hours from the ocean. Catering to farmers, the restaurant opens at 5:30 am serving fluffy pancakes and omelets with home fries or grits in a pleasant dining room. For lunch and dinner, you can choose from fried shrimp or conch, seafood pasta, country-fried steak, and roast turkey, as well as salads, burgers, and sandwiches.

Cuban and Caribbean specialties are a welcome alternative to the typical seafood houses in the Everglades City area. This cheery eatery—3 miles south of Everglades City on Chokoloskee Island—has a dozen or so tables inside and more seating on the porch amid plenty of greenery. Jump-start your day with café con leche and a pressed-egg sandwich, or try a Havana omelet. For lunch, you'll find Cuban sandwiches, burgers, shrimp, grouper, and steak and pork plates. Take some Carlos's HavAnnA Cafe Hot Sauce home with you.

West of the nation's tiniest post office, you'll find this red barn of a place dishing out catfish, frog legs, gator, grouper, burgers, salads, and (no surprise here) an abundance of soft-shell crabs and crab cakes. Entrées are reasonably priced, and peanut butter pie makes for a solid finish. Order an icy beer or wine by the glass, and eat out front or on the back patio—just keep an eye out for neighborhood gators. Joanie's schedule changes depending on the season, so call for hours of operation.

This delightful hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot boasts authenticity you can't get at the Tex-Mex chains. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrées, served all day, range from Mexican eggs, enchiladas, and taco salad to stewed beef and fried pork chops. Order à la carte specialties or dinners and combos with salad, beans, and rice. The food is spicy, but for extra heat, reach for the fresh salsa, pickled jalapeños, or bottled habanero sauce on tables. Spiffy, with an open kitchen and takeout counter, Rosita's is a favorite among guests staying at nearby hotels.

This popular "breakfast all day, every day" enterprise has two locations, only a few blocks apart, to accommodate a steady stream of customers who come for everything from omelets and pancakes to biscuits and gravy, plus salads, steaks, and seafood.

For fresh and light Asian fare near the Everglades, you can find Thai and Japanese favorites—from pad Thai and curries to traditional raw and cooked sushi rolls—at Suvi Thai & Sushi. If you want to go big here, try the sautéed Royal Thai Lobster or keep it simple with the Homestead Spicy Roll. The decor is calming, and there's a section where you can sit on cushions if you wish, as well as a separate hibachi room.

This old-fashioned roadside eatery on the Tamiami Trail near Krome Avenue was opened in 1965 by the late Tommy Little, who wanted to provide easy access to cold drinks and rib-sticking fare for folks heading to and from the Everglades. Now spiffed up, the backwoods heritage vision remains a popular, affordable family option for lunch and dinner. Specialties include barbecued chicken and ribs with a tangy basting sauce, fries, coleslaw, and biscuits, plus burgers, fish sandwiches, and wings. The whopping double-decker beef or pork sandwich with slaw requires multiple napkins. Latin specialties include deep-fried pork and fried green plantains. Beer is by the bottle or pitcher. Chow down inside or outdoors.