Cap's Place Island - Lighthouse Point

As I continued up the walkway, I realized those buildings were indeed the restaurant. There were a few wrought iron tables and chairs, carelessly arranged near the entrance, supposedly the romantic outdoor seating promised on their website. Unfortunately, the interior wasn't much better. The tables and chairs were, to put it mildly, quite dirty and dusty. The only lighting came from a row of exposed light bulbs in a beam overhead, and they couldn't have been more than 20 watts. With the wood-paneled walls and threadbare carpets, it felt more like dining in a basement club than a restaurant. The atmosphere might have been salvaged if the food was outstanding, but it fell flat. It wasn’t terrible, but rather just mediocre. The sautéed vegetables were well-prepared, but my fish, while cooked as requested, was rather bland. The salad accompanying my meal was a soggy pile of lettuce, not thoroughly washed (I encountered a few gritty bits). My boyfriend’s fish special was slightly better but still just okay, and his oysters could have been served colder. We decided to skip dessert and coffee and hurriedly left. Before departing, I stopped by the ladies' room. Of the two toilets, one was out of order, and the other was in disarray, with toilet paper spilling from the bowl. The counter around the lone sink was soaked, and the soap dispenser was barely hanging onto the wall. If the restroom looked like this, I couldn't help but wonder what the kitchen was like. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside, as I didn’t want my dinner to come back up. I wonder if Cap's Place used to be a thriving restaurant, the “must-visit” spot I had read about. I'd like to believe the great reviews were true at one time. However, from my experience, Cap’s Place is definitely a restaurant to skip.

The crab cakes are fantastic! I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. Every item on the menu is delicious. It's a wonderful place altogether! You definitely need to give it a try!!!

In the mid-1960s, I used to walk to Cap's Place. Yes, walk! It's not actually an island; it's located at the tip of a peninsula next to the Intracoastal Waterway. My friends and I would fish off the dock and chat with the kitchen staff before the restaurant opened. I recall getting some delicious treats from the kitchen, and my favorite was the broiled fish. It was scrumptious!

You can only get to it by boat!!! It's a really charming rustic place, wonderful for entertaining guests. They are the only place in South Florida with a license to serve fresh harvested hearts of palm. Well worth a visit and highly recommended!

This is one of those old Florida restaurants you must visit at least once. You first must board a boat to get to the island. It is a private island and you cannot drive to it. Until the State of Florida stepped in, the owner would go down to the beach and collect turtle eggs and prepare them for the customers. You must try their hearts of palm salad. They have an arrangement with the local Seminole Indians to purchase fresh hearts of palm. This is the only place I know where you can get fresh hearts of palm. The restaurant is old and so are the buildings but, that is what makes this place special. The overall ambiance is better at night. This place is loaded with history. Past presidents and gangsters used to frequent this place because of its seclusion.