gloria's la trattoria caffe' napoli

fantastic find!. went here with my wife for her birthday and was so impressed. in a very unassuming shopping center that one would never think a fine dining restaurant would be hidden away in. the chorizo/prosciutto/cheese tapas were excellent as was the calamari (particularly with the green sauce). my wife had the alfredo and it was quite excellent, very rich homemade flavors. i had the veal stuffed with prosciutto, which was over potatoes and had a mushroom sauce. was so rich and delicious that i am still thinking about it days later. for what you are getting this place is a bargain.
dessert was amazing also. the chocolate flan was the perfect texture and the canoli was so light. and i usually hate canoli. a perfect end to the meal.
server was awesome and really made us feel at home.
will definitely be back and can't wait!

fantastic. after reading the reviews of other diners on urbanspoon, i decided to try la trattoria cafe napoli. it was a wonderful experience! the service, the meal, the wine and dessert (coconut flan was out of this world!) were fantastic!! i can not wait to go again!!! and yes, you must try the stuffed plums! yummy!

never wrote a review before!and they are deserving. really i never review a restaurant or anything.leaving in this town for long time, never have a better food and better service.im a very busy doctor,barely have time to go out,this month we been at la trattoria cafe napole 3 times.very good food,prepared simply and well, food is very fresh and quite tasty! portions are good and service excellent. all at an extremely reasonable price.vegeterian dishes are available.this place exactly makes you feel at home.i highly recommend you guys to give yourself a chance and try it.if you are a big fan of desserts like me ,try the flan or the tiramisu...so fresh all homemade.the atmosphere is also warm and inviting decor......it has become my new go to spot in the neigborhood , every time we go founded many old friends and colleges.

food was as good as anything i've had in italy or spain. sat at the bar and had great service from gina. catch of the day was so fresh and recommend the sevillana sauce. keyboard guy was so good -- really added to the ambiance. a little hard to find in a strip mall but inside is so charming. don't miss it!!

la trattoria napoli, cleveland ave., fort myers,fl. here is my 2 cents and chit chat.

this is such a gem.

i order a cup of wedding day soup, got free garlic bread and espnol taver-galican style. a sandwich of chorizo, pork, bolo ham, mozzrella cheese. with a chilled pasta salad.

i did not know what any of this was.

aahhh but i do know it tantalize my taste buds. it made me such a happy trooper.

the crunchy toasted roll ,the aioli and combination the other ingredients.

the wedding soup was meatballs, beans  and pasta. mildly salty but that was me. i should have gotten the bowl. so delish!

so good. the mix of italian and spanish cuisine  explains the crowd of folks as i left.

service was outstanding. though a bit pricey for lunch , well worth it.

this place was absolutely amazing the food, music and service were beyond excellent. we just about all the tapas items and had dessert. the owner came to our table and since we were obviously fans of country music the the was we were dressed had the musician play a variety of awesome old country music. we were treated with just the right amount of attention and the food came out at a wonderful pace. once one item was done gave a bit of time and the next came. dessert was a great surprise. the location in a strip mall with a tacky massage parlor, take out chinese and less then appealing tattoo shop added to the gem in the hole in the wall effect.

lovely little hole in the wall.  got the chorizo pizza and the chicken empanadas - both amazing! very dead on a off season friday lunch but wait staff was great.

the restaurant is not where you would expect the quality that we found. you step into a different place, a different ambiance than the exterior. sort of "don't judge a book by its cover." it is a nice casual place - very nice, but not elegant. the food was delicious - very tasty, indeed - and very nicely presented. and, the wine we had was smooth and rich in flavor. definitely worth a visit.

omg! (that is good!). wow. i'm a serious foodie who is always on the lookout for new, good places to eat, especially those that aren't serving the same old, same old. gloria's fills the bill & then some. 1st visit was w/ 3 friends. all 3 of us were wowed by our dinners. not your standard fare. but oh sooooo yummy. portions are reasonable (& not huge, which is an automatic appetite killer for me). every bite is full of flavor & textures. the atmosphere is modern and simple, not ostentatious & the service, excellent. both times i've been there, there has been a guitarist playing in the bar. the music is nice, but a little loud in the bar for me, due to my hearing aids. it's relatively small inside, so it feels like an intimate café rather than a large restaurant. for dessert we had their version of donut holes, which were as far away from the norm as they could be - in a good way. 4 light as air, non-greasy, perfectly cooked donuts rolled in cinnamon sugar & served w/ a dark chocolate sauce that had wonderful, slightly bitter coffee notes, which balanced out the sweetness of the sugar beautifully. they could make a whole business based on selling just those little gems! i'd never have guessed that this fantastic, out of the way restaurant was hiding behind the rather drab exterior façade in an older strip mall in fort myers. don't let the outside scare you away - try this place and you'll be impressed.

super savory. met friends at ltcn 5pm after a sox game at jet blue park. local traffic was horrific, but what else is not to like about this unassuming spot with an inviting atmosphere and giant flavors. the tapas selections were well prepared, presented and delicious. the bl. grouper and red snapper entrees, stuffed raviolis and veal marsala were super savory. all dinners were served simultaneously to the respective diner without hesitation. deserts were outstanding. we lucked out with an evening of fine dining!

satisfecho:-). don't judge a book by its cover. best italian i've had in south florida! extend your pleasurable night with amazing tapas and pasta! not to mention the lovely waiters.


-----28 dec, 2014-----

satisfecho:). don't judge a book by its cover, take your love to gloria's and the food will only add to the pleasure of your night!!

the best place in town!. food to die for and service with a smile!! understand the local environment. there is lots of fun and wonderful things here ..deena (unhappy deena below) needs to stay in orlando with the disney crowd!!

i was in town from orlando to celebrate my birthday with family and, because my boyfriend and i are big on supporting local restaurants over predictable chains, i did quite a bit of research and decided that gloria's appeared to fit the bill based off of terrific reviews.

our party of 5 was seated promptly upon arrival, and i was hopeful that this was indeed a hidden gem in the otherwise barren southwest florida food landscape because it was fairly hoppin'. not slammed by any means but, busy enough. we ordered the stuffed plums and fried calamari tapas as our appetizers shortly after we sat down, then ordered our main courses around 7:20pm. the plums were pretty tasty, and fried calamari were the standard- lightly battered and crispy.

then we waited. and waited. around 8:10pm, our server stopped by to let us know that our main courses would be out shortly. around 8:15pm, he hesitantly said that they would be another 5-10minutes. now, myself and another one of my dinner companions had worked in the restaurant business before so, we know are very familiar with the standard ebb and flow of a kitchen, and the steps that must be taken to ensure the diners remain informed and placated should the staff find themselves in the weeds. we also know that hey, this isn't fast food so, a 30-40min wait to delicious, hot food is sometimes totally necessary and normal. by the 50min mark however, we had had enough. around 8:20pm, we informed our server that we'd like to just pay for what we've consumed so far, and be on our way.

shortly after, gloria arrived at it table and, rather than apologizing for the extended wait and asking what she could do to turn our experience around, she asked us "so, what happened with your food?". we told her that we have been waiting for nearly an hour and there has been no other food besides the tapas so, we'd like to leave at this time. again, rather than taking your standard empathetic manager/owner approach, we were met with a series of extremely defensive replies: "no no, i just checked your ticket and you guys ordered only 45min ago" (ha!), "well, you guys do have a party of 5 so, it's going to take longer", "we only have 1 cook on tonight so, 45minute wait is very standard and to be expected", "well, your food is up next so, why don't you wait?", "we have been in business for 8 years and have never had people walk out before because of this.". it was really unbelievable, especially given that we are a pretty dang easy-going group with a very reasonable reason to leave. we had also watched at least 3 other tables who has arrived after us get their food well before we never did.

in summary, i would absolutely not go back, and am very disappointed in the way that gloria mishandled the situation. my advice to her, from a business perspective, would be 1. the customer is always right, 2. if you only have 1 chef on duty and he/she is struggling, get your butt back in that kitchen to assist them rather than nonchalantly schmoozing the guests, 3. the customer is always right. and my advice to future patrons who are considering going to gloria's is- just don't. do not let the words "truffle" and "hand made" fool you into thinking that 45+ minute wait time is acceptable. yes, fort myers is in desperate need of creative, local restaurants however, this one is not worth patronizing.

i've been to gloria's multiple times and it has always been nothing short of amazing. tonight me and 2 of my girlfriends celebrated my birthday at gloria's. from beginning to end the meal was nothing short of perfect. we lingered, drank wine, laughed and ate the best meal to be had in fort myers. everyone who works at gloria's is warm and welcoming. gloria herself stopped by our table to chat and check in. we were fortunate that other diners had ordered the suckling pig and we graciously got a taste...... incredible!!! we ordered the plum tapas ( must have) the stuffed artichokes, baked goat cheese, yuca fries, pesto pasta and paella. along with numerous bottles of wine well paired with the food. if you haven't been.... you must go.... but please don't tell anyone else. this local gem is a must try!!!! thank you gloria and your team for making my birthday a best ever!!!

lunch review. some might say it was just a lunch salad, though i say my mouth was happy and my belly was quite content. that was delicious, and very relaxing. can't wait to go back to try more of the trattoria selection.