One day after the debut of a new menu at Captiva House, the flagship restaurant at ‘Tween Waters Inn Island Resort & Spa, we booked a table in anticipation of its shifted focus. With its name change to Captiva House Gulf Front Seafood Restaurant, the accent is on casual seafood dining, including two sushi items on the Starters menu.
We started instead with Oysters Alexander – four plump oysters transposed to stylized oyster-shaped dishes to accommodate roasted red peppers, smoked gouda, artichoke heart, spinach, bacon, and go-ahead-and-slurp-it sauce.
That whetted my appetite for more seafood, and the new menu proffers a number of choices in small plate and entrée size. My Caribbean Spiced Grouper entrée presented a generous portion of grilled black grouper on a bed of wonderfully seasoned 
pumpkin mash studded with dried cherries, all topped with mango salsa and sided with a complex citrus-dressed salad of kale, carrots, and mandolin-sliced Brussels sprouts.
My meat-loving husband also found satisfying options, selecting the peppercorn-crusted ribeye, whose red wine demi-glace and truffle French fries created nothing short of sensational.
The small plates are also available in full portions, and include blackened scallops with key lime butter, Chilean sea bass with lemon beurre blanc, and mahi mahi with lobster salad. Notice a theme here? Citrus, mango, and other Florida requirements bring a sense of place to the plate.
So of course there’s key lime pie on the dessert tray, but this one is dotted with white chocolate mousse rather than whipped cream. A sweet finish to an exceedingly island experience.
INNSIDER TIP: Captiva House has shifted its focus to casual, which means they’ve dropped their dress code — opt for more casual attire, but expect to enjoy elegant and quality dishes!
Oysters Alexander
Caribbean Spiced Grouper
