The 44th Annual Taste of the Islands is back — and for the first time since Hurricane Ian, this beloved food event returns in full force. If you are on or near Sanibel the week of March 13-21, you are in for a treat.
Two Events in One
Taste of the Islands is actually two events:
Restaurant Week (March 13-20)
For eight days, participating island restaurants feature special menu items created specifically for Taste of the Islands. Visit each restaurant, try their featured dish, and vote for your favorite to win the coveted People's Choice Award.
This is the best way to experience it. You eat at the actual restaurants, at your own pace, throughout the week. No crowds, no lines — just great food at the places that make Sanibel's dining scene special.
The Main Event (Saturday, March 21)
The big day. All participating restaurants set up booths at Sanibel City Hall for an outdoor food festival with live music, drinks, and voting across multiple categories.
- When: Saturday, March 21, 11 AM – 4 PM
- Where: Sanibel City Hall, 800 Dunlop Road
- Admission: $10 adults, $5 kids under 10, free for kids 3 and under
- How it works: Buy "CROW Bucks" and use them to sample dishes from every restaurant. Each item costs six CROW Bucks or less. Then vote for your favorites.
Award categories include:
- Best Appetizer
- Best Seafood
- Taste of the Taste (overall best)
- People's Choice Award
Participating Restaurants
Eleven island restaurants are competing this year:
- Cielo — New American with Mediterranean and Italian influences, Wine Spectator award winner (cielo-sanibel.com)
- Sanibel Deli & Coffee Factory — sandwiches, breakfast, and casual bites (sanibeldeli.com)
- Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille — the Yucatan shrimp legends, craft cocktails (docfords.com)
- Green Flash — Captiva's waterfront dining with Gulf views (greenflashcaptiva.com)
- Tutti Pazzi Italian Kitchen — authentic Italian, wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta (tuttipazzisanibel.com)
- Rosalita's Cantina — Tex-Mex with island flair, tableside guacamole (rosalitascantina.com)
- BRGR Kitchen & Bar — craft burgers and more at the Sanibel Island Beach Resort on Middle Gulf Drive (yelp)
- Scooter's Pizza Kitchen — Detroit and New York style pizza, just opened March 2026 (scooters.pizza)
- The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market — a Sanibel institution for fresh fish since 1978 (timbersofsanibel.com)
- Blue Giraffe Island Bar & Grill — colorful island dining on Periwinkle Way (bluegirafferestaurant.com)
- Island Pizza — hand-tossed New York style pizza (islandpizzasanibel.com)
It Is For a Great Cause
All proceeds from Taste of the Islands benefit CROW — the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife. CROW is a teaching hospital and visitor education center on Sanibel dedicated to saving wildlife through veterinary care, research, and education.
Hurricane Ian severely damaged the CROW campus, and they are still rebuilding. Every CROW Buck you spend at Taste of the Islands helps fund that recovery and their ongoing mission of treating injured and orphaned wildlife.
In other words: you get to eat amazing food AND help save pelicans. Everybody wins.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of It
Restaurant Week Tips
- Start early in the week. Some featured items sell out or change by the weekend.
- Hit 2-3 restaurants per day. You have eight days — pace yourself and enjoy each one.
- Ask your server which item is the Taste of the Islands feature. It is usually highlighted on the menu.
- Vote. Each restaurant will have a way to cast your vote for the People's Choice Award.
- Try places you have never been. This is the perfect excuse to branch out from your usual spot.
Main Event Tips (March 21)
- Arrive early. 11 AM is less crowded. By 1 PM it gets packed.
- Buy plenty of CROW Bucks. You will want to sample more than you think. Budget 30-40 CROW Bucks per person.
- Wear comfortable shoes. You will be walking and standing on grass.
- Bring sunscreen and a hat. It is outdoor, March in Southwest Florida — it will be warm.
- Bring cash for extras, though CROW Buck purchases accept cards.
Why This Year Is Special
This is the first full-scale Taste of the Islands since before Hurricane Ian. The event ran in modified form in recent years, but 2026 marks the real return — eleven restaurants competing, the full festival at City Hall, and a community that is ready to celebrate.
The fact that Sanibel's restaurant scene can field eleven competitors for a food festival three and a half years after a Category 4 hurricane says everything about this island's resilience.
Come hungry. Come ready to vote. And come ready to support the businesses and the wildlife clinic that make Sanibel special.
For more information, visit tasteoftheislands.org.
