The Snook Inn has been a favorite n Marco Island for decades. Unfortunately, it wasn’t hurricane-proof, and a storm named Ian put paid to the Snook Inn for a couple of years. It reopened in 2023 with the same Island atmosphere, but bigger and better. The chickee is much larger — and taller.
There’s a second floor deck and more seating on the water side. That’s where our table for six was, right on the water.
We were able to look over at the Isles of Capri and see the occasional dolphin swimming by.
I was so busy photographing that I forgot to take a picture of the smoked fish dip that I ordered. I didn’t forget to eat my full share, however. The Snook Inn does an admirable job with the smoked fish, and I always order it.
We ordered, and learned that our sandwiches and tacos included the salad bar. The stars of the salad bar were the barrel of excellent pickles
and some top notch potato salad. Let’s start with the girls. Ella chose the grilled cheese, which actually had been toasted, and which she pronounced, “very good.” The fries were merely “good.”
Lily chose the chicken tenders, and either was very impressed or just felt like mugging for the camera.
Nancy selected the mahi-mahi tacos, blackened,
with beans and rice as her side.
Liza ordered the same tacos, but chose onion rings as her side. Hold on, you’ll see some presently. Both Nancy and Liza praised the tacos. Abundant fish hid under the shredded lettuce and cheese, and also a very tasty avocado crema. The black beans and rice also were a hit with Nancy. I managed a taste and they were seasoned as black beans should be — just as they always are at the Snook Inn.
Michael ordered the fried grouper sandwich with French fries.
Michael ordered fried grouper a couple of times on the trip, and his pleased reaction to Snook Inn’s fried grouper made me wonder if I should reconsider my devotion to blackened grouper sandwiches which, after all, have fewer calories than fried. True to form, I ordered their blackened grouper sandwich … with onion rings.
It looks a little dry, doesn’t it? That’s the photographers’ fault. It was cooked just through.
As you can see, the generous helping of grouper overflowed the sandwich by a wide margin. This was a delicious sandwich, not less so because they gave me a remoulade, and a good remoulade at that, rather than tartar sauce. I didn’t know it was a choice. Maybe I just look like a remoulade person. At any rate, the remoulade added another layer of favor and made for an excellent sandwich. The sliced red onion, the lettuce and tomato, the fish, the remoulade — it was a symphony of flavors and textures. The onion rings were well fried and quite good. I recommend them. When we retuned home after the trip and I stood on the scales, I did have some second thoughts about having onion rings quite so often, but do try them. In moderation.
It’s hard to imagine a trip to Marco Island without a stop at the Snook Inn. The seafood is straight from Goodland, and they certainly know how to cook grouper, and how to fry and blacken dishes. Plus, the setting could hardly be better. Those veterans who may have worried about changes to the Snook Inn can relax and head over, and those who haven’t been really, really should go.
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