Took a chance and WOW! We have been coming to Sanibel for over 20 years but never stayed on the island. This was our first time staying in a condo. The teenagers opted for frozen pizza so we wanted to grab a bite to eat that was not too stuffy or too casual. Traders hit the mark! An unassuming building right on Periwinkle, we walked in and thought wow. Cool. Live music playing in the bar. We opted to sit at a bar table where we were greeted by Caleb, a true gift to your restaurant. He was friendly, engaging, enthusiastic and truly loves his job. He suggested the sea bass special which I ordered along with a small Caesar salad. Lots of food, carefully seasoned and served piping hot. We loved it all! Clearly, the chef of this restaurant is quite talented. Caleb made our experience one of a kind. Thank you for making us feel so welcome in your restaurant. We will be back!
Jan N
I had the pork chop with spinach, green beans, and scalloped potatoes. The best pork chop I have ever eaten. All the sides were delicious and cooked perfectly. My husband had the scallops with lobster ravioli. These both were outstanding. I highly recommend this place.
Nancy L.
First visit to this place last night and could not believe they were not PACKED OUT. This is a MUST if you are visiting Sanibel. Seared Ahi Tuna has a beautiful presentation and tastes even better. I had the horseradish encrusted swordfish which was a special. It came with blackbean and corn salsa, mashed potatoes and beans. It was unreal. Mom had the Seared Scallops. They were divine! Highly recommended!!!
RegularGuy R.
A staple seafood establishment on Sanibel. The sword fish special with horseradish sauce was a delightful surprise. My wife enjoyed her sea bass. Menu is a bit limited, portions a bit modest, and prices a bit high, which keeps it at 3* for me. Good local live music at a volume that didn't kill conversation. 5* = incredible (rare) 4* = very good/ strong desire to return 3* = generally good experience 2* = poor/ no desire to return 1* = a particularly awful experience
Steven S.
I think they are having problems getting good kitchen staff. Even their signature dish of stuffed shrimp and lobster raviolis, was a letdown and I have been ordering this dish for years, every time we vacation on the island. The shrimp were over cooked and very dry, the raviolis were under cooked and was barely able to cut them with a sharp knife, and only had about a table spoon of beurre blanc. Hours are very limited and the bar is poorly stocked. One night, they did not even have rose's.
Peggy H.
We just love Trader's! The menu options are plentiful and the food expertly prepared. The casual island vibe abounds and the servers seem to genuinely love working here. Service is warm, attentive, and friendly. And the food is exceptional. We went to Trader's for our anniversary and H had the meatball and pasta, and I had the sea bass special. I enjoyed it so much that we went back two nights later so I could have the sea bass again before it left the specials menu. Our server told us they have the sea bass on the menu whenever it is available because it is always a customer (and server!) favorite! H also enjoyed his dinner. Trader's always has something for everyone, and everything is delicious! We always eat here several times while we are here.
J8365MNandys
We were cordially greeted by on server Yuri. We sat outside listening to live music. We started with cocktails. My wife and I both had the Elderflower Cooler which was excellent. A truly enjoyable well made drink. I had the Crab Spinach filled Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli. Hands down this is the best dinner I had all week on the island. My wife had the parmesan encrusted chicken which was well cooked and seasoned. We ended with Key Lime pie for dessert that was to die for. Great atmosphere, excellent service and food make it our favorite for our weeks stay.
Emily P.
This was so fabulous- McKenzie was our incredible server and cannot recommend her enough!!! The food was amazing - and our group cannot recommend Traders enough!!! Go there
Kate59679
Excellent food! My husband & I ate here & the food was great. Waiter was helpful. I had tuna appetizer which was excellent & my husband had the Macadamia encrusted fish & mashed potatoes. Yummy. Rum drinks were good too. We had the key lime pie with raspberry sauce for dessert. So good. I’d highly recommend this place to anyone.
elk15don
Sat outside - need to reserve in advance - lovely dinner on recent visit. The shortribs were amazing.. All others enjoyed their meals as well. Best dinner we had in Sanibel. A little pricey but worth it.
I got the Mahi, but was very tempted by a couple of the specials. Maybe I'll have to go back to try a few more. We sat outside and loved the guitar music. Great atmosphere. Good beer and wine selection. The dessert was good, but not quite as good as the food.
sunrisemahon
Nice bar and average menu fare …we ordered a large take out ranging from sandwiches to salads . The crab cake sandwich was about as far from crab as you could possibly get . Surimi and really bad … The rest of the food was average .
Melanie Varner
The food & drinks were amazing! Also we love listening to the singer outside!
Ben T.
One of the best upper-scale restaurants on the island. The short ribs and curry snapper is amazing. Service is also top-notch..
Megan B.
We tried to eat here three times. Once we came too late for dinner. The next time, it was too crowded and told we would never get a table by the valet in the lot. Then I tried three days to make a reservation. Finally, got one for 6:30 three days before we were to go. When we arrived it was not busy at all. Having been in the service industry my entire adult life, I understand the reservation gig. Well, we were shown to a table that pretty much sat right next to the kitchen door and the hostess podium, and the front door. When I asked if there was anything else, I was looking at two women who looked like deers in a headlamp.....nothing, no comments, no explanation just a nod with to each other. We left very disappointed not having had the chance to even taste what the food was like. Perhaps another time. I will just be real specific when I make the reservation. Plus as I made the reservation I said it was so we could see the entertainment.....which was outside, no where near our table.
Took a chance and WOW! We have been coming to Sanibel for over 20 years but never stayed on the island. This was our first time staying in a condo. The teenagers opted for frozen pizza so we wanted to grab a bite to eat that was not too stuffy or too casual. Traders hit the mark! An unassuming building right on Periwinkle, we walked in and thought wow. Cool. Live music playing in the bar. We opted to sit at a bar table where we were greeted by Caleb, a true gift to your restaurant. He was friendly, engaging, enthusiastic and truly loves his job. He suggested the sea bass special which I ordered along with a small Caesar salad. Lots of food, carefully seasoned and served piping hot. We loved it all! Clearly, the chef of this restaurant is quite talented. Caleb made our experience one of a kind. Thank you for making us feel so welcome in your restaurant. We will be back!
I had the pork chop with spinach, green beans, and scalloped potatoes. The best pork chop I have ever eaten. All the sides were delicious and cooked perfectly. My husband had the scallops with lobster ravioli. These both were outstanding. I highly recommend this place.
First visit to this place last night and could not believe they were not PACKED OUT. This is a MUST if you are visiting Sanibel. Seared Ahi Tuna has a beautiful presentation and tastes even better. I had the horseradish encrusted swordfish which was a special. It came with blackbean and corn salsa, mashed potatoes and beans. It was unreal. Mom had the Seared Scallops. They were divine! Highly recommended!!!
A staple seafood establishment on Sanibel. The sword fish special with horseradish sauce was a delightful surprise. My wife enjoyed her sea bass. Menu is a bit limited, portions a bit modest, and prices a bit high, which keeps it at 3* for me. Good local live music at a volume that didn't kill conversation. 5* = incredible (rare) 4* = very good/ strong desire to return 3* = generally good experience 2* = poor/ no desire to return 1* = a particularly awful experience
I think they are having problems getting good kitchen staff. Even their signature dish of stuffed shrimp and lobster raviolis, was a letdown and I have been ordering this dish for years, every time we vacation on the island. The shrimp were over cooked and very dry, the raviolis were under cooked and was barely able to cut them with a sharp knife, and only had about a table spoon of beurre blanc. Hours are very limited and the bar is poorly stocked. One night, they did not even have rose's.
We just love Trader's! The menu options are plentiful and the food expertly prepared. The casual island vibe abounds and the servers seem to genuinely love working here. Service is warm, attentive, and friendly. And the food is exceptional. We went to Trader's for our anniversary and H had the meatball and pasta, and I had the sea bass special. I enjoyed it so much that we went back two nights later so I could have the sea bass again before it left the specials menu. Our server told us they have the sea bass on the menu whenever it is available because it is always a customer (and server!) favorite! H also enjoyed his dinner. Trader's always has something for everyone, and everything is delicious! We always eat here several times while we are here.
We were cordially greeted by on server Yuri. We sat outside listening to live music. We started with cocktails. My wife and I both had the Elderflower Cooler which was excellent. A truly enjoyable well made drink. I had the Crab Spinach filled Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli. Hands down this is the best dinner I had all week on the island. My wife had the parmesan encrusted chicken which was well cooked and seasoned. We ended with Key Lime pie for dessert that was to die for. Great atmosphere, excellent service and food make it our favorite for our weeks stay.
This was so fabulous- McKenzie was our incredible server and cannot recommend her enough!!! The food was amazing - and our group cannot recommend Traders enough!!! Go there
Excellent food! My husband & I ate here & the food was great. Waiter was helpful. I had tuna appetizer which was excellent & my husband had the Macadamia encrusted fish & mashed potatoes. Yummy. Rum drinks were good too. We had the key lime pie with raspberry sauce for dessert. So good. I’d highly recommend this place to anyone.
Sat outside - need to reserve in advance - lovely dinner on recent visit. The shortribs were amazing.. All others enjoyed their meals as well. Best dinner we had in Sanibel. A little pricey but worth it.
Restaurantji Recommends
I got the Mahi, but was very tempted by a couple of the specials. Maybe I'll have to go back to try a few more. We sat outside and loved the guitar music. Great atmosphere. Good beer and wine selection. The dessert was good, but not quite as good as the food.
Nice bar and average menu fare …we ordered a large take out ranging from sandwiches to salads . The crab cake sandwich was about as far from crab as you could possibly get . Surimi and really bad … The rest of the food was average .
The food & drinks were amazing! Also we love listening to the singer outside!
One of the best upper-scale restaurants on the island. The short ribs and curry snapper is amazing. Service is also top-notch..
We tried to eat here three times. Once we came too late for dinner. The next time, it was too crowded and told we would never get a table by the valet in the lot. Then I tried three days to make a reservation. Finally, got one for 6:30 three days before we were to go. When we arrived it was not busy at all. Having been in the service industry my entire adult life, I understand the reservation gig. Well, we were shown to a table that pretty much sat right next to the kitchen door and the hostess podium, and the front door. When I asked if there was anything else, I was looking at two women who looked like deers in a headlamp.....nothing, no comments, no explanation just a nod with to each other. We left very disappointed not having had the chance to even taste what the food was like. Perhaps another time. I will just be real specific when I make the reservation. Plus as I made the reservation I said it was so we could see the entertainment.....which was outside, no where near our table.