Naples school teacher and fashion model Naomi Rothring poses on steps of Sanibel Island’s Thistle Lodge Restaurant during a photo shoot for Island Scene magazine.
Open to the public, Thistle Lodge offers delicious cuisine served in a historical setting overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Swaying palms and gently breaking waves further set the scene for romance.
The award-winning menu at the Thistle Lodge includes a blend of Floridian, European, and Asian flavors to please the most discriminating palates. The seafood is fresh and hand-cut right in their kitchen to ensure the highest caliber product, and the prime beef is only ordered from the Midwest. The steaks are dry aged to enhance their flavor and tenderness. Herbs, fruits, and vegetables are custom-grown.
Thistle Lodge is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and features a Sunday Brunch buffet.
Executive Chef John Wolff brings to the Thistle Lodge decades of knowledge and creativity from his previous positions with upscale luxury resorts.
The property’s history dates to the 1880’s, when Reverend George Barnes’ purchased 480 acres and built a cottage and church, Sanibel’s first. Over time, the cottage evolved into a fashionable 30-room inn, one of the earliest resorts on the island. In the 1890s, Reverend Barnes’ daughter, Georgia, married a resort guest from Kentucky, who built her a grand manor on the inn’s property.
Named Thistle Lodge, it quickly became the favored gathering spot for celebrities and statesmen seeking escape, including Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Today, Casa Ybel’s Thistle Lodge still welcomes guests as a fine, old-island restaurant overlooking the same beach where Reverend Barnes found his paradise on earth.”