When you spend your life in the kitchen, you develop a sixth sense—an instinct for timing, balance and the nuance that separates the good from the great. So when a chef dines out and takes notice, we take note, too.
In this culinary field guide, three of our region’s most respected chefs—Harold Balink, Melissa Donahue and Matt Geiger—share the restaurants that speak to them on a visceral and technical level. These are the places where mastery shows up in the margins, the experience holds steady and the chefs find that rare ease of settling into someone else’s kitchen.
Harold Balink on Molto Trattoria, Naples
For Harold Balink, Molto Trattoria on Fifth Avenue South is the closest you get to stepping into a tucked-away, Roman trattoria in Southwest Florida. “You sit down, take the first bite, and your eyes roll back,” he says. “It feels like home.”
Time off is rare, especially now, as the lauded chef behind Harold’s in Fort Myers prepares to open his first new restaurant in a decade, Vybe Whiskey & Wine at Bell Tower Shops. But, when he can sneak away, he heads to Molto. The heart of the Neri family’s restaurant group—including La Pescheria, Casa Neri and Molto Street Food (a food truck version of their beloved brick and mortar)—Molto opened in 2014 and remains the purest expression of their style: rustic craft, handmade everything, familial service and a commitment to tradition that never tips into cliché.
1 of 2
Photography by Brian Tietz
where swfl chefs eat molto trattoria plated seafood dish
When he can escape the kitchen, lauded chef Harold Balink heads to Naples’ Molto Trattoria for savvy wine service and handmade, truffle-laced tagliolini. .
2 of 2
Photography by Brian Tietz
where swfl chefs eat molto trattoria harold balink
Harold recalls a late-night visit about a year ago that sealed the deal: Naples was winding down at 9:30 on a Saturday night, but Molto was still buzzing: “It was packed, the only [place] full at that hour. We walked in, sat down and ordered half the menu.” A Brunello di Montalcino from 2016 sparked a conversation with a sharp-eyed server about vintage variation across 2012 and 2015. “You could tell the staff understood what they were serving,” he says.
His go-to dish? A truffle-laced tagliolini with mushrooms in a feather-light cream sauce. “It just jumps in your mouth and makes peace with your taste buds,” he says, applauding the restaurant’s precision and balance.
Melissa Donahue on Ember, Fort Myers
At Ember, the bold, clear-eyed cooking resonates with Melissa Donahue—even if the Korean steakhouse’s roots differ from her Southern-inspired Sweet Melissa’s, which recently relocated to Fort Myers.
The only James Beard–nominated chef in Lee County, Melissa favors layered, expressive food with control behind it. She finds the same clarity of intent in Ember’s dishes, like a bluefin tuna roll layered with avocado and more tuna, paired with a glass of Sancerre.
Just as she riffs on Southern foodways to introduce unexpected layers—her blackened chicken sandwich with kimchi stands out—Ember’s chefs James Cooper and Jennifer Shin aren’t afraid to cross culinary boundaries. Dishes pull globally but land with intention, marrying ingredients that might raise an eyebrow on paper but sing on the plate. Melissa appreciates the creativity behind small plates, like the Poseidon’s Snack, oysters crowned with sea urchin and caviar.
1 of 2
Photography by Anna Nguyen
where swfl chefs eat ember steakhouse melissa donahue
Many go for the Korean barbecue, but James Beard–nominated chef Melissa Donahue favors Ember’s bold, seafood-driven small plates, like oysters crowned with caviar and sea urchin.
2 of 2
Photography by Anna Nguyen
where swfl chefs eat ember steakhouse seating
Seafood is only part of the story at the College Parkway restaurant, which draws from the owners’ Korean heritage. Most of the tables are outfitted with built-in grills where diners sear cuts of Wagyu ribeye, pork belly and jumulleok—thick slices of beef in a traditional sesame oil marinade. In the kitchen’s back line, Jennifer focuses on purist Korean fare like dolsot bibimbap and crispy kimchi pancakes, grounding the restaurant’s more experimental notes with cultural roots and technical precision.
The playful sushi menu, Korean comforts and a serious cocktail program layered with umami and smoke, round out the offerings at this LED-lit steakhouse. “Most importantly—it’s consistent,” Melissa says. “You’re not going to be disappointed.”
Matt Geiger on Bangkok, Fort Myers
When Matt Geiger, of refined, European- leaning Savour (formerly, Azure), wants a guaranteed hit, he skips the tasting menus and heads to a low-key Thai restaurant in South Fort Myers—because that’s where Bon Poompana is cooking. “I already knew he had the chops,” Matt, who worked under Bon at Fort Myers’ acclaimed Blu Sushi, says. “But what he’s doing at Bangkok is on a whole other level.”
At a glance, it could be any neighborhood Thai spot. But Bangkok delivers the kind of balance and rigor most kitchens only aim for. Opened in 2017 and recently renovated with sleek booths and warm lighting, Bangkok stands as a love letter to Bon’s native country and Southwest Florida. Much of the snapper and shrimp comes from the Gulf, and many recipes trace back generations. “All of our sauces come from family recipes that my mother brought with her to the U.S.,” he says. “She’s still making them daily at the restaurant.”
1 of 3
Photography by Anna Nguyen
where swfl chefs eat bangkok thai matt geiger
Family sauces, Gulf ingredients and balanced flavors define the menu at Bangkok—Matt Geiger’s go-to for Thai done right.
2 of 3
Photography by Anna Nguyen
where swfl chefs eat bangkok thai matt geiger sushi
3 of 3
Photography by Anna Nguyen
where swfl chefs eat bangkok thai seating
He approaches the food with restraint—never letting sweetness, salt or heat overwhelm the beauty of the ingredients or the heritage behind even the most modernized recipes. “Each dish at Bangkok reflects bits and pieces of my childhood,” he says.
For Matt, the precision elevates even the most familiar dishes into special- occasion fare, from the slow-braised lamb massaman curry to the impossibly light crab rangoons. Lately, he’s loving the Thai green curry with crispy skin duck. “The flavor profile’s super balanced,” he says. “And, the vegetables always come out crisp and vibrant, never overcooked—that’s rare, even in good kitchens.”