There is a version of Naples that only shows up in summer. The traffic eases, the tables open up, and the restaurants we love spend the next few months reminding locals why we live here in the first place. Prix fixe menus appear, happy hours stretch a little longer, and a dinner out on a Tuesday night suddenly feels like the easiest decision of the week.

If you are new to town, or you have simply never paid attention to the off-season calendar, here is where to spend your summer evenings well.

Fifth Avenue South

Alberto's on Fifth offers a two-course dinner with a glass of house wine for forty four dollars, served daily in the early and late evening windows. A few blocks over, Ocean Prime runs a three-course Early Dining Menu for sixty eight dollars before five thirty, and Ottimo on Fifth pairs its three-course early menu with half off bottles of house wine and ten dollar wines by the glass.

Third Street South and Venetian Village

Barbatella's bar lunch comes with a glass of house red or white for under seventeen dollars, and their three-course evening menu runs twenty nine dollars. Over in Venetian Village, MiraMare and Fish Restaurant both offer early two-course menus in the high twenties, perfect for a sunset dinner on the water before the night gets going.

The Ritz-Carlton

Both Sofra and Dusk run a Dining Passport menu for forty five dollars, with optional wine pairings, served nightly from five to nine. It is a quiet, polished way to spend an evening without the peak season price tag.

Bayshore Arts District

This is where summer dining gets a little more playful. The Real Macaw rotates a different deal every night, fifty percent off a select entree on Tuesdays, half off wine bottles on Wednesdays, twenty five percent off the bar menu on Thursdays, and half off burgers and the cocktail menu on Sundays. Rebecca's keeps lunch simple with an entree and a glass of wine for twenty four dollars.

Happy Hour Worth Planning Around

Ridgway Bar and Grill's happy hour runs three to six at the Courtyard and Ridgway bars, with forty percent off cocktails, beer, and wine by the glass. Campiello pours sparkling wine on a sliding scale on Tuesdays, starting at seven dollars early and climbing through the evening, which makes for a fun excuse to linger.

A word of caution before you head out: restaurants update these offers throughout the season, and a few close for a summer refresh entirely. A quick call ahead saves you a surprise at the table.

Naples in the summer has a rhythm all its own. Slower mornings, easier reservations, and a chance to actually enjoy the place we get to call home without fighting a crowd for it. If you are spending this season here for the first time and finding yourself wondering what it might be like to stay, we would love to talk. People come for a visit more often than you would think, and end up never leaving.

Phillip & Spencer Rigsby
Global Real Estate Advisors
Premier Sotheby's International Realty
239.494.2563
FindingNaples.com