Restaurant news: King's Kitchen grows its realm in downtown Fort Myers - News-Press

Artis Henderson Special to The News-Press

Published 7:00 AM EST Nov 20, 2019

The King’s Kitchen realm just got a little larger.

Three years after opening, this downtown Fort Myers restaurant is expanding. King's will stay in its same location, in the former Sub & Pub space across from the Publix plaza on West First Street, but it’s adding a room for private parties and a beer garden with outdoor seating. Plus, the restaurant will soon offer a full-liq bar in addition to its current selection of beers and wines. 

“It’s been a good three years,” chef-owner Ozzie Morrobel said.

“We’ve built a strong clientele with a lot of regulars — locals in the summer and snowbirds in the winter. We’ve been a small restaurant, and we’re about to triple in size.”

Morrobel said the business has benefited from the growth of downtown, and with construction under way on the new City Walk development across the street, he’s optimistic about his restaurant’s future.

FROM MAY: Fort Myers' City Walk construction to begin this summer, says developer

“It’s only going to get better in this area,” he said.

“It’s all positive.”

Morrobel is originally from Puerto Rico. His family moved to Fort Myers in 1989. He was in the restaurant business for many years, decided to leave the food industry for real estate, and then went back to his cooking roots. He brings Latin flavors to many of the dishes at King’s Kitchen, but he likes to emphasize that the restaurant has a wide array of offerings. 

“A lot of people think we’re a Latin restaurant, but we’re not. We’re a comfort-food restaurant,” Morrobel said.

“It’s comfort food from all over the world.”

Though King’s Kitchen has a regular menu, Morrobel and his staff are always creating new specials, usually one or two during the week and four or five on the weekends.

“People come in and they don’t even open their menus, they just ask what the specials are,” Morrobel said.

Some of the most-ordered dishes at King’s Kitchen include the Cuban sandwich, squid-ink pasta, meatloaf, country-fried chicken and pastelon, which Morrobel said is like a Latin-style "sweet plantain lasagna.”

“It’s delicious and very unique,” he said.

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The restaurant offers catering in addition to its regular menu, and starting in December it will serve Sunday brunch.

“We’re working on the menu right now,” Morrobel said.

“We’re going to serve the brunch classics, but we always add our own twist. We won’t just do an eggs Benedict. We’re going to put a King’s Kitchen spin on it.”

Besides its worldly comfort foods, one of the restaurant’s big draws is its cozy atmosphere. Morrobel doesn’t have any plans for that to change.

“It’s a really cute hole-in-the-wall,” he said.

“That’s the way we like it. Even as we expand, we want to keep that feel.”

Off the Eaten Path profiles independent, locally owned restaurants and bars throughout Southwest Florida. Send ideas to taste@news-press.com. 

Artis Henderson is a freelance writer and author, her first book earned a New York Times Editors’ Choice; find her at artishenderson.com and on Twitter.

King’s Kitchen

Where: 2150 West First St., Fort Myers

Hours: 4-9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, closed Sunday 

Prices: Most starters $8-$17, sandwiches $10-$13, entrees $11-$23

Call: 239-208-8518

More: kingskitchen.biz

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2019-11-20 12:00:00Z
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