AMAZING!!!!! I came here while on spring break per recommendation of a friend, and I was not disappointed. This place is definitely a hidden gem, especially since it's in a strip mall of all places. I can see how the reviews about the restaurant being crowded can upset some people, so be sure to make a reservation and you'll be just fine...especially since the dining room isn't the biggest, but it's not claustrophobic. Also, the food is excellent and the waitstaff is friendly and well-versed in the menu, so it's definitely worth the wait if there is one. Everything is made in-house and made to order, so you know what you're getting is fresh which I personally appreciate. The bread was so airy and warm, and paired awesomely with the house pinot noir (ask the waitstaff for more info, they were raving about it!). I ordered the rosemary chicken for my entree, simply made but seasoned well, and the banana flambe, which was the dessert special for the night. All in all, don't let the mixed reviews defer you away. I work in a restaurant very similar to this one, so my advice to you is to just make a reservation, understand your food will take a little longer than normal because it's 100% made-to-order, and you'll be just fine. It's worth it. read more

Tasteless -- no flavor- all four of meals were bad. Don't know how they could be in business 20 plus years cooking like this. We dine out several times a month. The chef owner needs to sample his cooking. 7-25-20 visit . read more

What a treat! Lovely restaurant with good menu and great service. Tonight's special of a fresh ink and white linguini with mixed seafood inbred or white sauce was superb. Worth the trip. read more

I thought the service was very poor. No flexibility when it comes to any deviations from what is on the menu. Won't be back.

We ate dinner for Valentine's day. First of all the tables were so close. Everytime the waiter came by my chair was hit or water was dripped on me or dishes and glasses passed close to my head. The food was limited to a special menu which had alot of seafood. It was very pricey. I shared a stuffed chicken breast with my husband. The chicken was dry. It came with scalloped potatoes and veggies. There was maybe two spoons of potatoes on the plate. It was expensive. 2 glasses of wine one entree and a salad . Over 60.00. We will not be running back. read more

I have genuine restaurant guilt for overlooking Farfalla. Especially since it has been in the business of serving Italian-inspired dishes in an elegant room for more than 14 years. The white room with high back chairs and candlight level lighting overcome the dull, sidewalk approach to this resto in a strip mall. Many pages of entrees are offered and there were many pages of wines in its wine list. We had salmon poached in a tomatoe base, and vitello prepared in a barolo sauce with a few porcini mushrooms. Both entrees had sliced squash as its accompanying vegetable, and a potato that sadly, was a bit lost in a loose, cream sauce. A creme brulee was done very well, however, and finished to a rich smooth texutre and with just enough of a sugar burn for the spoon to easily crack through. We shared a sparkiling water and had two coffees. No wine. The bill was $73 before gratuity. Considering the price and the atmosphere, I would recommend Farfalle as a destination for any special occasion. read more

Excellent food! Very well prepared. Chef definitely knows what he's doing. Don't hesitate to stop in! You won't be disappointed.

Valentine's Day. Restaurant managing more reservations than it should of accepted. My wife and I waited for an hour and we had reservations! There were at least 30 to 40 people waiting about the same time. Thy should of given us a discount on our bill for waiting instead of free wine. The food was good. That was the only positive note. The service was indifferent and did not try to be understanding to the situation. Take care of your customers! We will not be back and we are permanent residentsof Estero. Please train your staff to be more sympathetic and amiable, not just there. read more

Ate here for the first time last night with another couple. Have driven by many times on my way to Publix. The parking lot is always busy so we'd thought we'd give it a try. I made a reservation thro Open Table. When we walked in they sat us rightaway the host was very gracious when he greeted us and gave us a little history about the restaurant and chef owner who has been there for over 21 years. So far so good. Then waiter Elvis came by, then he was quickly called away, then he came back, and left again in the middle of exposing the specials. Now I can see they are busy, but if they are short staffed they should let us, but I'm not sure that was the case. Just very unorganized. When he finally finished telling the specials , we chose our appetizers and entrees. My husbands lamb chops were not seared like he said they would be. My shrimp was good but the pasta and sauce had no flavor. The scallops were good! Don't think we will go back and give it another try. read more

Ristorante Farfalla - What's left of my caprese salad! It was good! - Italian Near Me - Estero, Florida

See all

2 1/2 STARS We ate here a couple of months ago and I waited to submit this update. I wanted to see if the dining experience improved at all in my memory. It hasn't. I ordered a steak that night. I like it a little pink in the middle and believe that to be somewhere between medium rare and medium. Experience has taught me to order medium, because medium rare often comes quite red in the center. So I ordered it medium. The steak came completely rare. Without question. Very, very red (i.e., uncooked) throughout. The three others agreed, so I returned it to be further cooked. It took forever, but when it came back it was still very rare. I gave up, kept it and took it home with me to be properly cooked. Not good. By the way, the other three meals that were ordered were just fine. The service was terrible. The waiter tried to sell us a bottle of wine for starters, and when only one of us (me!) wanted any wine and ordered a glass, he virtually ignored us for the rest of the evening. We had to summon another waiter to come to our table. I believe the owner/chef to be a nice guy and excellent cook normally, but perhaps success and an increase in business has made it difficult for him to maintain a high level of service & consistency. Location - 4 STARS Ambiance - 5 STARS Service - 2 STARS Food (mine): - 1 STAR Food (the others three): - 4 STARS read more

Farfalla's never disappoints!! We were lucky enough to find this restaurant 10 years ago when we purchased a condo nearby. Whenever we come down Farfalla's is a must. The ingredients are fresh and every dish is cooked to order. Homemade pasta!!! Gluten free is also an option. So reminiscent of the food we had when we were in Italy. Fresh and delicious! read more

This is a terrible restaurant. One man show.He is the chef,manager and sometimes greeter. The restaurant has understaffed and expect to wait for two hours for food. Food quality is good but the wait time is too long and you don't have any appetite left. The waitress is rude and has no manners. The chairs are old and worn out making it difficult to sit for three hrs. On the top of it they slap a 20% gratuity. Stay away from this terrible restaurant. read more

One of our local favorites. We had dinner on New Year's Eve. Our server, Michael, was very knowledgable and made great recommendations. They have a good wine list and our food, black and saffron linguine frutti di mare and a veal chop, was delicious. Try the Tiramisu! read more

Will never return. Took 2 hours for entree and employees totally handled the situation incorrect and not professional. Said..what do you want? Well I wanted a meal within a decent time frame. They came at us ...i was always trained to make the customer happy. They didn't care. I will tell everyone NOT to go here. Worst dining experience I ever had and I worked in the industry. read more

The food here is always amazing. We've been coming here since 1999 and never had less than fantastic food. Everyone we e taken here is amazed by the food. Kudos to chef Michael! read more

Farfalla for dinner was fantastic. Chef Michael makes each of our visits a dining experience. Never disappointed. read more

See all

This is the best pasta in the whole area!! Even the angel hair was cooked al dente! Veal dishes melted in your mouth. The chef/owner loves to chat & you can tell it's a labor of love! They have been there about 20+ years so you know it's a keeper! read more

Good waitress... knowledgeable, attentive. Very good bread... Order Orecchiette Ala Sanremo, broccoli,sundried tomatoes and ocean garden shrimp in a garlic wine sauce.. Pasta was perfect. The Ocean Garden Shrimp were excellent (OG Shrimp is the best) The broccoli was good. The Sundried Tomatoes were to wet, took away from being sundried. Sadly sauce was a broth, it was either not reduced or to much water from pasta left in.. read more

Can't believe we just tried to open the front door at 8:47 and man waved we're closed. I waved backed and pointed to sign that says open till 10. Man came out and said d owner closed to party for St. Pattys day. Dumb ownership surprised they are in business? We just moved here and they won't see us return read more

What a great experience we had our office Christmas party there but the chef owner all the wait staff everyone was Immaculate and precise and on point I can't recommend it highly enough amazing food wonderful desserts great atmosphere read more

This is clearly a four-star restaurant. Why not a five? They are understaffed. Our waiter, was the only one present except for two busboys who, he said, were new. It seemed to me, however, that they tried pretty hard. This is off-season, but still..... It was interesting that when One of us requested a substitution of pasta for the vegetables he said this was not possible but he could sell her the pasta. It seems that the substitution should've been automatic. Note that this is not an inexpensive restaurant. The food, however, is what makes a restaurant great. The food here is fresh and prepared to order. Two appetizers, one of clams and one soup special were both good. Two of us had the sole, Outstanding. The other two had a pasta dish and the shrimp, both of which received raves. I finished with a good coconut sorbet. Worth a visit. read more

Went out for pizza and stumbled into this gem. It was a very low "pre-season" night but the service was top notch. The menu had a wide range to select from. Everything is homemade and cooked fresh so be prepared to wait, it is worth the wait. My wife had the crab ravioli, I had the iron pan Filet Minion. We had the mussels for our appetizer. My only complaint was the after dinner coffee could have been better. read more

This is a great gem that is hidden off the main drag. The chef is great and the dishes that we have had here have been awesome. The servers are always attentive and knowledgeable. read more

Great little restaurant for amazing Italian. Don't overlook this diamond in the rough.

Amazing food! My wife and I decided to eat here for her birthday, which coincidentally was our first night out together after having our second child. We chose well. The location is a bit weird, in a strip mall at the corner of 41 and Corkscrew Rd. That's the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars. It's a little awkward walking into an upscale restaurant after parking next to the Publix. After living in SW FL for a few years, you will come to find that many hidden gems are in strip malls like this though. Once you're inside though, you can't tell that you're in a strip mall. The overwhelming great smells of great food immerse your senses and you are greeted immediately by the host. We each had a four course meal and while quite pricey, the food and service lived up to the price we paid. We don't get to go out as a couple often, but when we do again, we'll be back. read more

I can't understand the 3-star rating. Everything from the plump and tasty PEI mussels to mouth-watering saltimbocca was terrific. Very generous portions. My one wish was for more cream sauce on the homemade pasta (a little too dry), but all it took was a request for more. Service was excellent. One small suggestion: Space the tables a little further apart. Will definitely be back. read more

I really can't understand how this place stays in business. My family tried this restaurant a while back and we really didn't care for it much then. A friend of ours said you should give it another chance since she had a good meal there. Four of us went, all ordered different dishes, all tasted like crap, especially the calamari. Heavy breading, cold, and chewey. We are not the type to complaine or send anything back, but in hindsight we should have. In the car, on the way home we all agreed that our dishes were tasteless. I will admit however that the Caprese salad was good, but all in all not worth a second star. Take this place off your list, it really did suck, and did I mention overpriced. read more

My wife and I discovered Ristorante Farfalla some 15 years ago and have enjoyed the fine fare of chef Michael. We always visit the restaurant often and make it a point to visit on Friday and Saturday evenings during season when he does his superb Osso Bucco Alla Milanese. I've had this dish in many resturants but none compare. read more

Tried Ristorante Farfalla last night for first time with a party of eight. The service was friendly and the food was excellent. Happy to find such a great restaurant in a convenient location. We will definitely return! read more

While I can say the food is pretty good I find the waiters a bit pretentious. They pretend like it's a five-star dining restaurant. Every night they have a medley of vegetables as a side and if you ask for say spinach instead, the waiters will nearly refuse to ask "Chef" as they refer to the pope of this establishment. I refuse to go there any more because i was forced to choose between a side of horrible mixed vegetables which is not made to order or to "buy" a side of spinach. "Chef" food alone does not make a restaurant. Customer service is 50%! Had you simply given me my request you'd have a customer for life but I won't rest until you get this message loud and clear. Please explain why you can't provide such an easy substitution. Educate me and the public with your response. read more

Had dinner at Farfalla last night. The pasta Bolognese had no taste and chunks of ground beef (which is not how you make Bolognese)that tasted like they had been put under a faucet and washed off - Prices are ridiculous! Service also had a lot to be desired read more

We have been dining at Farfalla since the restaurant opened over 20 years ago. Sometimes just the 2 of us but also parties as large as 16 people. The food and service are always top notch. Chef and owner Michael takes great price in overseeing the entire operation and the place is impeccable. The server Doug has been working there for many years and is a true professional. Would highly recommend Restorante Farfalla if you are looking for a top notch dining experience in the Fort Myers/Naples area. read more

Lots of great food here. It is in a strip mall. Many restaurants seem to be! Fresh, crusty, light, warm italian bread. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar & butter brought to your table right away. Friendly staff. Fantastic prince island mussel appetizer with delicious broth. Hated to not finish sopping up with their crusty bread! One dinner was veal Picatta. Tender & delicious. Great scalloped potatoes & sautéed vegetables alongside. Second dinner linguine Genovese. A bit too much pesto. But still delicious. Wine suggestion excellent, a good pour as well. Nicely done Creme brûlée finished meal. 3 glasses of wine, 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, dessert & 2 coffees. $100. read more

I have eaten here several times over the last few years. The quality of cuisine is outstanding--ingredients are top-quality, preparations are authentic, and presentation is very nice. This is not your "old school" spaghetti-and-meatballs, tomato-everything food, but more like what I've had in trattorias in Milan, Bologna, and around Tuscany. For instance, on a recent trip, lamb chops in a rosemary-wine reduction was some of the best lamb I have ever had. Service is often good, but inconsistent. Once, our waiter was so attentive and enthusiastic that it seemed as if he never stopped talking. Yet, most recently, our waiter was inattentive--we were kept waiting far too long to place our orders. Other times, service was flawless. More consistently trained floor-staff would be appreciated! read more

After hearing good things about this restaurant, we decided to have dinner there last week. I wish I had read the reviews online before wasting money. I now understand why they needed to put up a sign outside the restaurant telling people it was open. The room is nice and the waiter was attentive and pleasant. He explained to us that 4 parties came in within 10 minutes of each other and that was going to slow things down. We understood and had no problem with that. What we didn't know was HOW SLOWLY meals would come out of the kitchen especially as there were only about 20 people in the restaurant. Several tables were not filled. What would happen if every table had diners? We were served our drinks right away. We waited for 4 tiny pieces of bread to be delivered. Our salads came shortly after the bread. Then we waited and waited and waited. The waiter repeatedly updated us and apologized. Two parties who came in after us were served before us. It took 1 hour after our order was placed for our meals to be served. It wouldn't be fair to judge the food; by the time we got served, we couldn't enjoy the food. It looked like there was only 1 person in the kitchen - the owner/chef. I thought this was an off-season issue. After seeing several reviews stating the same complaint no matter the time of year, this is clearly an ongoing issue. Apparently, the owner doesn't care about what people say because he doesn't fix the problem; he needs to take some business classes. You can't stay in business by serving 1 table every 15 minutes no matter how good the food might be. Here's 1 patron who will not return. read more

Especially tasty fare, knowledgeable and attentive service, soothing upscale decor, and the best "house white" I've had outside Italy!

The food here was great. We had the Ahi Tuna Carpaccio appetizer and the crab ravioli for the main course...all were awesome.

Ambience of a nursing home dining hall. No bar area- beer and wine only. Our cold antipasti came out missing the grilled eggplant and zucchini. Bread was cold and stale. Busboy served us an unopened package of cheap bread sticks. My date said that his chicken dish wasn't the worst he ever had- hardly high praise. I played it safe with a salad and made do with balsamic vinegar due to the limited choices of dressing. Six people "dined" between 6- close. With such a large menu and numerous "specials", I question the freshness of the food. The numerous re-corked bottles of wine had me questioning their freshness as well. We skipped dessert. We did not complain. We were given coupons with our check. It could be free and we still would not go back. read more

We have had a seasonal home here and have meant to give this restaurant a shot and so glad we did! We went there last minute with our 2 small grandchildren and their parents and all adults were thrilled with our meals and service. The homemade pasta , veal and fish dishes were superb. The host Jeffrey and Mike were extremely gracious and the price point was very fair. We loved this place and will be back soon! read more

Really mixed Some were happy some were not. No quality/value, $$$$. My Bolognese was awful, sautéed chop meat with no flavor over excellent fettuccine , 15 minutes to cook chop meat. $24 , awful caprese $11, salads very good. First and last visit read more