Chef Brooke’s Natural Cafe

Chef Brooke is so incredibly sweet. Between her lovely personality and her delicious baked goods, you will definitely feel a sugar rush. This is one of the only places like it in the Fort Myers area (and one of few in the area that understands what gluten even is), so it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a tourist with food allergies or just a local vegan, veg or are on another special diet. The place is not 100% gluten free nor is it 100% vegetarian; its a nice mix of foods so most anyone looking for healthy food can eat there.
Personally, I didn’t care for the flavor of the gluten free sugar free blueberry muffin I had, but my husband who can eat sugar reports that her other baked goods are awesome. He tried the peanut butter Brookies and was blown away.
For food, I had an enchilada casserole type dish with chicken. I wish there had been more chicken, but other than that, I have no complaints. It was tasty! I would definitely eat here again if I am ever back in the Fort Myers area. I hope to see more cane sugar free items on the menu in the future!

My friend picked me up from the airport and brought me here for lunch. This place was a very unexpected surprise, an oasis of healthy food. I like the vibe of the place as I felt comfortable, reminded me of home in the Hudson Valley. There were a lot of choices and I ordered a salad with herbed tempeh on top. Was really good! The owner, chef Brooke, took our orders and was so helpful and into the food. It’s obvious that she has a love of healthy food and wants to share that with others. I also ordered a pumpkin chocolate whoopie pie to go which was gluten free. She has many delicious looking gluten free options. I hope I get to visit this place again, super good!

Absolutely phenomenal! We adored everything. The ambiance, the drinks, the appetizers, the meals, their included sides, and desserts. We dropped serious dough on our first visit for a lunch in which we only expected to order one thing per person. So healthy and wholesome. We devoured as much as we could and saved plenty for later. As for the chef and her attitude, she was pleasant and professional and gave back the same cheerful vibe we came in with. It is evident that she is passionate and dedicated and cares about the food and her customers’ satisfaction. So many healthy options and personalizations on the menu!!! It is so difficult to find a place to eat with food that meets so many dietary needs. This place has multiple delicious options. This was our first time coming here and we feel so happy & lucky that we found this place. We definitely plan to be back very often!

Stopped here when we landed and was so happy to eat some delicious and healthy food. The woman behind the counter was super friendly, present and attentive and we soon found out that was Brooke! I ordered a caveman bowl with salmon, the best smoothie ever and an acai bowl. All of it was super fresh and good! My boyfriend had chicken and veggie stir fry, a green juice, an acai bowl and a peanut butter «Brookie» which is one of her oversized, delicious cookies that are vegan and gluten free!
We both have dietary needs and this place was certainly what we needed after a flight down to Florida. We made sure we stopped back there on our way back to the airport to get more goodies.

This is a phenomenal restaurant. Chef Brooke has made a menu of to die for food that is so delicious it’s hard to believe it’s all natural. But it is and that my friend is the best part. I’ve only tried a few items but everything has been great.

If «Holy $&!#» was acceptable, that’d be my review. The calm of the woman running it is surreal during a lunch rush. Service was slow waiting at the bar area but worth the wait. We enjoyed down to the last piece the Tuna Tabbouleh Melt and the Veggie Burger Reuben. Wow on flavor and wow on presentation. There was a miscommunication with the new staff on having Gluten-​free bread but still amazing lunch. On the way out, after being deprived sweets for so long due to gluten intolerance I set my eyes on a GF&Vegan squash pineapple muffin that I opted to have a coconut frosting put on top of. And WOW again! Very happy with my experience I will be returning frequently.

So, my dad is a meat eater & he ordered the chicken salad & he said he really likes it, but the portion was so small. He said he could’ve ate four of those meals. My sister has been a vegetarian for 7 years and she ordered the veggie burger (then they ask you if you want that as a salad, sandwich, or wrap and she chose to have it in wrap form) and she absolutely hated it. She said it was terribly gross. I’ve been a vegan for a few months now and I ordered a Google Berry smoothie and stuffed mushroom appetizer and a it had vegan cheese and it was so delicious! I then ordered the mushroom soup (obviously I love mushrooms) (it was one of the many soup of the day’s) and it could’ve used some salt, but it was good. Then I ordered the Nori rolls and those were pretty okay. And then I ordered a blueberry squash vegan cupcake to go and another smoothie… Because I’m addicted to smoothies. And overall the café was just okay. Our bill came out to 70.39 $, so about a 20 $ meal each, so kinda expensive. But it was all fresh and the whole place was adorably decorated!

While the food is fresh and healthy the owners attitude is far less desirable. While recently visiting the area I stopped by for lunch. After I ordered I tried to ask Brooke about her yummy looking desserts. I asked her what dessert she would recommend.
Verbatim, Brooke snapped back «Pick your own damn desert.» Excuse me, Brooke? While you might be a chef who makes great food, you have no right to treat a patron with such a disgusting attitude. I will never come back to your shop, you can rest assured that I told all my family and friends who live in this town, to never visit your café. Perhaps you should start eating your own healthy food, you might start to look and feel better, treating others with a little kindness. Otherwise, I suggest you close your doors if you cannot appreciate the business walking into your establishment. You are a disgrace of a business woman. Stick to cooking and keeping your mouth shut.

From 2 to 4. What can I say; when you’re wrong, you’re wrong. I’ve been back here multiple times and have discovered a few things on the menu that are really really good. (Veggie lasagna, vegan melts… dude, they’re goooood!, wraps, juices, her homemade sauces.)
Chef Brooke has warmed up to us somewhat, but she does give me the impression that she could go all Soup Nazi on me in a second so I don’t mess around. I walk in, order without making too much eye contact or asking stupid questions, and nom nom nom all the way home.

Really like the atmosphere and the food. Had the coconut curry with lamb. The rice and flavor was amazing. If you’re into hole’s in the wall (even though it’s right at the corner of a busy intersection) and «healthfood» I’d highly recommend.

This place blew me away with the fresh deliciousness brought to you by Chef Brooke! What a masterpiece of a restaurant-​amazing options and great service

I just moved into the fort Myers area and have been dying to eat here. Today I finally tried out this café and I’m very pleased with my experience. I love the atmosphere and the huge selection of vegetarian/​vegan items. I’ve read many reviews about chef Brooke having an attitude towards customers but to me she was very nice and helped me out a lot while making my selection. I ended up getting the raw vegan Godzilla burrito and it was exactly what I was in the mood for! A refreshing and very filling lunch accompanied by a glass of iced green tea. It was the perfect combination and the portion was generously sized. I can’t wait to try more delicious meals especially the desserts and Buddha bowls! The price was a little bit up there but any where you go to get healthy meals will be expensive. I would recommend anyone to try this café, worth every penny!

This place is awesome! You have lots of healthy choices. My favorite are the vegan and vegetarian meals. I highly recommend it. The deserts are delicious and often vegan friendly.

Love, love, love this café. Food so fresh. The flavors dance on my tastebuds! I go every Saturday to get my fix. It’s veggielicious!

The reviews about her moodieness def aren’t lying but I like a chef with a little tude.
When you are in the mood the mood for food, she does it up healthy and tasty. Lower your time expecations because this aint fast food.

Eating here made me feel like a rabbit… A very happy and healthy rabbit.
Everything is fresh and made to order. We walked in at lunch time in the summer and it was filled with local patrons. Since everything is made to order and the place was packed, we did have to wait some time for our greens and freshly brewed tea.
The menu is huge and a little overwhelming. You’re reading everything on the wall and just when you think you made a decision, the staff points out to you the specials on the white board behind you. Ahh!
I decided to go with the Mardi Gras salad which had seeds, nuts, dried fruit, homemade toubulli and a sweet and tangy dressing. I asked for a scoop of their curry chicken salad which complimented perfectly.
Great place for vegans, wannabe vegans and rabbits. This place is very pricy but it should be expected when you’re serving all organic products.

Na, dann wollen wir doch mal die erste deutsche Bewertung abgeben! ;-) Was soll ich sagen, das Café ist einfach großartig! Extrem leckeres Essen mit vielen 100%ig veganen Gerichten. Dazu eine unglaublich nette Besitzerin! Absolut zu empfehlen! Vielen Dank für das leckere Essen und die tollen Cupcakes!

I would happy as a (vegan gluten-​free) clam just letting Brooke feed me every day! Coming into Fort Myers from San Francisco could have been a culinary disaster but I found this place quickly and literally have not set foot into any other place ever since (3 days and counting…) have learned to just take her daily recommendations to keep me happy and healthy every day that I’m in town! Addicted to the Mardi Gras salad and love that the treats and specials change daily. Ask Brooke what’s good and you won’t go wrong.

While visiting the Ft Myers area on business, a colleague and I decided to try this Vegan friendly bistro. It was certainly in a strange part of town and hidden in a strip mall but it smelled great and had tons of vegan options on the menu. The place smelled delicious and was pretty busy considering patrons didn’t really appear to be eating anything. I was greeted by a woman who was less than interested in answering my questions. I chose a table and after 10 minutes, still hadn’t been acknowledged I decided maybe I’d try to order from the counter.
The woman behind the counter was the deal breaker for us. We asked her for menu suggestions, she condescendingly provided one word answers. She made us feel extremely unwelcome in the restaurant. When asking for her recommendations, she responded with a snarky «I’m Brooke by the way, the owner so I won’t tell you which items are better than others»
Maybe Brooke was having a bad day but maybe just maybe… she wasn’t interested in our patronage.
Ordered a vegan cookie and a cupcake which were pretty good. I visit Ft Myers pretty regularly and I won’t be back. Overall I found this place stuffy, snooty and for all the wrong reasons.

Sick of Panera, Jason’s Deli, Pita Pit, and the other usual suspects for lunch, I decided to look at Unilocal for some good recommendations. I found Chef Brooke’s Natural Café. Now, I’m not typically someone that goes for vegan/​vegetarian options (I like my meat), but the reviews at this place had me convinced that I needed to try it.
So I drove over and was surprised to find how close it was to the lunch default (Panera). It’s in a strip mall full of other shops as well. It almost seems like an industrial park so I almost didn’t expect the restaurant to be there, but I found it and walked in.
The place is a little on the dark side, but has that «chill» ambiance you’d expect from a place with organic/​vegan/​gluten-​free options. When you walk in, to the right, you’ll see a refrigerator stocked with some interesting drink options (Kombucha, non-​alcoholic butterscotch beer [Butterbeer!!!], etc.) and to the left is the counter.
While you order, you’re flanked by the delicious dessert options. Using all my willpower, I ordered the Veggie Burger as a platter.
I waited for a little longer than I wanted, but when the food came out it looked amazing. It was a veggie burger on top of beans and served with a salad. Aside from looking good, it tasted delicious as well! Like I said, I love my meat, but this veggie burger was great.
After finishing up the platter, I knew that I had to get a dessert (Willpower… what’s that?). I ended up getting the Vegan Strawberry-​Lavender «Faerie Cake.» I’m spoiled by the cupcake shops in Chicago, but this was pretty good. The frosting wasn’t as soft as I wanted, but the cake was moist and the flavors were great.
This is a great place and seems like a hidden gem tucked away just a little off of 41. If you haven’t tried it yet, go now (they’re only open until 5:30). And be careful, because even though the food is organic, vegan, gluten-​free, etc. eating a lot of it won’t be good for you either: P

This place doesn’t look like a restaurant from the outside but it isn certainly a hidden gem.
There are so many choices of fresh and flavorful food items it was tough to decide. I ended up ordering the Thai Curry soup which was perfectly seasoned, had lots of fresh veggies and even though the bowl appeared on the smaller side, it was filling. For dessert I ordered the Godfather smoothie which was light and tasty.
The service was awesome. The server there pleasantly and patiently answered all my questions and was really friendly.
The atmosphere is very relaxed. I would recommend this dining experience to any one with special dietary needs as well as to anyone with a traditional diet looking for something unique, healthy and tasty.