The Bubble Room (15001 Captiva Drive SW, Captiva) is a fascinating yet kooky place with lots to look at. Jamie and Katie Farquharson founded the Bubble Room on May 27th, 1979.
When it opened, the menu at the 1940s-inspired restaurant featured what the Fort Myers News-Press referred to as casual gourmet food. The original menu featured appetizers like gazpacho, liver pâté, and avocado filled with sour cream and caviar.
There were only 6 entrees, including a filet mignon with Béarnaise sauce and a chicken breast wrapped in bacon with its own special sauce. None of the dishes on the current menu resemble what was available on opening day.
There were 4 Bubble Rooms
By 1985, there was a “Little Bubble Room” in North Carolina. The following year a third restaurant opened in Maitland, along with a fourth in Naples during the summer of 1990. There were plans to open more Bubble Rooms in Orlando and Tampa, but it never got past the planning stages.
Today, the original Bubble Room in Captiva is still chugging with all of its quirky charm and gut-busting comfort food and desserts. It has fans worldwide who appreciate its one-of-a-kind experience.
I’ve been to the Bubble Room on a few occasions but have never eaten in. On my first visit, I was too busy walking around and taking it all in when I realized I needed to head back home.
My bud Joakinn did convince me to take home some of the Orange Crunch Cake. It was the right call. Normally, a dessert would not be my introductory dish to a restaurant’s cuisine. However, I can see why the cake is so popular after trying it. It didn’t hurt that it was a slab of a piece too.
Marcela, who wasn’t a fan of the Orange Crunch Cake, initially came around, and now she absolutely loves it. There’s also a Very Moist Chocolate Cake which you should probably eat too.
Bubble Room Pictures
y absolute favorite. We would vacation at South Seas Plantation (from Miami) multiple times per year from 1978 on. When we went to the Bubble Room, my dad told me the “Jamie’s Cake” dessert was named after me. (I was 2 years old when The Bubble Room opened. I believed him through my childhood)
I have so many memories of the thousands of things to look at and the kitsch and the ADDecor. My heart is in Captiva and the Bubble Room is in my heart.