A new wine bar and restaurant called Papillon opened last Saturday inside the Village at Gardner’s Park in Fort Myers, bringing a weekly changing menu built around local farms, fishermen and butchers to a space once occupied by the Butterfly Estates gift shop. The restaurant, located at 1815-2 Fowler St., is owned by chef Sasha Minins, who spent roughly $200,000 converting the old gift shop into a 32-seat dining room with an additional 24 seats on an outdoor terrace.
Minins, who was born Aleksandrs Minins in Latvia and began working in European restaurants at age 14, is now 34 and has cooked at Pied à Terre, a Michelin-starred restaurant in London, before later working at Frenchie in Paris, according to Gulfshore Business. The restaurant takes its name from the French word for butterfly as well as the former Butterfly Estates attraction that stood next door, and Minins said he chose the name to honor the history of the property. Papillon is open 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with parking available off Hough Street near Thompson Street, close to downtown Fort Myers.
A Menu That Changes Every Week
Papillon offers a weekly changing menu of shareable seasonal dishes, sourcing ingredients from local farms, fishermen, butchers and other regional suppliers. Minins said supporting local and smaller farmers matters to him, a philosophy echoed by the restaurant’s own menu, which states it is focused on highlighting the best of Florida produce available in season, supplemented by products from other states, according to the Papillon menu. That same menu notes it changes weekly and that dishes are designed to be shared.
Among the hot plates are cavatelli with alligator ragout and capers for $28, AAA Farm’s suckling pig with farro, zucchini and rosemary jus for $32, and gag grouper from Dilly’s Fish with carrot agnolotti, crab bisque and tarragon oil for $36. The suckling pig and grouper dishes appear on the restaurant’s own menu listing as well. Cold plates include Lady Edison ham with papaya and dried mango mostarda and radishes for $19, a stone crab tartlet with tomato dashi, pomelo and Brazilian pepper for $22, and yelloweye snapper aguachile with avocado and pickled jalapeño for $18…