A libation-lover’s paradise, this gastropub produces American-style grub and serves up frosty pints of craft beer, more brews from frozen “pour-it-yourself” beer taps, and spirits infused with sweet fruits. The decor incorporates old gas lanterns and Chicago bricks with an array of historic Life magazines. Flatbreads with barbecue chicken and marinated pork and snacks like parmesan-truffle fries and short rib sliders with bacon-onion jam pair well with darker, bold-bodied brews, while the arugula shrimp salad with toasted pecans, cranberries, and goat cheese works with lighter Belgian white beers including Hoegaarden.
Dockside dining is just one attraction at this eatery perched on the Intracoastal just south of Oakland Park Boulevard near A1A. The vibe is Florida-casual, and you can expect to see men in Hawaiian shirts disembarking from boats and strutting inside. Traditional bar bites, Floribbean fare, and international offerings comprise the menu, including crabcakes, fried calamari, coconut shrimp, seared ahi, and conch fritters. You can also order half-pound beef burgers, overstuffed wraps, and out-of-the-ordinary takes on fish, like the blackened mahi Reuben sandwich. Cocktails run the gamut, including fruity martinis, thick frozen margarita-like concoctions, and enormous fish bowls filled with fizzy, vodka-based drinks.
As you might have guessed, the Capital One Café on Las Olas belongs to Capital One Bank. Their goal is to have customers experience their digital and financial tools while grabbing some coffee and mingling with their ambassadors. Plus, they have free Wi-Fi.
Headed by two-time James Beard-winning chef partner Guillermo Pernot, the 9,200-square-foot eatery celebrates Cuban culture through its interior design, music and of course, cuisine. The menu is as authentic as it gets as chef Pernot takes his inspiration from travels throughout the island and experiences with the local chefs and restaurants. Selections include Octopus a la Parrilla, malanga fritters and Pernot’s Pineapple Guacamole Cubano. The rum bar offers more than 90 premium varieties of dark, light, spiced and aged rums.
Empanada Top specializes in Argentinian-style empanadas and serves wines and beers perfect to wash down the Latin delicacy. Their menu includes unique empanadas such as Hawaiian (ham, mozzarella cheese and pineapple), corn and pumpkin (corn, pumpkin, onion, red bell pepper, mozzarella cheese and seasoning) and guava and cheese.
This quaint French provincial restaurant is known for crepes that come filled with just about anything you can imagine. Sweet crepes include fresh fruit, Nutella, caramel, and ice cream. Savory ones come with seafood, meat, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Signature crepes include the Crepe Orleans, with blackened chicken breast, sliced tomato, and Gruyere cheese. The Crepe Nova Superbe is stuffed with smoked salmon, asparagus, capers, and béchamel. For dessert, try Johnny’s Favorite crepe, stuffed with fresh strawberries, banana, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.
With elements of a friendly Roman trattoria in the heart of Las Olas, Gran Forno Pronto serves up authentic Italian comfort food in a fresh and informal atmosphere. Wood fired pizza, award-winning Ciabatta, modest prices and an extensive wine list.
A modern take on Mexican food has hit Las Olas in a big way – 6,000 square feet to be exact. The highly anticipated Mezcal and tequila bar offers a modern take on “Mexican soul food” and also has more than 400 varieties of tequila and Mezcal along with specials like $3 margarita Mondays and $2 taco Tuesdays. Unique dishes include Swiss chard and hongos quesadillas (herbed mushrooms, Swiss chard, queso blanco and ranchero sauce), smoked brisket enchiladas and Nutella flan. They’ve also partnered up with Funky Buddha to create a New England-style IPA, which is available at the restaurant.
This attractive main street bistro serves more than just pasta and sandwiches. Sit on the terrace and people watch, or take a table inside under large black-and-white photographs, and enjoy pan-seared Canadian salmon or a classic eggplant parmigiana. The mozzarella is made in-house.
Occupying the west side of the historic Riverside Hotel, this upscale restaurant has a changing menu heavy on seafood, though there is also back-40 honey brown ale-braised beef cheek. The raw bar is stocked with shellfish as well as royal red shrimp ceviche. Dinner only.
Modeled after classic taverns of New York and Chicago, BCT has high tin ceilings, wood floors, brick walls, and a patio overlooking the heart of Las Olas. The bar offers an extensive selection of libations, from California wines to locally brewed craft beers. The menu includes pan-seared Chilean sea bass with seasonal greens, and rigatoni Bolognese with Chianti-braised beef and veal topped with Grana Padano cheese. For lunch, stop in for a griddled burger with parmesan-truffle fries, or snag a stout-braised short-rib grilled cheese on sourdough with smoked maple cheddar. The late-night menu (Friday and Saturday from 11 p.m. to midnight) features pizzas, paninis, salads, and appetizers.
A trendy chain in the center of downtown, Cheesecake Factory is known for its massive menu with more than 200 selections and its decadent cheesecakes available in over 50 varieties. Inspiration comes from the world over. Unexpected offerings include the Moroccan chicken with spicy harissa sauce, miso-glazed salmon, and a macaroni and cheese burger with deep-fried macaroni and cheese balls and cheddar cheese sauce. Lunch specials cover all areas of the menu and are reasonably priced. For cheesecakes, go all-out with Dutch apple caramel streusel or wild blueberry white chocolate.
The Italian restaurant features modern décor with plants and greens as the main aesthetic throughout. Staying true to the theme, they offer salads, smoothies and healthy bowls (like the Vegan: tofu, quinoa, arugula, avocado, alfalfa, sprouts, sunflower seeds, carrots, radish, pickled cabbage and green tahini dressing). In addition, menu items include the Marsala Bistec (sliced steak medallions with Marsala sauce and four cheese potato gnocchi) and lobster ravioli.
Calabrian owner Tony Cupelli brings his family’s ancient recipes to this chic, modern Las Olas eatery. There’s pan-fried rigatoni with meatballs and specialty pizzas topped with smoked mozzarella, Italian sausage, eggplant and parsley. Cupelli’s pollo alla Francese in white wine-lemon sauce pairs with Venetian pinot grigio.
At Sapido, you’ll find all your favorite Italian dishes like pasta, gnocchi, lasagna, cannelloni and more. Each dish is homemade, making you feel like you just stepped into a close-knit Italian family’s Sunday dinner. The modern twist comes into play with their gourmet Italian-style sandwiches and organic coffee. The cozy atmosphere is coupled with wooden accents and a wall displaying their large collection of wines.
This spot, the new Fort Lauderdale location of a popular Delray Beach restaurant, offers an upscale, lively atmosphere and a brunch experience unlike many others. We can guarantee – you’ll come for the food (which is amazing) but you’ll stay for the party. Their dinner menu includes Chianti-braised short ribs (baby portobello mushroom risotto, winter squash, white truffle, pecorino Romano and natural jus), citrus-crusted ahi tuna (roasted jalapeno potato puree and grilled Japanese eggplant) and bone-in ribeye steak.
Already a staple in Miami Beach, Sushi Garage picked Las Olas for its second location. The Japanese restaurant’s kitchen is overseen by partner chef Sunny Oh and his protégé, chef Kaoru Chang. Oh’s prior experience includes more than a decade as the executive chef at Nobu on South Beach. Menu items include unique nigiris ranging from truffle shiitake nigiri to hamachi chili tosazu. Behind the dessert menu is award-winning corporate pastry chef Gregory Gourreau – his offer includes matcha mille crepes and a Japanese cheesecake.
National chain Del Frisco’s Grille has opened its first South Florida location in downtown’s newly renovated Las Olas Square complex. The modern menu is curated by chef Shawn Quinn and features prime, hand-cut steaks and freshly caught seafood with bold flavors and fresh ingredients. The award-winning wine list and handcrafted cocktails are also worth trying. The 8,083-square-foot restaurant includes a private event space.
Louie Bossi is not your typical chef. Growing up in an Italian household in New York he remembers the aromas of roasted garlic and fresh meatballs sizzling from his family’s kitchen. Raised by a single mother juggling three jobs, Bossi taught himself to cook at the age of eight. Working his way from dishwasher to cook at the local pizzeria Bossi developed a love for the art of pizza making.
Serving more than 15 gourmet burgers along with vegetarian options, the new burger house has a 15-step cooking process along with its proprietary blend of all natural, no-antibiotic and no-hormone beef. Add in a good selection of craft beers, specialty cocktails and an extended selection of wines by the glass, and this looks like an interesting new addition to the Las Olas restaurant and bar scene.
A swanky restaurant at the office end of main street with a chef, Eric Baker, who has a Superior Diploma in French cuisine. The emphasis is on seafood, though there are steaks (filet mignon, NY strip, rib eye) as well as eight different types of fish served whole. The live lobsters, “steamed and cracked,” weigh in at two, three and four pounds.
Dockside dining is just one attraction at this eatery perched on the Intracoastal just south of Oakland Park Boulevard near A1A. The vibe is Florida-casual, and you can expect to see men in Hawaiian shirts disembarking from boats and strutting inside. Traditional bar bites, Floribbean fare, and international offerings comprise the menu, including crabcakes, fried calamari, coconut shrimp, seared ahi, and conch fritters. You can also order half-pound beef burgers, overstuffed wraps, and out-of-the-ordinary takes on fish, like the blackened mahi Reuben sandwich. Cocktails run the gamut, including fruity martinis, thick frozen margarita-like concoctions, and enormous fish bowls filled with fizzy, vodka-based drinks.
Serving more than 15 gourmet burgers along with vegetarian options, the new burger house has a 15-step cooking process along with its proprietary blend of all natural, no-antibiotic and no-hormone beef. Add in a good selection of craft beers, specialty cocktails and an extended selection of wines by the glass, and this looks like an interesting new addition to the Las Olas restaurant and bar scene.
Located just 50 yards from the fishing pier, 101 Ocean takes advantage of beach breezes with an open bar that spans inside and out. It’s rare to see those bar stools empty, occupied by both tourists and locals. The menu offers a mélange of international offerings in a classy-yet-casual setting. Find a bit of everything, including pizza, pasta, flatbread, sandwiches, steaks, salads, seafood, and chops. There’s also a decadent raw bar with shrimp, mussels, oysters, and lobster tail.
City landmark with award-winning burgers.
This family-owned restaurant specializes in German-American food, including seven types of schnitzel, two types of calf’s liver, bratwurst and sauerbraten. For more American meals, there are baby back ribs, steaks, and surf and turf.
This tapas-style restaurant is more casual than its sister restaurants in the growing Angelo Elia empire, but it still provides first-class elegance and healthy portions of both light and hearty Italian fare. Tapas range from familiar to exotic: buffalo mozzarella with prosciutto di Parma, tempura zucchini flowers with mozzarella, and grilled provolone over radicchio. Escarole and beans with roasted sweet Italian sausage is full of flavor, and every pizza is delicate and thin-crusted, just like you’d find in Napoli. Try the basilico bruschetta, served in traditional style with diced tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, and pair it with a bold bottle of red Tuscan wine.
A Fort Lauderdale staple since 1982, this Italian-American eatery will bring you back to Sunday dinners at your Nana’s house – if you’re Italian, that is. Expect Sinatra to play in the background as Chianti flows and platters of shrimp oreganata, veal Francaise, and zuppa di pesce are shared family-style. Intimate meals also work inside Runway’s setting, with its low lighting and mellow atmosphere. Don’t miss the Sicilian stuffed peppers (served cold with red wine vinegar and stuffed with bread crumbs, capers, olives, anchovies, and grated cheese), and the plump meatballs with marinara. Big-time diners will want the surf and turf entree, a combination of New York strip and South African lobster tail.
A part of the Ocean Manor Beach Resort, this casual spot serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s brunch on Sunday, followed by a late-afternoon Caribbean pig roast buffet. Mondays are dedicated to Italian food, and parties are held whenever the moon is full.
Beehive Kitchen is creating a buzz with fresh, flavorful ingredients and an innovative approach to build-your-own-bowl dining. Dishes include a wide selection of savory vegetables, wholesome grains, proteins and made-from-scratch sauces all for customers to create their own unique bowls. If you don’t know where to begin, they offer several planned-out bowls including the Mediterranean Bowl – cranberry almond kale salad, whole grain brown rice, Parmesan, roasted broccoli, wok-seared mushrooms, rustic herb-grilled chicken and soy-charred steak-roasted pepper sauce. Fresh ingredients don’t stop there; Beehive Kitchen prepares fresh cold-pressed juices daily. Grab a bowl, eat and bee happy.
Modeled after classic taverns of New York and Chicago, BCT has high tin ceilings, wood floors, brick walls, and a patio overlooking the heart of Las Olas. The bar offers an extensive selection of libations, from California wines to locally brewed craft beers. The menu includes pan-seared Chilean sea bass with seasonal greens, and rigatoni Bolognese with Chianti-braised beef and veal topped with Grana Padano cheese. For lunch, stop in for a griddled burger with parmesan-truffle fries, or snag a stout-braised short-rib grilled cheese on sourdough with smoked maple cheddar. The late-night menu (Friday and Saturday from 11 p.m. to midnight) features pizzas, paninis, salads, and appetizers.
This restaurant in the Marriott Renaissance Hotel serves up an assortment of American and French-inspired items. Early arrivers can indulge in omelets, French toast, and interesting offerings like alligator eggs Benedict with blackened alligator medallions and orange hollandaise sauce. Small plates like shredded pork sliders with pineapple barbecue and chicken lettuce wraps with sesame ginger dressing are served as midday snacks. For dinner, it’s all about the filet with port wine cherry reduction. For dessert, there’s warm bread pudding with vanilla and caramel or the Florida Key lime pie with chopped fruit and orange Grand Marnier sauce.
Enjoy the ocean view at this A1A legend.
For the better part of a decade, the bar and restaurant has been one of the go-to spots at the northeast corner of the Galleria Mall – the bit of the shopping center that’s been redeveloped into an upscale dining and nightlife hub. It’s a little spot mostly given over to upmarket national chains – Capitol Grille, Seasons 52, P.F. Chang’s. (Blue Martini is headquartered in South Florida, which is also where four of its six locations are.)
Then there’s the weekly fun, such as Wednesday-night ladies night – a fairly recent addition that includes half-off cocktails all night, $5 Tito cocktails all night for everybody and complimentary cocktails and champagne from 9 to 11 p.m.
This quaint French provincial restaurant is known for crepes that come filled with just about anything you can imagine. Sweet crepes include fresh fruit, Nutella, caramel, and ice cream. Savory ones come with seafood, meat, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Signature crepes include the Crepe Orleans, with blackened chicken breast, sliced tomato, and Gruyere cheese. The Crepe Nova Superbe is stuffed with smoked salmon, asparagus, capers, and béchamel. For dessert, try Johnny’s Favorite crepe, stuffed with fresh strawberries, banana, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.
Chef Oliver Saucy and general manager Darrel Broek have earned this restaurant distinction as one of the nation’s best, with a menu updated daily featuring the best local ingredients. Dishes include: duck confit phyllo purses with raspberry-glazed beets, pearl onions and chives; and three-peppercorn filet mignon with three-cheese potato au gratin and shallot-thyme butter.
White tablecloths, dark wood accents, and landscape and portrait paintings adorning dark red and brown dining room walls give this chain in the Galleria Mall a classic, sophisticated ambience, as do the food and lengthy wine and spirits list. Appetizers like Wagyu beef carpaccio with wasabi arugula and the cold shellfish platter with fresh lobster, jumbo shrimp, and oysters are perfect for kicking off any VIP dinner. Entrees like the Kona coffee-crusted, dry-aged bone-in sirloin with shallot butter and porcini-rubbed Delmonico with 12-year-aged balsamic further stamp the feeling of luxury. Seafood lovers should try the seared citrus-glazed salmon with haricot verts, asparagus, and roasted cipollini onions with a side of decadent lobster mac and cheese. For dessert, try coconut cream pie, flourless chocolate espresso cake, or the trio of house-made ice creams.
The mission-style building with a Spanish tile roof and quaint porch packs in diners for that impressive view of the surf across the street. The menu is something-for-everyone-style, with the likes of fish and chips, Cajun alligator, chicken quesadillas, and grilled wahoo with sun-dried tomatoes. At night, the dim setting and ocean nearby has helped define it as a go-to spot for the romance seeker.
A trendy chain in the center of downtown, Cheesecake Factory is known for its massive menu with more than 200 selections and its decadent cheesecakes available in over 50 varieties. Inspiration comes from the world over. Unexpected offerings include the Moroccan chicken with spicy harissa sauce, miso-glazed salmon, and a macaroni and cheese burger with deep-fried macaroni and cheese balls and cheddar cheese sauce. Lunch specials cover all areas of the menu and are reasonably priced. For cheesecakes, go all-out with Dutch apple caramel streusel or wild blueberry white chocolate.
Fort Lauderdale’s first gluten-free restaurant specializes in vegetarian dishes – excellent salads plus Portobello and raw lentil burgers – but it also offers a tuna melt and a BLT (with turkey bacon) on house-made waffle bread. Save room for delicious quinoa cupcakes topped with seasonal fruit jam and goat cheese icing.