Here and Now’s FAT Village tapas and cocktail experience includes peach burrata, biscuit pot pie (chicken, carrot, peas, corn, celery and buttermilk biscuits) and mussels diavolo (spicy marinara and white wine with crostini). Among the crafted cocktails: Lucky 7 (New Amsterdam Vodka, blackberries, lemon juice, ginger, Orgeat and Peychaud’s Bitters and Fever Tree Ginger Beer) and CUT. IT. OUT (Misunderstood Ginger Whiskey, prickly pear, Amaro Montenegro, peach, lemon, Select Apiritivo and Fever Tree Sparkling Lemon).
Opened in 2012 at the foot of the Seventh Avenue Bridge, this cozy neighborhood spot in Sailboat Bend sits behind the Broward Center. Concertgoers mix with locals over well-prepared dishes like Spanish mussels served with chorizo, churrasco chimichurri, and mahi mahi in salsa de coco.
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.
Fried chicken and waffles have become a brunch staple and favorite. At Chick’nCone, they took it up a notch with their handheld air‑fried chicken and waffles. Not only is their chicken good quality, but their waffle cones are hand-rolled too. Plus, you have an assortment of sauces to choose from. They also offer a Chick’nSandwich and Chick’nTenders.
Suddenly, traditional Hawaiian poke is everywhere. The latest Fort Lauderdale entrant is Poke Lolo, which features signature poke bowls, create-your-own bowls and even poke in a waffle. Located in the MASS District, the restaurant is the perfect stop for lunch or an early dinner. Signature items include Passakos (white rice, tuna, red onion, cucumber, bean sprouts, seaweed salad, sriracha peas, jalapeno and mango wasabi sauce) and a tofu bowl.
Flagler Village’s newest addition comes in the shape of healthy smoothies, fruit bowls and avocado toasts. The beautifully Instagramable location is complimented by the healthy, organic fresh food served. JB&C also offers a modifiable menu with vegetarian and vegan options.
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.
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.
Big red wines, martinis, bone-in steaks, and juicy chops combine with Chicago Supper Club sophistication at this high-end Italian-style steakhouse in the heart of downtown. Live music is performed at 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday through Thursday in Timpano’s Starlight Lounge, providing a backdrop for aged beef, savory flatbreads, and classics like calamari fritto misto and osso bucco.
Breakfast deli featuring sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, soups and more.
A lively place to kick back along the New River, the historic Downtowner is a casual bar-restaurant offering live music Thursday and Saturday nights and during Sunday’s blues brunch. This watering hole with a view dishes up wings, burgers, salads, and sandwiches. Specials like Monday’s “rib night” and Tuesday’s “tacos and trivia” attract fun-loving locals aplenty. Wine bottles typically max out at around $30, and there are ample brews available in bottles or on tap.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
A chic French restaurant and wine bar featuring artisan cheeses, charcuterie and tapas.
Get knowledge and access to top quality meats, poultry and game. This restaurant prides itself in sourcing the finest USDA Choice, Prime and wagyu beef available. The dinner menu includes the Delmonico rib eye, the foie gras burger, the Colorado bison burger and the Nebraska wagyu burger.
JB’s on the beach specializes in fresh seafood, poultry, pasta, and beef dishes served by knowledgeable and friendly servers in an exciting beach front atmosphere.
If a tourist ever made his way to this neighborhood hangout just south of the swing bridge, you’d feel inclined to reward him with a beer, which would be easy, as craft brews line one wall of the place (under poster-sized vintage postcards of Fort Lauderdale). A friendly, eclectic crowd comes here for beer and food that goes well with it – fish tacos and pizza being the most popular.
Sister restaurant to locals’ favorite The Mason Jar Café, this pub has all the comfort food you would expect. They’ve got wings, ribs, sandwiches and more bar-style eats. However, don’t get too comfortable because there are daily chef specials worth checking out. Notable menu items include the Poblano Chicken Milanese (on ciabatta with smashed beans, lettuce, tomato, avocado, Monterey jack cheese and poblano mayo) and the short rib burrito (with yellow rice, black beans, cheddar cheese and spicy kimchi aioli).
This beachside restaurant offers casual, classic Floridian breakfast, lunch and dinner.
STEAK 954 is a luxury boutique steakhouse inside the W Fort Lauderdale that faces the ocean. The restaurant features dry aged beef from hand-picked ranches, Tajima Kobe from Australia, locally caught seafood, and the finest wines and spirits with selections from all over the globe.
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.
Known for its wood-fired dishes, J. Alexander’s serves classic cuisine in a sophisticated setting. Enjoy Tuscan steak, grilled fish with mango papaya salsa, chicken Milanese and seafood czarina. Pair your meal with wine from the full-service bar.
Fresh-faced 26-year-old executive chef Stanton Bundy helms the kitchen within this pork-centric powerhouse in the former Samba Room space. An open kitchen with a rotisserie pumps out plates of brown sugar-brined jerk chicken wings, pulled duck nachos, and grilled free-range turkey meatballs. Poultry aside, this place is all about pork, so go for the rotisserie ribs or barbecued pulled pork sliders with fried pickles, cheddar, spicy mustard, and cabbage slaw. For those craving “lighter” fare, try the warm spinach salad with balsamic bacon vinaigrette, candied walnuts, and Shropshire blue cheese.
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.
Large outdoor patio seating with live music and American eats.
Big servings, friendly staff, raucous bar – especially popular for Sunday brunch.
The brewery’s Oakland Park taproom recently launched its Craft Food Counter and Kitchen. Chef Jeff Vincent has come up with a menu that mixes down home with uptown – it’s bar food, but not as you might know it. Perfect-with-beer dishes include the Mighty Tatanka (a bison/pork belly blend with sweet onions and buffalo mozzarella), Craft Brat or Main Street Pork Sandwich.
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.
The combinations may be unusual but the end result remains kosher. Specializing in fusing together old-fashioned Jewish-deli favorites and modern flair, this New York-style restaurant offers a delicious twist on traditional flavors. They have awesome plates that are even tastier than they look, like Reuben egg rolls and pastrami burgers. Those are just a couple of the many remixed-deli items pulled out of this establishment’s (top) hat.
Come pig out on the juiciest barbecue around at Smoke BBQ’s new location in Fort Lauderdale. This Kansas City-style barbecue joint offers the best cuts of meat and hearty sides, great for anyone who needs a real tank-filler. Barbecue fans can argue regional superiority until the cows – or pigs – come home. At Smoke, they do things the KC way – great ribs, great brisket, great sauce and even the “burnt ends” are good.
This chain serving American food and steakhouse options has opened a location in Dania Pointe. They serve everything from hand-cut, aged steaks to seafood to burgers and pasta. Popular items include the Durango Burger (chile-spiced pepper jack cheese, pickles, fried onions, roasted garlic ranch dressing and brioche bun) and the Firebirds Chicken Pasta (spicy Asiago cream sauce, applewood-smoked bacon, green onions, tomatoes). They’re now doing takeout.
Located in the Gallery ONE DoubleTree on the Intracoastal, this restaurant offers contemporary cuisine overlooking the water and hotel pool. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with seating indoors and on the 30-seat patio. Menu favorites include crab cakes, short ribs and swordfish.
Homestyle cooking for breakfast, lunch and dessert with a variety of homemade cheesecake options.
Located west of the Himmarshee bars, this is the place to go for a rustic breakfast, featuring the best pancakes you can find in town. Made with buttermilk, organic flour, sour cream and fresh, free-range eggs, these pancakes come served in a cast-iron pan with Vermont maple syrup. Try the “Mexican Ship Wreck,” a play on huevos rancheros served with oven-roasted yukon gold potatoes or scrumptious cheese grits.
