For years a popular locals’ place,located in Southport Shopping Center this casual restaurant specializes in New England and local seafood dishes like “lobstah” scampi, fried clams, shrimp, oysters, crab cakes and scrod. New England clam “chowdah” is offered daily, along with rotating seafood soup specials.
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.
Oldest raw bar in the area with dockside eating available.
Salads, sandwiches, shakes and their specialty, chicken tenders, with an array of sauce options.
A restaurant and juice bar that focuses on healthy eating without sacrificing taste (as evidenced by the firecracker kale salad). Along with the vegetarian dishes are many gluten-free items, including breads, beers and desserts. Located in the strip mall popular with cruise ship crews, the small restaurant has the clean, bright look of a hip South Beach café.
A typical New York-style deli serving all the favorites, such as bagels, deli platters, wraps, sandwiches, desserts and more.
A popular watering hole for boat crews, this Irish pub offers Irish breakfast (all day), lunch, dinner and late-night fare. Try the fish & chips, corned beef and cabbage, chicken pot pie or Buffalo chicken wings. Then grab a pint.
Carlos & Pepe’s has been a Fort Lauderdale staple for 30 years, offering Mexican favorites with a little gringo influence. Try the king crab nachos, fajitas or a specialty wrap, and wash it all down with one of seven varieties of margaritas, made with fresh-squeezed lemon and lime juice.
Home-style American cooking, open for breakfast and lunch.
Large selection of Asian dishes and a daily lunch buffet.
They offer a premium selection of fresh fish and seafood. they will gratefully grill, fry, blacken or sautee any of your favorite seafood or fish, even both if you can’t decide. A friendly and knowledgeable staff is waiting to assist you with your purchase and tips on cooking. Everything you need for a fabulous seafood dinner!
Located inside the Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale, this chic restaurant and lounge serves food and drinks.
Warm and always dependable place for sushi, tempura and other Japanese specialties.
Indian cuisine options have typically been few and far between on the eastside, but a new Cordova Road establishment looks to fill the gap. The Indian Harbor claims the ability to meet the desires of picky eaters while incorporating traditional Indian cooking. The menu’s a mixture of the paneers, masalas, biryanis and tandoori dishes fans of Indian cuisine will recognize. There are plenty of vegetarian options and of course, also some rich, traditional Indian desserts.
The owners of Sky Thai Sushi have opened another delectable Asian dining spot in Fort Lauderdale. 17th Street Thai Sushi stays true to the beautifully plated and carefully crafted cuisine that Sky Thai is known for. Their dishes include a variety of tapas, cucumber wrapped rolls, sushi boats and more. Menu favorites include the Pad Thai Lobster, pasta sautéed with lobster tails, egg, bean sprouts, scallions and peanuts; and the Five Spice Pork with the traditional Asian flavors of five-spice powder, mustard, ginger and hoisin sauce.
Located at the Harbor Shops, serving American dishes like burgers and ribs.
Homemade pastas and gourmet pizzas.
Chef and owner Mike Ponluang’s elegant Asian bistro offers large private booths and the finest fusion fare, including sushi and a lunch menu with noodles and bento boxes that’ll lure you back multiple times a week. Lobster Pad Thai is Ponluang’s signature dish, but everything is worth trying here, from Chinese dumplings to Vietnamese fresh rolls, and enormous entrees like pan fried Chilean sea bass with pineapple and red curry.
Begin with the colossal stone crab claws or homemade meatballs before choosing between lobster and shrimp Fra Diavolo and a 10 oz. barrel-cut filet mignon. Or perhaps you’d prefer apple cider-marinated pork chops. For dessert, there’s vanilla bean crème brulee and chocolate soufflé.
Enjoy Thai food with a direct view of the beach.
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.
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.
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.
With 25 years of Italian culinary experience, Chef Walter Hernandez brings authentic Italian cuisine to the table. Classic Italian menu items include shrimp scampi, Frutti Di Mare, Veal Frascati sautéed in a lemon white wine sauce with spinach, capers, artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers with spaghetti, pizza and more.
The owners have come a long way from New York, and we don’t blame them. Fort Lauderdale’s more of a seafood town, anyway. This unique walk-up kitchen and outdoor dining concept is perfect for socially distanced dining. Menu items include New England-style lobster clambakes (steamed fresh lobster, clams, shrimp, mussels, corn on the cob and potato), fish fry baskets, buckets of mussels or clams, sandwiches, pasta and more.
Grab a plastic bib and a wooden mallet and beat away at the famous garlic crabs. As a reward for your labors, there are specialty frozen drinks. For an easier time of it, try jumbo grilled shrimp, filet of grouper, steak crabiola or fried sea scallops.
Known for its fresh seafood, Italian cuisine and Angus beef steaks, this is a great choice for a quiet evening on the town.
Oldest raw bar in the area with dockside eating available.
Mediterranean cuisine set across the beach.
Owners of the Pirate Shop and Pirate Bar on Fort Lauderdale Beach, Roberto and Claudia Guerios jumped at the opportunity to pillage, er, purchase the dilapidated property a few years back and have since transformed it into a full-scale pirate’s lair draped with skull-and-crossbones flags and decked out in a decor reminiscent of wooden pirate ships. You’ll find an array of seafood specialties, including sweet and sour shrimp, conch fritters, and herbed chardonnay-shallot mussels.
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.
Almost any seafood you can think of is offered at Crafty Crab. The chain promises to use only the freshest seafood and most authentic food in the area. Menu items include crab meat fries, oysters, seafood boils and platters and much more.
Traditional pub fair as well as seafood (Guinness barbecued shrimp) served indoors and out, though most people love sitting on the outside terrace filled with nautical paraphernalia. You can watch the traffic on the New River, as well as whatever games are playing on the TVs, and, at night, enjoy the live music. Water accessible.
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.
There’s a new kind of food market and it’s extra-Ritzy. The Ritz-Carlton has finally opened its dining area to the public, and its Marketplace is a great spot for a quick, gourmet bite or a shop for the decadent ingredients made in‑house and used in Ritz dishes, such as their pasta noodles and sauces. The Marketplace’s order-at-the-counter then sit‑down or take to-go style makes gourmet at the beach a thing of the present.
Poke (pronounced po-KAY), the increasingly popular Hawaiian fish salad dish, says aloha to Federal Highway.
The new Plunge Beach Hotel adds another eatery to Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. Backflip Beach Bar offers the right light bites and beverages any beach-goer would need to sit back and relax with. The cocktails stay true to the beach theme, being named after cult classics featuring the sea – try the “Bigger Boat Needed” or “There Was Room for Two.” As for those bites? They include street tacos, grilled steak sandwiches, fried fish catch of the day and, of course, juicy burgers. From local brews to rum cocktails to fresh juice blends to tasty treats, all you need by the sea is right here.
A local favorite, Fishtales offers an indoor / outdoor full liquir bar. the patio offer a great view of 33rd street. Live entertainment and dinner specials are offered every night of the week. Come enjoy the food, fun and friends at “Fishtales on 33rd.”
A familiar face on the local restaurant scene has brought a new place to Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. The name Vincent Foti will be familiar to many. Now the restaurateur behind longtime Federal Highway favorite Kitchenetta is taking his talents to East Commercial with a place that’s aiming to do something a bit different. Vincent’s By The Sea will offer many of the Italian favorites that Foti’s built his reputation on. But this time, they’ll come with more American flare in a casual place where diners can have a beer, watch the game and relax Lauderdale-By-The-Sea style. In keeping with the its location just in from Anglin’s Pier, the restaurant will offer a raw bar. There’s also a pizza bar if you want to keep up on your pie as it’s being made – and a number of TVs if you’re more concerned about the Marlins’ playoff chances than your meal prep. If you need a more ample serving, the “Big Shot” menu is there for your outsize needs.
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.
The vast domain of the Atlantic Ocean blends with the post and beam design, rugged planting and marine breath of this special sea side dining place. In ancient days the beaches knew only of swirling gulls and lumbering turtles. An occasional Spanish galleon passed by on the Caribbean blue horizon. Join us in a toast to those gentle days. The Sea Watch is your connection to the past and present. It exists for all to enjoy.
