This upscale casual eatery headed by chef Pablo Salas offers an eclectic, soulful menu that can be enjoyed outdoors with oceanfront views or indoors in an elegant dining room served in an a la carte manner. Located inside the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, the chic restaurant also features an outdoor bar and a special tequila tasting room.
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.
Inside the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, Lona’s sister restaurant adds a Mexican-inspired breakfast experience. Tinta (which translates to “ink” in Spanish) serves breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Headed by Chef Pablo Salas, the menu offers omelets like the Yucatan (lump crab, cream cheese, chipotle béchamel, cotija cheese, pickled onion and cilantro) and burritos like the Smothered Burrito (stuffed with scrambled eggs, chorizo, poblano, queso, salsa roja, avocado and refried beans).
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.
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.
El Vez, from James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Stephen Starr, offers a menu by chef Steven Menter that features Mexican favorites such as classic guacamole, crispy Mahi Mahi, tacos al carbon and others. The 300-seat Mexican eatery is located on the first floor of the W Fort Lauderdale and includes indoor and outdoor bars and an expansive lounge area. The W’s signature artistic décor and style are present and include a unique beer can wall art installation. If art’s not your thing, there’s also cornhole and shuffleboard.
Located inside the W Fort Lauderdale hotel, the quick and casual plant-based restaurant features healthy but tasty cuisine. They offer salads, power bowls, hot dogs and sausages, fries, shakes, coffee, beer and wine. Notable menu items include the buffalo bowl (crispy buffalo tenders, cherry tomatoes, diced carrots, celery, kale/quinoa blend and spicy blue cheese dressing) and the queso burger (SoBe Vegan cheese sauce, pico de gallo, fresno chili, crispy tortillas and lettuce).
Located on the sixth floor of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, Ilios is open from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Executive Chef Sean McDonald serves up Mediterranean cuisine with a Floridian influence. The Chef’s Three Course Tasting Menu showcases the restaurant’s current specialties.
YOLO on the beach (in the Hilton).
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.
The Conrad’s Cornucopia is just that—a plentiful amount of fruits and vegetables all in one place. Located at the lobby, the gourmet market and bakery is ideal for a quick bite to get your day going or an evening snack right before you wind down. The morning menu includes fresh pressed juices, bacon and cheddar frittata and a huevos rancheros pizza. Finish your day with a selection of meats and cheese from the charcuterie menu or a green eggs “pizzetta.”
Located at the North Beach Hotel in Fort Lauderdale Beach, serving gourmet American dishes and cocktails.
Located in cool, laid-back North Beach Village, the wine garden offers beachgoers a place to “wine” down after a long day in the water or on the sand. Feel the ocean breeze while indulging in pizza, pasta, dessert and wine. Their pasta choices include salmon livornesa (linguine pasta with tomato sauce, olives, capers, onions, Italian parsley and fresh diced salmon) and one of their dessert options consists of yogurt Nutella chocolate mousse.
Oceanfront tavern serving fishbowl-size cocktails and Cajun-Creole bar bites.
Located on the fifth floor pool terrace of the Atlantic Hotel and Spa, SKY Bar offers the same easygoing vibe of the hotel’s restaurant, Coastal. It features a variety of appetizers and entrees, including Bimini coconut shrimp, a local mahi sandwich and a Mediterranean pita pocket. They even serve bananas Foster french toast as part of their brunch on Sundays. In addition, they partnered up with SKYY Vodka to create a specialty drink menu. The bar is open to guests and anyone with a day pass.
The Atlantic Hotel and Spa recently unleashed their newest dining concept, Wild Thyme Oceanside Eatery. With oceanside views, the inviting atmosphere is perfect for an intimate dinner setting or large parties. The food includes land and sea – from lobster to rib-eye Philly cheesesteaks to whole charred octopus, you’ll find it all here.
Mexican spot with a large tequila menu.
Drink specials go on all day – including 2-for-1 margaritas – with an eclectic menu and oceanfront views.
Enjoy the ocean view at this A1A legend.
A Lauderdale legend with a menu that’s more Floridian than a Jimmy Buffet album.
Enjoy casual-chic dining with an ocean view. Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night drinks, this Italian restaurant has seating on the patio, in the main dining room, or in a curtain-lined space for two. Choose from a selection of shareable appetizers, pizzas, pastas, seafood and meat specialties.
Texas-based Mexican restaurant chain Fuzzy Taco Shop offers all the right food for those who wish to experience the fuzzy feelings one gets by consuming fresh tacos, frozen margaritas and chips with queso. Specialty items include shredded brisket tacos, tempura fish tacos and breakfast items like chilaquiles.
The people who brought Warsaw Coffee Company to increasingly cool NE 13th Street have opened a cocktail lounge and cafe in the same building. The clubby sophistication of the well-appointed, wood-paneled space is matched by a menu of breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar bites – as well as the weekend daytime hours’ bottomless brunch. A standout cocktail menu includes treats like the Sailor to Pirate, a rum old-fashioned that transforms into a pina colada served with torched cinnamon sticks.
An intimate, elegant lounge and hookah bar located on Las Olas Boulevard.
Don’t be fooled by the name, Tatts and Tacos Beer Garden isn’t a tattoo shop where you can also get your Mexican food fix. The relaxed hot spot will serve you authentic south-of-the-border cuisine while you play with one of their enticing outdoor games (Jenga, anyone?). If you’re not looking to eat, their wide variety of 40 craft beers on tap and full liquor bar might be what attracts you to this cool garden.
Not to be confused with Tex-Mex, a taqueria primarily focuses on tacos themselves. Short rib, prime rib-eye carne asada and other premium cuts of meat are brined, smoked and braised then stuffed into homemade corn masa tortillas for an upscale version of Mexican staples. Did we mention there’d be tequila? TacoCraft has a collection of more than 100 varieties of tequilas — blancos, reposados, anejos, and super anejos — ranging from $8 to $100 per shot.
Owners Sean and Blaise McMackin revamped the former Brownie’s Bar location with this eco-friendly gastropub known for American craft beer, bourbon, and artisanal burgers. Many unique dishes are offered, such as tuna-watermelon sashimi with jalapeno and lime, and Berkshire crispy pork belly with huckleberry jam and farro. Burgers come with surprising toppings like fried green tomatoes, beets, Bibb lettuce, apples, and Rogue River blue cheese.
Located inside the Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale, this chic restaurant and lounge serves food and drinks.
With three other South Florida locations already proving successful, this trendy Mexican restaurant chain is trying Fort Lauderdale. They serve tacos, burritos, bowls and brunch. Menu favorites include the Phili Burrito (grilled rib eye steak, Mexican rice, Oaxaca cheese, rajas, black bean refrito, potato sticks and red chili crema) and the Late-Night Burrito (guajillo braised short rib, roasted pork, roasted chicken, Mexican rice, black bean refrito, Oaxaca cheese, mariquita sticks and salsa rosada).
This small, warm restaurant named for the artist Frida Kahlo enhances the typical Mexican menu with some harder-to-find dishes like chochinita pibil (roasted Mayan pork leg marinated in achiote citrus juice), fish Veracruz style and shrimp mole verde. The tortillas, like the guacamole, are homemade.
Enjoy the ocean view at this A1A legend.
This much-anticipated spot features an always-changing world cuisine menu that offers anything from Indian dishes to ramen to creative takes on American comfort food, including breakfast. There’s interesting local art on the walls and, as these things become more possible, local music and other events on the calendar. And if you like an adult beverage, get a rideshare over and sample from a craft cocktail list that matches with any flavor palate.
El Vez, from James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Stephen Starr, offers a menu by chef Steven Menter that features Mexican favorites such as classic guacamole, crispy Mahi Mahi, tacos al carbon and others. The 300-seat Mexican eatery is located on the first floor of the W Fort Lauderdale and includes indoor and outdoor bars and an expansive lounge area. The W’s signature artistic décor and style are present and include a unique beer can wall art installation. If art’s not your thing, there’s also cornhole and shuffleboard.
Hip, modern Mexican place with urban cool.
Among the favorites here are the Sonora Burrito, featuring chicken sautéed in homemade sour cream and lime sauce, and chilaquiles (aka Mexican lasagna). On Wednesdays the Top Shelf Ultimate Golden Margaritas, made with freshly-squeezed lime juice, are $5.99.
Drink specials go on all day – including 2-for-1 margaritas – with an eclectic menu and oceanfront views.
Located on the fifth floor pool terrace of the Atlantic Hotel and Spa, SKY Bar offers the same easygoing vibe of the hotel’s restaurant, Coastal. It features a variety of appetizers and entrees, including Bimini coconut shrimp, a local mahi sandwich and a Mediterranean pita pocket. They even serve bananas Foster french toast as part of their brunch on Sundays. In addition, they partnered up with SKYY Vodka to create a specialty drink menu. The bar is open to guests and anyone with a day pass.
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 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.
Big servings, friendly staff, raucous bar – especially popular for Sunday brunch.