Fort Lauderdale Restaurants Guide: Where To Eat in the Fort Lauderdale Area

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Fort Lauderdale

Restaurants

Gone are the days when Lauderdale dining was little more than greasy-spoon diners on the budget end and surf-and-turf on the fancy end. Among the 3500-plus local restaurants nowadays, interesting options ranging from Brazilian to Thai are springing up like porcini mushrooms all over the county. And don't be put off by a fancy restaurant in a strip mall: Outside the Las Olas pedestrian corridor, that kind of setting is pretty common. Whenever possible, call ahead and make reservations, especially at the hotter spots along Las Olas Boulevard and A1A. Following are a handful of the best of what's cooking on the local cuisine scene.

When recommending stars of Fort Lauderdale's upper end, it's pretty hard to ignore classics like the romantic French Quarter (215 SE 8th Ave.; 954/463-8000), serving Continental and Cajun classics in the Las Olas downtown, and the steakhouse Shula's on the Beach (321 N. Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd./A1A; 954/355-4000). But these days the real excitement is at the more recent slew of hipper/nouvelle spots with a variety of cuisines. The best known is Mark's Las Olas (1032 E. Las Olas Blvd.; 954/463-1000) where one of South Florida's star chefs, Mark Militello, dishes up unusual medleys of fresh ingredients that may seem wacky but sing on your palate (who else would sear Hudson Valley foie gras and serve it with mango and jalapeño?).

We also love the flavors of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia (both traditional and in offbeat fusion) at the Riverside Hotel's Indigo (620 E. Las Olas Blvd.; 954/467-0045). Venturing a bit away from the tourist track, in a lovely, mostly residential neighborhood is a colorful little gem of a restaurant, Victoria Park (900 NE 20th Ave.; 954/764-6868), that serves up an eclectic mélange of Caribbean, American, and European cookery. Also try not to miss Hi-Life Café (3000 N. Federal Hwy., south of E. Oakland Park Blvd.; 954/563-1395), a snug oasis of mod but warm elegance in a strip mall; Carlos and Chuck's menu is nouvelle-international, and you must save room for the scrumptious updates of Southern pies like orange coconut, bourbon pecan, and Coca-Cola chocolate.

Plenty of good choices in the moderate range are hereabouts, too. Among local favorites on Las Olas are Bar Amici (1301 E. Las Olas Bvd., at SE 13th Ave; 954/467-3266), where a creative American menu with Italian flourishes can be enjoyed indoors or out on the sidewalk; the hugely popular Cheesecake Factory (600 E. Las Olas Blvd.; 954/463-1999) with a cinematic atmosphere and a varied menu that's much better than the joint's name and chain origin might suggest. Right nearby, consider the lively scene and hip South Florida Latin cuisine at The Samba Room (350 E. Las Olas Blvd., at SE 3rd Ave.; 954/468-2000). Meanwhile, a winner on the beachfront is Casablanca Café (3049 Alhambra St.; 954/764-3500), where utterly charming Mediterranean ambience meets very good seafood. Finally, for something a little more unusual, you might find yourself rubbing shoulders with a celeb or two at Sublime (1431 N. Federal Hwy.;954/539-9000), one of America's best vegan fine-dining restaurants.

Truly good quality at bargain prices isn't as easy to come by around here as it used to be, but you can't go too wrong with the light Italian fare at the iconic diner-style joint called The Floridian (410 E. Las Olas Blvd.; 954/463-4041); it's roomy, kitschy-cool and open 24/7. Or, go ethnic a little farther north in the Gateway Plaza strip mall: Típico Café (1910 E. Sunrise Blvd.; 954/463-9945) serves fine Mexican while Sukhothai (1930 E. Sunrise Blvd.; 954/764-0148), next door, serves Thai; Fort Lauderdale happens to have an abundance of Thai places, and this one's a star among them.