Fort Lauderdale Food Guide
I have been wanting to write this post for quite some time but have been procrastinating on it, but now that Fred and I live in Fort Lauderdale, I figured this is the perfect time to finally round up my favorite spots to eat here.
Whether you’re planning a family vacation, bachelor/bachelorette party, or maybe even just a couples getaway, I hope you find this post helpful.
I’ll start with some of my favorite restaurants on Las Olas. Over the last year, this busy street has become one of my favorite places to dine - be it for a quick coffee, cute lunch/brunch, or even a date night dinner with the hubby.
El Camino is our go-to for Mexican food, Taco Tuesday, or whenever we have friends in town and want to grab a cocktail. Literally everything I have ever eaten or drank here was delicious! Their cocktails and food are all made from scratch so it truly elevates the experience. I would definitely recommend if you’re planning to go here during their busier times (happy hour or dinner) to make a reservation.
Ya Mas is one of the newer restaurants on Las Olas and although it’s small in size, don’t let that deter you from wanting to check it out. I’ve been here for both dinner and happy hour and they were both great. I have also been wanting to check our their weekend brunch.
Timpano is an upscale Italian restaurant and their pasta is to die for! Although I haven’t tried their steak, I also hear they are amazing as well. We ate here for Fred’s 35th birthday last December and have ordered from them on Uber Eats several times as well when my pasta craving strikes.
More recently, we tried the brunch here and it was also very good! I was pleasantly surprised that the place was quite empty for brunch but the food, drinks, and service were all just as exceptional as when we dined here for Fred’s birthday dinner.
We opted to sit outside for brunch on their aesthetically pleasing patio. I ordered an espresso martini - one of my favorite brunch cocktails and we tried a few appetizers. I will say they make their espresso martini with baileys which I personally didn’t love, but for my second drink I asked for it to be made without baileys and it was absolutely delicious! The appetizers we tried were the meatballs that come with a side of focaccia bread as well as their burrata that was served alongside a pistachio butter, tomato jam & tuscan bread.
For our main dishes, I chose the Timpano Benedict which features prosciutto in place of traditional Canadian bacon and it was amazing! Fred had the tiramisu french toast and also loved it! His was definitely on the sweeter side - our waiter said he usually recommends it as a sharable dessert, but Fred loves sweets for breakfast so he had no issue cleaning his plate!
Louie Boss’s is one of our go-to for weekend brunches. We have celebrated birthdays with big groups (the courtyard in the winter is perfect) and also had date nights here as well. They serve a vast menu of not only brunch specialities but also their full Italian menu - pizza and pastas - all of which are scrumptious!
What is brunch at an Italian restaurant without an Aperol Spritz? 😉 Even better, Louie Bossi’s offers bottomless drinks during brunch and for much cheaper than several other places!
Some of my favorite pasta dishes at Louie Bossi’s are their Pacceri - a short pasta served with mushrooms in mascarpone sauce, the Radiatore a la vodka - also a short pasta in a red sauce with prosciutto, and although this may sound basic, their spaghetti is also amazing!
PLANTA Queen is also a newer restaurant to Las Olas. I’ve only been here a few times but it is very unique. They offer a plant-based Asian-inspired menu. A few of their featured items include delicious sushi, noodles, dumplings and even cocktails. Their vision is to celebrate innovative cuisine in a beautiful environment through the power of plants. Although I am not a vegan or vegetarian, I can confidently say that everything I’ve tried from PLANTA was absolutely delicious.
Last, but certainly not least, is Voodoo Bayou. This new gem on Las Olas is serving up New Orleans style cajun cuisine. Fred and I recently visited here for the first time and were both very impressed with their menu.
We tried the gator tail for an appetizer and y’all it was SO GOOD! They prepare it fried with a cajun sauce so it is similar to buffalo chicken bites - although the texture is slightly chewier.
For main dishes, I had the blackened catfish and it was quite possibly the best catfish I’ve ever had - and that is saying a lot because this was pretty much the only fish my family ate growing up in Oklahoma (landlocked state probs). Fred tried their shrimp and crawfish étouffée and it was good, but I think I’ve had better. 🤷♀️ Instead of ordering dessert, we opted to try their homemade biscuits with honey butter & jalapeño pear jam and they were also heavenly! I even used one of the biscuits to sop up the extra sauce from my catfish because I certainly wasn’t letting that go to waste.
Overall, we really enjoyed this restaurant and will definitely be going back to try other dishes!
I really hope that you enjoyed this post and found it helpful! Let me know down in the comments which restaurant you would love to try when visiting Fort Lauderdale - or any that you think I should visit that aren’t listed.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my blog because next up I will be posting about my favorite coffee shops in Fort Lauderdale.
