Cafe Del Mar in Ft Lauderdale, Florida - A Restaurant Review

There are quite a few really good places to eat along the barrier island beach in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida but if you want to know the best you should always ask the locals. This is what I did when I first arrived down there, and it they were unanimous in stating that I simply must eat at Cafe Del Mar... so I did. Several times. What's more, I'll eat there several more times.

As with most of the strand restaurants in Lauderdale, Cafe Del Mar has a full bar inside, and lots of tables out on the sidewalk where you can sit and watch the ocean, the sky, the cruise ships going out and coming in; or simply watch the tourists whistling at each other and getting silly. I love people watching. The best time to come here though is for lunch. At dinner they have a bigger menu and it's all perfectly good, but they also have a live band outside which gets very loud. If you don't mind that, then this is a good bet any time of day... but if you want to sit and chat with your friends then like I said.. this is a lunch spot.

The very first time I decided to stop in to Cafe Del Mar was to break up my daily walk along the beach. I was a little hungry, but mainly wanted a place to sit and sip a cool drink and people watch. Well, I looked at the menu and suddenly was craving a Del Mar AntiPasto Salad which was on their menu for a reasonable $8.95. Thinking this would be a small salad, I also ordered a Chicken Parmagiana for around $14. This was dumb as hell in retrospect. You see, that Anti Pasta was huge! I mean it filled a platter, not a regular size plate mind you, but a platter. Yes, I am serious. It was layered so pretty too, I almost hated to disrupt the look... but I did. heh. Mmmm mmm good stuff. In addition to the usual meats, cheeses and olives this one also came with artichoke hearts. Excellent.

By the time I finished that enough-to-feed-two appetizer, I was wishing I had not ordered the Chicken entree... until I tasted it. Oh my gawd. This came out on a platter also with two chicken fillets and a side of spaghetti. Again, enough to feed two people. But man that first bite of that chicken just had my mouth jumping for joy and so I sat and I ate.. and I ate.. and I ate some more the next day when I reheated the full meals worth of left overs. It's a wonder I don't weigh 50 pounds more with how often I ate at Cafe Del Mar.

I've been back numerous times, so I should have tried many more of their dishes by now, but I keep being drawn back to that luscious Chicken. You, however, may want to try any of their other dishes. It's a pretty big Mediterranean menu. I wish they had copies of it to take home to refresh my memory, but they do not. grrrr. I do know many of the dishes are seafood related, such as Shrimp Scampi and Lobster Ravioli. There are a few steaks on the menu as well.

One thing I will also recommend is their Cappuccino. I love cappuccino as a rule, and there is not much difference in it at most places.. but there is something just a bit more special at Cafe Del Mar. They give you a big sugar rock on a stick to stir it with. I'm easily amused, ok? I've seen this a few other places, but not many. I go back sometimes just to order this and sit and watch time drift past. They have never made me feel rushed or unwelcome even when I'm not ordering food. That alone is worth noting.

The service has been marvelous during all of my visits.. except for one. Naturally I had been bragging about what a great place this was so a friend of mine decided to give it a try too. Unfortunately, we hit them on a bad night and the service was far from desirable. We had to repeatedly ask for things which are normally offered like grated cheese, fresh pepper, drink refills.... it was annoying to say the least, and downright embarrassing to me after I had built them up to be prompt, friendly and right on the ball. Ohj. But, yanno, every place has those days and I've been to Cafe Del Mar enough to know that this visit was a fluke, so I will not be taking any stars away from them for that at all.

We started off this time with the Giabatta Bruschetta for $6.95 and it was pretty darn good. He had the Penne Pasta for his entree and was pretty happy with it... so it wasn't a totally messed up night. This particular friend is a bit uppity and therefor hard to impress with restaurants. for him to give them any praise at all was a big mark in their favor.

I sent my friend Barbara there with her friends also. She reports: " all of the people in our group are in the food or hospitality business so we can be a bit picky but we were all impressed with our meals, and my new found friend, sitting beside me, who owns an Italian restaurant along with her husband, was indeed very happy with her Risotto Del Mar, similar to my hubbies dinner only served cooked with rice with the hint of Saffron. The folks across the table from me had Shrimp Scampi and really seemed to enjoy their choice. I couldn't tell you just what everyone had but I did not hear one complaint at our table so that's a good thing! "

They do have a full bar inside and the bartenders are excellent. I even know once they provided a contact lens case to a patron when needed. How above and beyond is that?

The place is in a great location, the food is phenomenal, the service is usually very good, and the prices aren't all that high for the beach. 5 stars folks. The locals are always right.... besides, the owner is cute as hell. heh.

213 South Fort Lauderdale Boulevard (North A1A)
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Telephone: 954-767-8233