32 Best Restaurants in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, Florida

At this 12,000-square-foot oceanfront restaurant, second-floor stadium seating ensures all diners have ocean views while feasting on dishes from the scratch-made kitchen and wood-fired grill. You can't go wrong with the shucked-to-order oysters, the chef's choice fresh catch, or the cilantro key-lime chicken. Much of the second story seating is lounge style, allowing for an extra relaxed setting to enjoy the ocean breeze.

This fun-and-funky grease pit in Deerfield Beach is one of Broward County's favorite dives on the supercheap. Serving up massive beef burgers, chicken burgers, and veggie burgers piled high with unapologetically fattening toppings like candied bacon strips, haystack onion straws, hash browns, and blue cheese spread, this is the true diet nemesis. Grab a side of hand-cut sweet potato fries with your burger, wash it all down with a thick Key lime milk shake, and then seal the food coma deal with a dessert of fried Oreos fritters or The Carnie, fried Twinkies with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and powdered sugar.

This mid-century landmark whips up malts, shakes, and jumbo sundaes from ice cream that is made on site daily. Founder Monroe Udell's trademarked Kitchen Sink—a small sink full of ice cream, topped by sparklers—is a real hoot for parties. His daughter Linda is now the owner and operator. Don't have a sweet tooth? Jaxson's also serves salads, hot dogs, and hot sandwiches.

The crew at this seaside hole-in-the-wall puts on quite a show while assembling their sandwiches—locals rave that this indie chain has the best around. Fill up on the foot-long Monster (ham, turkey, roast beef, and cheese), Mama (turkey and Genoa salami), or hot meatballs marinara.

One of the best little pizza joints in South Florida, Luigi's Coal Oven Pizza runs the full gamut of pizzas, phenomenal salads with fresh dressings, classics like eggplant parmigiana, and oven-baked chicken wings. For the Margherita Napoletana, the quality and flavors of the crust, cheese, and sauce are the result of Luigi's century-old recipe from Naples. The petite eatery only has about a dozen tables, contributing to a cozy and familial vibe.

Locals can't get enough of OB House's commitment to quality; you'll find only fresh and organic ingredients here. Try cheesy grits, mega-pancakes with real Vermont maple syrup, or the free-range-egg omelets with wild-caught mahimahi. This intimate breakfast and lunch spot packs the house daily in an adaptive reuse of the old Fort Lauderdale post office.

Fresh, coastal-inspired dishes are enjoyed alfresco at this dockside restaurant, where each of the three bar areas and massive lounge get gorgeous Intracoastal views. Munch on the expected seaside starters like coconut shrimp, crispy calamari, and smoked fish dip before moving onto flatbreads, sushi, or one of the many entrées served at both lunch and dinner. The daily happy hour features half-price drinks and bites under $10. Arrive by boat or take advantage of the complimentary valet.

Village Tavern is truly a neighborhood hub for those who love good food, good wine and cocktails, and great company. The bar scene is always fun, especially on Wine Wednesday, when all the wines (even the premium labels) are half-price by the glass. As the bar fills up, the patio is a great option for drinking and dining; however, it's really hard to find a seat outside in the summer. Dogs are more than welcome to join on the terrace, and the servers are extra hospitable. The eclectic and well-rounded menu is rooted in fresh ingredients, and everything is made from scratch.

In the sports bar desert of South Florida, it's nice to know you can eat well while watching your team. American Social flaunts a seafood-mac-and-cheese skillet, shrimp-pesto flatbread, and a full spectrum of gourmet burgers with sides of Parmesan truffle fries or sweet-potato fries. The walls inside this space are adorned with magazine covers and library books, creating a setting that feels more like Boston than Fort Lauderdale.

Arrive early on weekends, as the restaurant quickly reaches capacity.

This casual Weston outpost is one of chef Angelo Elia's popular Tuscan-inspired restaurants in Broward County. Affordable small plates, salads, ceviches, and pizzas are neighborhood favorites. Kids of all ages love the rotating selection of homemade gelatos.

This casual beachfront eatery is arguably Lauderdale-by-the-Sea's most famous restaurant. Aruba Beach serves Caribbean-American cuisine, with standouts like conch chowder and conch fritters. Fresh tropical salads, sandwiches, and seafood are also available, but the café is famous for its Bimini bread with Aruba glaze (think challah with doughnut glaze). There's always live music, and the Sunday breakfast buffet starts at 9 am.

A must-visit Las Olas landmark, Big City Tavern mingles Asian entrées like shrimp pad Thai with Italian four-cheese ravioli and an American grilled-chicken Cobb salad. The crispy flatbread changes every day.

Big City is open late for drinks, with a special late-night food menu.

This waterfront restaurant along the Himmarshee Canal offers Pan-Asian-Latin fusion dishes, including a full sushi bar and a plethora of comfort dishes like pad Thai, lo mein, and kimchi fried rice. Diners can opt to enjoy their meal as part of a gondola ride leaving from the restaurant's dock. The bar features an expansive collection of sake and Japanese whiskeys as well as creative cocktails. Each meal is finished with a massive puff of cotton candy.

The menu at this piano bar and restaurant offers a global hodgepodge of American, Mediterranean, and Asian flavors, with a specific focus on eclectic preparations of Florida fish. The food isn't particularly good, but the atmosphere at this historic home is excellent. Prepare for long waits to sit outside—it's incredibly popular for the direct views of the ocean.

No matter the hour at this classic 24-hour diner, you can order no-nonsense breakfast favorites like oversize omelets with biscuits, toast, or English muffins. Good hangover eats abound, but don't expect anything exceptional besides the location and the low prices.

When heading out to the area's western reaches, this postage-stamp–size outpost can add down-home zing to your day—if you can find it, that is. Breakfast, which includes sausage gravy and biscuits, is served 7–11 am, but the big attraction is barbecue beef, pork, or chicken, on platters or in sandwiches for lunch and dinner. Other solid options include a spicy Brunswick stew and fried jumbo shrimp. There's apple, peach, cherry, and pecan pie, and a small-fry menu. Order takeout or eat at the counter, at wooden tables, or at a half dozen or so booths.

Grampa's Bakery and Restaurant provides a cheery, homey fix of comfort foods from the charbroiler, fryer, and grill. You won't go hungry ordering Grampa's chili with cheese, lox, eggs, or biscuits and gravy. Check out the sweets at the bakery counter up front or head next door to Jaxson's for some ice cream.

Come for the breakfast food, and skip the dinner menu.

Most days, the Italian sandwiches, specialty breads, and pastries sell out before noon at this aptly named bakery ("large oven" in Italian). Customers line up in the morning to get Gran Forno's hot artisanal breads like ciabatta (800 loaves are made a day), returning later for the decadent desserts. The eatery's second outpost (called Gran Forno Pronto) is five blocks east on Las Olas and offers a full-service menu.

Despite molasses-slow service and an abundance of insects at sundown, this eatery is beloved by locals, and management seemed genuinely appalled when hordes of trend-seeking city slickers started jamming bar stools and tables after GQ and Oprah declared its thick, juicy Angus burgers the best around. Once a Sunoco gas station, this quirky waterside saloon has an enduring affection for claw-foot bathtubs; lunch will run you around $18 (burger $13.50; small fries $5).

Old Heidelberg is like a Bavarian mirage on State Road 84, with a killer list of German specialties and beers on tap. Classics like bratwurst, knockwurst, kielbasa, and spaetzle dovetail nicely with four types of Wiener schnitzel. And the beer stein–cowbell–cuckoo-clock decor adds to the authenticity.

This family-owned Cuban spot serves popular Latin American dishes like oxtail, pork chunks, and lobster tail in creole sauce, all in hearty portions at affordable prices. Save room for dessert: the creamy guava cheesecake and arroz con leche are well worth the calories.

The late Wayne McDonald started with a cozy one-room roadhouse in 1955 when this stretch of Dania Beach was a remote service road just west of the little airport. The still-rustic place brags that it's "still crackin'." The huge menu features garlic crabs (patrons bang crabs open with mallets on tables covered with newspapers) and peel-and-eat shrimp (either with garlic and butter or spiced and steamed). Finish off your meal with Key lime pie made from a family recipe.

S3 stands for the fabulous trio of sun, surf, and sand, paying homage to its prime beachfront location. The menu features a variety of Japanese-inspired raw dishes, sushi rolls, and dishes with a New American focus. Located on the ground floor of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, S3 flaunts a fun and fresh swagger. On any given night, you’ll find a mix of locals and tourists loving life while enjoying nightly themes, such as Wine Wednesday.

You have to take the road less traveled to find Sea Level, a haven for fresh seafood. The indoor-outdoor restaurant overlooks the ocean from sea level at Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, and its seasonal menu wows with daily specials and cocktails featuring ingredients from the chef's organic garden.

You can't go wrong at this unpretentious dive, where seafood reigns. Feast on raw or steamed clams, raw oysters, and peel-and-eat shrimp. Sides include Bimini bread, conch fritters, beer-battered onion rings, and corn on the cob. Follow the motto here, and you'll fit right in: "Eat fish, live longer, eat oysters, love longer, eat clams, last longer."

Stork's Café stands out as a friendly coffeehouse and café for gourmet sandwiches and salads. In addition to brewing eight types of coffee, Stork's has excellent baked goods that range from croissants, tortes, cakes, and pies to "monster cookies," including gingersnaps and snickerdoodles. It's open until midnight every night of the week.

Big portions of dripping barbecue are dispensed at this chill spot for eat-in or take-out. Dinners come with two sides from a list that includes baked beans, collards, and mac and cheese. For lunch, Tom's pork, beef, and catfish sandwiches are a shortcut to satisfaction. Leave room for sweet-potato pie or peach cobbler. Heading to a park or the beach? Tom Jenkins's family samplers have enough ribs, chicken, beef, and sides to feed six hungry people.

For a casual, almost funky, nautical experience near the beach, look no further than this raw bar featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. If you want to blend in, order a fish special with whale fries—thinly sliced potatoes that look like hot potato chips. (People come from near and far for these famous fries!) Those with smaller appetites can choose from salads and raw-bar favorites like steamed Ipswich clams.