Bistro in South Florida

609 E. Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale

954-727-0307

New American, Bistro, Bars and Clubs, Best Of, Menu

This classy bar and restaurant is one of Las Olas' key pickup scenes. Dinner is served in over-sized, circular booths, from which the diners can eye the folks at the bar and vice versa. Big City Tavern is reminiscent of the classic, traditional taverns of New York City, Chicago, and Boston. With a dozen international brews on tap and two dozen in bottles, Big City Tavern's selection might seem short when compared to those sports bars that pride themselves on 99 bottles of beer on the wall. But as the saying goes, it's not the quantity, it's the quality. And beer snobs all over South Florida slobber over the pints of Warsteiner (Germany), Guinness Stout (Ireland), and J.W Dundee's Original Honey Brown Lager (New York). The bar turns up the power with the Grolsch 16-ounce megabeers from Holland and domestic microbrews like the Abita Turbo Dog from crawfish country, Louisiana. Best of all, the Tavern stocks four Samuel Smith imports from England, ranging from the brewery's lager to its imperial stout. You'll pay more for any one of these last few than you will for a glass of merlot, but hey, Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale has twice the bouquet of any vino out there.

15 articles

Bistro 1902

1885 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood

305-316-3136

French, Bistro, Critics' Pick, Takeout-Home, Takeout-Cuisine, Takeout-Neighborhood

In Hollywood, Bistro 1902's menu of bistro-style classics encourages adventurous orders: frogs' legs, boeuf bourguignon, foie gras, and escargots.

3 articles

Cafe Maurice

419 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-674-1277

Bistro, French, Recommended

Café Maurice enjoyed a successful 11-year run in Los Angeles before relocating to South Beach -- more specifically, to the spot held by longtime local bistro L'Entrecote de Paris. Owners David Meunier, Jean Michel Collet, and executive chef Maurice Azoulay have left L'Entrecote's laminated bar and back-room mural and mirrors intact. The rest of the walls are lipstick-red. This place feels just like a real Parisian bistro, right down to the laissez-faire attitude of an inattentive wait staff. Country pté was coarse but tasty and one of the only items on the menu that requires any culinary skill. Of the dozen or so entrées, about half are composed of grilled chicken breast surrounded by one sauce or another. Other options are grilled salmon, grilled lamb chops, grilled steak, a few pastas, and shepherd's pie(?). Steak-frites is the best thing we tried. All main courses are under $20, and the wine list is kept affordable as well. Cafe Maurice's finer attributes become apparent later at night (it is open until 5 a.m.), when a vibrant cabaret scene is likely to break out, with singing, swaying, and dancing to Gypsyish music.

Charlotte Bistro

Miracle Mile, Coral Gables South Dade

305-443-3003

French, Bistro, Critics' Pick

Charlotte's distinctiveness begins with the eclectic décor: a quaint and quirky collage of patterned wallpaper, floral nosegays, and white ovoid lamps hanging from a high black ceiling. It all fits together to form an utterly charming ambiance. The cuisine weaves a similarly enchanting web, fusing strands of French bistro fare with ingredients such as the curry and coconut milk that globalize a beurre blanc pooled beneath three bacon-wrapped langoustines. Other winning starters include an onion soup fragrantly fingered with fresh thyme, and coarsely textured pheasant terrine accompanied by a sweet confit of tomato and sharp caper-raisin sauce. A half-dozen entrées are equally fresh, light, and well balanced, none more so than a tender lobster tail poached in brown butter and afloat with five ravioli rounds of minced lobster in saffron-spiked broth. On the other end of the heft spectrum: two hearty domestic lamb chops marinated with thyme and nutmeg and sauced in lamb jus touting just a trifle of truffle oil. The signature dessert is "chocolate soup," dressed with a quenelle of homemade coffee ice cream and a buttery, wispy tuile. Venezuelan chef/owner Elida Villarroel's Charlotte Bistro offers an elegant, enjoyable dining experience at a fair price.

1 article

The Cheese Course

801 S. University Dr. #126 Plantation

754-200-8387

Cheese Shop, Bistro, Best Of, Menu

Let's face it: Cheese makes everything better. The Cheese Course -- a chain with four locations throughout South Florida -- is a nod to the stores of Europe that sell one item done extremely well. Patrons wander through the odorous Plantation shop and are encouraged to sample from more than 150 cheeses from all over the world before making selections. Take a seat and enjoy a custom cheese plate sampler, or order from the bistro menu (sandwiches, salads, omelets). Knowledgeable staff help steer unsure eaters in the right direction. Throughout the month, people are encouraged to come in for classes on pairings, specialty cheeses, and cooking demonstrations from "the Cheesemonger."

3 articles

The Cheese Course

1679 Market St. Weston

954-384-8183

Cheese Shop, Bistro, Recommended, Menu

Let's face it: Cheese makes everything better. The Cheese Course -- a chain with four locations throughout South Florida -- is a nod to the stores of Europe that sell one item done extremely well. Patrons wander through the odorous shop and are encouraged to sample from more than 150 cheeses from all over the world before making selections. Take a seat in this Weston shop and enjoy a custom cheese plate sampler, or order from the bistro menu (sandwiches, salads, omelets). Knowledgeable staff help steer unsure eaters in the right direction. Throughout the month, people are encouraged to come in for classes on pairings, specialty cheeses, and cooking demonstrations from "the Cheesemonger."

1 article

The Cove Restaurant and Marina

1754 SE Third Court Deerfield Beach

954-421-9272

American, Bistro, Bars and Clubs, Best Of, Menu

In a word, "massive." The Cove is one of the largest bar/restaurants in the area, with an indoor seating area the size of any respectable restaurant, plus a stage, a bar that counts itself the centerpiece of the room, and several outdoor areas. One of these sits right on the water, so boaters can dock, eat, and sail without ever stepping indoors.

2 articles

Escargot Bistro

1506 E. Commercial Blvd. Oakland Park

754-206-4116

French, Bistro, Slideshow

3 articles

Las Olas Wine & Food Festival

S.E. 6th Ave. Fort Lauderdale

305-255-3500

American, Appetizers, Bar Food, Bars and Clubs, Bistro, Breweries and Wineries, Community Venues, Gourmet, Restaurants, Tapas, Wine Bar

The 21st Annual Las Olas Wine & Food festival on April 29th will feature hundreds of nationally recognized wines and 50+ of Fort Lauderdale most acclaimed restaurants. Sample and savor as you stroll down iconic Las Olas Blvd on one of only three nights a year the street is closed to traffic! #LOWFF is more than just wine, enjoy live Chef Cook-offs, ‘Experience Coves’ on every block like the Woodford Reserve 1920’s Speak Easy, a craft beer garden and much, much more. Get your tickets at www.lasolaswff.com.

Le Bistro

4626 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point Pompano Beach

954-946-9240

French, Bistro, Slideshow

This intimate bistro has been serving modern French dishes & fine wines since 2001. The menu features the highly sought after Beef Wellington, as well as mushroom soup, grass fed rack of lamb, Long Island duck and more. End your meal with a homemade dessert: the creme brûlée and the apple tart are two favorites.

8 articles

Lola's on Harrison

2032 Harrison St. Hollywood

954-927-9851

American, Bistro, Contemporary, Italian, Best Of, Menu

Lola's menu draws on American home-style and Southern regional, gussied up with trendy international spices and flavorings and fresh seasonal vegetables. Sun-dried tomatoes are comfortable on the same menu with white anchovies, tobiko or American sturgeon, sesame seeds, red pepper marmalade, orange-horseradish gremolata, mangoes, wild Bolognese cherries, chorizo, and corn bread. It's a worldly view of a personal aesthetic, and you never quite know where chef Michael Wagner is going with something until you get a little piece of bliss in your mouth and realize that somehow it works beautifully. Don't miss the Coca-Cola-barbecued beef ribs and the best Key lime pie in Florida. Saketinis and champagne blood-orange cocktails are served at the bar. Prices are moderate in this Hollywood hot spot.

7 articles

Mustard Seed Bistro

8616 Griffin Rd. Davie/West Hollywood

954-252-0002

Bistro, Continental, French, Recommended

Tim and Lara Boyd sure have built a following over the many years they've been running restaurants in South Florida. Like their last few ventures, the Mustard Seed is a quaint, chefy place set in the bistro mold. The room feels classic but not antiquated, with rust-brown chandeliers, white chair rails along the walls, and lacy curtains that obscure the orange strip mall outside. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it packs up at almost all times. At lunch, you'll find the place stocked with well-heeled ladies canoodling over bistro favs like crab cakes with black bean salsa and tuna Niçoise as host Lara works the room. For dinner, the lacquered wood tables get covered in white linen and service stiffens up a notch. Entrees tip the scale in terms of price, and though some deliver, the rough edges are slightly exposed - examples: excellent cherry gastrique coating a so-so portion of duck, perfectly cooked bison tenderloin mounting uninspired mashed potatoes. Still, in terms of charm, this bistro has it. Just book early, and bring your good card.

2 articles

Rendez-Vous Bakery & Bistro

1576 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Oakland Park

954-563-2228

Bistro, Bakery, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Imagine Denny's gone Bohemian and serving classic French bistro fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner: merguez sausage sandwich with harissa, half rotisserie chickens, sautéed grouper with pesto, Croque Monsieur, eggs dipped in mushroom sauce, quiches filled with onion jam, ham and cheese crepes draped in béchamel. The prices at Rendez-Vous are beyond reasonable for a place that has duck confit, braised lamb shank, and fish soup with rouille on its menu. Mussels marinière served with a pile of crisp, salty fries alongside are a working girl's favorite dinner; steak with bordelaise sauce and mashed potatoes rocks. Fresh-baked breads, croissants, sweet rolls, and pastries are made at a second location in Aventura and shipped up to Lauderdale: croissants au beurre, apricot tarts, napoleons, and Paris-Brest pastries. Service is French-accented, efficient, and utterly charming.

7 articles

The Manor Complex

2345 Wilton Dr. Wilton Manors

954-626-0082

American, Bistro, Bars and Clubs, Gay Bars and Clubs, Best Of, Slideshow

Located in the heart of Wilton Manors, this multilevel, medieval-themed megaclub is the place to hit for a long night of dancing, bass-thumping music, and leaving with a bit of body glitter on your skin. Dripping in crystals and filled with cherubs, swirling wallpaper, and pulsating LED lights, the Manor could pass for the Queen of Hearts' royally psychedelic abode. Only instead of an army of human-sized playing cards, expect a legion of drag queens, trannies, and hot shirtless men gyrating in their jockstraps. In the main room, a DJ spinning pop music's greatest hits and EDM is positioned high above the crowd, while disco lights and smoke machines provide that South Beach nightclub feel. The crowd is mostly of the male persuasion and extremely high-energy – you won't catch anyone just lounging around looking for intimate conversation. This wild, anything-goes atmosphere is not for the faint of heart. Weekly events include Bubblegum Fridays and Noche Latina Saturdays, with the occasional high-profile drag show.

32 articles

Bistro in South Florida

Newsletter Sign Up

Enter your name, zip code, and email