Boatyard

Great service, delicious food and cocktails, live music was a nice addition to beautiful weather while we ate outside. We always enjoy Boatyard!

The food is always great, and it's so nice to be right on the water.

This is my 4th or 5th time at this restaurant. I live in South Beach, but when I am in Fort Lauderdale and have the opportunity/occasion, this a favorite, due to its perfect combination of being able to offer a great view as well as (not in place of) great food-- something that eludes so many restaurants in our beautiful area.

Fresh seafood is "hook to table," fresh and deliciously prepared. Seasonings are perfect, not overpowering. And speaking of power, don't miss out on dessert. Service was totally on point, both professional and pleasant. The only reason I can't give this restaurant five stars all around is that, even when you make a reservation well in advance for a special occasion, and request outdoor seating, they do not respect this request. You arrive and you're treated as a non-reservation, placed on a wait list for the next available outside table. The scenic view being what it is, a table outside is not something other diners are rushing to depart from, so if you have something of a time constraint as we did (a pre-theater dinner)-- it is, literally, completely off the table that you will get one.

It's my position that if you make a reservation, and the restaurant ASKS for any special requests, then as a diner, you expect that you have a high probability of your request being honored-- otherwise, why ask me? Many restaurants used to place "reserved" signs on tables to be able to cater to guests who have gone the extra step and made a reservation, and manage their tables to accommodate. I'd be happy to place a money deposit to guarantee my arrival. When you are bringing in friends from out of town for a special pre-theater dinner and have talked up the restaurant for the lovely outdoor area and food, only to arrive and be told that a table won't be available despite your request/reservation, it is extremely disappointing, and defeats the purpose -- for the diner-- of going to the trouble of reserving. Bad on Boatyard for this one.

Please enlarge the language that reservations are not for outdoor seating. Other waterfront restaurants on Open Table honor the reservation for outdoor but Boatyard does not

Host was on the phone and had to wait a few minutes to be addressed. Choice of seating was available. Patio was lovely... nice atmosphere. Grouper was delicious!!!

Always difficult to get an outside table even if you put in a request with the reservation.Noise level inside can be very loud depending on the time of day. Food is good and happy hour is good

Simply an amazing place. Food was fantastic (highly recommend tuna tacos). Service perfect and just a cool place to hang out.

One of my favorite restaurants when I come to Fort Lauderdale, just wish it wasn’t quite so noisy. Beautiful view of the marina.

Isha was our waitress she was awesome! Seafood was very fresh. Will be back!

Great service, great food, amazing experience!

The Grouper was the best I have ever had.. Everyone's food was excellent. Service was above average.

Had lunch for business associates and were very pleased with the food and the service. Excellent place and good service.

We had an 815 reservation. We arrived early and were told they couldn’t seat us until 815. While we waited at the bar we noticed several open tables, that were never seated the entire time we waited. When I went up to the host desk at 8:15 they told us they still didn’t have a table ready for us. There was nothing in the posting that indicated we needed to dress up, But got the impression that we were not seated because of our casual attire. Host staff was downright rude.

Paella was too soupy and the waiter was very distracted

Great place to eat and our waiter was very knowledgeable and super nice! We had a blast trying out new things on their seafood cart. Everything was wonderful.

Sitting outside by the water is terrific!!!! It’s usually crowded outside so not always easy to sit there. We had less than a 5 star experience the last time there with the inside and outside hostess but we will go back

ambient noise too loud couldn't even hear my friends talking. virtually yelling at each other. hostess was kind enough to move us. new table was mildly better.

Our waitress was great and really went out of her way to make this dining experience great.

Great. We enjoyed it.

The restaurant claimed that I made reservations for another Sunday night and seated me on a horrible terrace overlooking the valet. The fumes were nasty. The food came out wrong. It was just a very poor dining experience.

I love the decor, the good was great, and the service was superb!

Food was salty and creamy. Not like usual. Felt icky after dinner.

Hidden gem. Definitely sit outside if the weather permits

Boatyard is a must visit place whenever I am in Ft Lauderdale. The food and service are always top notch. On this occasion our server, Albert, was just great. He was very professional, attentive without being intruding, and fun to talk with. Bravo!

Romantic place to have a great meal with awesome service
Seat outside is possible

We went on a Wednesday night before going to see Hamilton. We were able to get seating outside, which was beautiful and right on the water. The service was excellent from the moment we walked in. The food was very good. If you are not a fish person, just make sure everything you ask for doesn't have a hint of fish somehow. For example, the brussel sprout appetizer has dried fish shavings on top. Brussel sprouts delicious, but two of us had to eat around the fish shavings. Ambiance is quiet, relaxing, and could be romantic. Would definitely dine here again!

We dine here often. The food and service is very good but the kitchen sometimes has problems. This time was the worst for us with almost an hour lead time for the entrees after the appetizers!!!

Loooking across the room, it is very attractive and “hip”. But actually seated, the table overhead light was way too bright - regretted not bringing sunglasses to dinner. The waiter said he would look into turning it down but never heard anything again - remained very very bright. Good wine by the glass. By the bottle deals on Wednesday but we were not informed at the bar with our first drink so . . . Waiter was nice and efficient but the follow thru was weak. A request for extra sauce never went any where - like the light. My recommendation is to go here for lunch. Great location, good small plates, attractive.

Good food overall, a little overpriced. Waitress offered dessert before all at the table finished eating

Food was excellent but service was disjointed. For example, it took 15 minutes and 3 tries to get the bill

For me it was a great expedience, the waiter was friendly there ware planty of people around to help you if you needed something.

this place is great, i love the environment. the only thing i hate is the brunch menu doesnt have normal breakfast platter (pancakes/waffles, eggs, bacon, etc) they do have a french toast entree, but it doesnt come with anything. Also they wanted to charge extra for steak sauce when we had already ordered $24 steak, which was disappointing. These problems are small, and the place is overall a really nice option out with a friend or for a date!

Our Server wasn’t as hospitable or attentive as we expected for such a pricey dining experience, but the food was great and we enjoyed our dinner.

Too much Air conditioning. The people at the table next to us put their coats back on. Food was good, but not great.

I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the food was. I definitely want to go back. The portions were a nice slice, and the service was great. I would love to try out the seafood cart next time.

Birthday, but was unacknowledged even though it was noted on the reso

Overall great ambiance and atmosphere

First time at this restaurant, visiting from Los Angeles. The good first: food was on point, and great combination of flavors, foodies will not be disappointed. Menu is a la carte, not a big deal to us, as we are accustomed to restaurants like this. They don't provide any complimentary table item, FYI. Atmosphere upscale, wonderful outside seating next to the dock with many expensive boats to enjoy viewing by waterfront. Now the bad, as other reviewers have commented, service is definitely a weak area for this place. It's almost if they know that they're a hot spot for the locals, and they will be busy no matter if they have good service or not. This was evident in the snobbery by hostesses and the way servers carry themselves. We communicated our order to the server, food was brought in a reasonable amount of time and when the food came to the table, we discovered we were missing our lobster tail. We had no more contact with the server until mid meal when we had a chance to ask about the missing item. Server acted surprised, and went to inquire with kitchen. Server came back 3-4 minutes later, again surprised that the item handn't made it to the table yet. At this point we were almost finished with the meal, and just rejected the item. Bill was brought, only to discover many of the items being charged $1 more then menu price! Having enough of this nonsense, I was ready to speak with the manager, waited at the table an additional 5 minutes to do so. Relayed issue about the missing item and menu prices. We were told by manager that we ordered item after placing our order, so that's why it didn't arrive on time, which we soon realized the server just completely lied about apparently forgetting that item to cover her $ss, and to the managers credit, he profusely apologized about the incorrect charges explaining that the prices recently changed within their system. Still kinda weird though. Corrected our bill and offered further discounts, to which we refused.

The food was good, but the restaurant is a rip off in my view. Not even a basket of bread to start. Or a few crumbs. Everything a la carte except the even more expensive specials.

The grouper was delicious but at $33 you got one averaged sized piece of fish. Period. When asked initially about if anything came with the fish, the waiter seemed a bit surprised and responded that we got the sauce with the fish. Thanks.

It's a beautiful restaurant, but be prepared, absolutely nothing extra.

A few slices of bread or potatoes/rice on the side of the entree would've gone a long way to convincing us to come back. How much more in costs would a little side of rice or some sautéed spinach or veggie be to their bottom line? Would have made for a memorable meal. As it was, we left feeling completely ripped off.

We won't be back.

Our Opentable reservation had included a note requesting an outside table. When we arrived, the hostess projected a 30 minute wait, but it was more like 10 minutes (Yay!).
We each had a drink at the bar (a Yachtsman and a Sun Kissed); they were fabulous!
Lily and Miguel (cute engaged couple from Columbia) were our co-waiters; friendly and excellent. We partook of the fresh raw bar (Washington oysters - small and sweet, and Argentinian shrimp - huge and tasty). I had the MAHI MAHI with citrus butter which was light and PERFECT. My husband had the filet (right temp and tender) with Bernaise sauce and lobster tail (very tender!) and we shared roasted green beans in a hoisin sauce with almonds, sesame and poppy seeds (fabulous). Creme brûlée finish (warmed topping!) with a nut cookie that was AWESOME. $200 WELL spent!