Daniel's, A Florida Steakhouse — Local services in Fort Lauderdale

This week, my girlfriend and I along with my brother, his wife and another couple celebrated our close friend’s birthday with a spectacular dinner at Daniel’s, A Florida Steakhouse! Daniel’s founder and owner and successful local attorney, Thomas Angelo was a most gracious host along with his daughter, Kassidy.

Let me start by saying, Daniel’s has an electric atmosphere, and it is immediately apparent when you walk through the front door, this is the place to be. A Wednesday night and the entire restaurant was packed! The ambiance is elegant, yet comfortable. I love the layout and the décor. It is admittedly quite loud throughout the restaurant and bar, but that really is a true reflection of just how much fun everyone is having. I know I had a great time!

The cocktails, especially the signature Daniel’s Martini, I found to be expertly prepared, and I loved the unique presentation. The wine list is comprehensive and as Daniel’s describes it, there is “something to be enjoyed by every palate and at every price point.” We enjoyed several bottles of excellent red wine throughout our various courses.

An open kitchen adds to the contemporary layout and connects you to the wonderful culinary creations being prepared and served to the tables filled with hungry patrons. The service is impeccable and the staff, while not intrusive, is merely a glance away should you need anything at all. As for the food itself, where do I even begin?

This is most definitely a high-end steakhouse with some of the best beef I have ever tasted. I personally tried both the Prime Creekstone Porterhouse and the Australian Margaret River Wagyu NY Strip, but we started with a couple of their memorable salads. The Basil Caesar and Swank Farms Kale & Hearts of Palm were delightful.

The menu includes a healthy number of appetizers to accommodate a wide variety of tastes. There are also several Florida seafood entrees (Key West Hog Fish) and a couple of delicious pasta dishes. You’ll find a nice collection of sides, which like at any great steakhouse, are not to be missed. The Corn Pudding and Truffled Cream Spinach were rich and decadent. I also tried several of the wonderful sauces with the different steak entrees we ordered. Absolutely delicious, as was the entire meal from beginning to end.

For a truly over-the-top dining experience, I highly recommend Daniel’s, A...

Elegant, Classy, And Sophisticated. My adjectives are not only reflecting the atmosphere and ambiance, but also the staff and, of course, the food. Finally!! Fort Lauderdale welcomes a true dining experience with everything a Michelin Star restaurant would (which is why Michelin recommends them), all in a friendly, welcoming, warm environment. The crowd chatter and the decisively crafted playlist were just loud enough to add to the ambiance, but not too much that we couldn't enjoy the company of one another or even converse with some friends sitting at the table next to us. From the gentleman who greets you at the exterior and asks which restaurant you will be visiting, their sports bar is next door, to the hostess, to the manager, to the owner, acknowledging every guest at their table, to the welcoming voices and presentation of the servers. This is what Fort Lauderdale has been waiting for!! We were two people, and as I always do, we shared everything. We started with the chips and dip, had to! which was a terrific appetizer and a super cool way to begin our 5-star experience. We parlayed that with the outstanding Hamachi Crudo, and for us, it was enough for apps. We then shared a 32-oz porterhouse, which was ridiculously good, and also added truffle butter and the exotic peppercorn sauces on the side. Could be, NO! was the best steak I have had in quite some time. For sides, we enjoyed the mushrooms and rosemary fries, which were probably too much food for us, but we had some leftovers to take home. The problem is, the menu is too tempting to stop ordering. On a positive note, it will keep us coming back for more, as everything on the menu looks just delicious. I am a sucker for key lime pie, so we ended the evening with that. What do I say? That was as good, if not better, than the best I have had in the Keys. Listen, I am critical. Beyond critical, and very conscientious about how and where I spend my money at restaurants. It was not inexpensive! However, it was worth every dollar, and the experience was as if I were on vacation somewhere else. DANIELS!! a journey of the senses led by the exquisite tastes and temptations of a clearly, very well-planned and executed menu and journey in hospitality. 6 Stars....Thank you, everyone at Daaniels, for the magnificent experience. See you soon....

Daniel’s in Florida isn’t just another steakhouse. It’s a temple of excess—good excess—the kind you want after a long day when you need to remember that life is still worth savoring. The kind of place that makes you lean back in your chair, loosen your belt, and think, “Yeah, this is living.”

We opened with caviar—because why the hell not? Two ways. One, perched like a crown on a French onion dip, salty and luxurious, served with house-made potato chips that shattered between your teeth. The other, crème fraîche with delicate little blini waffles—so good they made you forget every sad brunch pancake you’ve ever had. The caviar was fresh, cold, the way it should be—oceans and salt and indulgence in a spoonful.

And then came the pastrami bao buns. Puffy, cloud-like, stuffed with pastrami, Swiss, and a house-made thousand island that hit all the right notes—fatty, tangy, smoky. A deli sandwich reborn as late-night bar food perfection. Milk bread on the side, soft and innocent, just begging to be turned into something dirty.

Somewhere between the bao buns and the short rib, the cocktails arrived. The old-fashioneds were strong, unapologetic—boozy enough to knock the edge off, smooth enough to make you order another before you knew it. Somewhere along the way, I stopped keeping count. By the time the ribeyes hit the table, I was drunk on whiskey and good company.

The steaks—Delmonico ribeyes—were undercooked at first. Mistakes happen. What mattered is how it was handled: two fresh steaks fired up, returned to the table, and a hazelnut chocolate cake slid down for dessert, on the house. An apology wrapped in sugar and generosity.

This is what restaurants should be: food with swagger, service with backbone, atmosphere that doesn’t have to try too hard because it knows exactly what it is. Daniel’s isn’t just one of the best restaurants in Fort Lauderdale—it’s a place that makes you want to stay too long, order one more old-fashioned, and forget about the outside world for a...