El Tiesto Cafe Fort Lauderdale — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

I recently had the chance to visit El Tiesto Cafe, a Dominican-Japanese fusion gem in Fort Lauderdale, and it exceeded my expectations! El Tiesto Cafe's culinary team masterfully combines the bold, robust flavors of the Dominican Republic with the refined, delicate artistry of Japanese cuisine. Check out the bathroom's caldero/dutchpot sink! Too cute! This place has such a vibe! The decor was stunning, featuring artwork inspired by Japanese influences. It had 2 levels, outdoor seating, and great music. They offer brunch, lunch, and dinner and open until 12 - 1 am during the week and 3 am on the weekends.

I'm so glad we booked early dinner reservations before it got crowded. Our wonderful host Luis greeted us, who was amazing. We mentioned how loud the music was (we shouldn't have to scream to hear each other) so he turned the music down and moved us to the next room which was perfect! Now that's great customer service! Prices range from $9 to $40. They have something for everyone on the menu so let's move on to the main event. I want to give a special shout-out to our waitress Linda! She was wonderful! She was very accommodating and very knowledgeable about each dish. Ask for Linda when you go! Ha!

DRINKS White Sangria and Tiesto's Margarita....Both were nice and refreshing. Nothing special...The presentation was A+.

APPETIZER Concocito - Crispy rice Cup topped with longaniza, chicken, shrimp and Mashed Avocado.

Mofonguitos - Plantain “cups” filled with shredded beef, pork & chicken topped with creamy tiesto sauce and Tri-Color Peppers.

Tiesto's Gyosas - Fried to perfection “crispy” chicken dumplings.

MAIN ÑOO ROLL - Roll wrapped in moro with shrimp tempura, maduro, bacon, kani, avocado, fried cheese and topped with sliced steak.

La Chapi Roll X - Fried Pork, Chicken Tempura, Bacon, Maduro, Avocado, Cream Cheese, Eel Sauce, Sweet Chili, Bell peppers, Mashed Avocado.

Boca Chica ROLL X - Salmon, Bacon, Shrimp Tempura, Maduro, Cream Cheese, Tobiko, Coconut Sauce. (HOT!)

Overall Rating: A - Overall Review: I loved everything about it! I loved the Dominican and Japanese sushi twist. They paired well together. You tasted EVERY ingredient in every bite. So flavorful! The presentation was top-notch. The customer service was amazing. The music was great. This would be perfect for a date, a night out with friends, or a special celebration. My only request is to lower the music during brunch, afternoon, or early dinner hours.

Next time I want to try the following: El Esotico - Tuna, tobiko, scallion and rice wrap on cucumber and tartar sauce, topped with Asian seasoned baked pecan nuts,

Tiesto Tartare - Crispy sticky rice topped with spicy salmon, tuna, avocado and tobiko.

La Yola - Sweet plantain “boat” topped with creamy shrimps.

Tiesto Dulce de Platano - Tiesto style Cheesecake with whiskey-infused sweet plantain whipped cream, homemade cinnamon crispy butter cookies and vanilla ice cream.

Pudin de Pan - Warm coconut and almond bread pudding w/ vanilla...

What a huge fail with so much good potential. I would not return or recommend this club trying to double as a restaurant.

The decor was a fun mash-up of Caribbean island and synth-wave. We waited a short time for a table and sat down. Cell service was not usable inside and the menus are digital, so we sat, waiting for a server. They have wi-fi but the server needed to give us the password.

We found the server after a long time and he got us on the right track with the menus. While they were out of many menu items, what they had looked great, so, we ordered an appetizer, two entrees, and a couple of cocktails. The drinks took awhile, but we got them and they were good. The server let us know that my husband’s entree was also out of stock and recommended another.

After some time, my husband’s entree came. Some time later, my entree came and I asked the woman who brought our food about the appetizer. She brought it out after we were well into eating our meals. Still, no server. He popped by some time later and I asked for pepper and some lemon for our octopus. He brought it twenty minutes later, after the octopus was gone. I used it on my tasty but very under-seasoned entree.

We finished our food and waited awhile longer. The DJ started and the music began blasting through the restaurant. It was incredibly loud. I used to be a club kid and I really like Tiesto, but this was another level of noise. With a splitting headache from the unholy din, we asked if we could order an after dinner cocktail but that the cacophony was too loud. “Can we pay now and have our drinks on the patio? The noise is too much.” He said that would be fine but he wanted to get our drinks, first and we waited another half hour. Drinks came and he went. No bill. No server.

Two and a half hours after we arrived, we paid our bill. I didn’t realize 18% was added to each check and gave what I would consider to be a minimal tip for the lacking service. When I noticed the extra charge, I asked the server to reverse it. I told him that our service was horrible, I manage a restaurant, and I didn’t think he deserved the extra tip. He said that he couldn’t reverse it, a lie as he uses the same system that I do, and he gave me some cash with a surly attitude and an indignant scowl.

The octopus was my favorite dish; It was grilled, served in what I would call a chimichurri sauce with perfectly cooked, grilled vegetables. All of the cocktails were delicious. The entrees were alright but very under-seasoned and without depth of flavor. All of the food and drinks were beautiful. The waiter was very nice until the end but the service was almost nonexistent. The design was good but the music was uncomfortably loud for 8-10pm. After 10pm, the noise is more understandable, but we were held captive by a lack of service and...

Was super excited to try this place, based off the reviews and the menu and pics looked amazing! Literally, the moment we walked in, they just had a meeting with 15 employees in the front and it’s almost like the manager told them “hey make sure you do the worst you could do and treat customers like they aren’t even there!” We joked about this bc that’s how we felt, sadly.

There was prob 10-1 employee to customer ratio, took us 15 min to get a water or anyone to acknowledge us after sitting, then literally a little more than 30 min to even order a drink. Mind You, not busy at all and staff just standing there looking at us , talking to each other.

There was someone dressed like a manager at the front just looking at us, I mean come on, it was pretty ridiculous. There was 2 couples that left, my lady asked if I wanted to leave bc it was beyond comprehension. However, I really wanted to try this place, so we stuck it out. I had to go up to a few people to check on our drinks that took another 15 minutes, with minimal people at bar or tables. All the tables next to us , only couples, we all laughed at how ridiculous it was and said same thing. Please fix your service, honestly, it starts from the top. Clearly the manager there didn’t care at all, even hearing me say we had been there for over 30 min and had only waters at a slow restaurant, he didn’t bat an eye or say anything . If service was decent not even amazing, would of given 4-5 stars bc love the concept here in Ft. laud. Just fix your staff please and teach them normal etiquette. Check on your tables, see how they are doing, try to be aware of things. Sorry but management was sleep at the wheel.

Best part of the meal , we tried about 5 items, sushi rolls and Omaiga was fire and mofonguitos nice little app with edamame too. Sangria, has no fruit in it, however was pretty tasty, teach your staff to pour the first drinks out of the huge heavy pitcher. Just simple things go a long way and should be pretty basic for servers.

Would loooove to come back here and have a great experience, was really hoping this would be our new jam, love the music and atmosphere. Please train the staff to be aware and do normal things you would expect...