Heritage — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Anyone that read a post I wrote should know I am reluctant to give 5 stars, mostly because they are given out too freely and usually not deserved. I've been following them since I saw Luongo on IG eating pasta out of the Stanley Cup. Now, the restaurant has earned the Bib Gourmand award from the Michelin Guide. If you thought this place was Buzzin before, you should see it now!

We sat at the bar because we did not have a reservation and that happened to be the only option to have a chance to enjoy the restaurant. I rather enjoy a good bar setting. I jumped at my chance to enjoy everything from that perspective. Now, I get this may not be the ideal choice for everyone... I'm not everyone 🤷🏻‍♂️.

Service from the bar = Baller. The boys were making excellent drinks, and I was having a hard time regulating myself. A whiskey smash made with Bushmills.....All Day! My wife ordered a dirty martini = Delicious. Great drinks and banter with both the boys behind the bar.

Are you wondering about the food yet? Here we go! Like I stated before, I have been following Heritage since the Panthers won the Stanley Cup. Not gonna lie, watching Luongo eating that pasta had me very curious. I unfortunately waited a while after that to come try it for myself, what a stupid love that was. The wife and I sat at the bar and sampled the menu, and by sample I mean, we ordered WAY too much for two people and had leftovers for days! The Italian chopped salad was perfect. I am not a salad guy because most restaurants screw them up, not them. Order the freaking salad! Pizza was phenomenal... No really, one of the best hands down and I didn't just try one. Short rib marsala = Banging. Patate = Nails. Margarita = clutch. All three pizzas were straight money.

By this time the wife and I were Buzzin and asked to speak to Rino, what a cool dude! What a great vibe he has and it reflects in the entire restaurant. Whole place was hummin! Since the wife and I were vibin with him, we asked him to help us pick something out from the menu. The choice... Mafaldine Bolognese. It beat the breaks off my taste buds 💯... and those noodles are 🔥. We asked for the spicy penne alla vodka to try as well, boom goes the dynamite 💥

After making our own tasting menu we got locked in for dessert. Rino set us up with some limoncello to cleanse the pallet. Then, the master went to work and truly blew our mind 🤯. Rino was the captain of that ship and drove us somewhere I almost refused to go... it would have been a total rookie move. He comes out with the only dessert I did not want to try... The Strawberry Olive Oil Cake 🤦🏻‍♂️. I don't do fruit for dessert and NEVER had success with olive oil cake. The cake is straight gas! Complete high octane my friend. Look at my pics and you'll see it was devoured without a trace! Talk about sealing the deal 💯

Here is what I learned from Heritage. They have every right to be busy... and they will be busy. Right off the rip you'll see that Rino is the man, and sets the vibe for the entire restaurant! Every single interaction with all the peeps repping Heritage, the food we tried, and the drinks made couldn't have been better. Y'all need to stop reading this long winded post and...

Okay guys, I’ve been waiting too long to try this place after being recommended from several friends, now I am not a food critic, but just a chef in the business, and I can tell this place is a really well done job ! I love the ambiance and the drinks were unexpected, that was the detail that got me going for the dinner. On the food I might have something to say but, knowing Fort Lauderdale and its customers for almost 10 years, this concept really fits in. Even though I really would have liked a quick chat with the owner and chef that unfortunately was going to walk out of the restaurant at the moment of our reservation, I can still give him my opinion through google. Mr Rino, your place has the beautiful touch and the food variety it’s at the same time satisfying and short, if you guys are meat lovers, well, you find your spot, but FYI there is no meat cuts here ! Very flavorful Bolognese, even though I would use regilar ground pork rather then sausage that screams fennel, I loved the short rib pizza, but only after I dropped some salty cheese and truffle dressing from my wife salad, I really needed that kick, stuffed pepper was great and pasta capricciosa was my favorite meal of the night, with many ingredients, but balanced just right. We had the broccoli rabe and sausage pizza, which is one of my go for on pozzas and unfortunately disappointed me for an attention error, the oil that was making all its bottom very soft and hardly to enjoy without having the dough releasing it in the mouth. Guy the dessert that left me shocked was the strawberry olive cake, listen to me, after being tired of all this chocolate addicted, I can tell you this is the fruity, most balanced, delicious and fresh dessert I had in a while, definitely my present favorite. Remember to eat the cake with the strawberry sauce and the vanilla ice cream in the same bite if you want to feel the sweetness of the ice cream, the sour from strawberry and lemon, and the bitter from the oil with that pinch of salt, it all gets married once in your mouth. I feel you can get to high levels, but some things need few touch-ups, we got sausage all over the recipes and the extravirgin olive oil used didn’t make me excited, greek oil

I’ve been here multiple times for lunch and once for dinner.

AMBIANCE: While I can admit the energy within the place can be viewed as “chaotic,” it has the true feel of a local family joint. I have had nothing but pleasant encounters with all of the servers, and I've even had some interactions with the chefs when sitting at the pizza counter. They check in to make sure I’m served in a timely manner. You can truly tell that all members of this team care about their guests and enjoy the family they work with.

FOOD: Where do I begin? You can tell that they take pride in the relationships they have with the people they source their products from. Each dish is meticulously crafted from scratch in what seems to be a kitchen not much larger than a NYC studio apartment. The bread on the lunch paninis is everything a Subway Italian Herbs and Cheese bread wishes it could be. Soft inside, crispy outside (not enough to cut your mouth), and perfectly seasoned with fresh herbs and salt. Honestly, I would drive an hour for just that bread alone. The pasta? Spot-on. Perfectly cooked every time, and plated with precision. If pizza parlor food is your vibe, don’t waste your time; you won’t find any boxed, overcooked pasta in this building. The appetizers are fantastic and well thought out—traditional, true Italian options with a modern approach. 9.3/10 all around.

THE OWNER & CHEF’S I’ll be honest, my first approach to this place, I was a little intimidated to sit down or address them. BOY, WAS I WRONG. Do you like brutally honest people who have a passion for food and take no bullshit or pomp? I do, and I was pleasantly surprised that that is exactly who Rino and Chef Griff are. Passionate chefs who don’t give a flying Fǔ€ķ about your feelings; if you’re an a-hole. I have been sitting in there for lunch on a rainy day and seen Rino take customers' keys and drive their car to the door for them so they can avoid a walk in the rain. I’ve seen him walk around to every table, kiss people on the cheek, and take the time to catch up with them and address them personally, as if they’ve known each other for years. There is a true community spirit inside of Heritage FTL that has since been lost in Lauderdale to a sea of mediocre menus and staff who truly don’t give a fuck about the customer or their food. This is NOT that place. 11/10 humans.

TL;DR If you want to go to a restaurant, boss a server around, complain, get a discount on your bill, be a terrible human, and treat others with lackluster respect, this is NOT the place for you. Go to Las Olas, you’ll find enough to complain about there, and honestly you’ll fit right in.

If you want to go to a small, community-focused joint that truly cares about its patrons as a whole, and pours passion and love into every dish that walks out of the kitchen, show up and take the first available seat regardless of the wait. It’s worth...