Livia Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

As a small business owner and the founder of Broward Bucket List, I take no joy in writing negative reviews. If you know me, you know I go above and beyond to support and uplift local businesses. I have even advertised for Livia in my own platform and have personally vouched for them in the past. We’ve been guests at Livia Bar & Grill multiple times, and I’ve recommended it to countless people.

For me to be writing this now speaks volumes.

Several months ago, I was hired to guide a group on a Fort Lauderdale bar crawl, and Livia, one of my former favorites, was on the list. We were genuinely excited to share the experience. Upon arrival, we headed to the outside bar and were told to go inside. Once we made our way in and were about to settle, we were told that no, we could not sit inside and had to return outside.

When we got back outside, the bartender informed us we could not sit on the chairs at the bar because “this area was for the bar crawl” despite the outdoor bar being completely empty that night. It was confusing, unnecessary, and frankly, belittling. The energy shifted instantly. I was embarrassed, for myself, for my guests, for the bar crawl company, and even more so for the establishment.

The moment one of my guests said, “We’re leaving, we’re not spending a dollar here,” I knew we had to walk out. We had come in ready to spend, promote, and enjoy ourselves, but instead left disappointed and frustrated to say the least. That type of treatment left us completely baffled.

Months later, I ran into one of the managers, the same one who had been on duty that night, and went out of my way to clear the air. I calmly explained how the experience unfolded from my perspective, and how disheartening it was to be treated that way at a place I had supported and recommended for so long. I was hoping for understanding, or at the very least, a simple apology. Instead, I was met with a dismissive “I didn’t do anything wrong” and no acknowledgment or accountability for his actions or those of his bartender.

As someone who brings business to local venues regularly, I know the importance of hospitality and respect in this industry. Sadly, neither was shown to us that night, nor in the months that followed. Until there is a shift in how guests are treated, I can’t recommend Livia Bar & Grill and they will not be receiving our...

I experienced this restaurant for the first time on Mother's Day. I took my mom, my aunt my grandma, my best friend and her mom for brunch because I came across their page on Instagram, and the food looked good. Upon arrival we were sat outside in the very back in the corner, which would've been OK if they had some type of fan out there because it was a very hot day. I went to the front to see if we could be placed somewhere else because I had my grandmother with me and she was older and couldn't really take that heat. Some Caucasian bald man with glasses told me that he wasn't able to move me when I asked to be placed somewhere else with a little bit more central air. My problem with that was he didn't even try to accommodate us or look to see what he could've done. He just gave me whatever answer to get rid of me which I didn't appreciate. I think for them to avoid this problem in the future is just to place more fans outside, considering summer is right around the corner and it's going to be extremely hot, or just don't place people in that back corner where the sun is shining directly on the table. This is the only problem i experienced. Besides that the food is phenomenal the atmosphere is phenomenal. Our server was wonderful. The drinks were amazing. I had a guava margarita with a lemonade as well and those were great. I had the sunny BLT, which was amazing my mom and the other ladies at the table had the salmon and the mahi-mahi, which they loved my best friend had the steak and eggs, which she loved her espresso Martinis were great. The Mojito's were amazing, so overall, I really recommend this place they just need to fix that one problem with the fans outside and making sure the tables are properly shaded from the sun or that the tables are placed strategically so the sun is not beaming down on...

Dinner dine in experience for party of 7:

Ordered mussels appetizer. The mussels had a horse manure taste. Multiple guests at the table tried the mussels and disgustingly agreed… of course we sent the food back. Praying we don’t get food poisoning

A guest ordered a pizza entree that was forgotten by the server and never arrived. The guest finally cancelled their order after frustration once everyone else was just about done eating

Another guest ordered Steak Medallions (entree) medium rare and it came back well done like a piece of leather.

Another guest ordered a side dish (broccolini) that already came with their entree unknowingly and instead of the server advising our guest that broccolini was included with the entree, she said nothing and we were left to pay for a side that was never wanted to begin with

we brought our complaints to management and his excuse was that this restaurant is new and mistakes happen. I never knew food tasting like literal crap was an issue for new restaurants but here we are. His compensation for a bad experience was taking the app and both entrees off the bill (rightfully so) and a dessert free of charge. However, when the server came around to ask us for dessert, she denied that any dessert would be on the house nor did she even make an attempt to offer a free dessert to end the night on a high note like a good server would. Gratuity was already included in the bill so the server could care less…

There’s Nothing special about the food here that you wouldn’t be able to find somewhere else… especially in Ft Lauderdale. I guess the vibe and atmosphere would be cool for brunch but there’s a million other places I’d rather go than give this restaurant another...