Michael's Cafe Bistro — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

As I have logged onto this site I now believe I know why my experience today was lacking, NEW OWNERSHIP. My husband and I have been frequenting this restaurant since we first started vacationing in Pompano Beach, seven years ago. The staff was always warm and friendly as well as the top notch service provided. I bragged to my friend how it has been one of our favorites for years. It was definitely one of the positives of moving to the area. However today I am sad to say I had quite the opposite experience. Working full time as an executive during the week, I cherish the time I get to spend with my child. This morning started early and after taking my daughter to swim lessons I recommended this place to my fellow mother to grab breakfast around 12 noon, as I had not yet eaten. Once there my daughter became tired and whiney as it was her desire to leave. If you have children you understand that they are small unreasonable individuals with a mind of their own, however I am not in the business of rewarding bad behavior so I did not plan to leave the establishment as it is a casual diner style restaurant without any disclaimer that they do not serve children or that they are unwelcomed. After waiting and receiving our food my daughters whining continued and the management walked over and asked me if I could take her outside as I was disturbing the other customers. I worked in hospitality a long time and never in my life would dream of approaching a mother with an upset child and ask them to leave. After stepping outside to calm my child and myself at this point. I went back in and packed my food which I barely got to eat and paid. I will certainly not recommend this place nor bring large parties as I've done in the past. I am originally from New Orleans where there are many great restaurant and I would like to share one little piece of advice with the New Ownership. It is not the transient tourist that occasionally comes in that will make or break your business. It is the local customer who comes in regularly that will sustain your business during economic ups and downs. Feel free to do the math the 100.00 once a year from a tourist table vs.  25 - 30 every two weeks for 12 months ($660.00). Customer services and catering to locals should be your focus. Also the next time you see a struggling mother my advice would be to offer assistance rather than shame her or speak to her condescendingly. Offering help after you've asked the person to leave is NOT good customer service.

You can paint the walls and redecorate, but the customer service is definitely not on the same level as with the...

Stopped in for brunch after driving by thousands of times. Originally wanted Country Fried Steak and was told the fryer was out of commission.

Opted for Shrimp & Cheese Grits and Eggs Benedict.

First bowl came out 80% cheese to 20% grits, consistency was basically Elmer’s Glue. Waitress was nice enough and offered to remake it.

Second bowl came out with no shrimp - one server told me it was because I ate some from the first bowl; the other told me they were left on the griddle.

Third bowl came out with the shrimp but missing the bacon that the first two had.

My partner’s Eggs Benedict was just ok. English muffin could’ve been toasted a little longer, egg was slightly over cooked - hollandaise was the biggest opportunity; tasted like it was missing something and congealed to more of a thick consistency than sauce.

Servers were nice enough and they ended up taking the shrimp & grits off the check (despite my original offer to pay for it since it was remade so many times).

Hoping it was just an off day in the kitchen combined with some communication opportunities between front and back of house, as the other reviews seemed solid enough - we need more good local places and I wanted to like Michael’s, this experience just made it hard. Planning to come back and hope the menu reflects the current offerings and the kitchen line gets...

I am new to the area so was looking forward to checking out the best breakfast spots. I walked in and there were 2 staff on the floor but I was completely ignored. The place is very small so anyone entering is immediately seen. I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes sure that someone would acknowledge me. Wrong. The ladies went about doing whatever they were doing. I tried to get the attention of one of them by asking if I needed to seat myself or wait for seating but they were too busy engaged in conversation with customers that I'm sure were regulars. After a minute or two the door opened behind me and one of the waitresses stopped what she was doing and instantly began talking to the gentleman who walked in as he walked over to where she was. Never once did either of the waitresses say a thing to me. I must have been invisible to them. I didn't need a brick to fall on my head to get the point that I wasn't wanted in this establishment. I politely turned around and drove to another nearby diner. Too many options to settle for...