Milk Money Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Tonight was my third visit to Milk Money Bar & Kitchen after many months. We made a reservation but the reservation confirmation and reminder came with many threats -- if you don't show they were going to charge and if you must cancel it had to be done within a specified period of time or again they would somehow charge.

Well, we didn't cancel and showed on time and were offered seating inside or out. We decided to sit outside. All was fine with good service and food.

Problems occurred when the check came. There was a unknown $2.00 charge titled RAW. This charge was for a request for additional red onion for the Classic Burger. Ironically, my guest who ordered the Classic Burger had requested NO tomato or lettuce which is how the burger was served. At no time did the server inform there was an added charge when the request was made. The burger when served had 2 rings of red onion, and the addition onion consisted of 3 rings not even a full slice of onion.

I asked to see a manager to discuss this unknown unexpected charge. My first question - Where was the credit for the tomato and lettuce? The manager stated that lettuce and tomato does not cost as much as a red onion. My next question - Where is the full onion if they were going to charge $2.00. The manager went on to explain there is a cost involved in the server having to key the request for extra onion in the computer, and again red onion is more costly than tomato or lettuce.

Finally after more discussion the manager left and came back with a new check no longer showing the $2.00 charge. If 3 rings of red onion is that costly to supply, all such "costly" request should be accompanied by the server informing of an extra charge. This was a very sad way to end a very nice evening, but a good warning to anyone interested in enjoying Milk Money Bar & Kitchen.

The following is my original review...

This was my second visit to Milk Money Bar & Kitchen within the past 3 days. The restaurant is an experience not to be missed. My visits have only been for dinner so far, but they breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, and happy hour specials.

The serving staff has been great for both visits offering up suggestions and helping to answer questions. The menu is wide and serves many taste including plant based items.

We have tried many items over the 2 visits. Each has had some unique moments with some very good items to just okay.

The food presentation though has not been consistent, as an example the dessert Vegan Volcano arrived the first visit literally steaming hot -- we thought it was a volcano, but the second time it was just warmish. We asked the server about the difference and the response was maybe the first time it was overheated.

Looking forward to returning and...

Nice atmosphere, but check receipt for incorrect prices of items.

My fiancé and I randomly stopped by this place for lunch when we were in the area after seeing good reviews online. It has great vibes and the staff we encountered were nice. We started our meal with a whiskey sour and espresso martini. Both were good, and my fiancé was very glad they offered egg white in his whiskey sour, as this seems to be getting phased out, and he only likes whiskey sours with shaken egg whites.

My fiancé ordered their surf and turf ($52) which includes a crab cake on top of a filet mignon. Everything about it was very good, and the asparagus was cooked nicely. Crab cake had a great crust on in. Presentation was lovely.

I ordered the ‘listen up pasta & burrata.’ It was alright, but nothing I would be thinking about returning for. I did sub the shrimp it comes with for steak, as on the menu it says this would be a $9.25 up charge. I assumed it would be a sliced sirloin or something, but instead it was very thin, stringy & fatty strips of skirt steak. The cut was really not ideal to eat with pasta, as half of each slice was fat that needed to be trimmed off and this was nearly impossible to do in the dish of pasta.

When we got our receipt, the steak substitution was $13.25 extra instead of $9.25 like the menu said. For other meals with a steak substation, the menu did say it was $13.25 extra. However, we didn’t say anything to our waiter, as we weren’t that pressed over an extra $4. It did seem shady that a more expensive price got snuck in, especially for the substitution of such a poor cut of steak, but this may have been a simple human or computer mistake. Even if we had been charged correctly, the 9.25 would still not have been worth it due to the poor quality cut, riddled with fat. The rest of the dish was just alright. I wouldn’t order it again, even if the steak was a better cut. For what came out to a $50 dollar dish, it fell very short compared to a similar one offered by the Cheesecake Factory, where the steak substitution is better quality, the price point is cheaper, and you also receive complimentary bread.

Overall, it was just an okay experience. Service was quick despite being moderately busy at lunch. Parking at a busier time would be very difficult though, as the parking lot is small and cramped. Presentations of meals are beautifully done. The menu did have some unique items that seemed interesting. However, for only 3 cocktails and 2 dinner meals, it was nearly $200 after the tip. At this price point, there are plenty of other restaurants I would go to instead of...

My fiance and I tried this restaurant for the first time. As I was looking through the menu I came across the “stuffed avocado” which came with the following choice options: “chicken cranberry pecan salad”, “almond raisin tuna salad”, or chick pea salad”. I ordered the chicken salad thinking it would be a salad of chicken, cranberries and pecans. When I got the dish I had 2 scoops of what looked like chicken mayonnaise salad. Now I have Ulcerative Colitis and already have a limited diet, and try my best to not have foods in mayonnaise, butter or oils. I asked the waitress kindly if I could replace the chicken salad, as I didn’t know it was a chicken mayonnaise salad. She took my plate and made an upset face to the manager within seconds of getting my plate, to which both the waitress and manager came back to the table asking if everything was ok. I simply said that I didn’t know chicken salad meant chicken with mayonnaise, and asked if the chicken salad can be replaced. The manager said he can only offer me to order another side, the chick pea salad, as a to go. So rather than honoring my request of replacing the chicken mayo salad, he insisted that I order an extra chick pea salad on the side. So the solution is for me to spend more money on an additional side dish? He did not answer my question and was unwilling to replace the chicken salad. At that point I said, forget it, and accepted the dish. In the restaurant industry, the goal of most restaurants, I think would be to satisfy the customers first and accommodate their needs reasonably. At least be willing to replace the chicken salad, not just insist I order another side as a “to go”. The attitude of the waitress and the manager made me feel uncomfortable and bad to even voice my questions and concerns. The listed menu item was ambiguous. How would I have known the chicken salad and tuna salad were made of mayonnaise, yet the chick pea salad did not have mayonnaise, especially when that wasn’t specified. Specific egg containing ingredients should be spelled out on a menu to limit ambiguity. However that’s far from the point. I was mistaken in not asking initially to clarify what was in the dish, but when I tried to rectify the issue, the manager wouldn’t allow it. I’ve gone to restaurants where there were no questions asked, the waitress would take my meal back and accommodate the dish by removing a certain part of the meal or replacing it, in a reasonable manner. Anyways I feel like the staff here could’ve been more patient and understanding of the...