Osteria Acqua E Farina — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Oh man, this place is AWESOME! My girlfriend and I really reeeeally enjoyed their food. It's one of those places that you miss. We were visiting Fort Lauderdale from California and wasted most of our days eating at restaurants on the water that had good reviews but underwhelming food.

Since we got sick of hitting one bad seafood restaurant after another, we decided to just try this local Italian spot right across the street from our AirBnb. I had a hunch it was good since all the positive reviews were listing all the entries that were "to die for".

We went in there hungry and were greeted with a pleasant escape away from regular'ol America. There's definitely an authentic ethnic-ey vibe in here. Our waiter had a lot of character and kinda quirky, which we liked a lot.

For the hell of it, we ordered 3 things. Oh man....3 for 3!!! All of the dishes were perfect. The pizza, the pasta, the appetizer. Service was great and you could this spot was a local gem since every other table around us seemed to be excited about their food and you could hear other people bragging to their friends about how amazing this place was and what they HAVE to try. You can even see it for yourself...you'll be looking over your shoulder the entire time looking at all the dishes being carried around.

The very next day (our last day), we came right back and even got the same waiter. And ordered 5 entirely different things. Once again...all hits. You really can't go wrong with this place. Just so you have an idea of this place's character...I went next door to get my iPhone screen repaired while we were waiting on the food and the waiter ran over to tell me, "HEY MAN! Your fish is getting cold, this is a crime!!" I hurried back and watched him de-bone my branzino with all the pride in the...

We went here on the strength of the reviews we read. I'm married to a native Italian so we said why not? I think if we had a different waiter maybe this would have ended differently. First you face US1 and all the traffic when you eat outside. Pretty hard to put lipstick on that... So we were seated and immediately asked for drinks a little quickly, then what apps and what to eat? Mind you NO specials were offered and we assumed there were none until we heard other servers describe them to other tables. Everything came out quickly like tapas but slightly faster. Food was good but not great. Dessert was left wanting. They topper was getting the bill placed on the table moments after the dessert. Half a bottle of water and half a bottle of wine left. Seriously. Well we waited and finished. 55 min from arrival to departure. They are in the ok good food business not in the hospitality/restaurant business. The restaurant itself was described in some reviews as classy, I get that it's subjective but it was just a normal place. Again this was a strange situation and one where I'm not really ready to repeat. In the end I was just disappointed. Having waited tables in the past maybe it was just our luck of the draw but I don't think we'll go back. No...

Dad and I returned to Acqua and Farina. Does once every 10 years indicate anything? I ordered Bucatelli Amatriciana. Dad ordered Chicken Piccata. Waitress said it doesn't come with pasta so I said he could have some of mine. Pasta arrived and chicken never did.

He wasn't too upset but that's never happened to him dining out 3 times a week for forty years.

Bread at an Italian place should stand out. This seemed shipped in and pedestrian. But served with oil and balsamic.

The sauce, you know, the one that actually arrived, had flavor he liked. We had to share it. It is not the Roman preparation. Added sugar, double the sauce, lots of onion, and hand torn shreds of meat. Reviewers call this joint authentic, but a monolingual Italian would be aghast at the oversaucing and the lack of carefully diced and browned Guanciale. Cook never leaves kitchen to see if clients have any issues.

They get good takeout business. Variety of people eat there, likely only from nearby urban development. But way too many grown men in evening wear of wrinkled shorts and flip flops.

But I'll try the place again in yet another ten years. Maybe ample parking and a second...