Tinta — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Service: Hostess 0/5, Waitress 2/5 Food: 4/5

We arrived early. They asked if we had a reservation. We did not, but the restaurant was more than half empty. The hostess sat us in the only table in full sun with one chair less than the total number of guests in our party. When we told the waitress at the table that a chair was missing, she tried to seat us at an appropriately sized table. The hostess ran over and told us to go inside instead of sitting outside because she had reservations for both the tables the waitress tried to seat us at. We moved inside. No problem. She didn't give us enough menus, so I had to ask the new waitress to bring me one. Who, by the way looked shocked we didn't have enough. Needless to say the hostess left a bad taste in our mouths. If we hadn't walked 8 minutes to get here we would have went elsewhere.

The inside was empty. It was like we were sent here as punishment for not having a reservation. The vents dripped on anyone who sat under them, adding to the discomfort. By the way, all tables are under vents except the ones in the middle of the small inside space that servers are constantly walking by to run food outside.

Now.. the inside waitress was much better from the start. She earned stars back. She was friendly and welcoming. She made recommendations. I had the carnitas. It was okay. The flavor was not as deep as I expected, and the pieces were dry like they were leftovers. The quesadilla was fantastic. The fruit bowl was fresh and plentiful. I must note, we also didn't get ANY drink refills while we were there. Our water glasses sat empty for majority of our visit. The check also took forever to arrive after she had already cleared our plates.

We had high hopes based on the reviews. This was our experience. Would I recommend trying it? Yes. Maybe make a reservation for a better first impression. Keep expectations in line that some items may be great while others are a little less flavorful...

Had the Pleasure of having breakfast here 2 days.

Nickey and Nelson took care of me and both experiences were wonderful .

I had the huevos rancheros and it was sooooo delicious with the cheese- I had to have it again the next morning. And it only tasted even better !

One thing I will add however that really soured my experience

I sat outdoor both days. On the first day- the winds were very bad for a flordia day - about 36km And of course it starts to rain randomly.

I had asked to move my seat and in order to not get rain all over my food and workbook- I quickly moved over to the bar while it was chaos for a few mins.

The bar tender told me I couldn't sit where I had sat down because he needed to keep that station clean for mixing drinks.

And that particular seat was right in a high traffic zone so I was more than happy to move.

But had asked him - what should I do ? And where should I move to because it's pouring rain-

At which point he directed me to a different seat at the bar.

Being super exhasted and sleepy- I was happy to sit anywhere at that point and just eat so I could head back to sleep .

This is the part that really irked me in this man's behavior.

While I sat there- he made sure to completely ignore me and ask all other guests how their meals were- if they needed anything etc.

He went out of his way lol to make me feel uncomfortable - I understood eventually why- he clearly was going to be missing a tip at the end of my meal and I was taking up a seat.

Being Canadian- I did end up leaving him a tip that he completely did not deserve based on his attitude problem and general refusal to even acknowledge me at any point.

Even tho he very consciously tried to make me feel UNwelcomed my entire meal.

Both Nickey and Nelson were amazing and the food was great.

Just steer clear of the bar tender- Unless he already knows your gonna leave him a tip of course. Then he might smile and ask you how your...

Review of Tinta

The day of my departure from Fort Lauderdale I decided to check this place out for breakfasts. It is located inside the Westin hotel on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. The plan was to have breakfast and then go across the street to enjoy the beach. However, Mother Nature decided she did not want us to enjoy the beach. It was raining and very windy during my visit.

When I arrived there was a line to check in with the host. As such, we were not seated until about 10:45, despite our 10:30 am reservation. Note: the breakfast menu stops at 11am and at 11:30am it switches to brunch on Saturday.

This place was pretty busy so the service was slow. However, it was clear that the team was doing the best they could do. When we finally had a server assist us, we opted to place our drink and food order to prevent any further delay. I opted for a cappuccino with almond milk and the salmon avocado toast. My friend ordered a peach Bellini and a short stack of pancakes with a side of bacon.

My cappuccino was cute. They place their name on top of it in the foam with cinnamon. Regarding the taste, it was very basic. The coffee taste was not special at all. My friend did not enjoy her Bellini. She said the ratios were off. My avocado toast was not really toast, but more a sandwich. It was mediocre at best. The bacon that my friend ordered was burnt. The server did bring her another batch, that was slightly improved. Honestly, it was still over cooked. The pancakes, which I did try were average.

Overall do not expect anything exceptional from this place. It’s just a basic restaurant serving basic food. I would not suggest returning to this restaurant . However, if you are not looking for a memorable meal, this spot will...