Wild Sea Las Olas — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Wild Sea Las Olas Review

Location and Ambiance: Located in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s bustling Las Olas Boulevard, Wild Sea Las Olas is nestled within the historical Riverside Hotel, offering both an indoor dining space with chic, modern decor and an outdoor terrace perfect for people-watching. The ambiance strikes a balance between upscale and relaxed, making it a favored spot for both locals and tourists.

Menu and Cuisine: Wild Sea Las Olas prides itself on serving fresh, innovative seafood dishes at prices that surprise for the location. Here's what you can expect:

Breakfast:The day starts with a diverse menu ranging from traditional breakfast options to unique creations like avocado toast. The quality of the breakfast items, particularly the pancakes with apple compote, has been highlighted for its delicious taste.

Brunch: An extensive brunch menu features $3 mimosas and Bloody Marys, which is quite the draw. The brunch offerings include omelets, salads, burgers, and entrees, catering to a wide array of preferences.

Lunch and Dinner: The restaurant offers a variety of dishes from seafood specialties to steaks and pizzas. The raw bar is particularly noteworthy, with fresh oysters often praised for their quality and taste. Seafood dishes like the Wagyu sirloin steak and the line-caught catch of the day (though sometimes criticized for not being local) are popular.

Specials and Happy Hour: Monday night $1.50 oysters have become legendary among locals, and the overall happy hour is a great time to sample their handcrafted cocktails.

Service: Service at Wild Sea Las Olas receives mixed reviews but generally leans towards positive. Servers like Tami, Kristen, and LeeAnn have been mentioned frequently for their exceptional service, attentiveness, and ability to enhance the dining experience with their recommendations. However, there have been mentions of occasional lapses, particularly on busy nights.

Unique Features: Robot Service: An interesting feature mentioned by some reviewers is the use of robot trays for delivering food, adding a modern twist to the dining experience.

Entertainment: Some nights feature live music, contributing to the vibrant atmosphere.

Parking: Complimentary valet parking is available with dinner, which is a significant perk given Las Olas' parking challenges.

Criticisms: While largely positive, there are critiques:

Consistency: Some visitors have noted that the food quality can be inconsistent, with dishes like the grilled octopus not always meeting expectations.

Ambiance: While the ambiance is generally appreciated, some feel it could use a slight upgrade to match the energy of Las Olas.

Menu Limitations: There have been comments about certain menu items occasionally being unavailable.

Overall Experience: Wild Sea Las Olas offers a delightful dining experience with its combination of a varied menu, reasonable pricing for the area, and a pleasant atmosphere. It's particularly celebrated for its brunch, seafood options, and the personal touch of its staff. Here are some concluding thoughts:

Pros: Affordable for the quality and location. Diverse and innovative menu. Great service from certain staff members. Unique features like robot service and live music. Complimentary valet parking.

Cons: Occasional inconsistency in food quality. Service can vary depending on the staff and time of visit. Limited menu options at times.

Rating: Based on the collective feedback:

In summary, Wild Sea Las Olas stands out as a gem in Fort Lauderdale's dining scene, offering a taste of the sea with a touch of creativity, making it a must-visit for seafood lovers and those looking for a memorable dining experience on Las...

We made reservations for 3 for Christmas Day here since a friend lived in Miami and this was in the middle.

We knew it was a buffet at $49 per person and when we arrived we were promptly seated. And we waited..... And we waited..... And we waited..... I got up and asked someone do we need to get our own water, do we just get up and help ourselves etc. the guy said he would get us water and for us to help ourselves. He pointed out where the raw station was, carving station, desert station etc.

There was no bread or rolls anywhere. At the raw station they had chilled shrimp (which wasn’t that cold) , oysters on the half shell (these were cold and yummy) , they had civiche (which was also delicious and cold). They had some sushi which was room temperature and the rice tasted old and dried out.

Then we finally got a drink menu and ordered a drink each and went to the salad and carving station area.

There was no salad! Their idea of salad was a tomato and mozzarella salad which was empty when we got up here. They had a mushroom truffle salad which was 3/4 empty but it was very good.

At the carving station they had a porkchetta (portchetta?) and prime rib. The pork was so rich and greasy it was not edible. Luckily I didn’t put any on my plate and tried husbands. He didn’t eat that either. The prime rib was cooked perfectly and delicious. They had a brown gravy, apple chutney, and horseradish sauce for the 2 meats.

They had a lemon mahi which was over some kind of a bean/pea. This was slightly dry but still it was good.

They also had chicken breast cut into about 2 inch strips over a risotto. But there was a very rich gravy on it and it saturated the risotto.

They had a shrimp and cheese tortellini with a heavy cream sauce. Was too heavy for me but husband thought it was good.

They also had Brussels sprouts which was empty the 1st time we went up but filled on our 2nd trip. Also in a cream sauce.

The desert station had nice small bite size deserts of assorted sweetness and textures as well as some fruit over by the salad area.

The food itself was typical for a buffet. I hate buffets due to all the food tastes like they are blended and typically bland and this buffet did not fail me here.

We get the bill and there is a 20% tip automatically added on. For a petty of 3 for a buffet!!!! $36 tip for bland food we had to get ourselves! Then to top it off they had an extra tip area. No where on anything did they mention tip being added on. Because it was Christmas Day I didn’t question this but I hope since it was pre added our attendee got it. I can’t call him a waiter since he literally brought us nothing but water. The bartender or bar runner brought...

Staying at Riverside so decided to have dinner here on our travel day. Menu is fairly limited, but food is good, my husband jambalaya, though very light in color was very flavorful with a nice spicy kick. Server was lovely, friendly and helpful and they had nicer live music. 5 stars for our server, 0 for the young, obviously very inexperienced manager.

My scallops, which were delicious and well cooked came without any sides, which seemed a little odd as it is an entree. Not even served in a bed of rice. I love Swiss chard so ordered that as my side, a nice addition for only 4.00. The chard was also delicious. Unfortunately, after my second bite, I had a lot of grit in my mouth, like a mouthful of sand. After getting that out of my mouth, I thought maybe it would be okay, so tried another bite and the same thing again. When our server came to check on us I was enjoying my scallops and told her about the chard and that I'd just like it taken off our bill. She was apologetic, asked if we'd like to speak with a manager and I told her no, I understand things happen. All good. Shortly, the manager approached us in a rather aggressive manner, with my swiss chard in his hand. He said he had no problem taking the $4.00 charge off our check, then said " But, I assure you, there is nothing wrong with this chard". We were actually shocked. I guess he thought I came in with sand in my mouth? He brought it back to shower me the no grit? I have no idea why this young man felt he needed to confront me and basically call me a liar, most especially over a 4.00 item.I had moved on and was enjoying my scallops. Until this point we were enjoying our meal. Again, our server apologized, this time for her manager as she had even told him we didn't request to speak with a manager. I rarely send food back, I thought they should know and of course wouldn't expect to pay for it. All handled perfectly and without discomfort by our server. Completely shocking and inappropriate response by the "manager".

A short while later a couple came in, sat down and after perusing the menu, decided for whatever reason to leave. The young man came running after them, after they were outside the restaurant, shouting and asking them why they left, what the problem was! He is sorely lacking in customer service skills. We are repeat guests here and after this rather mortifying experience we will dine elsewhere when we return to The...