YOT Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

I don’t know what happened, but this is not the same place that it use to be. First, we were walked to a filthy table. And I mean obviously filthy, like someone had just gotten up from the table. We saw an open table and asked the hostess if we could sit there. We were told that table was reserved. When we asked the other hostess, she said it was no problem to sit there. Pulled the chair out to sit down and guess what. Dirty. Of course. The hostess wiped the chair and table and we were good to go, I thought. Our waitress was very nice, but explained that some of the menu items had changed, but the changes hadn’t been made to the actual menu yet. Not a huge deal, except she started telling me that the items I wanted to order were the items affected. Also, they were out of steak for the steak & eggs. We ordered something to drink & decided to think it over for a while. I ordered water & orange juice. The orange juice wasn’t even good. It was barely below room temp and tasted like it had been left out overnight. I don’t know how you can mess up orange juice, but here we are. Anyway, the water was fine. My girlfriend ordered wasabi shrimp salad & I got the chicken & waffles. The menu said it came with bacon, but it was actually bacon pieces (about the size of chopped shoe strings). They tasted fine, just not what I was expecting. The chicken on the other hand, barely edible. It tasted like the breading was seasoned instead of the chicken. Also, it was overcooked & completely dry. On top of this, it was chicken “pieces”. Not the end of the world, but again, not what I was expecting. The pieces were a little larger than the size of dice. At this point I was ready to leave, but my girlfriend was still eating her salad. Oh! I almost forgot. My girlfriend asked for another cup of dressing for her salad. It took forever and was finally brought out just before we left. I was completely over everything at this point. The chicken & waffles was taken off of my bill. I ended up having just one, singular glass of water. That’s because it was...

This is the second time that I’ve been to this restaurant and had a terrible experience. I’m not one for writing negative reviews, but just felt I should share this for the just in case someone goes there to celebrate a special occasion. I went there last night to celebrate my birthday with two very close friends and my daughter and the service was sloppy and food was not very good. I ordered a filet mignon and asked it to be prepared medium and it came out well done. At first, I didn’t want to be a pain or wasteful so tried to keep it but ended up sending it back because it was flavorless and not what I asked for. The restaurant manager looked at it and had it remade, but the second steak was prepared, medium well, and was very tough as if they Prepared it from frozen. It didn’t taste fresh at all. Given that I had already spent so much time waiting for my food, I just kept it and didn’t say anything. I also ordered Mac n cheese and fires for my daughter and they brought out Mac n cheese and mandarin oranges which isn’t a big deal, but just annoying that I constantly had to flag my server down because something was wrong. Even when I ordered a glass of wine, there was fresh lipstick marks on the glass. I had to flag him down once again, and show him and not only that, we were sitting at a high top in the bar area and my server didn’t give us happy hour pricing on the glasses of wine. He charged us for the most expensive glasses without even asking me. The pre-busing of the tables was nonexistence. I had to take my dirty dishes and put them on the table next to me. When the server gave me the check, he did comp the calamari and the bowl of ice cream, which I thought was comical as it was my birthday and most establishments offer some kind of a dessert. Anyway, I do not recommend this spot to locals, unless they just want to sit at the bar, have a cocktail, and enjoy the atmosphere . The only thing that’s good about YOT is the...

Two weeks ago, I discovered a recent debutante restaurant sensation in Pompano named South Bar and Kitchen to learn that it is part of the SFL Hospitality Group owned by Mike Lender, and I learned that they also operate our acclaimed Canyon restaurant and YOT Bar ad Kitchen at 2015 SW 20th St, Ft laud. A quick Google, YOT pictures seduced me.

Today, a visiting friend on business suggested lunch, and YOT immediately sprang to mind. We joined at noon.

Set in the Safe Harbor marina haven on the New River, YOT's ambiance is impressive, remarkable, and amazing, reminiscent of the Boatyard restaurant on 17th St Causeway, but in a more laid-back setting. We opted for the outdoor lower deck under a sunny sky, shaded by blue patio umbrellas, embraced by a constant cool breeze, and surrounded by a fleet of mega-yachts worth over $2 billion. It was a moment of humility in the face of such opulence.

The cuisine was consistently excellent. As a light drinker, I opted for iced tea, while my friends went for the watermelon mojito. We shared an Italian-meaty flatbread for an appetizer, followed by a grilled chicken sandwich with F-fries, a sautéed shrimp Caesar salad, and my choice—a delicious seasoned fried shrimp sandwich on a hot dog bun with F-fries. Overall, a delightful experience, though the only critique would be the dry hot dog bun (it wasn’t toasted, just dry).

YOT has proven to be a worthy venue, and I'm excited to introduce it to my local foodies and my snowbird friends this winter season.

Situated within a manned, gated business compound, YOT provides limited open parking (other spaces reserved for marina workers or visitors). However, they offer complimentary valet service. Expect average menu prices ranging from $18-25, excluding drinks, tax, and gratuity. Unfortunately, unaware, I had my phone camera on a different setting and some of my photos...