La Veranda — Restaurant in Pompano Beach

DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU LIKE GOOD FOOD!!!

I would first like to start off by saying that I visited this restaurant while on vacation. I was very excited to visit as the reviews of the food and atmosphere seemed good. I am disappointed to say that I definitely did not receive the experience I was looking for. The first thing i noticed upon entering the restaurant is a strong smell of dirty dish rag / mildew. I figured that it is an old restaurant and tried to look past it. Our waitress came to us about 10 minutes after we sat down and asked for our drink orders. She had no idea what kind of cocktail or drink specials the restaurant had but instead stuttered and slurred over her words. She mostly looked up at the ceiling saying “ummmmmmm” anytime i asked her a question. The only thing she could come up with was an espresso martini as she personally knows the bartender makes them well. The waitress seemed like she was drunk and not 100% present. The drink was good, however my partners whiskey sour was terrible. The waitress then mentioned that she had some of the sour mix in HER drink earlier and also did not like it. Not only did she seem drunk, but she admitted to drinking alcohol while on the clock.

They removed the drink from our bill, however the waitress continued to provide subpar service and was visibly impaired and under the influence. You could also see that she was arguing with the host/manager for the entirety of our stay. We decided to get the food to go as we could not stand to continue being in the restaurant while we eat our meal due to the smell and service. This seemed to really offend the waitress and host/manager whom assumed that we would not be eating our food while it was fresh and therefore it would be no good.

Once we got back to our hotel (about 10-15 minutes later) we immediately started eating. We ordered the fettuccine bolognese and the spinach and cheese cannelloni. The bolognese sauce was not much of a sauce at all and instead a mixture of oil and meat with no red sauce to be found. The smell was also putrid and reminded me of a glorified dog food. The pasta was overcooked, the meat tasted frozen and the meal left me on the toilet all night. The cannelloni was mostly a thick layer of cheese on top with sauce and some spinach and ricotta under the 1 inch covering of cheese. There appeared to be little to no pasta at all. I am assuming this is because the pasta was so overcooked that it practically fell apart in the dish. The dish was also tasteless besides the thick inedible layer of cheese. All I can say is that the food was purely inedible. To pay almost $70-$80 for two inedible pasta dishes is disgraceful.

I was able to deal with the service and smell, however with the food also being terrible i feel incredibly ripped off by this restaurant. The following day i called to inform them what had happened. The gentlemen i spoke to stated that i would be contacted by the owner or manager. The next day i got a call from the manager/host from a no caller id number and he did not seem very understanding of the situation. He seemed focused on what i said regarding the waitresses intoxication, saying that she is a personal friend and that she does not drink in a very argumentative manner. However, she personally recommended the espresso martini to me stating that the bar tender makes them really well and was also able to identify that the sour mix that she put in her drink earlier was no good. Nonetheless, he notified me that the owner would be in contact. It has now been several days later and still no contact from the owner. I feel extremely disheartened and frustrated with this situation.

Please do not waste your money or time at this restaurant. I would have had a more pleasant night cooking for myself or dining at any other restaurant. Wish I would have spent my last night of vacation elsewhere spending my money on a meal i could...

I had been dying to visit this place and I finally did! The outside is so cute with its vines and windows giving the appearance of an Italian home that was dropped in Fort Lauderdale. The back entrance is also very similar to European courtyards entrances which I found charming as it expands on the theme of the restaurant.

I’d say La Veranda stays true to its theme with a very well thought out patio encompassing vines, lights and Italian tiles. It is so cute for pictures and if weather permits I’d say opt in for that option! The inside of the restaurant is split into two sections. The first being the restaurant itself and the second a sort of 1950’s dive bar look which I could only assume is for their jazz nights. There is a juxtaposition throughout the inside of modern and older decor which was very unexpected for me but not unwelcoming.

Our host was quick to sit us and our waiter quickly got our drinks and starters. One thing I noticed is how lacking their glass selection is when it comes to red wines. The options were an Italian bottle I’d never heard of, a Meiomi Noir, and a Josh Cabernet. They were your typical wines so I can’t complain much but I would’ve loved to see more glass options. The bottle selection was plenty though, and I assume that was intended, but a whole bottle would’ve been too much for me since my party was not drinking.

Each table is given a small basket of bread that did not disappoint. The small things were packed with flavor, crunchiness, and softness at the same time. They were toasty with a touch of garlic, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Our antipasti was the cheese platter which came with a blue cheese, and I believe an Asiago and a Manchego? Don’t take my word for it, I forgot to ask what they were. The cheese were accompanied with an Apricot confit which mixed well with everything but the blue cheese itself. I would say I think fig would’ve been a better accompaniment but overall the cheese platter did not disappoint.

Now for the food! My husband got a Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and I got the Bugatini Romana, but this order won’t matter because we ended up liking each other’s and traded dishes. The food was beautifully presented, served with a generous portion size. The Bugatini had a demanding flavor that really called to all the tones of the tomato sauce. The carbonara was even better with the cheesiest body and a subtle touch of saltiness from the pancetta. Although carbonara is usually too salty for my taste I found this one to be the perfect combination of creamy goodness, saltiness and cheese. I would say a touch more of black pepper would’ve topped it but overall that carbonara was splendid (I’m craving more just thinking about it)

After everything, we were too full for dessert but that speaks to the portion sizes which again were perfect.

Now for the negatives. I can’t pinpoint to anything being generally bad. The service was great if not a bit rough around the edges. I assume our waiter was new and a bit nervous but he was very nice. Everyone was very great, overall attentive and the food came out in a timely manner. One thing that I found could use improvement is the music selection. When we were first seated there was this lovely background music playing, something along jazz and bossa nova. Mid-dinner it was replaced by a piano guy blasting pop-music renditions accompanied by what I assume was a speaker also blasting the lyrics. I don’t dislike Adele but considering we were the only party in the restaurant the volume of the music was uncalled for. My husband and I laughed about it but I think maybe a soft jazz would’ve been better suited considering the patio was playing Italian serenades.

Overall, great experience! Next time I will opt for the patio since I want a closet look at the tiles and fountain. I highly recommend this place and their carbonara. Thanks for an awesome experience La...

It pains me to leave a negative review for any business, but you get what you earned. We were a party of 7, celebrating a birthday. 2 of us arrived early and were immediately seated, only to then be ignored for roughly 25 minutes. Our waiter walked back and forth the entire time, catering to every table around us, but not ours. Not even an acknowledgement of our presence. We may as well have been invisible. I had to finally get his attention when other members of our group arrived, and only then did he offer drinks. It then took another 35 minutes for the drinks to come out. And then our waiter vanished, yet again. Didn't ask if we wanted to order appetizers or bring bread until we called him over and asked for them. It was as though we were managing the place, rather than being treated as valued guests. Can anyone explain how a Cesar salad that was ordered with the appetizers (meatballs) takes 45 minutes longer to get to the table than the meatballs? And I had to keep reminding them about it. Did someone have to go to the jungle to hunt down the romaine?

I have no complaints about the food. It was great, when it finally arrived to the table more than 2 hours after we sat down. This is not an exaggeration. In total we were their Hostages for 4 hours. I say Hostages because being there that long was not our choice. The service was so horrible that we were essentially stuck there because again, our entire purpose for being there was to celebrate a birthday. And it's the only reason I didn't get up and walk out after being ignored the initial 25 minutes.

In the end, we get handed a full bill without any advanced acknowledgement of the poor service we received. One would think that someone in management or even the owner, would have come out to personally apologize but instead, we got hit with the full bill with the expectation that we would just lay down and pay it, plus a gratuity of over $200 that was already built into the bill. At that point, being polite was no longer an option. We raised our grievances and the manager came back with an adjusted bill that covered 2 cups of espresso. An absolute slap in the face on a $700 bill, after such an awful experience. We were waiting for the camera crew to come out and tell us we were being pranked. Despite the fact that they further adjusted the bill to a fair amount, we literally had to fight for everything we got in this place from start to finish. Nothing came easy. This is not how to run a business, but they've been around since 1976 so obviously they've done well. My recommendation to the owner, tighten up on your staff and management team and get back to whatever made your business a success, because there's no way you could have gotten this far with the service we, and others at surrounding tables, received. I will certainly never return, nor would I recommend this...