Historic Downtowner Fort Lauderdale

by South Florida Eats · Published April 20, 2016 · Updated June 30, 2018

The Historic Downtowner: 10 S New River Dr E, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Our friends took us out for a nice leisurely boat ride and since we all got a little hungry we decided to stop at a downtown staple, The Historic Downtowner. This place is located right on the river across form Las Olas Blvd. on the south side of the river. There is plenty of water frontage where you can dock your boat. If you are going to drive, parking can be an issue, especially during some of the high profile sports games as this place will get packed. You can choose to eat inside which is a sport themed restaurant with a huge bar. Or on a nice day you can eat outside dockside and watch the various boats go up and down the water way. It’s even fun to watch the water taxi. This is one of the stops when you take the water taxi, which can help save the aggravation of parking.

As for the food, there were four of us on this day and here is the breakdown. We had a Caesar Salad that included Grilled Blackened Shrimp. It was full of flavor and is perfect for those looking for something a little lighter. Next up was a monster of a Taco Salad. There is a huge portion of perfectly seasoned ground beef, a healthy portion of cheese, lettuce and all the rest of taco fixings. This was all is a large tortilla bowl that was perfectly crisp. Next we tried the Philly Cheese steak. As someone who lived in Philly for many years, I am always cautious of getting one outside of the city of brotherly love. However I was pleasantly surprised at how juicy and flavorful it was. The onions were grilled to perfection, they use a nice cut of meat, shaved rib eye. The hoagie roll is toasted and has a nice garlic hint to it which really enhanced the sandwich. You also get a side of fries with it; however I am not a fan of how they cook their french fries. They kind of remind me of beer batter which I am definitely not a fan of. Last but not least, we had the Fish Tacos. There were 3 that came served nicely with a side of rice. The fish was nice and flaky and included the normal taco fixings in flour tortilla shells. This is definitely a fun place and great for outdoor eating when it is not too hot outside.

Pricing: $$ – lunch, $$$ – dinner