Tropics Restaurant and Piano Bar
Tropics Restaurant and Piano Bar: 2000 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
UPDATE: This restaurant has been closed since July 2017: Check out the restaurant that has opened in its place: https://sfleats.com/the-grille-on-the-drive/
Tropics has been around for well over 20+ years and has become a staple on the drive in Wilton Manors. In the past seven years it has gone through about four different owners. The latest owners used to own Bill’s Filling Station and George’s Alibi for several years. They have a long background in managing bars and restaurants in the LGBT community. You will sometimes see two of the three owners walking around the bar and restaurant greeting people and seeing how they are doing. The decor of this place has not really changed in at least the past 10 years if not longer. So if you are expecting fresh and new, then you will be disappointed. That being said, we frequent this establishment often as one of our favorite watering wholes. The clientele is about 90% gay and 10% lesbian or straight. The mix of older and younger with the majority being part of the older crowd. This is a very welcoming place and is known for it’s brunch. They also serve lunch and dinner and you can eat at the bars. There are three different bars centrally located throughout the place, and in the middle room you also have the piano for entertaining music. The music can be loud in the bar area, but you don’t hear it as much in the restaurant.
Tropics Specials: Monday is their 10 entrees for $10 each, Tuesday is 2-4-1 entrees, Wednesday – Prime Rib 8oz / Baby back ribs, Thursday – Brisket night, Friday and Saturday – open menu, and Sunday Brunch from 10:30am-2pm.
We had not eaten here in a long time as the food used to be very bad. I would not have wished it on my worst enemy. So when some friends of ours asked us if we wanted to join them for Sunday Brunch, we were a little on the cautious side when accepting since we did not know what to expect with the new owners and their chef. But accept we did. We ended up with a table for six. You get your choice of two Bloody Mary’s or Mimosas with your buffet breakfast. It was split down the middle with three of us having the Bloody Mary and three having the mimosas. The nice thing is that they were not watered down, and you got a good amount of alcohol in them. We descended upon the buffet like a hungry pack of wolves. They had an amazing amount of choices as the buffet pretty much takes up the middle room almost completely. There was an omelette station which could make up to three omelettes at a time. You could choose from ham, bacon, onion, tomatoes, cheese, green peppers, and mushrooms to put in your omelette. Alongside this station was a carving station with ham and roast beef. You have your traditional breakfast items of eggs benedict, scrambled eggs, tater tots, home fries, bacon, hash, and sausage. You had your various fruits, pastries, bagels, and toast. Then you have some things that are more geared towards lunch like grape leaves, shrimp, capers, lox, pork and onions, shredded chicken with the hint of curry and rice, seafood, and several other items. We were amazed at how much there was to choose from.
Our whole party agreed that the food was very flavorful, and I think between us all we must have tried just about everything, including the desserts.
Pricing: $ – $$ for lunch and $$-$$$ for dinner depending on what you order
