The 43 best casual restaurants in Fort Lauderdale (2024)

This unique place has been here as long as I can remember!Great place for family’s, dates and everything in between!Situated nicely with water views.Seating outside and also inside.Very busy.Don’t be fooled this place is not cheap!We had the king crab legs , very fresh and delicious.Only downside is we had to look for any wait staff, ask for everything and wait , wait and wait !For the prices they change, should be receiving better service!

Three for lunch. Ample sized parking slots and a big lot. Greeted and seated with a table outside. Service was excellent as our drink orders were taken right away. The daughter had the Mai-Mai with fresh vegetables. A very generous serving of both fish and vegetables. The wife ordered shrimp scampi with fettuccine in red sauce. Again, it is a very generous serving with a lot of shrimp. I ordered the Friday shrimp special. Shrimp 3 ways. Grilled shrimp, shrimp in old bay spice, and garlic butter sauce. Cole slaw and potatoes in a bowl. Ice tea for all with lunch. Reasonable prices and quality food.

Amazing restaurant with waterside seating, knowledge servers and delicious food. Went for dinner with my wife and the server seated us at a secluded table at the back of the deck area with a great view of the sunset. Really appreciated that. The restaurant is also located really close to the airport so you can see planes flying overhead. Really cool! Food was great, we had the old bay seasoned peel-and-eat shrimp, fried calamari, lobster bisque, and the crab sampler platter. The seafood tasted super fresh, the fried calamari was probably the best I've ever had but the real star were the crabs as expected. Particularly the Dungeness crab which was super flavorful. Only had a short amount of time on my visit to Fort Lauderdale and I'm so glad I chose this restaurant to eat at, it was an amazing experience!

I thought it was like eating in a high school lunch room cafeteria. The expensive food served in trays was interesting. I suppose that is what the Rustic stands for. We brought our family from out of town and they really liked the Snapper and I liked the Salmon. The Shrimp was also very good as an appetizer. The service was great and so was the food! Next time I visit, I will eat outside.

We really enjoyed it. It was HELLA expensive. Waitress was really nice and talked us through how to order a small steamed crab order to try using the mallets and everything :) . E went there originally to order steak and lobster tail, which we did. We know we like crab, but never did the whole crab mallet thing. We enjoyed it. Food plus drinks was ridiculously expensive. I've heard that this is a bit of a tourist place, despite the "rustic" decor.

We all had a great celebration dinner last night at The Rustic Inn. It was our sons choice to celebrate here. I had my second date with my husband 26 years ago here and we celebrated our son's graduation here with friends and last night we were celebrating our son's marriage to his sweet girlfriend. We had a great dinner and a great time. We had a wonderful server I believe his name was Dave . It can be a little pricey but if you like crab and banging hammers on the table you will love this iconic restaurant!

This place has been around for a while. The fish was fresh. Shrimp and crab were also good. The sides - the potatoes, were bland and way too buttery. This place is a classic but not something I can rave about. Service is average. Drinks are average. It’s a staple in history but aside from the actual seafood, everything else isn’t all that. However, it pays to have some drone fish with some nice outside view of the water.

We went to Rustic Inn for my husbands birthday (with 4 adults + 3 kids) while staying nearby in Hollywood Beach! We were seated quickly, the food was amazing & the service was top notch! I personally loved the stuffed jumbo shrimp & others in our party had lobster, steak & crab, which they all said was delicious! We loved the outdoor seating. You will not regret eating here! An added bonus is that they had someone taking photos at each table & you get a free copy — I’ve attached ours to this review! 😆

We visited for a friend’s birthday it was nine of us. Staff was nice , food and drinks were very good. Conch fritters, fried gator , fried fish, scallops, grilled chicken, co*cktail shrimp, fried shrimp. Only downside is the heat a/c doesn’t seem to be working well for the amount of traffic this place gets.

The food was good and tasted fresh. Steve my server was attentive and gave good recommendations. I did not have the crab legs, but i saw plenty of heaping plates full next to smiling faces. Frog legs were perfectly fried. Everything was well seasoned. The outside area next to the water provided a nice atmosphere. Lots of history on the walls.

Best seafood restaurant in the area! We love taking all of our out of town guests here. Ask for Karen!! She will take great care of you. Crab legs are always cooked to perfection. They have a crab stuffed shrimp platter that is to die for as well. Even the scallops were cooked perfect. 5/5 for sure and a must visit seafood restaurant if you are visiting Fort Lauderdale.

I heard great things about this place. I had to try it. Party of four. Two of us split one dish. The other two each had their own. The prices were high for each of us. I have to say, one of the few times high prices were worth the experience. This place is not fancy, but I don't think upscale table cloths would change anything. Great quality food. Great service. Worth every penny. Our waiter explained everything including how to crack open the various seafood items. The drinks were on point. We all had a great time. Plenty of parking. Clean restrooms. $$$ I will come back.

For appetizers we got alligator & frog legs- never tried frog legs but the texture and taste is like chicken (bone in chicken wing haha). The alligator, if you’ve never had it, has a chicken nugget texture so overall good experience!For our main entree, we got the crab sampler. It has their World Famous Garlic Crab Clusters, World Famous Dungeness Garlic Crab Clusters and Alaska Queen Crab Legs served with parsley buttered potatoes. Had a little bit of everything. This was shared between two people. Everything was delicious- the staff were super friendly. Also kid friendly! Adults; highly recommended their specialty co*cktails- we had the pleasure of ordering the Category 3 Hurricane.

Beautiful restaurant right on the water with delicious seafood! Our waitress was wonderful. She explained the menu and was super accommodating and attentive. The service deserves 5 stars alone. The food was delicious! We ordered the garlic crab sample platter. My favorite was the king crab! Cornbread was really yummy too. They are dog friendly and brought our dogs ice cold water. Definitely would recommend!

Came here with my family and really enjoyed all the seafood! Portions are huge. We started off with two dozen oysters (so fresh and flavorful). My brother and I shared the Alaskan king crab and crab sampler. The crab was fantastic, and we shared quite a big with our family since it was so much food!! The rest of my family shared the seafood pasta and appetizer sampler, which all 6 of them finished together. It was plenty of food for sure!! My family has a huge appetite and we had a hard time towards the end finishing everything!! This place is super fun to come to as a family. Service was great as well.

I can say the garlic crab here is so so good! Must try if you are in the area. We tried lunch combo crab (forget the name) but they should know what it is if you want to order. They only have one lunch combo crab in the menu. It was good! We tried grilled blackened mahi2 wasn't really good and prefer the fried seafood platter. The fried scallops was good. They also have some weekday special that you should check it out. The restaurant itself is unique has a bit of older vibes. They have bar sections but we sat outdoor, was the best decision. We saw some boat come in and out the small river from the sea I guess. And you can actually park your boat to eat there.

We have been hearing about this place since we moved here and decided it was time. I absolutely love this seafood joint. The interior is like you took a step back in time to an old new England clam/lobster shack. Our server, Russell, was on point, made good suggestions, was attentive without being intrusive, so 5* to service. The food was off the chain delish and VERY plentiful, fresh, and cooked to perfection, so 5* for food. The atmosphere was fun and friendly, and everyone around us seemed to be just enjoying life, so 5* for that too! If you've never gone and love seafood go NOW!! Just my 2 pennies🫡

Amazing experience! On vacation with the family (children 7 & 9 years old). We were seated outdoors on the deck. The view was beautiful! Crab leg platter was sufficient and delicious. Calamari, frog legs, and gator tail did not disappoint. The kids even ate some saying it was good! The lobster bisque was a bit disappointing, but the server removed it without hesitation. Of course hitting the mallets on the table was their favorite part. Our server was attentive and on point with all our requests and needs. Will certainly return! Clean facilities. Family friendly. Be ready to spend for all the seafood options.

Went here with my mom and stepdad we always have a good time when we go. The ocean view outside is also very nice and calming. Our waiter Russell is always very friendly and helpful he is always pleasant when we go plus we are always lucky enough to have him as our server. The food was very good and satisfying they give good size portions so you can leave hungry LoL. You can get your picture taken the small picture is complementary but the larger picture you have to pay for. Other than that everything is good here the ribs are great too. Well hopefully if you get the chance to go enjoy it. 😊👍🏼

This place is amazing for me as the first I have been there. Ambient is nice and when you have a birthday to pound the table.Every time when I be there, Dungeness garlic crab is my target. So good, yummy and awesome!The price is kept going up. I'm a bit disappointed. And the service was average.Calm shower soup is the best in here. Highly recommend!There are indoor and outdoor seats. The outdoor deck on the canal, water view. The atmosphere is good.

Good location near airport. We got the crab sampler which was $72 but enough food for 2 people. The snapper was good but not great, big piece but quite oily. We sat outside in the dock area, which was very nice right next to the river.

This place was a fun atmosphere, we sat outside by the water. We ordered the crab sampler and tried the stone crab. Stone crab isn't on the menu so recommend calling ahead to see if they have it. Our server was very nice and attentive. They were able to seat us pretty quickly - within 15 minutes. Would recommend, might be a little high pricing but overall good!

The food and service were great. I am not a frequent seafood connoisseur however this restaurant was good I’d visit again! I got the surf y turf with shrimp stuffed crab, the pasta with lobster muscles and clam and shrimp full order! It was huge!!! Also had a spiked ice tea it was good as well.

Old school crab shack! Coming from the Midwest we don’t have nearly as many seafood options, Rustic Inn fit the bill for great crab. My favorite were the Alaskan King Crab legs and the Dungess Crab. The most popular garlic crab wasn’t a favorite for me personally.Atmosphere was great, we sat right on the water and our server was also excellent!I’d 100% recommend the corn bread also!

Beware of their drinks read post.So we went here for dinner. It is right on the water.. Their seafood is amazing we had. The garlic lobster and Dungeness crab.. Seafood was perfectly cooked. Probably some of the best we've hadWe had 4 drinks, 2 rum and co*kes, 2 Vodka tonics well.The four drinks were more than the seafood dinners. When we asked why the drinks were so expensive. He said they're well Vodka is Gray goose vodka. The bill for just alcohol was over sixty dollars 4 drinks.Definitely get the seafood there. Don't buy any drinks...

We always get the crab sampler when we come hereIt comes with a nice variety and it's so worth itNot shown in the picture, but we also ate dozen oysters and calamari.The calamari I was not a fan of and it was kind of soggy.The oysters were delicious and very fresh and the crab sampler was good.Would highly recommend everything except the calamari.

We were in Fort Lauderdale visiting family for Christmas. One of the places they suggested was Rustic Inn Crabhouse. It’s such a fun place to dine in with your family. My kids had so much.The entrees, if you like seafood, this is the place to be. We ordered only a few entrees but was able to feed 6 people and some. Very big portion.It’s super crowded so arrive earlier to get a table.

This restaurant has everything you could want. A very nice place, delicious food, variety of dishes, excellent service and a beautiful view. We wanted to eat frog legs and crocodile meat and it was really delicious. We weren't very hungry so we ordered a mixed plate which had a good amount of chips, sauces, shrimp, fish and oysters.

Food was delicious! Oysters were gigantic and oh so yummy. Bloody Mary was really good and the service was stellar. Will definitely visit again if we're back in the area.

Danielle! Danielle! Danielle! The absolute best server ever. She made my husband and I dinner exceptional. We ordered the huge crab platter and she cracked our crabs for us. Danielle did the hard work.The food is always delicious that's why we keep coming back!

Had a great time. We ate here in 2022. So we decided to come back. Love sitting near the water. The bisque is my favorite item on the menu.

Outdoor and indoor dining.lively atmosphere.Great for 2 or large groups. Staff very friendly and professional.went for stone crabs and they had them Ala Carte which was great ....a little small for medium but they were good we were able to add them to our meal. definitely will return

According to the guide I found online, the restaurant was open for dining on Christmas Day. It was the perfect opportunity to treat myself after a year of hard work. The staff were incredibly efficient, helping me choose a variety of dishes including lobster, shrimp, crab, and crab legs, all incredibly fresh and flavorful. 🦞🦐🦀Highly recommended!Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Cost: 💰💰💰💰💰

4331 Anglers Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312, USA•https://www.rusticinn.com/•(954) 842-2804•Tips and more reviews for Rustic Inn Crabhouse