Racks Downtown Eatery + Tavern

Unbelievably good restaurant!!! The décor is very elegant and the wait staff friendly but the food is the best part. We had the rock shrimp and a tuna sushi roll as appetizers. Both were good. I had the short ribs with potatoes and cabbage slaw which was a special. It was amazing! The short ribs were very tender and full of flavor. My wife had a lobster salad which was enormous. She couldn’t finish it but she really enjoyed it. They gave a nice portion of lobster. Our friends had the salmon and crab cakes (crab cakes were a special). They both loved their dishes.
The four of us shared 2 desserts: the S’Mores and the blueberry cheesecake. The S’Mores were incredible. We could not get enough of it. The cheesecake was also delicious.
This is a fantastic restaurant. Our friends who live in the area will definitely be back. And this restaurant will be on the top of my wife and I’s list when we visit again.

After waiting over 50 minutes for two apps and the «roasted chicken» we asked to see the manager. We asked how could everyone around us have already EATEN even though they came in after us? What we got back from him was a shrug of the shoulders and blank stare. Calling him a dumb as a box of rocks would be a serious insult to the rocks and the box.
He offered nothing, not even an I am sorry for the delay.
BTW — this was a Tuesday night and they were not really busy and the food was far from worth anything near 50 bucks…

I ordered the trout on the recommendation of the waiter. They brought out a big breaded piece of fish, with what looked like canned vegetables underneath. I don’t believe it was trout. When the waiter asked how our food was, I told him exactly what I have written. He put down the check and walked away. Racks used to be a good restaurant. The fact that they are in Mizner has carried them with the tourists is the only way this place could be open. Your review helps others learn about great local businesses.
Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

One of my favorites. I love that they are so accommodating to what I want. They know what I like (which is not on the menu) and are always do a good job of serving the dish the way I like.

Pretty good place for a quick bite during the day. If you love oysters than have a nice variety from both the west and east coast. The ahi fish tacos were delicious. Even though the menu says there you can order a fourth for a few extra $&&. For our main dishes we had the shrimp Kyoto bowl. Note is a little spicy but it’s awesome. Super wait staff and nice ambiance inside
Definitely would eat here again

By far the best happy hour in Mizner! They offer half price on all of their wines by the glass, half priced spirits, and $ 4 Pints of draft beer. Did I mention buck a shuck oysters? :) Also a variety of great priced bar bites including fresh seafood on happy hour! Very nice dinner menu as well featuring Skuna Bay Salmon (the best), all natural grass fed burgers, Berkshire Pork Chops, Chilean Sea Bass and many other mouth watering items! Service is prompt and friendly.

This food is bad and the managers are asses. I think this place needs a new chef. Overpriced food that is no mediocre. and then they have a ladies night where you get these old broads hanging at the bar and you cant even get a drink … they hang around drink bad booze for free and clog up the bar… drinks are overpriced, food is bad and the chef needs to go back to culinary school…
get that garlic out of that caesar pal and also learn how to cook a burger

Stay away! I went twice last week and the service was good BUT today I went for my third time and not only was the service extremely slow, but there was a bug in my coworkers hamachi. The manager acknowledged that we sat at the raw bar for 10 minutes while it was slow and we did not receive any service, menu, or water. He apologized for that. After his weak apology the service got worse. The manager’s name is Steve and the service was SO BAD that it motivated me to create a Unilocal account and make this post. I told the manager they will never see a dollar from me again and it’s sad because now all the servers are being robbed blind-​folded from future service and tips. Corporate needs to re-​evaluate Steve because he’s making the restaurant look like they’ve never heard of customer service before.

Food was good. truffle fries are amazing. the service was meh, servers were stiff and not attentive.

Honestly the worst service and management around. Being in an area where you have endless choices of restaurants there is no reason to settle for subpar and down right rude service. The patron is the one that creates a successful establishment and without good customer service it is only a matter of time before your doors will be shut for good as well.

For the past couple years we visit Racks when we are in town. Each time we leave disappointed with everything BUT the hamburger. Although overpriced it is good. Don’t waste your time on anything else but a hamburger!

Another Gary racks failure, after trying farm table I was reluctantly convinced to go to «racks» in Mizner. The food is sub par on all levels, the dishes are played out. The hummus was disgusting, I can name 3 store bought brands that are much better. The Kyoto bowl is gross, shreds of cabbage and lettuce with rice? The fish (mahi) tasted good but was by no means fresh at all. The sushi roll was decent but not great. If your gonna spend this kind of money I would stick to houstons or j alaxanders.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back here, and, sadly, what once was a pretty strong restaurant has fallen into pricey pedestrian cuisine. Given the gaggle of Boca beautiful sheeple that largely populate the place on a Saturday night during season, and its proximity to the wildly popular Max’s Grill, they are still riding the wave and laughing all the way to the bank.
Racks’ menu has met places like Salt 7 on the Restaurant for All Seasons battleground by adding a very limited, have-​it-​our-​way Sushi/​Sashimi to its menu. They’ve improved the outdoor seating, but, their choice of darkroom lights in the umbrellas casts a bright red glow which, unless you’re eating tomato soup, really screws with the visual presentation of the food. Star down.
The food itself was expensive and really unremarkable, other than the oysters, which were quite fresh and well prepared. The pizza ordered was soggy in the middle, a no-​no of overloading the pizza with wet items and not cooking it long enough. The Berkshire pork chop is a staple of many of these upscale McEateries, but, unlike Houstons, which aspires to some level of culinary excellence even with its bus-​and-​truck table flipping, this chop was tough, bland, covered with an un-​eye appealing prune topping only made to look worse by the red light, and a small cup of amorphous gravy which could only be considered flavorful by lobotomy victims. Star down.
Atmosphere is a big driver of people into the sheepletorium, but it isn’t backed up by foodie fundamentals. The table service was exceptional, which is Racks strength at most of their different restaurants. Again, though, Gary Rack spends money on his bar but not on great bartenders. The bar was pitiful. The new bar manager, after I mentioned that their inventory in whiskies and bourbons was light, told me that they had several things that I would have enjoyed, but apparently the bartenders (I asked two of them) are so busy slinging mixed drinks off of well advertised swill like Goose that they don’t have much time to learn their inventory, and the waiters aren’t well schooled in it either. Star down.
The bill was high. The quality was low. P.T. Barnum would have loved Gary Rack, the restaurant imprimatur who has discovered the circus phenom’s adage of «There’s a sucker born every minute,» works as well in the restaurant game as it does under the Big Top.

I’m really loving the happy hour options at these high end restaurants. You sit at the bar and get amazing service, half price drinks and a five star meal at a discount (especially if you love appetizers to be your meal).
Yesterday we dropped the kids at ipic and started to walk around Mizner Park. We decided to start with a drink at Racks bar and then decide what to do for dinner. Our bartender was Sam and the other bartender was LA — they understand completely the meaning of great customer service. The minute we were seated we were greeted by Sam who took our order and asked our name. He then explained the happy hour menu to us and the nights specials in case we wanted to order off the regular menu.
The happy hour menu consists of $ 1 oysters, then other options discounted at $ 8, $ 10, $ 12 (which are normally between $ 10-​$ 15). I started with 6 oysters and an order of Parmesan truffle fries to share. Both were great — the fries were too large and very rich we only ate half. Then hubby got a pizza which he topped with roasted peppers and smoked bacon (I tried it and it was delish) then I had a great shrimp cocktail.
Other options on the happy hour menu were ribs, pork tacos, ahi tuna tacos, crab cocktail, regular fries, buffalo chicken fingers, white pizza, and others I can’t remember. Of course you could order anything off of the regular menu as well.
My glass was never empty, and every time he asked if we wanted anything, Sam used our name — which I thought was cool. (And probably very welcoming if you’re there alone — and there were several people that were)
Yes, we could’ve sat down and gotten stuffed on a big heavy dinner for probably the same money but I prefer the vibe at the bar.

I’ve been coming to Rack’s for the better part of 4 or 5 years, probably… We used to come for drinks when I worked on East Palmetto, and order a few dozen oysters and run up huge bills. We were young and crazy.
Now I visit because it’s a nice spot to take out of town guests. The atmosphere is fun, and the menu has something for everyone. I order the warm goat cheese arugula for lunch sometimes because I work so close again. The wait staff is attentive and they all know the menu like the back of their hand, offering alternatives to certain ingredients, and making the concession for anyone who wants to «hold the onions.» The hostesses that work the lunch shift are gorgeous and incredibly approachable. Another Downtown Boca Raton staple knocked out of the park by the legend, Gary Rack.
The Ahi Tacos are also out of this world and at a manageable bite size, they aren’t leaky and all over the place like most tacos! Makes it nice when you’re there for happy hour on a date, or trying to impress colleagues with your ability to put food to face and not make a big mess on your button up. I recommend those.
I was in town for a wedding in October, with a guest from London, and I took my Mom and Sister and my guest here for dinner on the 13^th, a Tuesday. We had a round of salads and sushi rolls and a few other smaller shareable dishes. My guest knocked her wine glass straight to the floor, breaking the glass and causing a big spill on the thoroughfare between the bar and the row of booths. Our waiter was quick to get supplies to clean up the glass and wine, and despite having perhaps ¹⁄₃ of the glass left, and being on dessert course, still brought her a new wine, at no charge. It’s the little things like this that make me fond of certain restaurants, and it’s the service, and ambiance at a place like Rack’s Downtown Eatery + Tavern that will keep me coming back whenever I’m in town.

We stopped by on our way back from the Las Olas Art Festival. We were seated outdoors which was nice. It was as mid afternoon and although busy it was not overly so. Then we waited. And waited. Five minutes pass and finally someone brings us water and tells us someone will be with us shortly. 10 minutes go by. Then 15. Many employees in aprons walk past us. At this point we get up and leave, but not before my wife has a word with the manager who is very apologetic. He offers to comp us. We decline.

We were mulling around Mizner and decided to give Racks a shot since we usually hit up Kapow, Yardhouse and Dubliner. Tucked away in the back by Villagio, it has great décor, ample outdoor and indoor seating as well as a double sided bar. Even though it was busy we were seating outside very quickly by a friendly host. It kind of all went down hill from there. The waiter was irritating from the start. We were waiting on another friend but told him off the bat that we would order cocktails and a starter. The drink menu is a couple of pages long, so we took some time to look them over. His approach when he returned was like he was rushing us, we ordered two drinks, mine was so nondescript I can’t tell you what it was. But, my friend ordered the «Racks take on the moscow mule», this became the achilles of the night. The server then asked to take my friends ID to the bar, because of security issues with people stealing the copper mugs and they are $ 40 each. At first we thought it was a joke, and laughed it off. He took the ID, returned it, and then shortly after the drinks arrived. We ordered the mediterranean starter, an average mix of pita, hummus, kabouli, olives and eggplant — kabouli was the best bit, and I was little ravenous so it probably tasted better for that reason.
The waiter kept walking by and looking at the copper mug, sometimes without even covering up with asking us how the food was or if we needed anything. We ordered mediocre entrees, I got the coal fire pizza, margherita with prosciutto. It wasn’t anything special. We asked for the check and made a joke that we’d like to keep the copper mug and is it included in the bill? The waiter seemed to get so nervous and agitated that I had to reassure him we would not be taking the stupid mug! Then to top it off, he walks by to go to another table and looks as my friend with the drink and motions the «I’m watching you» with his fingers. That was the final straw with the whole, we-​are-​ordering-​this-​drink-​to-​steal-​the-​mug, insinuation. We got the check, my last comment to him was that copper mugs can be found at TJMaxx for $ 12, if its such a problem, don’t serve in them?
PS: Racks in Delray is much better anyway, plus I’ve never been harassed there.

I fully expected to love this spot however it wasn’t just one thing that had me walking away saying, «Well that was disappointing…» it was a few things.
I didn’t have super high expectations for the $ 1 oysters on the happy hour menu. They were definitely sandy.
I was excited to try some ceviche as I have not found any I loved since moving here. What they served was not even close to a ceviche. It was basically a shrimp cocktail without the cocktail sauce. The octopus one was better but still not a traditional ceviche dish.
Although the patio area and décor is very nice, it was a challenge to get my tab moved from one area to another as if this was something they never did before.
I also had to ask for my credit card back twice since I had paid cash and only had my card on file to hold my tab open.
The happy hour shift of bartenders were good but once it started to get later in the evening service was not as good.
Overall I won’t make this a top spot to stop back at unless it is for one drink while shopping around Mizner Park.

Let me start by saying our server was incredible! Wish I would have remembered his name, he was a bald guy that mentioned he was a vegan. Extremely knowledgeable and honest about the menu which I tend to really appreciate. He was very helpful with recommendations, even brought out a sample of sauce to let my fiancé try the bolognese before she actually ordered it… glad he did that it was not that good and over loaded with rosemary. I had the NY strip steak special and it was decent, not really good or great, just decent at best. We had the lobster mac n cheese for an appetizer and it was very bland. Enough that I was trying to dress it up on my own to fix it but to no avail. Nice location, great service but not food I’d drive back for all in all.

This is my new favorite place in Boca !
Make sure you ask for Lance.
His service is beyond spectacular!
Had the sushi and Salmon both were great.