Hardy Park Bistro

What a pleasant surprise combination of thoughtful and delicious food preparation, artful plating, good big sized portions at reasonable prices. Had a Sunday brunch: I had Salmon Sandwich which I needed to take half home. Well, three of us ordered four entrees because we needed to try the french toast once we saw it coming out of the kitchen, and two of us ended taking portions home. Very accommodating personable wait staff, no rushing us out, we will be back! We were on the patio with a dog and they even brought out a small take out container for water for her. Nice touch!

Great place! Not to big, good atmosphere friendly staff. I had the schnitzel which was amazing… I wll definitely come back!!!

Visited on a Saturday, right at opening time and scored parking right up front. It took me a while to come by because they don’t take reservations. Who wants to wait around for an hour to be seated with so many other dining options?
The restaurant is small and hidden within a neighborhood. Décor is simple, yet the interiors feel quaint as if you are dining in someone’s house. There was no hostess stand. A waitress that happened to be walking by welcomed us briefly and showed us to a table for two. The table felt a little too small. There was barely any room left with just the items on the table (like the candle, salt and pepper, cutlery, glasses, etc.). We had to keep shifting things over to make room as the night went on and plates kept coming.
Within minutes, we received the chef’s amuse bouche; the pumpkin ricotta tart bite was delicious and a great start and preview of what was to come.
THE FOOD
MUSHROOM TOAST poached egg, parmesan and balsamic. VERY GOOD.
GRILLED PORK BELLY soba, cilantro, jalapeño, and soy. VERY GOOD
THAI GREEN VEGETABLE CURRY with tofu, jasmine rice, kaffir lime, and cilantro. So in love with this dish. I was full by then and took the rest home for a glorious next day lunch.
HPB BURGER not the best we’ve ever had, by far, but GOOD.
STICKY DATE PUDDING– GOOD
By the time we left, almost every table was full. There seemed to be a lot of regulars coming in. Overall, I really enjoyed our experience here. The food was solid as was our service. I will be adding Hardy Park to my revolving list of casual Broward go-​to restaurants (even if it means coming at opening time to sit immediately). Really interested in trying brunch next…

I had high expectations. Reading reviews and in our first impression when we walked in. Place is lovely staff was nice. But food a little overpriced for what they serve (I would mark down $ 5 to $ 9 each dish).
Bread basket was nice, mussels were awesome and not traditional. Full of flavor. Totally recommend.
I saw online that they had pig ear salad and I was so excited to try it!!! When I order it, the waitress understood beet salad, we corrected her saying pig ear… And I ended up eating the beet salad. She never had it right. It was ok, but it was a regular salad with beats on it. :-(
Then I order the lamb pie or shapers lamb pie… Again it was ok. Nothing special.
And my husband had the burguer cause it had such awesome reviews!!! Saying that it was the best burguer in Florida… It wasn’t. It was a regular burguer. Not too much flavor. The whole thing was super tall but full of lettuce.
Wine prices were high «maybe expensive mind blowing selection»… Not.
I wanted to give them 2 stars… But if they adjust some prices and add more flavor to the food, it’s a cute place to go. Meanwhile we’ll be tasting other new places. :-(I really wanted to love it… I’m sorry guys.

This place is a hidden gem in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. It is small and quaint with white table cloths and impeccable service. I’ve been there 4 times and each time it was superb. The burgers and fries are awesome as are the chicken dishes. I’ve been there for lunch — alone, with 1 other and a table of 8 and every time the food is consistently very good and comes out in a fair amount of time. The prices are reasonable for the quality of the food. I definitely want to come back for dinner and sit on the patio.

WOW! On a cold rainy night what a shining light and belly warming experience. Tuna tartare appetizer was perfect in portion size, plated well and served with the appropriate amount of greens. A salad of pan seared sweet potato (or maybe they were yams) mixed with a fatty bacon and greens and a little quail egg on top — a meal in itself. Dont’ miss out on the desserts, listed up on the wall… I opted for the saffron infused pear — PERFECT, served with cardamon ice cream (didn’t taste the cardamon, but rich and perfect consistency), and a slice of pound cake that was crumbly and perfect sweetness and richness to match the ice cream and the pear. I think I would go back and have 2 more of these desserts alone.
Only one staffer on duty, but I was also the only customer that night. Attentive, smiling and knowledgeable of the menu and specials, the wait staff knew to ask the right questions and checked in at a comfortable pace, no rush, no pressure, but it felt like I was being attended to.
The place is small and cozy, sparsely decorated, but packed filled with tables, it probably gets pretty loud in there during peak service time.
Only one comment to the staff if they read this… be mindful that when there is only one person in the restaurant, that person can hear EVERY word you are saying in the kitchen through the big opening in the wall… EVERY word.

What a refreshing change from the usual tourist restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. Hardy Park Bistro, nestled in a quiet neighborhood that you’d never find on your in a million years. They have it down! A fantastic diverse menu with simple healthy options to classic French-​influences classics (beef tartare and duck confit).
The wine list is also one of the best you’ll find for the sub-​$ 50 price point in Florida. They don’t markup the wines nearly as much as most places and the quality for value is very high.
The service is also excellent. Smart advice, attentive service and good pacing.
Get there before 7:30/8 to have a good chance of not needing to wait because they don’t accept reservations. But so far the longest wait would only be 20 – 30 mins. and often there is none. Just go!

This place exceeds expectations every time. The food is just exquisite.

*Unbelievably* good! Go there now. Seriously. Now.
My husband and I were in Florida for Thanksgiving. His mother and stepdad live in Ft. Lauderdale and his brother and his family are also in the area. We wanted to get together with whoever was available for lunch before we left town. Having lived in Chicago for decades, I’m very spoiled when it comes to restaurants, and I’d despaired of ever finding a place in Florida that I really loved. I saw the reviews of Hardy Park; not only were they great (except for the one loser who couldn’t get over his undercooked burger), but the restaurant is only a few blocks from my mother-in-law’s home. I am hap-​hap-​happy to report that I have finally found my go-​to Florida spot!
As noted by others, it’s an unassuming, smallish place, but the ambience is quite nice (well, once the very loud lawyer at the next table departed). My husband and I met his mom and brother there and had — seriously — the best meal I’ve ever had in Florida. For *lunch*, no less. (Will definitely return for dinner on our next visit.) My husband and brother-​in-​law split the special burger of the day (portion sizes are more than adequate). My mother-​in-​law got the grilled haloumi on ciabatta. And *I* just had to get the pork belly sandwich. Every blessed bite of everything was perfect. Including the fries. Everyone raved about their meals. The wine list was also perfectly nice and wasn’t stupid expensive.
We decided to share a couple of desserts. They had a special that day — a poached pear with a scoop of ice cream — that I just had to get. I don’t even remember what the other dessert was because that pear and I were too busy bonding. *And* because the pear apparently was supposed to be accompanied by a slice of pound cake, but they were out of it, they threw in a complimentary chocolate mousse. (Mom-​in-​law kept telling me how out of the world that was and how I simply *had* to try it, but I was too busy hogging that damn pear.)
Finally, our server, John, was not only knowledgeable about the menu and wine list, but also quite normal. (I don’t care for the «How are we enjoying our meals?» approach to serving.)
Can’t wait to go back!

Since my first review almost a year ago, I’ve been back to Hardy Park 5 or 6 times and can happily report that it’s become one of my favorite restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, along with the various friends and guests that I’ve brought along with me over time.
First and foremost, I stand by my initial assessment that Hardy Park has the best burger in Fort Lauderdale (and their accompanying fries might be ranked highly up there as well). The menu varies from time to time and we’ve enjoyed everything from an amazing grilled pork chop to an unusual, but delicious, braised short ribs with coconut rice. Brunch on the park is also pleasant.
Service has improved greatly since my first night. I always find it pleasant, attentive and knowledgable.
I always forget that they are open for lunch and should drop by one day for that amazing burger. My suggestion is that you put it on your list ASAP.

What a pleasant delight Hardy Park Bistro turned out to be for me. First off, it sort meets the modern day classical definition of a bistro, being small, unpretentious, with a laidback atmosphere and a really good rather creative menu offering of food; like there aren’t that many places serving up a grilled pork belly with goat cheese and onion jam. I has both indoor and outdoor patio dining and at noon hour can become rather crowded as it seems to be one of the favorites of downtown office workers to meet for lunch. Parking can also be problem though there is an electronic paystation parking lot nearby which oddly enough is posted with signs stating that even those with handicapped parking stickers must also pay or end up with their cars towed or wheels locked.
Besides their menu they also usually have several specials of the day. I opted for one of their specials, the Australian Burger along with a glass of wine. My table service proved to be outstanding, top notch and professional in a most pleasing manor.
When my Australian Burger arrived, I just about went into shock over the size of it. In one word, HUGE! However, perfectly done as ordered, enhanced with onion, tomato, beets, lettuce and I think an onion jam. Though it turned out to be a $ 16 burger, I thought well worth it, and look forward to returning to their pleasant surroundings and enjoying some of their creative menu listed dishes.

Oh so happy and pleased to find this gem. It’s off the beaten path and so nice and easy to get to. Parking is easy and it felt good to not have the crowds. It’s only going to stay special that way.
Stand alone sweet building. Charming outside but we chose indoors because humid weather.
Pros: great location, great food, great atmosphere, fabulous wait staff (Erika), white table cloths, menus spot on, décor clean
And bright, price is fair, good wine and beer choices, meat fish chicken or no meat your choice.
Cons: a bit warm inside, a bit noisy (sat night), no reservations.
See… Everything works here.

Read all the great reviews and came up from Miami to have lunch with my friend about a week and a half ago – both of us were excited to try it. We both ordered the burger, I ordered mine just above medium, and he ordered his medium. After the waitress left, I saw the BLT on someone else’s plate and quickly realized I had made a mistake. It looked delicious, so I flagged her down before she placed the order and asked if I could change it. She said that was fine, and did so with a smile… at this point.
When the food came, we were going to split both sandwiches, but his burger came out medium rare, to the point where even he could barely eat it. We flagged her down, told her it was undercooked, and her pleasant demeanor changed to highly annoyed, and she snapped «It’s medium!» She didn’t even look at the burger to see if it was cooked properly.
I assume she thought I was being a picky customer because I originally ordered a burger between medium to medium-​well, and then cancelled it for the BLT. But I took a picture to prove my case, and have included it here – my friend’s burger was definitely medium rare, if not rare. It was so rare, he didn’t even enjoy it and took half of it home. I enjoy a medium burger if it’s good, but I can’t stomach a medium-​rare burger. He told me that even if it had been cooked medium, that there wasn’t much flavor. I don’t know because I never tried it. We should have just gotten up and left after being barked at, in retrospect.
The baguette BLT and fries were good, but at this point I was so pissed off, I didn’t enjoy the meal, and both of us barely spoke a word for the rest of the time. The waitress sensed we were pissed and avoided us for the rest of the meal, even when my friend tried to flag her down. We didn’t see her again until the check was presented, at which point she was all smiles like nothing happened.
She seemed pleasant at first, and maybe she was having a bad day, but she ruined our lunch. Next time someone says a burger is undercooked, don’t assume they’re a pain-​in-​the-​ass customer, and actually look at the burger.

Really cute restaurant across from Hardy Park in Ft Lauderdale.
I came for an early dinner (yep) with my husband and baby, found out they opened at 5:30, it was 5pm when I asked the waiter setting up if I can eat earlier.
He replied back with he could get us waters and drink menu and wait the extra time outside wherever we choose to sit. Glad he did, we were going to find another spot and leave this place bookmarked ;)
Out came two lemon ice waters. My man just got a Stella, I took some photos and before you know it, out came the menus and everything sounded great.
The waiter brought out complimentary deviled egg sundried-​tomato, hummus topped with micro greens. Wow just incredible flavor I need to come back just for these eggs!
The bread basket was brought out too and was delicious Grain bread with Seeds and butter on the side.
We decided on the prosciutto and grilled peaches on toast with raclette (one of my fav cheeses perfectly melted) and arugula. Out came out with a sharp knife to cut and share. I cut the grilled peach as well to be able to eat it, it was jam-​like. Thick pieces of prosciutto, a great combination to indulge. I’m going to try to recreate something like it on my Labor Day trip it was that impressive.
Burgers kinda day for us and there was one burger on the menu the HPB burger medium. It was huge, hard to figure out how to eat it. Unfortunately for us this is when the food went downhill. It was a good big bun.
The meat had little seasoning, was dry, and we found out we are not fans of tomato chutney. The fried onions were just that — onions (yes I food skin too) that were fried, not onion rings. I’m sorry Damon D, should I have ordered medium rare?
The fries were fresh cut and you can tell home made and they were great.
Our waiter said it was his third day working and I thought he was a veteran. Great friendly service, cool vibe, I enjoyed the music too.
Five stars easy in just the appetizers here alone, I need to come back and try something else.

With twelve meals here, I’ve sampled much of the regular menu at HPB. (I’d probably have tried everything by now if I didn’t order the burger every second visit.) I love how they keep the menu so simple and offer such interesting specials. Sometimes dishes don’t work as well on the plate as they do in prose, but HPB absolutely nails it nine out of ten times. The menu is spot on and the service has been excellent with only two exceptions in recent memory.
Please try:
— the HPB burger
— the pork chop
— the pork belly sandwich
— the BLT
— any fish special

Our original plan was to visit a BBQ place in Sunrise. But when we got there, we were told that they were out of ribs at the time and chicken is all they have available. We really wanted to try their ribs because we read many good reviews about them. Since we did not want to have just the chicken, we need to switch to plan B, and luckily Unilocal!was there for the rescue.
We started searching for restaurants and all the bookmarks we made in the area. And there it is, we found Hardy Park Bistro. I don’t exactly know why we bookmarked this place for so long but never really pull the trigger to pay a visit. And I wished I would’ve come sooner.
Hardy Park Bistro is a petite restaurant with a nice clean and modern décor. There were a few street tables and a few more inside. I think there might be 20 tables or less in total, but I like the feel of it. And when the restaurant is cozy, you’d expect to get personal attention and exceptional service. And that’s exactly what we received in our visit. Our waiter was very polite and very attentive. The dishes we ordered came pretty quickly, you really can’t do much better than that.
The food was excellent. For starters we ordered the Salmon Cake. The cake looked like crab cakes it was lightly breaded outside with salmon inside. The salmon was warmed but not dry. I think a little salt or acidity could really give the dish more flavor. It does tasted a little bland.
As for entrees, there were several things I’d really like to taste. But when I saw they were serving Duck Confit as one of the specials for the day, I knew I had to try it. Boy, it was probably the best Duck Confit I’ve ever tasted. I love the taste of the skin and how it was cooked, and the meat had a very nice flavor. Most of the time when I ordered this dish, they seemed overcooked. But this dish was cooked with just the right temperature. I got two duck legs and I could hardly finish them both.
Finally the desert. I went with the Sorbet Trio, and the flavors were raspberry, coconut and apricot. The coconut tasted very light and refreshing, but I find the other two flavor were a bit sour for my taste.
Overall, it was a great visit. I really like the feel of this restaurant. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent and the price is reasonable. Come back for more? Of course!

This is one of Fort Lauderdale’s best kept secrets. It’s a hole in a wall type of operation and appears family run; completely understated and unpretentious in a classy way. The restaurant is located In what could be an old house. We sat on the patio that was filled with people of all ages.
The service is super friendly and prompt. We were brought a menu that screams farm-​to-​table, organic, wholesome, grass fed, antibiotic free, etc. Nothing seems processed here. It was 1pm On a Saturday and we got what appeared to be the brunch type menu.
I had an amazing fresh gaspaccio cold soup to start; followed by the fruit plate with flame broiled chicken and sirred salmon. It was out of this world: my plate had fresh cut and sliced kiwi, mango, blood oranges, pineapple, berries and melons. The meat was cooked to perfection and Tasted amazing; talk about a high protein low carb goodness after a heavy workout, yum! My friend indulged with a breakfast on a bun plate which consisted of a fresh baked ciabatta bun filled with scrambled eggs, thick cut bacon, sausage and filling with home fries.
I took a sneak peak in the kitchen and it looked like my grandma’s. Everything looked clean, fresh just like the food brought to the table.
This hole in a wall is definitely my goto place in FLL, can’t wait to return!

A hidden gem for sure.
I pulled up and it’s gorgeous. Beautifully lit up and has a patio where you can sit out and have a glass of wine or a cup of coffee with somebody. This is definitely a small place-​not somewhere where the waiter is going to be swamped and forget about you.
Walked right in and sat down around 8:30 — 8:45 and saw that the menus were printed on regular thick paper. To me, this means that their regular menu, not just their specials, rotates on a daily basis. This is the mark of a good chef to me showing that they use fresh stuff that they either ship in daily or go grab what’s local and fresh. I love this. The specials that they had were fantastic as well. Apparently one that is a big seller is an octopus salad but that’s a tad too ripe for my liking even though I do appreciate sushi.
I have a tendency to let waiters at places like this «decide for me». The salad that I had as an appetizer was fabulous. It was either a tuna steak or some other fish on top, beautifully dressed and flavored. Then there was corvina (fish) and short ribs for dinner-​and neither even needed a knife. They both melted in your mouth. Complementing perfectly with the wine I picked, and our waiter was fabulous.
Even though they close early, there was no rush on kicking us out. They weren’t pushing the check our way, still being just as courteous asking if we wanted dessert (no, thanks, I was plenty stuffed) then once we did take care of the bill, invited us to stay as long as we wanted. I appreciate this as a customer but as a former waitress I wasn’t going to be rude and stay the whole night :) I also like the way they presented the check in a wine glass. That was a cute touch.
I will absolutely come back here. For one, they had a fabulous wine selection, which for me is a must. And secondly, it looks like you can come fairly regularly and not have the same thing twice. That’s the whole point.

Finally found an excuse to check out Hardy Park, being that I was in the area and it was raining and didn’t want to drive far for dinner (my original plan had me going to Lincoln Rd).
Truth is I had heard amazing things about Hardy Park Bistro but wasn’t that impressed when I sampled their food at New Times Pairings. After hearing more and more rave reviews I figured it was finally time to give in and try them, and assumed that perhaps the New Times Pairings was just too overwhelming for them. Hey, I get it, I can cook easily for 2 – 4 people, but put 10+ in my house and I’m overwhelmed!
Ok, so here’s the low down, Hardy Park Bistro is, you guessed it, across the road from Hardy Park lol. It’s in a bit of a strange secretive location and you’d never know a restaurant was there unless you frequently drive down these side roads. Good news is — there is lots of metered parking.
It was a Friday night at 7pm, prime dining time, but luckily there were quite a few tables open and we were able to squeeze in. The table for 2 that we dined at was tiny though, and we had to keep juggling plates and glasses around the table.
After selecting a bottle of wine for less than $ 40 we started off with two quiche bites sent compliments of the chef! Nice touch!
We were able to decide on our two starters quite quickly and put them in while we thought about entrees. Keep in mind the menu is quite small with maybe 5 – 6 choices in each section with 2 specials on the board for each section… and then a board full of desserts — maybe 5 selections there as well.
We started off with two apps on the menu — the tapas platter and the mussels in green curry sauce. Despite our diets we had also happily munched through all the bread that was brought to the table to start, so I asked for a new basket to soak up all that curry goodness! Both apps were great, though the tapas plate could have included a few more crackers or the like.
For entrees I went with the crispy skin salmon (a special) served with apple slaw, potatoes, white asparagus and an herb oil. Flavors were excellent and were definitely enhanced once you soaked everything in that herb oil! My dining partner selected the pork chop and loved it — said it was cooked perfectly and indeed the bite I had was.
Then it came down to the dessert. I knew a fight would ensue because I wanted the bread pudding and he would want the flourless chocolate cake, but luckily (not for me) they were out of the bread pudding and the decision was made for us. The best part about this dish — the pistachio ice cream, which perfectly complimented the cake. Oh and it was huge! Definitely big enough to split between 4 people, we couldn’t finish it. We also chose another dessert which was an espresso shot and a side of vanilla ice-​cream.
Honestly, I can’t wait to come back. I love these types of hidden gems, and having it so close to my house makes it even better. The service was great, and the overall meal was delicious. Can’t wait to try their brunch!

I had the most delightful dinner last night @ Hardy Park Bistro, I had never heard of this little gem until the Food and Wine Festival, they had a booth and were serving a delicious light salad, I don’t care much for salads but I couldn’t get enough of theirs, I bookmarked the restaurant right away and knew I wanted to try more stuff from Hardy Park. Well, last night I finally had the opportunity to go for dinner and well, it was phenomenal.
First off the setting, its a small restaurant across the street for a small park called Hardy Park, in a very quiet street, there is an outdoor front seating area beautifully decorated with string lights, As we were approaching the front a gentleman promptly greeted us and offered us our seating options, we opted to seat al fresco and enjoy the beautiful setting, the server took our drink orders right away. Shortly after he delivered our drinks he served us 2 veggie croquettes, he said it was complements of the chef, very nice touch, they were delicious!
The restaurant is very clean, has a local feel to it and not pretentious like many other downtown restaurants, service was very attentive, friendly and professional. The coke is served in a small glass bottle, iced tea is home brewed. Bread basket served fresh wheat and white bread with a side of soft, spreadable butter. The menu is small, but lots of great options, and very reasonably priced for the quality.
We tried:
— Burrata with Grilled Asparagus, Arugula and Truffle Oil — Outstanding, homemade fresh burrata, may have been the best burrata I’ve ever had. — Heavenly
— Beef Carpaccio with Marinated Royal Trumpets, Arugula and Parmesan — Delicious flavor, generous serving, but the slices were cut slightly too thick
— Pork Osso Buco — with Roasted Carrots. Spinach, Potato Purée and Rosemary — Perfect, the pork was so tender, perfectly seasoned, juicy, tender little roasted carrots, and potato purée was creamy and delicate.
— Cauliflower Soup — with Mushrooms and Parsley Oil — creamy, delicate, delicious
One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, everything was delicious, and service was outstanding, I can’t wait to go back and try other items on the menu.