Marti’s New River Bistro

Awesome as usual anf the bloody marys and mimosas are only $ 5.00 each! They really care about their customers even the management comes to the table and serves you your food make sure to make this a stop next time you’re in Fort Lauderdale it’s next to the Broward Center enjoy and tell him Lisa and tell them Lisa good sent you

I planned a whole Birthday evening for my dear friend, Sara. We took advantage of the pre-​theater dinner at Marti’s Bistro. The hostess assured me that the restaurant would do something special for my friend to acknowledge her birthday. Our waiter, Josh, was sweet. Unfortunately, not the best waiter. He didn’t bring us bread until I asked why we had a bread knife. We lingered hoping that they were going to do something for her… when it was apparent that no one was coming to our table… we left. I mentioned to Denise that nothing was done regarding birthday recognition, she stated the she was surprised Josh didn’t do anything, and it must be that the woman who was in charge of birthdays was too busy. Really??? Talk about throwing your co-​workers under the bus!!! It is convenient to eat here, the food was good, but don’t expect much from the staff.

Giving the place 4 stars as our waiter Robert was bend over backwards terrific. Made us very welcome. The menu selection was very nice on the prix fixe menu. My first course, buratta was really nice, my second course, salmon, was not, way overcooked and perhaps frozen salmon. My dessert was fine. We had a nice bottle of wine too. I really just wish the fish was better quality.

We went here for brunch today. The weather outside was perfect, so outdoor seating on the water was wonderful! The décor inside is lovely and modern. Even the restrooms were cool! I ordered fish tacos, which were delicious. They were light and well seasoned. My husband ordered red velvet waffles, which sounded amazing on the menu, but were underwhelming in practice. The service was good, although a bit slow. Upon leaving, we learned that the valet was $ 25. They probably should have mentioned this when we arrived, as there is ample parking across the street.

Great option is you want to get dinner before the show. It is located right next to the Broward Theater of the Performing Arts, so it is super convenient. Make sure you make reservations ahead of time because it fills up very quickly. They have a nice terrace overlooking the New River, but you cannot reserve a table out there because it could be close due to weather. However, if weather is good, you can sit outside. That’s what we did last night and it worked out great. Service was excellent and food was also very good. They offer a fixed price menu for $ 39, and you get to choose 1 appetizer, 1 entrée and a dessert. Everything was very well prepared, and the atmosphere was great.

This place is awesome. Great food, super friendly, and attentive staff, and food is off the charts.

We came here for dinner as a family of four pre-​show. The views of the river and trees are top notch, and the décor is modern yet cozy. Service is polite if a bit «casual,» (novice) but sufficient for a small theatre bistro. They start by serving popovers, which were decent but over-​cooked (a few were burned, yet served cold). It’s a Prix Fixe menu, so don’t expect a huge selection (4 apps, 4 or 5 entrees and 3 deserts). Also note they don’t have a kids menu; sort of strange for a theatre that attracts kids with many shows. For apps, the burrata cheese was very tasty, with a balsamic glaze underneath, but the toast was stale and obviously cooked much earlier in the day. The house salad was colorful and full of vibrant items and textures, and a nice large portion. The bison barley soup was a tiny bowl, but packed with flavor.
For main courses, the skirt steak was deeply flavorful and perfectly cooked. The pasta for my young son (they did it with just butter) was a hit, and he loved it (although I did see a number of burned/​dry/​hard strands of pasta; now I am thinking it may have been microwaved — that’s lazy). The real pasta with truffle and mascarpone was a bit too many ingredients in one dish, but it smelled heavenly and we enjoyed the mushroom flavors. The vegan timbale was interesting, although nothing special, with quinoa, butternut squash, roasted chick peas, and a number of other vegetarian stuff.
Overall, it’s a step below other local restaurants, and none of the dishes were worth returning for (except perhaps the skirt steak). The kitchen staff I would guess is full of «cooks» but no real chefs. Still, it’s super convenient before a show and the $ 39 price (including desert) is right on.

Meal was wonderful, service was perfect, the view of the water and the yachts was beautiful.
We went to Marti’s before the show for our 16 year wedding anniversary, and the evening was perfect. The meal is a price fixed menu, however we ordered extra to taste several items. We started off with a soft Mozzarella and tomato dish that I highly recommend. The Salmon cakes were delicious. My wife ordered the Steak and I ordered the sea bass. Both were amazing and flavors were exceptional, however my fish was small and I was glad we ordered extra. We split a egg noodle pasta that was outstanding. Desert was no disappointment, the white cream in a cup (no idea what’s the name) was heaven!!! The waiters Tulio and Joe were outstanding and the manager Jack made us feel as though we were in his home for dinner. We will be back!

Not impressed. I’m not sure what the fuss is about. I guess it’s convenient for theater goers, but we came only for brunch and had to pay $ 25 to park. That was a shock, and if we’d known, we wouldn’t have come. I ordered coffee, which was lukewarm, and the server said, it comes out of the machine that way, so I can’t change it. I can microwave it for you? I didn’t pay $ 25 to park so I could get microwaved coffee. The food was just «so-​so.» I think they have a lot of pretentiousness but not much substance to support their attitude. I would regard this establishment as a convenience for theater-​goers and not much more.

We came to this place because we were planing on going to the Jazz Brunch thing of the first Sunday of each month. So I make a reservation for 10AM to be out by 11AM.
We arrived in time, they just open the doors like a minute prior, everybody there were super friendly. The food was well prepared and presented. Nice music inside thru the audio system.
I do recommend this place for Brunches and for sure we’ll be back very soon.
PS: they need a big upgrade to the wine list which I was told they are working on so that dinner can be also rated 5 STARS!

Had a wonderful experience at Marti’s last night. Went in with a very large group and the service was superb. They did a prix fixe menu (there were over 50 of us) and we had excellent choices. I had the caprese salad and skirt steak. Food was wonderful, ambiance was great… I can’t wait to get a chance to go again.

Fantastic service, stunning view, and great food — what else could you ask for? I had the carpaccio with arugula appetizer — DELISH — and the cod special — cooked perfectly! Our waiter Sean was wonderful.

It is a nice looking space and convenient to events at the Broward. Staff was polite, experienced, helpful and efficient.
Food needs some work. Pre-​theater is fixed price $ 36 for three courses, choices varied and desert was very good. I’m sure they’re working on their entrées.
An over-​the-​top serenade from a staff member for celebrant at our table. Awesome! Ya gotta see it. Dimmed lights and lots of theatrical flare.
Perhaps Marti’s may consider offering just drinks and less than fixed full menu outside as the staff there was dying for something to do with lots of empty tables.

My expectations were very high when I made reservations at Marti’s New River Bistro overlooking the riverfront and part of the Broward Performing Arts Center. It seemed to have it all: a new restaurant, an awesome setting, just across the way from the show we were going to see and a Prix Fixe Dinner. Okay the latter was a little high as with tax and tip it would be near $ 45 but it was a special evening.
It started off a bit wrong as I had asked for a window table when I made the reservation which we didn’t get though there was one available and it would stay empty! Before we get to the food something was obviously wrong as all the staff walked around with, ‘I wish I wasn’t here’ faces. The only time you saw a smile was when a server was actually at a table. Is management that bad to work for?
Regarding the food don’t come here hungry as the main courses are skimpy unless you are a small eater or are still on your New Year’s day diet resolution and don’t want to eat too much.
We were served popovers which were large but either were from the day before or had been sitting around for awhile. It was served with honey butter but really a blob of butter in a pool of honey that dripped on the table as you tried to put some on the popover.
I had the Greek salad almost biting into an olive pit which, luckily, my fork discovered first before my tooth did. Allen had the tomato and mozzarella appetizer. He was brave enough to ask for another popover which he said was a lot fresher than the ones we originally had.
For our main courses I had the Asian duck confit with soba noodles. The latter were tasty while the duck was dry, cooked too much and had about 2 – 3 ounces of meat off the bone. Allen had the pork chop and just sort of shook his head.
We both had the chocolate cake for dessert which was on the dry side. I had coffee ($ 2.50) and he had a diet soda ($ 3.00) which sort of irked me as I would have preferred the fixe price be $ 40 and include the drinks. As it was with the added beverages, tax and including the tip the meal came to $ 50 each.
The best part of the meal was our server Tulio who did smile, at least when dealing with us, refilled our beverages and was pleasant from beginning to end.
Yes the restaurant is new, as are the staff, and they are sort of catering to a captured clientele but management has to train the servers, food runners and hostesses to put and keep a smile on their faces. Also the servers need to be trained in such things as crumbing a table between courses.
With so many restaurants within a 3 block range to choose from a view and convenience is not enough to sell Marti’s New River Bistro to me.
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We had a lovely walk with the dogs along the New River and then a bad brunch at Marti’s at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. It seemed the potatoes were cooked six months ago when they opened and they’ve been recycling them ever since (seriously, the dogs could barely choke them down.) The crap-​cakes (spelling intended) were cold, mushy and gelatinous. The crab-​cake eggs Benedict had spinach that hadn’t been dried off (or too much butter) so the entire muffin was soggy. The crabcakes should have been crispy and hot. The muffin should have been crispy as well and they just weren’t.
The service was good and they cared for our dogs and gave them water. so for that they get an extra star, but for the privilege of eating soggy, mushy eggs Benedict and rock-​hard potatoes, I paid fifty bucks (for 2). These guys have the best view in Fort Lauderdale. They need to get their crap together.

Service was excellent. View and location can’t be beat for theatre goers. My Mahi looked great but was a bit tasteless. It is a new place so maybe they are still getting their spices in order.

We made an 8 pm reservation and arrived right at 8 pm. The rest of our party was waiting at the bar and had ordered a drink. We would have liked to have joined them for a glass of wine — unfortunately, we were «invited» and then «reminded» (by not 1, 2 or 3 but 4 (!) staff) that our table was ready. The bartender, manager, host and server all seemed to have one goal — to get us seated and served as quickly as possible. We were the only reservation on the books, and we assumed that people were ready to go home after the prix-​fixe /​pre-​dinner rush. I know that because the hostess did not believe we had an Open table reservation, going to the trouble of reminding us of this while we were seated at the bar. She then retrieved her iPad and came back to me to show me the list… and there was my name as clear as day. At one point, while we sat at the bar, there were four servers a manager and a host — all lined up behind our backs at the bar, seemingly willing us to take our seats, and so that’s what we did.
It also seems like the staff have a hard time «shifting gears» from the pre-​theater rush to the 8 pm «in no hurry» dinner crowd. Everyone seemed rushed and antsy, even though we were literally the only diners in the place. The popovers that we started with were cold, but it was clear that if they had been served fresh they would have been outstanding. A second basket was served «warmed» but not fresh. Again, an indication that the 8 pm crown is more of an afterthought.
The squash soup was nothing special, but the duck and chimichurri steak entrees were standouts. The duck was crisp and moist, served over a bed of vegetables and soba noodles. The steak was very good, although the portion was small. Overall, the food and drink prices are very fair. Our server was very attentive, but too much so, constantly reminding us that «the kitchen closes at 10 pm (even after we had ordered dessert and coffee) At that point, the only reason to let us know the kitchen was closing seemed to be that they wanted us out, so we cut our after-​dinner conversation short and headed to our cars with mixed feelings about whether we would be back.
For a pre-​theater dinner, this is a great addition to the Performing Arts area venues, but for a non-​theater dining experience, I would not recommend it.

I had a pre-​show dinner and after-​show drinks with my family when we went to see The Phantom of the Opera and it was an awesome experience.
In the past, whenever we went to a show at the Au-​Rene Theater at Broward Center, we had to hunt for a restaurant close to the theater, hope we finish in time, then make a mad rush to the theater to fight the crowds in the parking lot and sit in our seats slightly stressed out, then fight the crowds when the show was over.
With the new Marti’s New River Bistro, I am no longer stressed out going to a show as they have a awesome Prix Fixe dinner about 90 minutes before the show and the bar is open after the show and the timing is perfect.
The restaurant is pretty small, I would guess about 60 guests maximum so once the word gets out, this place will be sold out well in advance of any shows.
The Prix Fixe Dinner was $ 36pp and I think this is a HUGE bargain as the food and service was awesome.
I had an appetizer of grilled vine ripened tomato and fresh mozzarella with aged balsamic syrup, pesto, and it was excellent.
My drink that night was an apple martini and it was very good.
My entrée was the grilled churrasco steak with chimichurri aiolo and chipolte maize cakes that was also excellent, but slightly on the small size for most guys, but will be fine for the ladies.
The desert was classic new york cheesecake that was very good and very large in portion (as compared to the other items) that is perfect for the guys and the ladies will not finish this serving.
The service was outstanding and the ambiance and location can’t be beat for attending a show. We finished right on time and casually walked over to the show and it was a pleasure.
After the show, we returned for drinks at the bar and there were only a few other people there (obviously the word is not out yet) and after about 45 minutes casually walked over to valet parking and went home very satisfied.
If you want to have a great theater experience, then follow my lead and go here before and after a show and it will definitely improve your experience as compared to what you may have done in the past.

This is the best brunch in Ft Lauderdale, bar none! Vinny, the GM is gracious, professional, and added to our overall amazing experience. I cannot wait to return and try the incredible dinner I keep hearing about.

We discovered Marti’s near the Broward Theater before on of our shows. They are open before the shows and offer an interesting menu. We enjoyed the shrimp and grits with candied bacon! Three course dinner prices are advertised at $ 36.00 per person.