Valentino

We went there our anniversary dinner. I order veal pasta. It was too oily. It came with 5 pieces even I could not have chance to finish it. We did not like it. We are not planning to return there at all.

We had the braised short ribs and they were delicious. The veal tenderloin and scallops excellent. Service was great, obviously a priority here.

The food was amazingly delicious and the service was ON POINT. PETER, our server was nice, informative of the dishes and a great help in deciding what to order. The drink were also great and they have such a variety of cocktails. This is a MUST VISIT place!!! I will definitely be back. They are opening another restaurant next to them. His should open in August.

I returned to Valentino’s in search of the fifth star I mentioned in my previous review. This time around it was a boy’s night out with some co-​workers. The AC was blowing nice and cold when we stepped in, it felt especially nice after walking a few blocks in the heat to get there. We parked somewhere else and walked so we wouldn’t have to pay for Valet. We were here to celebrate a recent client acquisition at our advertising agency. The hostess recognized us immediately as the 7:30 reservation for 3. Probably because there were 3 of us and the restaurant wasn’t too busy. Reservation was under my colleague’s name, Andrew. We were seated immediately.
Our server greeted us and handed out the menus. I noticed some other guy tagging along, apparently he’s a «sommelier.» They keep this guy around to tell you what wine to buy. He has what us foodies like to call a «refined palette.» My colleague, Charlie, asked him a question about beer but he couldn’t answer it. This guy was a real purist. We agreed on a moderately priced bottle of red, I forgot the name of it. Didn’t matter, I wasn’t buying!
Now time for some apps. We ordered the burratta and the foie grass, which is apparently duck liver. Sounds foie gross but it was actually quite delicious. Plates had just a few sauce stains, a big improvement over last time’s dirty egg plates. I really do appreciate their second hand usage of plates. Kinda like buying clothes at a thrift store or getting a used dog. No reason to throw away a perfectly good plate amiright??!
Everything paired nicely as the Somalian had suggested. We ordered another bottle of the same red and our entrees. Scallops for me, and pasta and NY Strip for my 2 other cohorts. People next to us were a bit intrusive. One lady kept getting up to «go to the bathroom» and each time bothered my colleague, obviously flirting with him although she was waaaaay out of his league. They got their food before us and i got to see what the scallop plate I ordered looked like, which ruined it a bit for me 1) because it took away the mystique of how my plate would look when it arrived, and 2) it disgusted me to think I could enjoy the same meal as this awful lady. She also undoubtedly pulled out her phone to take a photo of her food. I hope she does the same at home when it comes out the other end;)
Yeah everything was delicious as last time, we even shared some bites between us (no homo). Everything was cooked nicely and the utensils were sharp enough to puncture the food and shovel it into our mouths. Afterwards we decided to all split some dessert. Chocolate sphere and some fruit sorbet thing. Can’t remember if it was good or not. A bit too much vino at that point if ya know what I mean;)
Once again, our server didn’t particularly stand out, but he spoke good English, wasn’t unpleasant, and got the food to our table in a timely fashion. What more could you ask for! My colleague paid the bill and bid farewell to the awful lady sitting next to us. On the way out we joked with the valet guy about pulling up our Maserati. J/​k, we came on Chevrolegs.
Ok Valentino, you earned that fifth star!

So much food! We asked for the pumpkin tortellini as appetizer and it was huge! The bread was a lot and very tasty. Once we sat at the chef’s table where you can see the open kitchen with everyone cooking, we got two free appetizers a raw tuna amuse bouche and mini beet tortellini which were both very good. We got the special brussel sprouts for a side dish and you could see chef giovanni turning each sprout carefully like a piece of art. For my main course I got the branzino which was crispy and buttery inside with fresh veggies. We didn’t have dessert because it we already had a lot of carbs but the coffee was really good!

Great service, atmosphere and the food and presentation! Every dish is truly a masterpiece! Absolutely one of my favorite places!

As a resident of Fort Lauderdale I have always driven by Valentino and meant to make a reservation, but it seemed like such a special place that I wanted to wait for a special occasion. After 5 years, my mom suggested we give it a try since she was in town visiting and we wanted a girls night out. After our amazing experience, I think we would both agree that this is one of the best fine dining restaurants in Fort Lauderdale and I can’t wait to go back.
Atmosphere: Convenient $ 3 valet parking. Sophisticated décor with an open concept kitchen. I highly recommend sitting at the chef’s counter (I believe there are only 6 seats. maybe 8) which overlooks the small kitchen which operates as a well-​oiled machine. There is no yelling, pots banging, or running around in the Valentino kitchen… it’s an experience in and of itself to see everyone work so seamlessly together putting together such exquisite and precise dishes. If I were looking for something more romantic, I might recommend a table in the corner, as I noticed the tables in the restaurant are pressed very close together.
Service: The service was VERY attentive. almost a little too much for my liking but this seemed to fit with the overall efficient environment of the restaurant. I can’t recall the name of our waiter but he approached us 4−5x (within 20 minutes of being seated) asking if we were ready to order when we clearly weren’t. This aside, our drinks were consistently refilled, and dishes bussed almost immediately upon setting down our utensils. Given that we were seated directly in view of the kitchen, we also had several of the chefs (including the head chef/​owner, Giovanni) check on how we were doing.
Food: To die for. We started with the foie gras paté special (a VERY generous portion) served over a brioche, with whipped white chocolate, granola, and wild gooseberries. I’m still dreaming of it! We noticed the guests seated next to us had the same special but with seared foie gras instead, and we would have opted for this option instead if we had known it was available, however, it was never mentioned. For our second course we ordered the Casoncelli (w/​veal, prosciutto & brown butter) and the Braised Shortrib. I typically don’t like shortrib because it’s too «stringy» for me but this dish was an exception and melted in my mouth.
Bar: Extensive wine list!

Very, very good food. Really good wine list. Just wish they would allow corkage here. Maybe a one for one policy.

As a native of Boston who strives on Italian food, I found the menu to be average and the prices to be outrageous. The wine list was good but wines by the glass were too pricey. Suggest adding some $ 10 range wines instead of 15 – 20.
My pasta with black truffles was just ok mainly because it was lukewarm.
Nice atmosphere.

This restaurant used to be good. It’s become very trendy and the prices are very high and the entrees are appetizer size
The bronzino was dry and very small. The scallops were tasty but appetizer size. The bill was 480.00 for 4 people including the tip. For these prices I can dine just about anywhere. No one was impressed. We live east las olas. Don’t waste your money. Go to casa d angelo. We got the charred octopus as an appetizer and it was very chewy. The appetizers came out for only 2 persons at our table. It was very awkward that 2 other people didn’t get served their appetizer at the same time.
Service was mediocre. I would not recommend. Serafina Market 17 Johnny V. Are all better choices for upscale dining Eastside. We are taking Valentinos off our list.

Valentinos is always amazing
I’ve been a regular for the last 7 years
The addition of Scott on the floor is a major plus
Their were no lowlight this past Monday
And some very very high points
The Kc strip rivals the best steaks I’ve ever had I don’t know what cooking technique he used but it wasn’t as chard as you might expect but as flavorful and tender as any steak any where
Veal tenderloin perfection on the plate
And the beef fillet amazing
Tagliatelle with truffles please sir send another
Both agniolitti were amazing
I’ve really never had anything that wasn’t at a minimum very good here or service that wasn’t exceptional
They are changing over the wine program I’ve had a sneak peak and it looks to be excellent the current program is very very well represented the new one looks even better
Have the chocolate sphere for desert
It’s worth it for the presentation alone
But tasted great too
Again kudos on the addition of scott to the staff

I’ve been going to this restaurant for 3 years. Love hanging at the kitchen bar and watching the hustle and bustle of culinary art. Every dish is custom built and the flavors are amazing. Fantastic wine list both by the glass and by the bottle. If you are into cocktails, the bartenders are very talented. Don’t miss this.

I’ll keep this really simple. My husband and I concoct reasons to travel to Ft. Lauderdale to eat at Valentino. It is THAT good. We leave Atlanta to go to Ft. Lauderdale to eat here. Well, there’s another place, too (Market 17.) But basically, we fly to Ft. Lauderdale for dinner.
A few things you have to know:
1. cocktails — order the Gia. It is amazing. Best drink you’ll ever have.
2. If you can get him, request for Dave to be your waiter. He will make your experience even better. All the servers are top notch, but David takes it to a whole other level.
3. dessert — get the zeppoli– small balls of fried dough served with sorbetto. They are like super tender little donut holes. They are outstanding!

After my initial review based on a less than stellar 2013 visit to the new location, I visited Valentino two more times. The second was for a Cakebread Cellars wine pairing dinner and the third was this past weekend. The last two, (very much like my very first visit to their old location) were top notch.
The Cakebread dinner last year was expertly hosted. I really enjoyed every minute.
Recently, my friend and I had a drink at the bar while I waited for the rest of my party to arrive. I don’t remember the name, but it was pear based and very good. I’m still annoyed they do not allow outside wine. Once our other friends arrived, we were seated immediately. No wait. This time we were seated towards the back, facing the open kitchen, which was a treat. We were able to check out the staff hard at work all night long. They worked diligently, yet calmly. None of the usual kitchen chaos here!
Service began immediately and thankfully it was not the waiter I had the first time. Our waiter this time was friendly, helpful, and on top of everything.
The food at Valentino is simply outstanding. There truly is a shortage of fine dining options in Broward and they are at the very top of that list. Mostly decorated in a white palette and natural woods, Valentino is still as beautiful as ever. Although diners do like to dress up a bit and every single seat is always full, the staff is not uptight at all. It’s a pretty laid back restaurant.
THE GOODS:
FOIE GRAS SPECIAL A generous portion which was up to par with those at NYC’s best restaurants. It wasn’t on the menu so I can’t list the ingredients, (something gingery or pumpkin perhaps?) but it was served over a brioche. I’m still thinking about this one!
WAHOO SPECIAL Another special that night. It was so good, we ordered a second one right after that first bite.
BEEF TARTARE Also outstanding. We might have been fighting over the last bite. Egg yolk, cornichon relish, truffle cream, and fingerling potato chips that were crisp and salty. The perfect companion to the tartare.
STEAK SPECIAL This was the other special we had. My friend ordered it. Not sure if it was a NY strip. What I do know is that everything about it was perfect and my friend loved every bite.
FUSILLI While still great, this one was at the bottom of the dish totem pole. This is probably because everything else we had was on the hearty side and this one was lighter.
RISOTTO SPECIAL with shaved white Alba truffles. We got this for all of us to share. Addicting. We could not stop eating it!
RICOTTA CAVATELLI Veal osso buco, porcini mushrooms, bone marrow and tomato are the dish components. The pasta, topped with a ricotta salata, was a dream. I, of course, asked for additional cheese which our waiter immediately brought over. I had the leftovers the next day and it was still as phenomenal as that initial bite.
TRE CIOCOLATO This is their token gluten free dessert. Dark chocolate crema, white chocolate mouse, nougat, hazelnut granita, and gianduja wire. Not overly sweet. Good.
CHOCOLATE SPHERE Roasted banana-​white chocolate gelato, fluff, walnuts, banana bread croutons and a hot chocolate soup they top it with until it all melts together. Wonderful!
Dining at Valentino was another home run! I don’t think a single dish went back to the kitchen full unless it was to be packed up to take home.
4÷14÷2016 NOTE: Even though my last couple of dining experiences were pretty near perfect, sadly I’m no longer a fan. After reading an interview with Chef Giovanni Rocchio on Ocean Drive magazine, I’ve lost all interest in ever returning. During the interview, the chef takes a pompous stand explaining he does not allow outside wine because «wine is an important restaurant revenue stream – and one you don’t have to break a sweat to earn.» Well, no sh*t. And that’s why for the serious wine drinker it’s an insult to pay such high markups out of such limited selections. For example, unlike Valentino, The Forge in Miami also doesn’t allow outside wine, but they make up for it with an EXTENSIVE selection. Something for everyone.
In addition, he mockinly frowns upon guests requesting any changes to his menu. Apparently, our «job» is to «relax and relish, not to suggest minor changes in direction.» OK. Thanks. Noted. Lastly, he says ««If you can’t find anything you’d like, or you’ve got allergies and can’t eat any of it, then just stay home.» Nice. Here’s the thing Mr. Rocchio, I have an allergy. To bull sh*t. Therefore, I’ll go elsewhere before I ever spend another dollar at your restaurant. My original review will stand because I honestly loved my last couple of experiences, but I’m out.

I’ll keep this short and simple.
This is in the top 2 restaurants in Florida… PERIOD.
If you want a true dining experience, go here ASAP!
The service and the food are unmatched. It’s my «go to» spot when I am in Florida and need to impress someone. Don’t think about it. Just go NOW !

One of my favorite restaurants in Fort Lauderdale!
Been here more than a handful of times in the past year and always leave here wanting more! My favorite dish is the Trophie pasta, sometimes I need to get two orders of it. I have never had a bad experience with food (including dessert) and wine/​drinks here.
The staff is professional and attentive. The owner chef can always be found in the kitchen. Top notch ingredients, prepared beautifully! They make a lot of their pastas, which is time consuming and labor intensive.

My husband took me here for my birthday, I was excited because we never had been to Valentino’s before. We go out to dinner every night, and we thought Valentino’s was a special occasion type of restaurant.
Here’s a list of things we thought…
1. We thought this was an extremely high end place, we heard «rumors» it was, rumors were «not true.» pricing is similar to the restaurants located on Las Olas Blvd. We enjoy Noodles Panini and Johnny V’s weekly, among others.
2. We thought it would be a very romantic evening, until they filled the table next to us with over 10 adults and children. (that pretty much ruined my birthday celebration mode).
2. After we were seated, I noticed the table was wobbling, we asked them to fix the leg so nothing would fall or spill. They stuck a wadded up piece of paper to level the table. (like they did’t already know they had a defective leg on this table)
3. We thought it would be a very romantic evening, far from it, if I would describe this place it would be 3 words… CROWDED, LOUD and OBNOXIOUS!
4. They had a $ 25 Old Fashion drink, I love Old Fashions. Don’t waste your $ 25 it was not worth it. I then ordered the $ 15 Old Fashion and it was much better.
5. Server was nice in the beginning and at the end for tip time, but otherwise we couldn’t find him anywhere, we flagged down some random bus boy for help at one point.
6. Food was not even good, too bad for us. Not, exaggerating either.
6. We passed on dessert, because we couldn’t wait to get out of there.
7. We get the bill, as I get up to leave the wad of paper they stuffed around the table leg falls out and half the tableware crashes to the ground, the restaurant customers scream and then the restaurant becomes quiet. Nice awkward moment for every one… I just keep walking.
8. As, we waited for our car, the hostess says how was your dinner, I said not as good as I heard it would be, I told her I almost hurt myself trying to get out of my seat, did you hear the crash. She laughs, yes laughs, I told her they stuck a wad of paper under the table leg and it did’t work to stabilize it, and she laughs again.
The odds are, WE WILL NEVER EVER return to Valentino’s.

The lamb belly and the fois gras were insane, so was the sweet breads. If these items don’t sound up your alley then probably not the place for you. Unilocal should have 6 stars for places like this, just ridiculous. Nothing better, this is as good as it gets folks.

Our experience Sunday April 19 was without exception, over-​the-​top in every category. The space, transformed from an old Dunlop Tire store into an extraordinary space with old-​world coastal Mediterranean charm-​not overdone or old-​fashioned but perfect design and atmosphere – off the well worn Las Olas tourist beaten path. Mostly locals here.
The restaurant is run with precision from the moment you are greeted by the host until the end. We had a wonderful bottle of off-​dry Riesling, foie gras taurine, and langostino ravioli starters. Fantastic artisan breads and olive oil accompanied the starters, too. We ordered a variety of inventive entrees including beef short ribs among others. I was very tempted by the 16-​oz «tomahawk» bine-​in ribeye for two. We eyed someone else’s and it was really impressive looking, with the huge rib bone taking the whole plate.
The service could not have been more attentive or the meal more perfectly prepared. The chef/​owner is feint and center in the open-​to-​view kitchen supervising every last detail while the front end is skillfully managed by the head waiter.
Great desserts including an extraordinary cannoli were followed by complimentary home-​made limoncello to wrap up one of the best dining experiences I’ve enjoyed in recent memory. Cannot imagine EVER coming to Ft. Lauderdale again without stopping at Valentino’s for dinner again.

The name «Valentino» might be Italian, but do not come here expecting the typical spaghetti & meatballs with red sauce. Valentino has exquisite, creative, exceptional cuisine. I have been here several times for special occasions and business dinners and Valentino has never disappointed.
The chic décor almost seems put of place for this part of US1 in Fort Lauderdale. There are wood beamed ceilings and stunning white banquets, with huge windows that look out onto the street. I understand the space used to be a tire store. What a transformation! The wine room in the back is a great space for private parties or meetings. Usually there is an 8 person minimum for the room. However, for a business dinner I hosted earlier this year on a weeknight, I believe Valentinto let us have the room without the 8 person minimum (I think it was a slow night), although there was a $ 200 charge. Believe me, the charge was well with it as we had much needed privacy and my customers (and boss!) were thoroughly impressed!
If not eating here on the expense account, this is a special occasion place for me as the prices are pretty hefty. Most of the time I don’t even know the prices since I tend to order from the many specials of the night. However appetizers tend to be $ 18-​$ 30 and main courses usually above $ 30. Last night there was a Dover Sole special for $ 90, Waygu Steak for two for $ 150, and several white truffle specials that I would need to rob a bank if I wanted to order.
Last night, everything we ordered was from the specials menu. I have had the Ham & Egg Ravioli several times before and I am disappointed if it is not on the menu. It is one large homemade ravioli stuffed with spinach ricotta, pancetta, and a duck yolk center. Delicious! My only complaint would be that this one ravioli costs as much as a whole pasta portion! I could probably eat three or four of these Raviolo!
In general, the portion sizes at Valentino are not huge, so do not go there if big portion sizes are really important to you. Our other appetizer was Crab Stuffed Zucchini Flowers. This dish. was very light but flavorful.
For mains both husband & I had the Monkfish, served in a thick creamy clam chowder sauce with mushrooms. The fish was perfectly sliced, cooked and seasoned. The chowder/​sauce was rich and smooth. The clams were so plump and juicy that I wish there were more. We have also tried several other dishes in the past:
Butternut Tortelli-​sweet and savory at the same time. Delicious!
Sunday Gravy-​served with pasta and various meats, this us as close to a red sauce as you will get here
Ahi Tuna-​so simple but so good!
Seafood Salad-​tasty, but a little too light for me
Trofie-​scallops, cuttlefish, shrimp, & pasta… good, but when coming here I would like something more complex.
I can’t recall desserts we have had in the past but last night we had a Passion Fruit Panna Cotta. This dessert was an amalgamation of fruits, cremes, textures, and flavors. Parts of it were quite tart and in general it was way too complex for me. I liked our other dessert, the «special» dessert of the day much better: a white chocolate mouse with raspberry sorbet, pieces of red velvet cake, & some «crunchies» for texture, it was very good. Although I have to admit, I am not a fan of «fancy’ desserts. Give me some Kilwins ice cream and am quite content.
For such an expensive restaurant, the atmosphere and service is relaxed. not formal or fussy. The servers are friendly and helpful with explaining the menu. This is not the place for a quiet, romantic, candlelit dinner. The tables are pretty close together which can enable some impromptu conversation with neighbors. When the place gets full, the acoustics can also cause it to get pretty loud.
Another factor that makes this place a bit bustling is the open kitchen. I enjoy watching the chefs prep and put the final touches on their creations. Last night I saw the sous chefs cutting fresh herbs and grating cheese with the utmost care. A few years ago, my youngest son, then probably about 8 years old, was so fascinated by the kitchen that he just stood to the side watching the chefs in motion. A visiting chef from Italy took notice and brought him into the kitchen for a special tour (as I yelled «Wash his hands…»). That was an experience my son will always remember (and the first of many future kitchen tours) for my junior Unilocaler and possible future chef!
My one suggestion for Valentino? Upgrade the bread basket. I did not find the bread selections worthy of such a fine restaurant. The slices of bread was tough and cold, but the breadsticks were okay. This did not stop me from munching on the bread though, while I was waiting for our food. Note to self: stop eating those meaningless carbs! Save the calories for the actual scrumptious dishes at places like Valentino.

HOLY… can I curse on here? Wow, I wish I could give this place 6 stars, even 7 maybe! It was that good — from the service to the food, even the atmosphere was something special!
Some reviews made me believe this place would be hard to find, but nope — Siri took me right here, and it helped that there were pictures of the outside of the building. There is a valet on the north side, the entrance side, and it was $ 3.
We had reservations for 7pm and arrived maybe 15mins early (definitely make reservations — despite it being a Monday night the place was packed by 8pm) and we were seated immediately. We took the time to peruse the cocktail and wine lists, I was a little sad that they didn’t have the purple drink I’d seen in other reviews, but we ordered a great bottle of Pinot Noir and all were happy.
Our server let us know the specials for the evening (the menu itself changes here frequently) and pretty much sucked us in to all of them.
We started off with the
*hot foie gras — on toast with a grilled peach and some kind of ginger sauce. I think we all agreed this was the best appetizer and was the biggest piece of foie gras I had ever seen!
*The bf got the charred octopus (this is typically on the menu I believe) and I was blown away by how big it was — and perfectly cooked!
*My mother got the cold foie gras mousse which was awesome as well.
*And we split a mushroom salad for the table. Even my stepfather who DOES NOT eat mushrooms had two bites and agreed it was pretty good. The bacon vinaigrette had me wanting to lick the plate!
Next up were the entrees —
*I got the special seafood pasta for the night. Definitely wanted to lick the plate here as well, and I was impressed by the attention to details on the plate.
*Bf and stepfather both got the chicken liver rigatoni (also a special for the night) and were impressed. I loved it too!
*My mother decided to be skinny and get another appetizer as her entrée — burrata with lobster. Definitely different than I’ve seen burrata served before and it looked awesome. I was too busy shoving my mouth with seafood pasta to have a bite lol.
Dessert —
*Tiramisu — I usually hate it so I didn’t bother trying it — mostly I was just too full though.
*Panna Cotta with figs — my choice. I loved it.
*Sweet Potato Donuts — I wish I could remember the real name, but these were great! Amazing maple crème inside, awesome dipping sauce.
*Chocolate ganache cake — a little too rich for my taste, but I have to comment on how impressed I was with the freshness of the raspberries on the plate.
Atmosphere — the place was beautiful, and I even thought the bathroom was really nice. They have bar seats that overlook the kitchen area — definitely sitting here next time!
Service — like I said before — top notch! I was always served from the right, they came around with crumb scrappers etc etc — they’ve definitely been trained well.
The Bill — surprisingly, not as high as I had anticipated considering the $$$$ and the fact that we ordered mostly specials and had no idea of what the prices would be. I think Valentino’s is more than affordable for a big night out if you skip the wine (even wine by the glass was pretty expensive) — share an appetizer and get two entrees.
WE WILL BE BACK!