Pronto Cafe By The Sea

Horrible food
Meatball panini looked impressive but barely had gravy and the sliced meatballs were dry the sourdough was stale
No wonder the place was empty

This place has OK food, however the service is atrocious. Went and ordered a bottle of pinot girgio on the menu. 10, 20 minutes go by. I see people looking everywhere, but no one updates us. Meanwhile, everyone else at the table has gotten their drinks. Server comes with a bottle of Chardonnay and asks if this would be okay. Well, no. Is there a problem? His response: «Well, the owner doesn’t like to stock too many wines in summer because the heat makes them go bad.» What!!! And the saddest part was that the owner was there and told this poor guy to spew this absurd mantra. We got up, left, and went next store to the sushi place that had this novel idea of actually serving beverages on their menu.

This place does not even deserve 1 star. This is the absolute worst restaurant I think I have ever been to. The waitress was beyond rude. I do not eat gluten, I asked if their chicken wings were gluten free and she said, «nothing on our menu is gluten free.» I asked about another dish and again she said, «nothing at all is gluten free.»… I have never been to a restaurant that could not accommodate. My brother in law also asked if they could change any of the ingredients on the pizza and she told him that nothing can be changed and «what’s on the menu is on the menu» and no substitutions were available. I was unable to eat anything on the menu, but the people in my party stated that the food tasted good, but we’re also unhappy with the service.

Being from new jersey, we tend to be very critical of the quality of pizza at any restaurant. What we experienced at Pronto last night far exceeded our expectations not only for pizza quality, but service and the complete experience. From the moment we arrived we were greeted and made to feel like we were at home and we’re well attended to every moment we were there including a personal visit by the hard working owner. Highly recommend giving them a try. You will not be disappointed.
Being that this was my first Unilocal review, I mistakenly selected some things about this place that is not accurate like the kid friendliness. Just go, you’ll love it.

On the recommendation of a good friend I decided to stop in for dinner…
I was greeted by a friendly hostess and immediately seated… A nice woman by the name of Joy was my waitress… She was very attentive and made suggestions when asked about the menu.
The menu at Pronto’s has a little bit of everything. Soups, Salads, pastas, Italian Wood Fire Pizza, Calzones, Fish, Chicken, and Risottos, along with amazing desserts… During the day there is a lunch menu and they make Sandwiches and Panini’s.
I started with a lovely Lemon Arugula Salad. It had fresh Cantaloupe sliced melon, Sunflower Seeds, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Shaved Parmesan and Lemon Dressing. This salad was amazing… The peppery greens paired with the Sweet Melon, along with the Tomatoes and Red Onions, and Lemon Dressing really made my taste buds sing…
On the table I got fresh baked Sliced Italian Bread served with Evoo and Balsamic drawn like a smiley face…
I was in the mood for pizza. Pronto serves a variety of interesting combinations.
I chose the Shrimp Alfredo pie and added mushrooms… When my pizza came out of the oven the smell of Shrimp and Garlic, Mushrooms was intoxicating!
The crust was thin like and crisp and my pizza was loaded with fresh Garlic, Shrimp and Alfredo Sauce topped with Mushrooms…
This pizza definitely reminded me of a Wood Fired Pizza from NY.
Every bite was an explosion in my mouth…
There is seating outside, and they have heated lamps when it’s cool.
Inside, there are tables all around… On one wall is bricks and centered is repurposed wood with the Pronto logo on it. In the front by the entrance is a wall made for holding all the different wines…
Everyone at Pronto works as a team. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. My waitress Joy overheard my Aunt talking about sandwiches. She offered to make us Panini’s if we wanted…
Pronto serves delicious desserts from NY style Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Rich Chocolate Layer Cake, and A Berry style Cake. I was too full to eat dessert because I filled up on their great Homemade Italian bread… Pronto has an Expresso Machine and makes Expresso and Cappuccino.
My experience at Pronto was very enjoyable and I look forward to returning…

We had an amazing waiter when we went to this place and he was very welcoming to us. He got us seated and recommended many menu choices for us which all sounded amazing. Both my boyfriend and I ordered the meatball panini which was very good, and not very greasy. The dish came with homemade chips, but I thought they were semi out of place with the panini. They were still good though! The waiter recommended other places for us to try, which was very nice of him.
Overall the meal was very good and the service very nice and welcoming. We really didn’t wait at all for service or our food, and I would definitely recommend this place to other people if they want good Italian food.

Excellent experience at Pronto tonight. The ambiance and décor of this place is very cool. My wife and I enjoyed the atmosphere. We ordered two pizzas (pesto chicken and Thick Brooklyn) that were absolutely delicious. Apparently all of the ingredients are made by hand each day you could taste the difference. Joseph was our waiter and he did a fantastic job. He was very friendly and accommodating. It was our first time at Pronto and we definitely plan to return.

My friends and I were very disappointed in our meal considering the reviews were decent.
Salad: I got a Caesar which was pretty average. It had a little too much dressing for my liking.
Entrée: The shrimp scampi had maybe four shrimps and the noodles were incredibly bland. My friend got the chicken Parmesan pizza which she did not enjoy at all.
Service was great but overall the food was disappointing.

So impressed by this lovely little place! The food was spectacular, very authentic. The service was phenomenal and very personal. Will definitely be returning!

Happen to stop in when the wait for a different restaurant next door was too long.
Glad thing I did cause I found a new favorite Italian restaurant.
Food was delicious, fresh, flavorful but not too heavy.
Staff was super friendly.

So upset that I found this place on my last night in FL! They are the kindest people and the food is AMAZING! The calamari was delicious, as well as the pizza. And the desserts! To die for!

Take this with a grain of salt as I came here on New Year’s Day. Maybe the staff was overworked, which would explain their lack of effort. Overall, this was an extremely disappointing experience. Horrible environment right by the highway, very loud with a tiny seating area. After waiting about 5 minutes to even be greeted, we were seated and then ignored for 15 minutes until we asked a waiter if it would be possible to get waters and menus. To which she responded, «um. Let me see». The pizzas we ordered came out after 2 HOURS. Not kidding. The only reason we didn’t just get up and walk out was because it was warm outside and every other restaurant had a long wait. As a lover of Fort Lauderdale, I urge you to save your money and stay away.

This is a gem of a place. Italian! Everything is fresh and homemade. The décor has many textures and made me feel totally comfortable. Ordered the Rustica Pizza. Who would have thought having arugula salad with fresh shave mozzarella on the top would be soooooo delicious. Awesome place. Did not have dessert but wow did they look great.

I stopped here for a late lunch after reading reviews on Unilocal.My waitress was incredibly kind and attentive to me. I had the spaghetti and meatballs and they were fabulous! I highly recommend this place.

Simultaneously hosting a friend and shopping with co-​workers we decided since we were northbound to try out this restaurant off of Commercial close to the beach. I’m so glad we did! Not only is it relatively inexpensive, you really get a heaping portion of food — certainly your money’s worth! In addition, everything is clearly homemade and there are constant reminders with the presentation that this is a home owned restaurant where the chef/​owners care about the customer, in short — you. Two appetizers; grilled octopus (a working man’s portion over two delightfully warm and crunchy pieces of ciabatta and mixed with a creamy tomato sauce was a preparation I had not tried before, but it was very tasteful,) and a house salad (abundant bowl of fresh greens and dressing) were both quite filling while we waited for our main courses. My companion really enjoyed her macchiato — she had two! Crisp cold ice water was constantly refilled. My companion ordered the seafood diavolo — brimming with all sorts of crustaceans and plenty of pasta; another companion ordered chicken wings that came with some homemade house sauces (I can’t speak for her, but I preferred the sauces to the chicken — I’ve been having some delivered recently and I prefer other area restaurants); while her daughter had penne ala vodka which looked pretty big portion wise — and she cleaned the skillet it was served in.
I haven’t tried their pizza, I’d like to, but I must add they have a brick oven and in addition to the lovely smells of a variety of pizzas it’s clear they use it to cook the ciabatta rolls that are used for the Panini’s and as appetizer sides — and boy is that bread scrumptious!
I opted for a Panini — which seems to be a house specialty. Let’s just say, and anyone who knows me, is aware of my hearty appetite (or just look at the fat guy in my profile pic!); that sandwich woulda made Dagwood jealous and it suited me just fine (½) for both lunch and the other half for dinner later poolside. I had the Italian cold cuts, which as I wrote, was just piled on with all sorts of sandwich meats and lettuces, my only fault was that it didn’t have any olive oil but that was provided when asked. For the freshness of the food, the politeness of the staff and the proximity of the location, I’m looking forward to going back.

This place was so delicious! Om was our waiter and he made great recommendations. We ordered the spaghetti and meatballs which were some of the best we’ve ever had and the Rustica pizza — highly recommended!

My server was very helpful. The water and lemonade taste like crap though. The food was mediocre. I really think this was overpriced for what you get.
As you can see below we have the management contact him he was a very snarky review. When you have people like that you can see that the Apple hasn’t fell far from the tree. It all comes from the top down to the bottom so and further questioning out if I should return one more time this is definitely seal the deal to tell my friends of this is somewhere you really not want to come too. Actually I’m disappointed that the representative Emily as what the nail to the coffin wanted me not to give this place a second chance.

Pronto By the Sea is a delightful addition to the restaurant community of Lauderdale-​by-​the-​Sea. Though located on the corner of Commercial and Seagrape, several blocks in distance from the ocean front and Anglin Square, its nicely situated. I really like its more modernistic décor for being an Italian restaurant, none of that black and red crap, none of that jaded old has been crap Hoboken Frank Sinatra or Steubenville Dean Martin music plus the Unilocal check-​in friendly 10% discount. In fact the place is rather upbeat similar in setup to what one might along the more trendy areas of Milan. It has table service sit down dining both inside and outside along a counter or bar like seating offering a clear view of the wait service prep table and parts of the kitchen, though I wish they’d clean up the clutter of commercial mixer and other junkie looking stuff one is exposed to encounter on their way to and from the restroom facilities.
Though I think my young waiter may be suffering advanced stages of Alzheimer’s in that he forgot the bread and had to be reminded three times for water, overall well mannered, polite, trained and professional.
My big, and I do me overwhelmingly big problem with Pronto however is with the food. Unfortunately not having previously read the review of Unilocaler Mark S. who had stated that the Veal Milanese «sucked,» I too ordered the same and agree. Mine was way over breaded, had a cheap diner like greasiness along with flavor more akin to that of «truck stop» than anything I would consider Italian. I also had the opportunity to sample some Linguine Alle Vongole in white sauce which likewise completely nonplused me with its absence of zestiness and bland flavor base.
Along with my main entrée I also ordered the Caesar. It was served with the romaine being chopped, not torn, and though with a couple bits of a mystery type of bacon substance along with shredded and mini cheese slices, rather subpar. At the end of my meal the bread finally arrived, a couple of slices served cold in a cone like apparatus. Since I don’t consider bread intended to be served with a meal as a substitute for dessert, I didn’t try any of it because it was nothing but bread absent any dipping oils, butter or herbed butter variants commonly accompanying the bread service of other Italian restaurants.
Overall, the place itself is nice, but food wise for Italian, one can do better elsewhere, hence Two Stars.

This is a newly opened pizza/​sandwich/​salad café that opened up in Lauderdale by the Sea in 2014. For the locals, it is loosely related to Gran Forno off Las Olas Blvd. Besides the exact same baked goods and a small logo, they don’t seem to expose the connection very much.
They have indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for inside to take it all in on our first visit. It has a very modern décor, small takeout area for fresh breads and pastries, and flat screen tvs all around. They have a wood burning pizza oven inside that gives the place a little bit of a burnt smell when you walk in. I do think the music is a bit too loud, so I would probably opt for outside if I return.
We started with their house salad that was served with their awesome ciabatta bread (presumed to be baked at Gran Forno). It was very flavorful and hit the spot.
Next was the pizza — the sauce, the cheese, the crust, 4 stars… but…the bottom was so soggy we thought there must be something wrong. Off day I suppose. There is no way they want to serve it that way.
Lastly, we tried one of their desserts, a tangerine tart. A great way to end the meal with a little healthy fruit. :)
I will most likely be back to pick up bread and maybe a treat sometime soon!

So I’m so excited to have a coal fire pizza place at walking distance! This is a super cute café/​restaurant style in Lauderdale by the Sea on the corner of commercial and seagrape.
There’s probably about 15tables inside and the décor is really cute with a touch of rustic.
Everything is brand new and looks immaculate. They have an open kitchen concept which is awesome you get to see the coal fire oven etc… They also have this beautiful espresso machine.
They have 3 – 4 small tables outside and we chose one of them because we had our furbaby Eva with us. Even though the restaurant seemed dog friendly no one brought my Eva a little makeshift water bowl like most restaurants in Lauderdale by the Sea do. They should also consider putting fans outside this is Florida and its always hot even at night. If you’re going to offer outside seating which I love just make it more comfortable for your patrons.
Their menu consists of pizzas, pastas, seafood, beer, and wine. Dessert options seem to change constantly which is great. We were told that they make everything in house which is always a plus.
We ordered the pizza rustica which had arugula, mushrooms, prosciuto, and cheese. The pizza was ready in about 5 – 7 minutes which was great. It was nice an hot and tasty and the crust was delicious! I only wish the sauce was more flavorfull maybe have more garlic. It just seemed like the pizza was missing something that kept it from being great.
We order wine but they only had about 5 different options available from their page long wine list which was a bit disappointing.
Overall the restaurant has so much potential but they need tweak a few loose ends. Service needs to be more attentive and more in the game. We got 2 different dishes brought to us that we didnt order. It took a really long time to get our waters and the place was not busy. We asked for parmesan cheese for our pizza that we never got. I will be back and hope that they have achieved their full potential!