Cafe Martorano, Fort Lauderdale FL

Far from being made to feel welcome, Martorano made us feel like intruders. Rude, impatient staff treated us as if they couldn’t wait for us to leave - so we did. This was not the first bad experience there. Previously, celebrities were given our reserved tables and when we finally were served, the food was mediocre and vastly overpriced. I’m done with this place. They treat their patrons as if they were doing diners a favor. There are plenty of great alternatives where you are treated as a guest rather than as a bother. Good riddance Martorano’s.

After posting this review, the restaurant responded, demonstrating just the arrogance and attitude we encountered every time we’ve been there. They accuse me of being untruthful! We were NOT 45 minutes late. By then, we were long gone because our friends, who were 10 min late, were told to leave if they didn’t order dinner then and there. They were not even allowed to order a drink before being given the bum’s rush. Wow. Instead of an apology or a showing of grace or courtesy, they double down on arrogance. Oh well. They’ll do fine without my business.

We dined on an early Friday evening.
The service was fast and impeccable.
The ambience was really nice.
The food was only ok and very expensive.
I had a meatball appetizer, Chicken Parmesan Entree, an iced tea and an expresso.
The bill for one person.
A whopping $78 plus tip.

If you like proper Italian food don't go there. This is an American version of Italian food at grossly inflated prices and quite honestly I don't know how they get away with it, because the place was busy on a Wednesday evening. Beware if you park in front of the place you are likely to get a ticket for parking violation which will cost you $40.00 on top of what is already a steep price for an average meal.

Steve and this place are awesome, incredible food and super fun place. Our server Gerard (something like that) had an issue with another table, and completely changed his attitude halfway through our experience. This kind of ruined the experience for me. I asked him a basic question of what his favorite dessert was, he looked me in the eyes, and didn’t respond lol.as someone in the industry, a huge part of your job is acting and even when you are upset, not wearing it on your face and in your attitude.he also yelled at a coworker after being angry over something so small.just really left a bad taste in my mouth, as i’ve been in his position and would never let it change how i am with my other tables.service usually is what makes the dinner experience and although he was knowledgeable, the nasty attitude at the end ruined it for me.

This restaurant is so overrated. The food is good (that’s why i give it only one star) but the service was overly rushed. We all had anxiety and were in disbelief on how our main server was rude and so unwelcoming. They only time he was nice was when he gave us the $500 check (4 people but one guest had only a salad and two drinks) and told us to leave the table (after 1: 45 minutes sitting there) do not recommend this place to anyone!

Cafe Martoranos is quite simply a unique experience. The attention to detail from the waiters to their recommendations make this such a phenomenal and joyful experience. The food is so authentic and carefully prepared but yet feels like it’s a home cooked meal something that makes you want more and more. The octopus was amazing, the meat ball is a must with the ricotta, and the eggplant stack is to die for. Try any of the main pastas you will not be disappointed. The best part of this whole experience is knowing that Steve is still in the kitchen over seeing all dishes coming to your table. I love this place!

I am a real foodie and know what to expect from a restaurant. Your restaurant has zero professionalism, courtesy, and the food is mediocre and expensive! You should be ashamed of your staff, as they treated us with the utmost rudeness and disrespect…. One day before Christmas. Go back to business school and learn how to run a business and learn how to teach your staff to treat a guest as a guest.

I haven’t eaten here in 20 years but the food and “atmosphere”, lol, is exactly how I remembered. I knew it was pricey but a $95 veal chop special? Cmon Cuz. Of course I made the mistake of not asking the cost which they don’t show you on the iPad. It was good, but not worth $95. Sorry Cuz.

My experience with this restaurant was less than what it should have been. The restaurant was way too loud to carry on conversations much less hear the specials. While dining with others I couldn't help but notice a few things. From the beginning we felt rushed. While the wait staff was nice we felt like they were too quick to remove dishes before you were even done. They never refilled my water glass after the 1st filling. I was told by one of the guests not to grab the water bottles because they would take care of it but they didn't. There was a pasta dish offered to our friends that was suppose to be Al-dente. Unfortunately, I found the pasta way too hard for even Al-dente. I ordered a dish that did not indicate it was spicy. Upon finding out, I told the waiter that it was too spicy for me to eat and there wasn't any indication on the menu that it was. He said there was nothing they could do about it short of charging me for another meal. Since our friends were paying for the dinner I didn't want to impose or make a scene. So I asked the waiter if he could just simply take the food off the plate put it onto another clean plate minus the sauce that lay underneath. I explained the heat was in the sauce. I requested this twice. Upon returning with my plate the only thing on there was the chicken. They had apparently thrown out the rice and the vegetables that came with it. I was not happy that they didn't comply with my request nor even try to remedy the situation. At the very least they could have saved that part of the meal then I could have given it to my husband. Later when dessert was being served, we requested coffee but they said they weren't serving any. After the meal was done, the waiter came over and apologized again but I reiterated to him how disappointed I was in how it was handled. After our friend paid the bill he was requested by the waiter that we vacate immediately because they needed the table.
I do not take pleasure in writing a negative review. But unfortunately, that night there were too many misfires and a lack of how to handle a dinner appropriately.

My favorite Italian restaurant in Florida … the owners, the staff, the ambience … service was impeccable, food is outrageously delicious… every appetizer … fresh mozzarella, the pepperoni pizza, the meatballs, the calamari, every entree … the Chilean sea bass, fusilli with meatballs… party of 7 and each of us loved everything we tasted. It’s that good! Good drinks, nice selection of wines and the desserts …

Nasty rude & disgusting behavior. Major attitude. We were seated 12 minutes past our reservation and our guests were stuck in traffic and were 5 minutes away. The waiter demanded we order dinner immediately for our entire party prior to our friends arrival. We weren't even offered a cocktail first. If we did not comply we would have to leave. We were then approached by the rude hostess and her bouncer to order now or leave. To quote her, "you are no longer welcome here". I have never been so disgusted with an establishment policy like this in my life. I am a world traveler and would NEVER recommend this restaurant.

Had a 9pm reservation, didn’t get seated until after 9: 30pm… they charge you to make a reservation. Food was outstanding, for the money you spend here, service needs a lot of improvement.

This was my first visit to the opulent Cafe Martorano in Fort Lauderdale. It is quite the scene, surely living up to its reputation. The service here is something you would expect from your typical north eastern goombah, adding to the lore of this place. Admittedly I didn’t hear half of what the guy said due to the blaring music, but you pretty much know what to order. Their famous meatball was quite good, as well as the cheesesteak, but the crazy sky high prices can’t really justify it. All the food was good, but for me it just not my scene per se. I can certainly see the appeal as to why their is a mass that do enjoy it though. Share your thoughts! Follow @eatwithjordy for more!

My Parents love this Place they went to the one in Vegas as well as another location we had such a great time the food is perfect the Service is just as perfect.

Place is a scene. Food is awesome. Wayyyyy too overpriced to make it a spot in the rotation. Servers tried to get us out because it was busy. Cool experience but the price takes away from it.

Let me tell you, this place was delicious. I’m from NY. Unless I’m making it, it’s pretty hard to find good Italian food much less great Italian food. Not only was the food divine, the service was too. For appetizers we had meatballs and Calabrian peppers and ricotta and fried home made scmorza. The kitchen sent out macaroni with peas and guanciale. We ordered chicken Marsala with huge mushrooms, pounded veal chop with hot and sweet peppers, pappardelle with duck bolognese. We drank Prosecco and Baby Amarone. I can’t wait to go back. Top notch.

This was the best Italian food I have ever had. The best atmosphere anywhere. I haven’t had such a great time. You have to be dead not to enjoy this place! Everything was 5 star!