Sea Watch Restaurant & Lounge

Visited this upscale, nice restaurant with a colleague for lunch in late summer.  Amazing views of the ocean on the 2nd story deck/balcony; the backside balcony is situated only 100 yards or so from the surf.  Great food, amazing ambiance.  The entire restaurant is a beautiful and complex structure, lots of wood and decking and timbers inside and out.  It is obviously a labor of love over the years, excellent craftsmanship and taste with both the interior and exterior design.  The covered outdoor balconies also have some of the toniest and comfortable group seating and sofas I've seen anywhere.  

Our fresh-grilled fish dishes and salads were prepared with much care and presented artfully; the beers were cold; and at no extra charge we had ocean breezes and ocean views on a sunny day in southern Florida, palm trees swaying just 20 yards away.  PS the prices were extremely reasonable for both food and beer, so I'm not sure why a recent reviewer was complaining about prices (I can comment on lunch pricing only).  In my opinion, this is a must-visit gem of Lauderdale (the restaurant is actually situated about 5 miles north of Ft. L. proper, but it's a straight shot up the A1A and takes only 7-8 minutes to get there.  TOTALLY worth the short drive; it's like being in another world away from Lauderdale).

So impressed I kept the business card for my own card folder and wrote some notes on it-- primarily, get there ASAP next time I'm in Ft. Lauderdale).

This review is based upon my last June 2008 experience.

Basically I grew up eating here and considered it one of the best seafood places in Broward hands down. For YEARS this is where we went for birthdays, anniversaries or any event where we wanted to celebrate with excellent food.

Then suddenly something happened. Three experiences in a row were terrible. Food, service and prices all changed for the worst. Wait staff was actually worse than what you'd expect at McDonalds. The view was still the same, but I was there for the food.

It's EASY to screw up seafood and it was OBVIOUS they weren't trying very hard. When I explained that the "food was bad" no attempt at compensation was offered.

I don't mind paying $100 for an excellent meal, but I'm upset if I pay $20 for a poor meal. So that was enough for me.

I have been reading recent reviews which suggest improvement. This makes me want to "risk it" in the hopes I might find decent seafood again. But sadly my last experiences make me unwilling to risk the prices. It is so easy to destroy a hard won reputation and lose life long customers forever.

Sadly this is what happened to us at Seawatch.

The service is subpar! But the food is really good! They have an awesome prime rib and all their fish dishes are awesome! This is an oldie but goodie! I've been coming here since I've been a little girl and the food hasn't changed! The blackened mahi mahi is my fav!!!! They have awesome lunches tooo!