If you want to drink on the water, maybe watch some football, and watch boats go by this is your spot. Â It's been here since I was a little girl, way before there was an internet or a YELP. Â
The food for me is very mediocre, but I don't think one ever says "hmmmm I'm craving bar food" no one says "wow what a great day it is, let's go have a drink on the water"--and this is one of the choices in Lauderdale where you can do this. Â They also have a ton of TV's to watch sports on, even though they don't play any sound...which frustrates me.
My assumption that the drinks are more expensive would be based on the premise that the location itself is expensive: right on the waterway, you can tie your boat up  if you want on their dock, and the place is huge.  Paradise ain't cheap my friends.
I've been a hundred times and will continue to go back.
I'd like to give this place 2.5 stars, but unfortunately, I can't, as this is not a Yelp option. Â The quality of the food is meh, the location is great, the service is pretty good, the prices are high for the quality of the food, and the cleanliness leaves much to be desired. Â The redeeming quality was their live band.
I really wanted to go to 15th Street Fisheries but my friend kept whining about how hungry he was and how great this place was and how he didn't want to wait until the Water Taxi made another round of stops until arriving at the 15th Street joint. Â Fine. Â I had a feeling this was one of those tourist trap locations where they get you with their location but the food is nothing special, but we went inside anyway.
Imagine my surprise when I find the carpet, all the way up and down the aisle, is full of wrappers, crayons, fries, and other junk. Â I must note that even though we were there for over an hour, many of these wrappers remained on the floor. Â I'm all about first impressions, so I definitely was not impressed about the lack of cleanliness. Â I understand a certain table may have mess around it, especially with kids, but the whole seating area? There were a good 8 tables or so and there was junk everywhere around them and no one cleaning up the floors. Â The wooden floor by the bar looked wet -- a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I ordered a tuna salad, although I was a bit worried about the freshness of the tuna. Â The waitress kept telling me it was fresh and I'd be satisfied with it, so I took her word while praying she'd be right and I wouldn't have any food poisoning. Â The food took a long time to come. Â I forgot what my friend ordered, other than the fact it was full of fries. Â Like, more than half the plate was fries. Â The tuna salad was ok, nothing spectacular, and it came with no dressing. Â There was a brown sauce that I hoped was balsamic vinaigrette but it was actually soy sauce, so that was my "dressing" for the salad. Â
I heard what sounded like a live band playing the intro to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and turned around and there it was, a group of about 5 musicians. Â They make up a band called [Retro Sky] that was playing great 80s hits such as Duran Duran, The Cure, Billy Idol, etc., for over an hour. Â They were great fun and did a great job. Â The singer had a good voice and even looked like Billy Idol, rawr! They got me dancing, which is rare...
Again, had it not been for the band, I may have given this 2 stars, because as if the food was not interesting enough and the place wasn't very clean, the bathrooms were backed up, leaving you with no option but to go upstairs. Â I'm sure that they can do better, and considering their location, it's a shame they aren't improving on the rather high prices, food options, cleanliness and organization of everything. Â I recommend coming here to have a drink and checking out the live band (although, they do change bands every week so I cannot attest as to the performance and song choices of the other bands), but for food, I'd suggest going elsewhere.
We hadn't been to this Fort Lauderdale landmark on the inter-coastal for over a year. Though it is time for a makeover sitting by a window overlooking the water and watching the boats go by is more than worth avoiding the drab inside.
Once again I gave a star just for the service but, once again, I'm sorry, I didn't get the server's name. She is a professional server with a smile, a quip now and then, making sure our drinks are filled and checking back if everything is okay and/or if we needed anything.
Allen had a cheeseburger with French fries and a diet coke while I had a blue cheeseburger with a side mix of fries and onion rings and coffee. They were cooked according to our specifications though it is still hard to get the Angus beef rare.
The check including tax was $31.79 plus tip.Having a groupon it actually cost us $8 each which was a bargain for the service, food and scenery.
Oh yes there is a $3 valet parking charge.
Giving this place one stars just because it sits on the water or else i'd give 1/2 star if that was possible. The food is mediocre at best. The filet mignon that i ordered medium-well was wayyy over well-done and i usually like rough meat but i decided not to send it back because the server was unpleasant anyhow. The fried calamari is a good portion for many guests to share, the blue cheese salad is lacking in the bacon area and the service is the worst part of the restaurant. Most staff are unpleasant except of course for the manager. I have been here a couple of times and always come in contact with different staff that are rather rude or cold. The last time I believe we were profiled by the server as my dad spoke in an accent and the server decided to add an 18% tip for a party of three of us thinking he wouldn't tip right. Too bad for that guy considering me and my sister were both raised here and know how to tip generously. Â There are other great restaurants on the water that have better service and quality of food. Keep looking is my suggestion.
Review Source:No one can argue with the nice location, (even though the inter-coastal looks just like a dirty river on a cloudy day) but do we have to pay crazy amounts of money for mediocre food just because the location is nice? I'm all about the food, if the food is outstanding, I can eat it anywhere. $16 for fish and chips is crazy in my book. It tasted alright, even though I had to pick the fish out of the way too thick batter. The rest of the menu was the same as every other restaurant. Absolutely nothing special.
Conclusion: if you want nice location, go look at the ocean and take a picture of it, if you want good food, go eat somewhere else and look at the picture of the ocean.
Didnt have  a really good experience here.  I had the worst possible waitres inthe world.  Slow as all hell.  Asked to have picture taken totally ignored us. Â
When it came time to bring out the meals my poor nephew had to wait 15 minutes after mine came out. Â Not Likely to go back.
This place used to be my favorite restaurant, we would come every time we vacationed in FL and practically lived there. We had our own special table and felt like it was home. Now that I live in FL full time it seems the owners have changed, and the place has really went to the dumps. They new cook is awful and food is just blah. No passion or flavor. The prices are still above average, and the service below average. The waitresses seem to think they own the place and were rude. The frozen drinks were terrible. The location is wonderful though, and it is so fun to watch all the boats and rich old guys flirting with the waitresses. On Sunday there are hot body contests with strippers in dental floss bikinis, so don't bring the kids!
Review Source:As a single man, I go out often to catch the game, a draft beer,
& some food.....usually wings. I CANNOT BELIEVE how freakin TERRIBLE the inside bar service was to order as such!!! Â I sat at a half empty bar & waited 20mins just to get noticed, cuz they were trying to start "phasing down" to get ready for the "non-peak period" Â & the waitress looked at me with disgust & informed me the kitchen closes at 9pm, AFTER I had waited since 8:30.....RUFKM?!! Â
I've been coming HERE & to various OTHER establishments while on vacay for the last 6yrs.......I will re-think EVER coming here again, & rather give my bizness in the future to a "more local" home bizness than the chain this place is affiliated with.....
It's a trendy very touristy place offering a terrifically wonderful Intercostal water view with easy Water Taxi accessibility. The drinks aren't bad but pricey. The food is generally less than mediocre and again pricey for what you get and the service varies from the barely passable to the downright horrid.
Any seafood is generally overcooked, rubbery in texture, somewhat tasteless except for the overuse of  seasonings used to enhancement it with other items such a burgers being just so-so at best.
The location is fabolous... Its right on the water.... Beautiful views...
We went here on a friday night around 8 and we had to wait around 20 minutes to get a table outside... Food was ok... I had a chicken quesadilla which was average nothing amazing...
My friend had a burger which wasn't perfectly cooked but their onion rings were really good...
I would probably come here again for the location...
Wow, I'm a little surprised at the reviews with poor service. Did we just get lucky? Â Not sure, but we went to Shooters (Groupon in hand) with our out-of-town friends for a relaxing evening of dinner and drinks along the water.
Service was an A! Â From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with a smile from the valet (costs $3), but we were also smiling from ear to ear so that can always "frame" a good experience right at the start. Â Arriving at 5:30pm afforded us the opportunity to pretty much sit where we wanted, though we noticed the inside of the restaurant was really full. Â I can't imagine going to Shooters and not eating along the patio outside, though it's mostly open air anyway. Â
We ordered a number of items from the appetizer menu as well as the from the entrees, and just enjoyed the view, the good food, and the repeated good service from our servers. Â Try the flatbread -- some of the best I've had! Â Oh, and who's had tator tots since elementary school? Â Not me...until now! Â Try the sweet potatoe tator tots and get your dodge ball on!
Though we arrived during happy hour, special prices are only honored in the bar. Â The bar still has nice views of the water, but we opted to stay put along the patio. Â Just something to be aware of.
Whether our experience was out of the ordinary, I just don't know, but we would go back here in a heartbeat -- for the food, the view, the ambiance, and the service.
We went to Shooters with family from out of town who wanted to eat at a seaside grill because they do not live near an ocean. Shooters I must say has a beautiful vista of the inter coastal, but that is where the nice things to say end. Our waiter was terribly uninformed both about the menu and the beer that they call their own. He did not pick up the menus as he was taking the order and we had to turn them in when he came back with appetizers. Our food was bland to say the least. A little salt would have been appreciated on our fish and sampler meals. My personal fish item was overcooked and my mother's food (Cilantro Lime Snapper) did not come with cilantro or lime and instead had a lemon wedge as the dressing. The rice was bland and overcooked as well.
It doesn't stop at the food. When we were receiving the bill, we noticed a few miscalculations. In total, the restaurant overcharged us $106 beyond what we order, adding premium beverages and multiple appetizers and entrees to our bill. They took care of it but the damage was done.
If you want to go to happy hour then the view is great and the breeze provides a wonderful atmosphere. For any sort of food consumption, I suggest you find anywhere else rated higher on yelp. Check your bill at the end of the night and don't expect much from the servers.
Overpriced terrible food - weak service. Â
Pulled the boat up to enjoy what was starting off as a fabulous Friday night and was incredibly disappointed by the food. Â They conveniently omitted stone crabs from the raw bar menu and then proceeded to charge $40.00, more than double anything on the raw bar menu, for 4 claws. Â The mustard sauce was basically just mayonnaise. Â
Philly cheesesteak tasted like it was on a wonderbread hot dog roll. Â At the start of the meal, a friend asked for a separate check and the server said it would be easier to do at the end. Â At the end of the meal, he said we requested them all together causing a whole to do. Â
Tried to make my friend relocate his boat for no reason at all. Â Only appeal to shooters is a waterfront location.
We took the water taxi while visiting Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area just to check out the multimillion dollar homes. When the taxi stopped at Shooters we decided to eat lunch there.
The location and the view is excellent. The food, just average. The only thing I really liked was the appetizer Spicy Clams (Whole steamed clams simmered in white wine, oregano, and tomatoes.) Â That was good!
For drinks, we just ordered a couple of beers each. The final bill was close to $100. Â A little high for lunch for 3 people..
But it is still a pretty good place to stop, relax and have lunch especially for visitors like us.
A co-worker and I tried this place out for Happy Hour and we will NOT be back. First, it took the bartender a couple of minutes to take my order. I was mainly at the bar with 4 other people. My draft beer was kinda cold.
The person I went with didn't like seafood and there was only 2 appetizers that didn't have seafood, which was very limiting. We ordered the chicken quesadilla. We questioned if the chicken was cooked. After a debate on the cooked chicken we decided to roll the dice. The quesadilla was nothing special with a $11.95 price tag....thankfully it was cheaper because of the happy hour special.
We will not be back.
I agree with Megan on the location of the restaurant. Â The location was fabulous - right on the Intercoastal, you are literally a stone's throw away from the water. Â I went on a Thursday night around 8 p.m. and they have about 20 tables outside and they were only about half full. Â
This is a great date spot and also a great group spot, they have a number of bars and enclaves inside the restaurant and during the week they do not seem busy inside at all. Â
The vibe of the place could go either way, which is a good thing in my opinion. Â You could easily throw on shorts or jeans or slacks and feel comfortable. Â The staff are very attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. Â
The food was pretty good and the presentation was decent as well. Â We ordered conch fritters (which were REALLY tasty), a dolphin ceasar (fish was coooked well but did not have much flavor) and a seafood sampler (scallops were a bit chewy, shrimp were fine, fish was ok). Â Kind of going with Nina on the food here - nothing to complain or write home about.
The only complaint I have is their wine list is highway robbery. Â Their wine list has $10 bottles sold for $30 - $40, which is ok sometimes if the list has unique wines or high-quality wines listed with them. Â Nope - its grocery store shelf wines and that's all you get. Â I felt ridiculous ordering Robert Mondavi Cab for $38. Â
Overall, its a great date spot and good for groups, but not sure I will be going back anytime soon. Â I will however, try out Flip Flops, Bootleggers, and Chart House which are right next door in the same location spot.
Granted it was an off day tuesday evening, Aug 2nd but an AWFUL experience. Â We've been there many times before over the years but never again.
(-) Ordered a $10+ Margarita that was AWFUL. It was bland, weak and sloppily made. This was a specialty drink!
(-) The sweet potato fries were clearly stale and reheated. I mean they were spongy and greasy.
(+) the fish sandwich was OK
(+) Server and service was great.
We have been there before and it was good but never again. Â The location is of course nice but just go to Ft Lauderdale beach where the competition for good food and service is better if you're not looking to dock your boat.
Hate to give an old stomping ground a bad review but I want them to get their act together.
When I was packing to go to Ft. Lauderdale, my roommate kept shooting down all of my choices. "No, Stef, you don't need your four-inch wedge booties." "I thought I told you not to bother packing this dress- it's too nightclubby! Put it back." "Why would you ever bring knee-high suede boots to Florida??"
Frustrated, I threw my hands in the air and yelled, "Doesn't ANYONE have ANY fashion sense in Florida?? What the hell do they even WEAR down there??"*
Flash forward to two nights later, finally in Florida and walking into Shooters for dinner. We enter, are greeted by the host and go to the bar to wait for our table. Literally the entire place turns and stares at us like we're aliens. And that's when I realized...my roommate was right. Everyone is in jeans, tank tops, flip flops, t-shirts and polo shirts. It's mostly families and old people. I, in my heels, skirt and eyeliner, look completely out of place and ridiculous. Oops.
Once I got over the embarrassment of being severely overdressed, I had a pretty good time. We had a nice table outside by the water where we watched the boats go by. Our server was friendly, but a little slow. The food was good and came in huge portions. The spinach dip was delicious, as spinach dip goes. The shrimp scampi was light and tasty. My friends all had various versions of mahi-mahi, which they liked. Overall: everything was good. Just good.
I would come back here if I was on vacation in the area again, but not for any other reason than the fact that it's a place I (now) know in a town that I don't, and people tend to stick with their familiars.
------------------------------
*Note: I'm not really that much of a spoiled brat. I just hadn't been out of the city and away from the cold winter in quite some time.
Location. Location. Location. This is where Shooters earns its stars. There's a wait for a table? That's ok, we'll sit at one of the benches along the water and admire the boats passing by. This place has great views, and on a day with nice weather, it's one of the best places to be to grab some beers and a bite to eat.
They have some seating that is more "indoors", but it's pretty much all open to the outside. They have an area next to the water and further down, a huge tiki hut with tables that have a great view of the water. Their menu is a lot like my Miami waterfront favorite, Shuckers. Seafood, bar food, and lots of tropical drinks. The food is okay. I'm ashamed to say I haven't eaten any seafood here, but my friend got something with shrimp, and the consensus was the same. It was just ok. Nothing stands out about the food. Maybe because we were so distracted with the awesome ambiance.
Shooters is definitely a Fort Liquordale landmark, located on the East side of the Intercoastal, one block south of Oakland Park Blvd. Â Nice atmosphere: dine indoors, at the bar, or dockside and watch the boats go by. Â Good drinks & yummy, casual foods - Â raw bar, burgers, salads, etc. My most recent visit was for lunch & I had the lobster sandwich ($20), served with your choice of a side of fruit or french fries and cole slaw. Â Can't wait to stop by for happy hour!
Review Source:Shooters is a Fort Lauderdale institution. Located on the Intracoastal, there are sometimes more boats rafted to the dock than cars in the parking lot (though there's a multi-story garage now). It's definitely the place to go if you want to show off your shiny big boat and be seen. As well, you can people watch the semi-clad visitors, especially during the high season (November to April). Expect the noise from the modified mufflers if you (recommended!) choose to sit outside by the water.
Food choices are wide and varied but shallow with favorites like the Pan Roasted Salmon, Seafood Fra Diablo and classic half pound cheese burgers, plus a very large selection of bottled and draft beers and mixed drinks.
Bonus: The water taxi stops here. Also, in addition to the self-parking options in the municipal garage, they offer valet parking.
I'm giving it 5 stars to pull the rating up a bit. Shooter's is on point...great location, right on the water at the intercoastal and a solid food quality. I had the Ahi tuna salad and an order of hot wings (it was reduced priced appetizers night, yeah they do cool stuff like that). Both were great, my mouth was burnin' with taste and cooled by the salad. Soy Dressing was a bit too salty though. Then again, I prefer ponzu sauce.
Good stuff, great place to bar hop from too.
I've never been to the main Shooters, but I came to the La Playa beach club for the hot body contest (my boyfriend's single brother really wanted to go). Â It was a lot of fun - there were go-go dancers, loud music, fun crowd, and of course the contest itself, which was a rowdy good time. Â
I didn't care for the DJ too much - horribly mixed mash ups, but there were some good songs and I enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Â The crowd was very mixed, with a wide range of ages - from retirees to frat boys - and everyone was bopping to the beat & having a good time.
I love how boats can dock here and have waiter-service right on their boats.
The drinks were really expensive and I had one of the worst mojitos ever, but otherwise it was a lot of fun - I definitely recommend going at least once if you are in the area. Â Definitely not recommended w/ kids, though - it can get pretty rowdy.
This review is for bar service only:
On a recent pre-cruise stay in Ft. Lauderdale we took the water taxi to Shooters during happy hour, which runs 4-7 p.m. 2 for 1 drinks and 30% off apps at the bar (not at tables though). I had tasty mojitos and dh had 2 local beers while we enjoyed the biggest coconut shrimp I'd seen. They were delicious - crispy with a nice coconut flavor and served with a pineapple salsa garnish.
Service at the bar was friendly and very prompt. It's very convenient to get dropped off by the water taxi (which I highly recommend for a leisurely and informative tour of the intracoastal waterways). Hour later, another taxi is there to pick you up!
All this while enjoying the view of the water - beats March in Chicago!
Well, notwithstanding Lauren K's tragic tale about her inedible lobster salad, I actually liked my experience at SWC USA. Â Onto my review:
My girlfriend and I flew from JFK to Ft. Lauderdale for a winter vacation during the first week of 2008. On a particularly gorgeous day out, we took a water-taxi to Shooter's. Notwithstanding my disappointment that Shooter McGavin didn't own or operate the restaurant, we definitely had a pleasant experience. Â
It was definitely pleasant to eat-outside and near the water. The tables weren't crowded next to each other, and there were hardly many people sitting outside when we were there. The waiter that tended to our table was pleasant, prompt and professional
As for the food, the spinach dip we shared was delicious, and our respective sandwiches were delicious, flavorful and filling. Â And, Shooter's has a pretty extensive wine-list for a 3-star restaurant.
I definitely recommend SWC USA for both native Floridians and vacationers alike.
Shooter's I love. It's close to my house so I eat there about once a week. I've had everything from Chicken, Salmon to the Prime Rib. The food is always good. So is the service, the people who work here are always nice and very helpful.
Now La Playa on the other hand...I just want to know is it legal to charge $11.50 for a Grey Goose and Cran in a tiny plastic cup? I mean seriously??
La PLAYA: Reallly Fun Place on Sundays..Mostly go for entertainment..No so much for the food. Unless you order a club sandwich or something ( anything hard to screw up). Fun atmosphere, loud music...Great to go with a big group of people..bring your bathing suit. You can also pull up in your boat, there are docks there to park it. House music , Go-Go dancers...a great place for sunday afternoon. Not so much a family place. Casual: Throw on a sundress &sunglasses and you're good to go.
Review Source:It's one of the most horrible place I ever been for Sunday brunch.
$25.00 per person, and the food was not good at all.
The waiter didn't tell us that coffee and ice tea is included with the brunch buffet.
Their menu is like those $3.99 breakfast buffet special in Orlando. ( addition has shrimps( taste OK) , prime ribs( taste OK), Â omelet (which the guy doesn't know what he is doing, he even said he is not a real chef)
It's not worth $25 dollars at all. I will never go back there.
Oh also, parking is $10 dollars
3.5 Stars. Â Great on Sundays to sit along the water and watch people party on their boats docked there...or sail by. Â I live within walking distance to this place, so the only thing annoying is the loud exhausts of all the Harley bikers that come by on weekends.
One time the fish I had here was overcooked, but the other 2-3 times it was perfect. Â Large portions of fish in the sandwiches, too.
But the reason I come here is for the strong fru-fru drinks (mmm Goombay smashes) and the spicy clam appetizer dish (the sauce is amazing; I get extra bread --they have Bimini bread-- just to sop up every last drop). Â
Their brunch doesn't have much in the way of seafood variety anymore (no crab, no oysters on the halfshell), so I'd skip it and order from the menu. Â One of the last times I went, the new sushi bar opened up and it began serving sushi to order after 4pm. Â It took a while for them to make it, but some of the combinations available were different and surprisingly good. Â They were the thin style rolls instead of the huge ones, and the spicy rolls had a good kick to them while the neat vegetarian one I had was tasty and refreshing. Â
It's kinda crowded on weekends with tourists, especially because La Playa is next door with 30 & 40-somethings in swimsuits. Â You can walk back and forth and take your drinks out on the dock walkway but don't take outside drinks into a different establishment; the cups are color coded. Â
But since I live close by, I think I'll stop by after work sometime when they come out with their new menu (supposedly coming soon). Â It's nicer and quieter then.
Shooters  has been Fort Lauderdales waterfront "see-be seen", touristy place for a long time....it's a place to take visitors. Good for lunch and dinner
Food is very good, good selection and the location, on the intracoastal is excellent....busy on tthe weekends.
Valet parking available.
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