16 Must-Visit Restaurants in Pompano Beach, Florida
Are you looking for the top restaurants in Pompano Beach? With so many delicious options, we had to narrow down our favorites!
Pompano Beach is a beautiful town in southern Florida between Miami and Palm Beach. This city is gorgeous, so if you’re passing through, you should definitely stop and enjoy yourself.
Known as the “Heart of the Gold Coast,” Pompano Beach has incredible beaches, a waterfront, a coral reef, many shipwrecks, and other dive spots. But there are additional reasons to go to this city just north of Fort Lauderdale and south of Delray Beach.
Like other South Florida spots, Pompano Beach’s best feature is its variety. Its food scene is bursting with talent from all over the world, especially at long-standing restaurants like Cafe Maxx, and new restaurants like Le Vie Lebanese, where guests can savor the best flavors.
You can find any type of food you want throughout this area, no matter what you’re craving.
From seafood places to steakhouses and everywhere in between, here are our 16 must-visit restaurants in Pompano Beach, Florida!
16. Dandee Donut Factory
1900 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | Bakeries, American, Diner | Under $10 | Monday to Sunday 6:00 am – 6:00 am (next day)
To start this list is the Dandee Donut Factory. It’s an excellent breakfast place located on Atlantic Boulevard, but you can conveniently go at pretty much any time.
As a short history, Dandee Donut Factory opened in the early 1980s, when two friends quit their jobs in the corporate world to become the owners of this food chain. Today, the chain is still strong and serving loyal customers who have become like family over the years.
Visitors worldwide know that a trip to South Florida isn’t complete without a stop at The Dandee Donut Factory. Now that the company’s leadership team has been refreshed and re-energized, some loyal customers are happy to see Dandees popping up in their towns.
Dandee is unique because it has 50 different kinds of donuts. Dandee Donuts are baked in batches 24 hours a day, so you can be sure that every donut sold is always delicious and fresh.
But Dandee Donut Factory offers more than tasty donuts and fresh coffee. They serve homemade breakfasts, lunches, and dinners 24 hours daily to fulfill any hunger.
There are several different kinds of donuts, but what we like best are the fried, fluffy ones with glaze on top. On the other hand, the regular old-fashioned ones are pretty good, too, if you like cake-style donuts.
Yyou can’t go wrong with other pastries here if you want to try something other than donuts. Lastly, do not leave without sampling the coffee beverages – they’re all delicious!
Click here to check out the reviews.
15. J Mark’s Restaurant
1490 NE 23rd St, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Bar, Vegetarian Friendly | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
J. Mark’s is the perfect place to eat for business, pleasure, or maybe both.
In July 2007, J. Mark’s opened its doors and quickly became a local favorite spot. Here, you can have fun and eat to your heart’s content in a friendly and calm setting.
As for the food, this restaurant proudly serves only the best and freshest foods with the best ingredients.
The menu has a lot of great choices, like appetizers made for sharing, fresh salads, hearty pasta, excellent sandwiches, and hand-patted burgers, along with fresh seafood or Certified Angus Beef steaks cut by an in-house butcher.
Also, J. Mark’s Restaurant has a large selection of bottled and on-tap beers, and a lengthy wine list for glass and bottle options. The menu also has a variety of tasty martinis, margaritas, mojitos, and other specialty drinks, and the best part is each has reasonable prices.
Opt for the shrimp scampi if you’re a seafood lover. This dish is fantastic, and there is a lot of it – plenty for leftovers! The shrimp are crisp and flavorful, and the angel hair pasta is terrific.
Crab cakes are a great option, too. The dish has lots of fresh crabs that will make your mouth water whenever you eat one.
This is definitely one of our go-to restaurants in Pompano Beach for fresh seafood and a classy atmosphere!
Click here to check out the reviews.
14. Houston’s
2821 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options | $31 – $60 | Monday and Thursday 11:30 am – 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm, Sunday 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Do you want to go upscale? Houston’s Restaurant in Pompano Beach has beautiful settings, friendly service, and good food. In short, if you eat here, expect a memorable time for a romantic date night.
Houston’s is on the Intracoastal Waterway. It has a large outdoor patio with a water view, a dining area with big windows, and the open kitchen is always busy.
Keep in mind that this restaurant prefers to host smaller, more intimate groups of two people. If there are no reservations for three or more people, you won’t be able to dine.
Also, reservations are only for the inside dining room. Patio tables are first come, first served basis.
The menu isn’t huge, but it does change with the seasons, so the dishes are always new and interesting. More so, the food is always delicious, no matter what day, time, or season!
The filet mignon is our favorite thing to eat here. It’s the best, and you must try it to understand why. Seriously: there’s not a better filet!
Smoked salmon is another option. It was a big piece of salmon filet that tasted only lightly smoked. The meat will melt in your mouth, which is like nothing else!
Try the rotisserie chicken salad and kale for dinner. It was big and filling, and like other dishes, it tasted great. Everything is always super fresh.
If you still have room for dessert, get the brownie and ice cream, which is excellent for sharing. It is a real treat!
Click here to check out the reviews.
13. Zuccarelli East
1340 N Federal Hwy, Pompano Beach, FL | Italian, Pizza, Vegetarian Friendly | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm, Sunday 3:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Zuccarelli East is the place to go if you want to try authentic Italian food and pizza.
This restaurant on the Federal Highway has always been excellent. Part of its success comes from the great teamwork of everyone who works there, from the servers and bussers to the owner, Guliano.
Both inside and outside, it has a relaxed vibe. It’s a great spot to come with a large group.
As for the food, there is a lot to choose from on the menu at this restaurant. You can find pizza, calzone, soup, salad, and pasta. There are also main dishes with chicken and veal, hot and cold paninis, and sandwiches. There is also a menu for kids, which is a big plus!
Last time, we got the Lamb Chop Special, with coffee, salad, garlic bread, and lamb chops.
The Italian garlic bread, which had just come out of the oven, was golden brown and covered with warm garlic clumps and olive oil/butter. It’s definitely my favorite garlic bread!
Meanwhile, the outside of the very tender lamb chops was to perfection, and they came with mashed potatoes that had a gentle butter mushroom gravy on top.
Click here to check out the reviews.
12. The Rusty Hook Tavern
125 N Riverside Dr, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Bar, Seafood | $31 – $60 | Wednesday to Saturday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm, Sunday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Next on the list is the Rusty Hook Tavern.
Rusty Hook Tavern is a beachfront restaurant in Pompano Beach, Florida. It’s an excellent place for a date and is among the best spots to watch the sunset.
This restaurant has an unrivaled atmosphere, which is casual and great for hanging out with close friends. You can look over the marina and see boats and the Intracoastal waterways.
Rusty Hook Tavern’s menu has dishes that are made from scratch and are fresh. However, it also has a full speakeasy-style bar that allows you to try local beers, boutique wines, and craft cocktails.
For appetizers, you can get things like ahi tuna poke nachos with kimchi slaw, pork belly with spiced lentils and green papaya, and some vegetarian alternatives such as roasted buffalo cauliflower and charred portobello mushrooms.
We love the Moroccan lamb racks, steaks, and lobster pasta. There are also fish selections, which include 6 to 8 whole or filleted local fish and seafood like snapper, mahi, wahoo, corvina, and swordfish.
We shared the octopus, pork belly appetizer, and the Caribbean salad when we ate dinner here last.
Everything was great, from the food, the service, and the views. If you want a perfect Florida dinner, look no further!
Click here to check out the reviews.
11. Greek Taverna Ammos
2201 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | Mediterranean, Greek, Vegetarian Friendly | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 11:30 am – 8:30 pm, Friday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm, Saturday 2:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Greek Taverna Ammos first opened with the idea of serving real Greek food. This restaurant will keep that successful idea, as it has been called one of the best Greek restaurants in South Florida.
When you eat here, you can expect fresh, healthy food.
The menu gets inspiration from the diet of Mediterranean, so each dish is made with virgin olive oil, herbs, and spices from Greece. Also, they don’t use preservatives or additives, and since the meals have same-day preparation, the suppliers bring in fresh ingredients daily.
We found this gem when we are strolling around Pompano Beach. We ordered things like Avgolemeno soup and a Greek salad with salmon.
Before the food came, they gave us hot, freshly toasted pita with olive and herb butter, which was delicious.
When our food came, everything was delicious. The soup was full of flavors, but the salad was the highlight.
The classic salad has thin slices of significant portions of juicy tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers. There were also red onions and Kalamata olives. On top is a considerable feta cheese! As for the salmon, it, too, was cooked perfectly and had good seasoning.
This is definitely one of the best restaurants in Pompano Beach for authentically healthy food.
Click here to check out the reviews.
10. Shishka Lebanese Grill
1901 N Federal Hwy UNIT 109, Pompano Beach, FL | Lebanese, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern | $11 – $30 | Tuesday to Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm, Sunday 12:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Shishka Lebanese Grill, opened by brothers Walid and Gus Zabib in 2011, is another must-visit restaurant. It has a warm, welcoming atmosphere and serves various delicious Lebanese dishes.
The brothers are from Beirut in Lebanon, where they grew up in a large family of restaurant owners. When they got to the United States, they discovered that there were just a few Middle Eastern restaurants, and almost none were that good.
From there, the Zabib family decided to start a restaurant where people could get good home-cooked Lebanese food like Mom used to make.
Today, the restaurant serves lunch and dinner every day, and the menu is full of things like appetizers, soups, salads, unique entrées, and more, so there’s something for everyone.
One of our favorite things about this place is the chicken shawarma. This dish is thinly sliced chicken breast that has been marinated and slowly roasted. It is with a garlic sauce from Lebanon.
Other great options are the baba ghanouj, a veggie combo with hummus, tabbouleh, falafel, grape leaves, and fatayer, and the marinated giant shrimp with a unique Mediterranean flavoring.
In addition to the food, this place also hosts some events. You can watch live belly dancing on Saturday nights, which adds to the cultural experience. This is definitely one of the coolest restaurants in Pompano Beach if you want something more than just the typical seafood meal!
Click here to check out the reviews.
9. La Perla di Pompano
420 N Federal Hwy, Pompano Beach, FL | Italian, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options | $11 – $30 | Tuesday to Saturday
The next restaurant is La Perla di Pompano, another great Italian restaurant in the area.
After selling their prolific Italian restaurant Il Posto in Hollywood, Manuela and Lino opened this restaurant in November 2018. They are now excited to serve the people in and around Pompano Beach.
La Perla is known for its fresh pasta, desserts, and bread; all made in-house daily. Its chefs have been trained in Europe, so they can change any dish to accommodate dietary requirements and allergies.
We got the carpaccio appetizer the last time we visited, and it was great. It was among the best pieces of raw beef we ever had.
The “table service” Bruschetta is also excellent, and we dare you to eat just one and try not to want to order more.
Plus, this restaurant serves squid ink pasta. It is the place to try it for the first time. And you will be surprised by how tasty it is!
Add a dessert and a sip of wine to the end of your meal. You will be happy and full when you leave.
You can find La Perla di Pompano on North Federal Highway, next to the Pompano Community Park.
Click here to check out the reviews.
8. Checkers Old Munchen
2209 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | German, European, Central European | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 7:00 am – 10:00 pm, Sunday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
You might not have expected German food in Pompano Beach, but Checkers Old Munchen has that and much more. So, it’s the place to go if you want a few beers and some brats.
Checkers Old Munchen is a restaurant serving authentic German food since 1982. The restaurant and its atmosphere will make you feel like you’re in a different place and time with its warmth and friendliness.
The walls here are of weathered wood, and the shelves are with authentic German beer mugs and a fantastic collection of German beer. And you can also try food and beer from all over Germany in this cozy place.
We always come here when we wish to relax with a beer and some German food. We love the schnitzel; however, the menu is so extensive that we usually try something different every time we go.
You will not be disappointed with crowd-pleasers like potato pancakes with applesauce or sour cream, onion and apple soup topped with provolone cheese, or any kind of schnitzel delicately breaded cutlets of chicken, pork, or veal sautéed in lemon butter and covered in brown gravy.
Each dish is sure to be good, and we recommend trying a different one each time you visit!
On the other hand, the rich Black Forest cake or the classic apple strudel are terrific choices for sweets.
With everything it offers, this restaurant is indeed a little piece of Germany in Pompano Beach.
Click here to check out the reviews.
7. The Foundry
2781 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Bar, Vegetarian Friendly | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
The Foundry has a raw bar and delicious foods cooked over open flames. The space is not only beautiful, but it also has a lot of history. In fact, it is the one restaurant in Florida that will show you how America was a hundred years ago, before the Industrial Revolution, versus how it is now.
When you walk into the dining room, you’ll see a ceiling of wood from a Kentucky tobacco barn from 1902, a metal moving door from Philadelphia from 1880, and the famous picture of New York City workers, Lunch Atop a Skyscraper, which was more than 80 years ago.
You can eat a fresh stack of tuna, salmon, and avocado sushi under old-fashioned shag lamps that give off an orange glow. Also, you can get lobster or short rib on a flatbread, Mexican street corn pizza, or meatballs with polenta.
There are many great options here, but the short-rib flatbread and eggplant meatballs are among our favorites. The short rib flatbread was tasty and had a crisp crust, while the meatballs were delectable and sumptuous for sharing.
You can’t go wrong with the Mister Fish Seafood Bowl if you like seafood. Fresh shrimp, calamari, clams, mussels, and white fish were in a tasty broth with garlic toast.
Everything is great. We highly recommend this location – it’s one of our favorite restaurants in Pompano Beach for both the ambiance and the food!
Click here to check out the reviews.
6. Café Brie
2765 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Café, Vegetarian Friendly | $11 – $30 | Tuesday to Sunday 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
If you love brunch, and especially if you like to have a drink with it, you’ll love this next place.
Cafe Brie, a cute little cafe, is undoubtedly among the best places in the city to get breakfast. You know it will be a wonderful day when you start the day with a dish at Cafe Brie.
This cafe is family-operated and very friendly. It serves a wide range of great food from all over the world. From export meat and cheese plates to a delicious American burger, the menu is full of tasty options that cover a wide range of tastes.
The restaurant has a casual atmosphere where you can eat breakfast and lunch. The highlights are the corned beef, and pastrami omelet with Swiss cheese served with fresh fruit.
You can also opt for the goat cheese and fig preserves sandwich on rosemary bread with bacon and grilled, which is equally good.
Even better, the cafe has a variety of drinks and a lot of sweets, like croissants, cakes, or cheesecakes.
Of course, this place also serves some of the best eggs benedict in the area. And what else is perfect to go with it than a mimosa?
You can check out Cafe Brie on East Atlantic Boulevard, next to E Atlantic Blvd ICW Drawbridge. This is one of our favorite Pompano Beach restaurants for an upscale brunch!
Click here to check out the reviews.
5. Beach House
270 N Pompano Beach Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Bar, Seafood | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm, Sunday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Beach House is the kind of restaurant where you should go with friends and family, order as many dishes as possible, try different inventive cocktails, and stay longer than you planned to enjoy the live music and rooftop seating with views of the ocean.
The decor of this restaurant at the Pompano Beach Fishing Pier gets inspiration from the surf culture worldwide. It has a mix of Polynesian paddles and wooden tables, chairs, and barstools, where people gather to enjoy South Florida’s bounty.
Not only is the decor popular, but so are the dishes. You can choose from different burgers daily, like the vegetarian OhMyGoodness, which has mushrooms, red pepper jalapeno jam, and arugula tacos, like the Costa Rican shrimp taco, which has slaw and fresh grilled mango on top.
There is also a list of sandwiches, which includes the crispy fresh catch, which is available at market price.
There are also many beach bites available if you prefer something more casual. Short-rib sliders of brisket and ground chuck, smoked trout dip, and barbecue wings are some of the best.
You can choose lobster and shrimp pappardelle pasta or shrimp and grits with corn mayo, ham, and asparagus in a light Creole sauce as your main course.
As you can see, this restaurant has a lot of exciting things to try. So, if you spent all day fishing on the nearby pier and didn’t catch anything, this restaurant is the perfect place to come for some seafood and drinks to make you feel better.
This is one of our favorite waterfront restaurants in Pompano Beach for a night out!
Click here to check out the reviews.
4. Calypso | Restaurant & Raw Bar
Isles Shopping Center, 460 S Cypress Rd, Pompano Beach, FL | American, Caribbean, Seafood | $11 – $30 | Monday to Friday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
The next place to eat on this list is Calypso. Calypso is a restaurant and raw bar with fantastic food that will blow you away.
Since it opened in 1990, this restaurant and bar have been making customers happy with its Caribbean-inspired food. In an eclectic, lively setting, you can choose from a wide range of tasty dishes made from scratch with only the freshest ingredients.
This Pompano Beach restaurant is tiny but comfortable. On one side is a bar with a few tables below a thatched tiki roof. On the other side is the main dining room.
You will enjoy eating here because it looks like a tropical island with a mural of the Hillsboro Lighthouse on one wall.
On the menu, there are items like soups, salads, sandwiches called “cutters,” seafood, chicken, roti, meat, and curries. There are also specials posted on boards all over the restaurant.
One of our favorites here is the 1/2 Jamaican jerk chicken, which comes with either pigeon peas and rice or fried plantains as a side dish.
Meanwhile, the shrimp stuffed with seafood and vegetables and then baked with bacon on top and the vegetarian curry on a bed of pigeon peas and rice are also great options.
Click here to check out the reviews.
3. La Vie Lebanese
281 S Pompano Pkwy, Pompano Beach, FL | Lebanese, Moroccan, Mediterranean | $11 – $30 | Monday to Thursday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm, Friday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm, Saturday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Sunday 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
This next restaurant is the best place to go when trying something different.
When you eat at La Vie Lebanese, it’s like being at a vibrant family dinner. It’s a lively place with good food, drinks, and music.
The family-owned La Vie Lebanese is in a shopping strip on South Pompano Parkway. Its menu and philosophy are from the food traditions of Lebanon and Morocco.
The space looks like a luxurious oasis, with colored lights, drapes, water fountains, and expensive furniture. Its open sides let the South Florida breeze in, giving the dining room a lively atmosphere.
There are a lot of tasty choices on the menu, but we suggest starting your meal with the La Vie salad. It has mixed greens, apples, grapes, walnuts, red onions, arugula, dried figs, and crumbled blue cheese. Then you can have seafood pie with vermicelli and mushrooms in a Moroccan style.
Or, order the mezza royale to share. It’s a big plate with fresh hummus, baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, fattoush, hot falafel, cheese Burak, fried kibbeh, spinach pies, and mini sfiha pies that you can cover with a blanket of house-made labneh.
You can also choose from kebabs and specialties like lamb tagine and Mediterranean snapper fillet featuring baked lemon potatoes. And lastly, mango juice or pomegranate lemonade will quench your thirst and make everything taste better.
In general, this restaurant is a fantastic spot. And if you visit on the weekends, you can even catch a belly dancing show. La Vie is a whole new way to eat!
Click here to check out the reviews.
2. Café Maxx
2601 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options | $31 – $60 | Monday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Tuesday to Saturday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm, Sunday 10:30 pm – 2:30 pm and 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Are you looking for a fantastic fine dining establishment in Pompano Beach? Go straight to Cafe Maxx!
In 1984, Oliver Saucy and Darrel Broek joined forces to run this fine-dining restaurant on Atlantic Boulevard, which has been running strong ever since.
What makes Cafe Maxx stand out is the background of its chef. Saucy grew up in Germany before settling in New York. He has combined the training he got there with the food of South Florida and his heritage to create unique yet flavorful delicacies.
Among those unique dishes are tropical fruit salsa, caviar pie, banana-lime grilled shrimp with sweet mash, and plantains.
The best choices for main dishes are the duck and smoked mozzarella ravioli with sun-dried tomato and basil brown butter, the petite filet mignon crusted with Brie and served with spaghetti squash, and the lamb chops crusted with candied pumpkin seeds or goat cheese.
In addition to the great food, you can also get a lot of fantastic drinks and dessert options. The more than 300 wines and signature sweets like the chocolate Oreo pretzel bar with dulce de leche and the pumpkin cheesecake are just two reasons locals and tourists return to this restaurant.
The restaurant also offers Sunday brunch, wine wine tasting, and cooking classes to its guests.
Click here to check out the reviews.
1. Gianni’s
1601 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL | Italian, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options | $31 – $60 | Monday to Friday 11:00 am – 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm – 9:30 pm, Saturday 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm, Sunday 4:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Last on this list is Gianni’s. This restaurant has you covered with each dish and is always a real treat.
Gianni’s Ristorante is a restaurant jewel that serves delicious Italian food daily. It serves hearty food and has a warm, expansive interior with friendly service, making it a place to visit repeatedly.
The menu has a wide range of dishes, and there is something for everyone. This restaurant has meat, seafood, and even some tasty options for vegetarians, so it will be easy to satisfy your hunger.
For starters, try the baked clams oreganata and the grilled eggplant with red peppers and mozzarella. Both these are delicious and will make your mouth water.
For main dishes, the must-try includes pasta with broccoli, garlic, and olive oil, meat lasagna, eggplant rollatini, and fried calamari. Also, try their famous garlic rolls, which come with every meal.
On the other hand, desserts like the famous tiramisu or ricotta cheesecake are the best way to end a meal here. Both of these tasty treats will make you feel good.
Gianni’s just got a liquor license, and its wooden bar serves bourbon, champagne, and a wide range of Italian wines to make your experience even better.
Click here to check out the reviews.
Pompano Beach is a real gem of a city, as you can see. There are restaurants there that you can always count on for a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner when you’re in town.
This list of 16 must-visit restaurants in Pompano Beach, Florida, proves that, so consider visiting one. No matter which Pompano Beach restaurants you visit, you can easily get your cravings satisfied!
