Florida Room photo
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Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth, the Top Chef duo behind South Florida favorites Stiltsville Fish Bar and the now-shuttered Root & Bone and Mi’talia, are heading north with Florida Room, opening Wednesday, October 15, at the Fort, a 9.5-acre sports and entertainment complex in Fort Lauderdale.
In a very 2025 move, the restaurant sits beside the venue’s pickleball courts, meaning diners can enjoy wagyu meatloaf and caviar-topped tots while watching strangers argue over line calls.
For now, Florida Room will open for dinner service only. “We envisioned Florida Room as the perfect spot for affordable, comfortable, stress-free weeknight dining, a fun family dinner, or drinks with happy hour friends,” says McInnis. “Naturally, the offerings are elevated by technique and made with the best ingredients available, but a night at Florida Room should feel familiar and comforting in the best possible ways.”
Florida Room photo
A Neighborhood Spot with a Side of Athletics
Florida Room’s menu is certainly robust, offering nearly 40 dishes that mix Southern comfort with coastal ingredients. Appetizers include a crunchy calamari Caesar, grilled mango and sesame salad, and peaches paired with stracciatella and prosciutto.
The house-made tater tots arrive with crème fraîche and caviar, while lamb sausage rolls, smoked fish dip, and pimento cheese with focaccia round out the starters. Flatbreads range from margherita and hot honey pepperoni to a black truffle version with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and aged balsamic.
Florida Room photo
Heartier main courses include a wagyu short rib “meatloaf” brushed with plantain barbecue glaze and a spatchcock chicken pressed under a brick until its skin turns golden and crisp. There’s chili-lime yellowfin tuna with miso sweet potato puree, spicy rigatoni with Calabrian ’nduja, and a ten-ounce double smash burger. The “Favorites + Classics” section complements the main offerings with double buttermilk-fried chicken, barbecue ribs, and an 18-ounce Australian ribeye, served with marrow butter and chimichurri.
Sides include pimento cheese grits, rosemary citrus fries, and sweet plantains with chimichurri. Desserts lean nostalgic: a baked Alaska torched tableside, coconut key lime pie, and chocolate spumoni tart with bourbon cherries. Weekend brunch is expected later this year.
From South Beach to South Broward
McInnis, a Florida native and James Beard Award nominee, first came onto the scene as executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach before co-founding Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. Booth, originally from Australia, also competed on Top Chef and earned a James Beard semifinalist nod for her work at Root & Bone.
The 4,000-square-foot space is bright with sandy tones, plenty of greenery, and a bar that spills out toward the courts. There’s room for 100 guests inside, 100 outside, and 45 in a private dining room. A separate event space upstairs doubles that capacity.
Florida Room at the Fort. 891 SW 34th St., Fort Lauderdale; playthefort.com.
