Cafe Martorano

One of the worst dinning experiences- The service had one excuse after another- we waited for entrees- for over 1 1/2 hours then received one entree, finally told the waiter to forget the rest of our entrees- then the FRIENDLY manager came over and let us know that they had a 31/2 hour waiting list and things happen- we should be patient- so after another 30 minutes we asked our waiter who kept telling us it was his first night- to please just give us the bill- it took another 15 minutes for them to figure this out- and then the manager or assistant we lost the manager- charged us for our entrees we never got- A total nightmare- but all was not lost we ventured over to TATU across the way and had dinner in less time than it took for the staff at cafe martorano to figure out what the heck they were doing- Cons: Service or lack of more

Place is one of a kind. Best food in the world hands down. Atmosphere is amazing and service was great its like the waiters know what u need before u say a word more

No_photo_small ""ROYAL RIP OFF"" by Laura (1 review) April 16, 2010 - When a chef starts to believe his own BS the way Mr. Martorano does, trouble begins. This was one of the biggest rip offs of all time. One meatball and a bit of salad for $20 is bad enough, but how dare you serve a veal chop full of fat and tiny, and charge $70. The old guys dressed in black with headsets are way too 80's. Service is barely adequate, and you're lucky if your silverware arrives within 10 minutes after your meal. The food at this branch doesn't compare to the first place, and this is an example of excess and greed. Our pasta came out undercooked, and when we complained and sent it back we were told ""Chef says your dish was overcooked."" The underlying message was ""you're an idiot who doesn't even know the difference between under and over cooked pasta."" Guess what? I do!!! Do your self a favor-avoid this place at all costs unless you like poor service, food, customer service and want to pay extraordinarily high prices for it. Pros: I'll try to think of one Cons: Bad service, ridiculous prices, mediocre food more

Went to the ""grand opening"" at the hard rock last night for my girlfriends birthday with her family and had the worst experience in many years. For a tab of $342.00 that took a little over and hour to taste was left at the table with a dissatisfied taste in our mouths steve's quote "" If you dont like it so what"". By far dissapointed with his morals and professionalism as an owner, Never again. Only thing good was the homemade meatball salad and the look of the place... Pros: homemade meatball Cons: everything else more

love the food at Martarano's, been there before and went back for the wonderful meatballs. But felt so out of place, I had to get the bartenders attention when I was sitting right in front of him. Then he stopped pouring our wine mid drift to tend to another guest! how rude, it would have taken two more seconds to finish pouring my husband’s wine. Ok, finally poured our wine and walked away. I had to flag him down again to place our food order. When the food arrives, Jeffery did not even come over to see if this is what we ordered, let alone ask us for freshly grated parmesan cheese, and serve us. Isn't this what their known for? I was so disappointed in Jeffrey, not once during our dining experience at the bar did he come over and ask us how our meal was, he briefly came over twice to pour more wine for us, thanks Jeffrey! He was so cocky, why? I'm not sure why he treated us like we were not important or our money didn't matter to him. So we took his hint, and yes we did not tip him. I go out for the experience, I tip well when we get good service, but in this case I couldn't even leave him a written tip, cause he probable doesn't even pick up the receipt, the lovely girl behind the bar cleaning up after him does. Here is your tip Jeffery, never underestimate your customers, you never know who you’re serving. Because of you, my husband and I will sadly never return to Cafe Martorano, I will miss your meatball Steve! Pros: very good food Cons: Jeffrey the bar tender was too good to serve us??? more

The best food I have tasted in Florida yet! It has a great surrounding. Ever night is a party at cafe martorano. Fantastic restaurant!!! more

Most expensive spot in town ..noisiest..most obnoxious servers...but have to admit that the food is extraordinary more

After reading interesting review at h ttp://pie.im/f763 I`ve decided to try this place. Even with reservation it took some time to get your table. However, loud music (which I liked) and TV`s makes our waiting shorter. Anyway, food is delicious and service is decent. Final costs could be a bit lower, but ... you get what you payed for. Will come back again for sure. :-) Pros: Food is delicious Cons: Long wait for available table more

This place was a waste of time and money!! Talk about overpriced - this is insane!! $35 for a plate of pasta and sauce with peppers and some chicken - you gotta be kidding!! I guess they had to pay the Don, dunno?? We were seven people and we spent $35 on water alone!! And a manditory 20% tip? What is this Miami Beach?? The service was fine, and the food tasted okay, but really for those prices, don't bother. I have had good Italian food in many many restaurants from Rome to NYC and never paid these kind of prices. Once more we were trying to enjoy the meal and the loud music and the fact that they were showing the unedited version of ""The Wrestler"" on the TV's with all its gruesome gore and inappropriate scenes was just too much, very bad taste!! It totally ruined the evening. I wouldn't recomend this place to anyone. Go to Il Mulino or Bona Pizza and you will get equally as good food for a third of the cost! Pros: Nothing Cons: Practically everything more

This is a hip place to watch the beautiful people people with beautiful (and delicious) food. Don't miss the lobster fried rice! Mmmmmmm more

I love great restaurants and great food. I have eaten in five star restaurants all over the world. The food was good; the service, price, and overall attitude was not. No prices on the menu is one thing. $16.00 for a bottle of Pelligrino water was another. After finishing the bottle, I asked for a glass of water and was told, ""we don't serve water."" My option was another $16.00 bottle. This is probably against the Florida Board of Health regulations, but my guess is that Cafe Martorano thinks they can make their own rules. i will not be returning to this overpriced, rude restaurant. I prefer to be waited on where my patronage and my money is appreciated. more

My two girlfriends and I came into town for the weekend. We went to Martoranos on a Saturday night. Super high energy, phenomenal music, and fabulous food. We loved Dominic too btw. On our way home, we decided that Martoranos was apparetnly the main attraction to this area in Lauderdale. Go there! So, so fun!!! xo Pros: food, drinks, music, dominic more

I was invited to a dinner here. I went online and read the review. I was left with the impression that it was a tourist trap and not much else. They are all wrong! I was with 9 people. All well traveled business people who know the good life. Everyone commented that the food was ?best ever?. It was great. The wait staff was awesome. We sat right near the grill/kitchen ? what action. We ordered many appetizers ? The meatball, calamari and eggplant appetizer were phenomenal. The meatballs are the size of baseballs. Best tasting ever. Huge portions on appetizers. I order the Sea Bass Special. Big piece of moist Sea Bass with shrimp and lump crab. I am an east coast guy and have been to Baltimore and eaten crabs lots. This lump crab was the biggest and best tasting every. The wine was great. I can not say enough about this place. It is expensive but worth it. Life is short so spurge alittle. Right? We went to the Elbow Room afterwards and made it a complete night of fun with colleagues. Pros: food was awesome - dishes inventive - great atmosphere Cons: If you have to ask you can't afford it more

Despite living in Italy for a year, I sitll believe this is one of the best Italian restaurants on the planet. I've been eating at Marto's for 3-4 years now and never had anything less than a spectacular meal. The no reservations policy and the 2 1/2 hour wait at the bar can be obnoxious, but I look at it as time to get caught up on the Sopranos and other mob hits. Although, the Philly cheesesteak (way better than Gino's), prepared only if you order it, is my favorite way to pass the time at the bar. And the people watching can't be beat. Marto's bar is a time warp. Step inside and it's 1991 in east Long Island. I love that there's no menu and just a couple of fresh, tasty dishes every night. The staples I always order are the prawns in a garlics sauce on crisp bread and the meatball. Pros: Excellent food and fun energetic atmosphere Cons: No reservations and very long wait more

\r Great service, good food, yet try to call the place, forget about it............I spent $300.00+ for dinner for 2, lost my business cell phone and you can't call the place to ask fo assistance. They take your money and could care less once the have your cash or credit card. Very impersonal, I like friendly places and if so go some place else. they are after your money and you are a number. WHY DON'T THEY ANSWER THE PHONE?\r \r BOCA CAT more

Enjoyed our meal until we got our bill. Without a written menu, you cannot see what the prices are for the meals. Ordered a plate of pasta w/ 3 scallops and 3 pieces of lobster and it cost $70 for 1 dish! Was given an open bottle of water that we did not request, $15!!! Very disappointed. Would never go back. Too much nerve to treat people that way. Pros: good food Cons: way too expensive more

After you sit down you feel like you?re in a chessy 80?s movie there?s a disco ball, waiters with fluorescent green ties, and limo tinted windows that make you feel like your entering a swingers club instead of a high end restaurant. The blaring music makes it impossible to carry on a conversation which leaves you no choice but to join the rest of the patrons and stare at the big screens TV?s scattered around the room. There?s no menu and the waiter basically goes on a 5 minute monologue describing each dish. A few times during this monologue I zoned off and had to have him repeat a couple dishes and by the end I only remembered a few of the dishes he mentioned in detail. No prices were ever mentioned during his speech and no printed menus were offered. They might believe that this is some sort of unique eclectic quality that makes them ?different? but I find it obnoxious and I wonder if it?s even legal. Also, when I did finally select a meal I asked if I could replace the side dish with a different pasta. I was told NO substituting hands down! Dinner for 2 with wine was $150 and we shared an appetizer. In my opinion for $150, I am used to being treated a little better and certainly substitutions to make the customer happy are no problem. If you?re into fine dining and are ok with spending $150 on 2 for dinner then you will be sadly disappointed with the service here. Pros: good place to go if you dont want to talk to your date Cons: terrbile service, loud, no exceptions made, no menu, no prices more

Food doesnt get better than this. This is my favorite place in the world. The best food in an even better... more

Food doesnt get better than this. This is my favorite place in the world. The best food in an even better atmosphere. Stevie’s the man! The Shrimp ... more

I was very impressed by how fun Martoranos was. Not only is the food out of this world, but the atmosphere is fabulous. It's very loud and the music is great, the only downside is you have to wait forever for a table on the weekends. Ciao bella! more