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Last Update: Oct 15th, 2017
Marina 84

Marina84

2440 W State Rd 84
Fort Lauderdale FL, 33312
(954) 734-2424
Overall Rating
2.9
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
04/30/2013

Details

Hours: Mon-Thu,Sun11am-11pm,Fri-Sat11am-12pm
Parking: Private Lot
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Full Bar
Outside Dining: Yes
Reservations: No
Delivery: Yes

Pros

Good Prices

Cons

Bad TV Layout
Don't Get all of the Games
More of a Bar than a Restaurant

Critic's Review

A new, larger awning awaits. This place was previously SportsZone 84 and The Reef. The Reef has set up shop next door at the Red Carpet Inn, so don't be confused.

Review 4/30/13

Marina 84

Another year, another re-branding of the "Sports Bar" in the Rodeway Inn. They tried something without the 84 last year, but that failed to fool anyone, so they're back with another variation.

With the Yankees playing a day game I figured I'd get a salad and see what changed. I got there about 2pm and all of the sets were on ESPN. I asked a bartender if they get the game. "The Jankees?", she asked. "Yankees. Baseball." A manager said she'd look for it. "Do you have DirecTV?. It's channel 631", I yelled, trying to expedite the process.

While I was waiting, not knowing where they'd put it on, I tried to figure out where I was going to sit. They have small TVs over the bar; I noticed that the big TVs were on the wall and you couldn't really see any of them from the booths.

Marina 84 Booth

A few more minutes and she comes out and informs me that they don't get any channel with the game on. Ok, have a nice day.

This place hasn't changed at all so I saw no reason to eat something while watching the game on my phone. They keep changing the sign but doing the same things; they once again have Karaoke Fridays. Not that anyone is coming out here on a Friday night.

My big question is what draw is it for the hotel to have a Sports bar that doesn't get all of the games? You're coming into town from Pittsburgh and you stay at a hotel with a sports bar and they can't get the Pirate's game? No wonder they keep going under.

Reef Restaurant Review 4/30/13

SportsZone84 closed late last year, and The Reef Restaurant opened in it's place. The restaurant is actually owned by the hotel, so these name changes are little more than re-branding. It's really a bar; a sports bar that serves food, that also serves as the restaurant for the hotel. Their menu has changed and they have both a salad bar and "all you can eat" lunch buffet, so I thought I'd give it a try on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.

The salad bar is against the wall at the front door, so I scoped it out as I walked in. Iceberg lettuce, a few add-ons and a few dressing choices. Not a very aggressive setup. I went over to check out the soups before I decided what to order; they weren't labeled. There was cream of something in one pot and the other was dried out like soup gets when you forget about it and you leave it boiling for hours. Ok, the salad bar wasn't going to do it for me.

Thereef saladbar

I also went over to check the hot buffet. The hot buffet is $7.95 and the salad bar is $5.95. Some things on the hot buffet were unrecognizable; there was deep fried chicken, ziti, sort of like an italian wedding buffet. I decided to just get something off of the menu.

Thereef hotbuffet

I had ordered an iced tea; no Splenda here. The music is all over the place; Matt Nathanson, Sean Paul, Rihanna, U2. I thought about the gorgonzola salad, which they claim is a "favorite". But why should I pay $8.95 for an iceberg wedge salad when I could get an all you could eat salad bar for $5.95? It made no sense. So I decided on the Philly Cheesesteak

The place is basically the same as it was when it was SportsZone84. It's a little bit brighter, and they still have their christmas lights up. The TVs look about the same as before. Each booth has a small personal TV. They advertise that they show Rugby, so I'm not sure exactly what crowd they're going for.

The food wasn't bad before, so I don't see a need to try it again. It's still the same horse with a different saddle.

The Reef Restaurant Bar Area

A woman who was not my server brought out the food.

The Reef Restaurant Philly Cheesesteak

The sandwich looked pretty good, but I had my doubts about the cole slaw. I loaded it up with the powdered pepper they have; it was actually pretty good. Not too sweet. A little more saucy than ideal, but better than most cole slaw you get in this town. The sandwich was much better than I expected. Not loaded with meat; but it was just the right amount of food for lunch. The roll was nice and soft; I enjoyed the sandwich.

$11 for lunch, including tip.

As I drove by Tap 42 and I thought about all of the morons in there paying $13 for a turkey melt, I thought that it sure was worth driving the extra mile to get a just-as-good cheesesteak for $6.95. Mr Nick's prices with booths and Sports. Not too bad.

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