Critic's Review
Via Luna has been closed as the Ritz Carleton goes through renovations. The new restaurant will have an open air bar that will extend to the patio, and there will be an adjacent Bistro/Cafe inside. The cuisine: Seafood. Expect it to be expensive.
Review 3/24/10
Update: I went into Via Luna recently to have lunch, but after looking at their menu I decided against it. Their prices are up $2-3 across the board, and I didn't want a sandwich, so I was faced with paying $28 for a lunch salmon plate. I decided against it. The menu is almost identical to what it was 2.5 years earlier, when they told me that they were just working things out.
There is no better place on Fort Lauderdale beach to have lunch than the patio at the Ritz Carlton. It has all the ambiance of Trina without having to trek all the way down to the Atlantic. They have patio style furniture and the view is just gorgeous.
Their menu is in "transition", which means that they're still trying some things out. Their lunch menu is more traditional while dinner leans more towards Italian.
One thing to note is that this is not a place to come if you're in a hurry. They don't rush here and it may be a few minutes before you see your server. I tend to like not having them hover over me, but when you're in a hurry it can be frustrating.
They bring you bread and butter while you wait for your entree; a thin cinnamon raisin wafer tastes just like raisin bread toast and a couple of dense rolls. They serve a round pat of butter thats nicely softened. They certainly understand presentation here.
I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with roasted red peppers and mozzarella. The chicken is grilled with pesto and served on ciabatta bread. I have 2 things to say about the sandwich: First it was absolutely delicious, particularly with the supplied pesto mayonnaise. The second thing is that they need to work on its preparation. The bread on the bottom of the sandwich was so wet that I had to eat it upside down. I'll guess that the chicken juices didn't properly drain before they assembled the sandwich. Its served with spiced french fries and cole slaw; you can opt out of the fries for a cold bean salad or fresh fruit, but I recommend you get the fries. I only had a few but they were very good with the pesto mayonnaise. The cole slaw is also outstanding, with minimum sweetness.
The pricing for lunch and dinner is much more modest than previously at Cero, but for some reason the breakfast menu is very high priced. $17 for eggs with sausage seems excessive.
This is easily the best dining spot at the beach if you want to sit outside and enjoy the beach view, have a relaxing lunch or dinner and have some very good food. Its a particularly nice spot for a romantic rendezvous. Its elegant and impressive. The new Via Luna brand has a more mainstream menu and better pricing for Lunch and Dinner than Cero, so it may be more widely appealing than it was before.
