Critic's Review
I'm adding more detailed "reviews" of hotels, and I hadn't been to Sea Level in more than 4 years. The last time I parked over in the public lot and walked over, about a 2 block walk, but today I called to confirm that they validated parking in the garage. The garage is under the hotel just as you round the bend up the hill.
I was surprised at how dingy the garage was in such a "high end" hotel. It was poorly lit and there was water all over the place even though it hasn't rained recently; you just have to drive around until you find a spot. Once you park there are no markings as to where the elevators are; I just had to walk around until I ran into some people going to their car and they pointed me in the right direction. I noted my spot number, 77; more on this later.
The elevators take you just off the Lobby and I had to walk though the lobby, out to the back patio and past the pool to the restaurant.
There was no hostess at the stand, so I walked through and noticed there were a couple of empty tables on the deck. I didn't want to eat at the bar, nor did I want to sit at the counter seating; I had my big camera so I needed some extra space. When I went back the girl was there, but she said there were no tables. The empty tables were reserved. So she sent me to the "lounge" to wait; she didn't take my name and I thought it was going to be one of these deals where I'd get something as a last resort. But she came over in a couple of minutes and sat me at a table.
On a 75 degree day in February, it's nice to eat at the beach.
I had a server Dude whose vocabulary was limited to "Absolutely" and "No Problem"; all of the servers here are kids, which is surprising for a hotel that caters to middle aged rich people. I ordered an Ice Tea with extra lemon; it came out without sweeteners but I got them soon after.
I'm dieting so no bread; they have a greek salad for $15 and a Cobb for $16; the difference is the chicken and bacon and blue instead of feta; so the cobb seemed like the better deal.
There are a lot of birds around; they help themselves to scraps.
The salad came out in 7 minutes.
Kind of an odd cobb, with Kalamata olives instead of the usual chives/onions; olives have no place in a Cobb Salad.
The chicken has some green stuff on it, but it wasn't mold. The chicken wasn't freshly cooked and was pretty bad; it reminded me of the junk I had yesterday at Tropical Smoothie. Once I got it all mixed up with the dressing, it looked like it would be enough food.
This would have been a lot better with good chicken, but I didn't even eat most of it. Little protein cubes didn't appeal to me.
They have a pretty nifty Salt & Pepper grinder here that I've never seen before; you turn it one way and get salt and the other way to get pepper.
Upon leaving, the garage experience is just a disaster. I thought I had a handle on where I'd parked; I started following the numbers and found out that there are multiple sets of the same numbers, which is ridiculous. So the number wasn't going to help me much.
Good thing I don't have my old car with the beeper broken; I finally found the car and headed for the exit. More poor markings; the exit signs all have arrows but some of them point the wrong way. I got to the gate and put in my ticket that I'd asked my server to validate for me. It sucks in the ticket (with no way to get it back) and tells me that I owe $10. Really? I'm not paying $10. It's a narrow exit so there's no place to pull over; there's no-one in the booth; I have a car behind me and a gate in front of me. Great. So there's a button on the machine "Press for Assistance". I press the button and I hear a sound like a phone ringing, and the gate opens. Ok, I'm out of here. I'm keeping my receipt handy just in case.
Conclusion
There aren't many places in Fort Lauderdale where you can have lunch actually on the beach, but this place is way too much trouble. The garage is a disaster and it's a pretty long walk; you might as well park in the public lot north of the Sheridan.
It's interesting that not much has changed; they still have a bunch of kid servers, although I got a glass last time and now they're serving drinks in plastic cups. The food is way overpriced for what it is; I don't see the point in coming here if you're not staying in the hotel. Note that they no longer serve breakfast at this restaurant.
Review 6/4/2010
The Sea Level Restaurant and Ocean bar is on outdoor dining facility located in the cavernous Marriott Harbor Beach Resort. They serve all day here, so if you're staying at the hotel you'll likely eat here at least once unless there's bad weather. The restaurant is located on the south side of the pool and its quite a trek from the main area of the hotel.
Sea Level is a modern looking pretty place; with a nice granite bar, an area with big comfortable beach chairs and tables, and also a counter where you can sit and look out onto the beach. You certainly can't beat the view.
The servers here are kids; not that the service is bad but they don't project the first class service that you might expect from a high-end Marriott establishment.
The menu has a South Floridian flair; you can get a tuna salad sandwich or BLT for lunch, as well as a number of "Cuban Pressed" sandwiches. As per the hotel usual, breakfast is crazy expensive; 2 eggs with bacon and coffee will run you $21.
I spotted the Jerk Chicken wings on the menu when I was checking the place out so I already knew what I was ordering.
They're a bit different than the Jerk Wings at Aruba Beach Cafe; they're sort of breaded and deep fried and they're pretty spicy (and messy) and rolled in green onions. For $12 I got 3 large wings and 4 small ones. The mango lime dipping sauce is pretty sweet; I preferred the wings without the sauce. I'd recommend asking for the blue cheese instead of the mango/lime sauce if you don't like your wings sweet.
The Sea Level Restaurant is a nice spot in a serene setting with an extensive menu. They have happy hour every day from 5-7pm where you can get select appetizers and Drinks for $6.