Best Cozy Restaurants in Middle River Terrace

My wife and I had dinner at Serafina last night and we certainly understand now the reasons behind the rave reviews. The food was excellent. We sat outdoors right on the water and the place had a very nice and relaxed ambience. The service was excellent as well. I could tell that every staff person was trying their best and hustling around. Staff was very attentive and sincere. My wife had pasta with a pear stuffing and pesto sauce. I had a generous serving of muscles in a garlic, white wine sauce and the whole branzino, which was perfectly deboned. It may not be in a fancy hotel or overlooking the Fort Lauderdale beaches, but this is a wonderful restsurant with great food, service, and ambience. . 

The ambiance is energetic, the food value is there in portion size, and the flavors are on point. It's not the place for a quiet, romantic meal, and the vibe definitely caters to a younger crowd but no complaints. It was very crowded (Valentine's Day), and a group of 5 waiting for a table decided to stand so close to our table that they might as well have joined us. I asked the server if she could perhaps ask them, politely, to move closer to the bar. She graciously asked a manager who came by a few minutes later and asked if they could clear the area for the servers. They moved away--the staff handled the matter deftly and we were quite pleased (Thank you!!). We'd certainly dine here again when visiting Ft Lauderdale (or elsewhere they're located).

The view, food and vibe at the House on the River was great. Our server Macarena and the hostess Pilar were very polite, professional and attentive on our visit on Valentine's day. 10 out of 10 service. We will be coming back.

We were first timer really wasn’t expecting that much of a great view. Everything was perfect to spend our Valentine’s Day with the rooftop outside experience. Will definitely go back for the outside dining.

Food was delicious, drinks were excellent. Only issue we had was the Fra Diablo, 2 people could not pull the lobster out of their shell. We finally asked the waiter and he struggled tableside in crowded restaurant