Have you ever heard so many good things about a restaurant you haven’t been to that it was bound to be a let down? I mean, every review can’t be a ten out of ten, can it? Enter Heritage restaurant Fort Lauderdale, where chef owner Rino Cerbone steals the show with a cozy dining room where the entire menu will blow you away. The chef owner is also the only one in the world to grate cheese into the Stanley Cup. (More on that further down in this review.)
We recently had my birthday dinner here in their Fort Lauderdale location, which is in Flagler Village right next to Glitch Bar. The rave reviews brought us here and we left with reservations to come back next week.
Yes, the food was that delicious! Step inside my full review to hear about why you need to make a reservation ASAP.
The Entire Menu From Start to Finish Blew Us Away
I don’t often give rave reviews about an entire menu, but in this case, it’s well deserved. We sat down at our table and walked by many people who were eating pizza. Literally almost every table had a pizza!
We were with friends who were back for the third time, and they insisted we get a taste of the pizza as an appetizer. Naturally, for our party of six, we ordered two. We also ordered the agrodolce calamari and the sweet long pepper which is stuffed with wagyu, provolone, fontina, peas, rice, and more. We were NOT playing around on this occasion and wanted all the dishes we could stuff our faces with.
Everything was beyond fresh. The pasta, the cheese, the eggplant parm, literally everything.
We usually throw in a salad and our friends said they are incredible, but the decision was made to get pizza instead and the pizza was among the best I’ve ever had. Thin crust and shared on small plates and cooked perfectly with fresh ingredients – you can’t go wrong with any pizza here.
Michelle had the mafaldine bolognese and loved it. I had the cipolle + prosciutto and devoured it.
Service and Dining Room
We had Drew as our guide, and what a guide he was. He was super attentive and gave excellent menu recommendations without really steering anyone to a certain dish. He asked questions, gave overviews of the food, and reminded us that they had a full bar serving craft cocktails.
He took our entire order at once. It was about 17 items and he knew the entire menu and didn’t write down anything. A true pro, this man knew all the dishes inside out and helped us have a spectacular dinner.
As we talked to him he shared their in house philosophy that if any menu item doesn’t knock your socks off, it shouldn’t be on the menu. From pizza, to pasta, to dessert, literally every dish was meticulously selected to make this restaurant absolutely perfect.
When he said the espresso martini is the best you’ll ever have, I didn’t bat an eye as that’s one of my favorite drinks and needing some fuel, that was ordered. Wow. Just, wow. It did not disappoint. It had a hint of honey and salt which made it very unique.
From our table we could see the chef (owner) grating cheese and looking over every dish as it came out. Not only is he hands on, but he brings an energy and a vibe that you can’t really put in words.
Heritage Fort Lauderdale Menu
Again, this is Italian Cuisine but it’s nothing like what you’d expect. We love a lot of the Italian restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, but this one just hits different.
Starters
In addition to what I mentioned we ordered, a lot of people suggest the squash blossoms as an appetizer. That will be on the list next time. They also have baked razor clams, meatballs, eggplant parm, and a variety of fresh salads.
Pizza at Heritage
Pizza steals the show here! While the kitchen is an “L” shape, there is an entire line of pizza chefs who make dough and prepare pizzas while they look out at the venue. You cannot go wrong with any pizza here, even if you came for pasta, you will find it delicious and be craving more.
There’s a total of 16 different pizza options so I won’t list them all here, but you can see them on their website linked at the bottom of this Heritage review.
Pasta
I usually judge an Italian place by it’s red sauce and white sauce. If both are good, you know anything on the menu with either is going to be incredible. Fortunately, due to everyone sharing portions, I had those plus the vodka sauce.
As mentioned, Michelle had the mafaldine bolognese. I had the cipolle + prosciutto, a friend had the spicy alla vodka, while two others had the rigatoni, and the other had the gnocchi.
Happy to report, all were spectacular!
We’ll be sampling the bucatini white clam and the Paccheri Alla Capricciosa next time for sure!
Dessert
Again, it was my birthday so we had a few items to share! The Limoncello cheesecake was out of this world and the strawberry olive oil cake was a big hit with our group as well.
Other Heritage Reviews and Worthwhile Information
When the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, Roberto Luongo took the trophy to Heritage and ate pasta out of it. That should tell you a lot about who frequents this venue!
Heritage is currently a 4.6 on the very difficult and salty Yelp website, which should tell you a lot as Yelp typically is going to be the toughest place to earn good reviews. People recognize good food, apparently.
Chef and Owner Rino Cerbone is a very outgoing, transparent man. He greeted us and took a photo with us at his restaurant and thanked us for coming. This owner treated us like royalty and knows how to have a conversation, whether it be with a family, a hungry group, people looking for a drink, or just passing by your table, he’s always attentive. You don’t see that energy and care in Miami, let alone many places in South Florida.
The ambiance is great. Its a small venue that backs up to the street on two sides of the building in Flagler village, with the other wall going back to the rest of the venues located in the building. The music was nice, and of course, the place was busy when we arrived and busy when we left.
Plan ahead, this isn’t an easy reservation. You’ll take one bite and come back to thank me for changing your life by introducing you to Heritage, or maybe you read rave reviews and found this one to become convinced. Hopefully I pushed you over the edge to get here and jump head first into the flavors that you’ll crave once you enter the door.
Heritage Restaurant Photos
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Here, they may be worth even more.
Location and Contact Information
903 NE 5th Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Hours of Operation:
Closed Mondays + Tuesdays
Wednesday through Sunday
Lunch 11:30AM – 3:00PM
Dinner 5:00PM – 11:00PM
Website: https://www.heritageftl.com/
Summary
There are many places to eat great Italian Cuisine in Fort Lauderdale. Heritage in Fort Lauderdale has forced me to change my rankings and is firmly in our rotation. The whole experience brought the house down and I can’t wait to go back!
About Tim Schmidt
Tim Schmidt is a 20+ year Entrepreneur and Digital Marketer. A Fort Lauderdale-based "Digital Nomad," he enjoys traveling as much as possible with family and friends. AllWorld is his escape to document all of his adventures, including being a hardcore "foodie." He has property in Costa Rica and visits several times each year and is happy to offer his expert advice for planning your trip.
