Casablanca Cafe

Casablanca Cafe operates out of the oldest surviving beachfront structure on Fort Lauderdale Beach, a 1927 Mediterranean Revival house designed by architect Francis Abreu as a holiday home for his own grandparents. Abreu was only the second registered architect in Fort Lauderdale, working from 1924 to 1928 and leaving behind roughly 30 buildings that still stand today. The house cycled through a religious commune and then employee housing before Steve Halmos bought it in 1975 and, rather than redevelop it, preserved the original structure and eventually leased it long-term to what's now Casablanca Cafe. The restaurant runs no-reservation, first-come seating across five separate menus, brunch served daily (weekdays 11–4, weekends 8:30–4), lunch, happy hour, dinner, and dessert, with live piano and jazz every night Tuesday through Sunday. The kitchen leans Mediterranean-American: Churrasco Steak & Eggs with a Peruvian-style saltado stir-fry at brunch, Baja fish tacos and a 13-hour braised birria beef quesadilla at lunch, and reviewers specifically calling out the Moroccan lamb and a crusted mahi mahi at dinner. Frommer's Guide gives it two stars, and it holds a genuinely large, verified base on Google, 4.5 out of 5 across more than 6,000 reviews. Recent reviews are consistent about the ocean view and the food, but not universally glowing on service: one repeat guest singled out uneven attention from a particular server on an otherwise good night, a fair caveat worth including alongside the praise. Menu items, prices, and hours may have changed since this was written.