Mojo

I like to read reviews on Unilocal,but not when they’re what I would call «planted» — by that, I mean, friends and family write reviews that are not honest and based on their experience. I seem to see many of those for this restaurant. Giveaways are when you see someone say that this is their first visit to the place, and then they say they ordered the «very popular»… How on earth would they know? Anyways, here’s my honest review.
Firstly, I would give this a 3.5 if I could.
Our waitress was fabulous (long, dark hair — forget her name, but she was top notch). Food was pretty good, but half of the items were just OK.
The ambiance was very pretty and different from your run of the mill restaurants here in town. I see where others felt it was «dated», but I don’t agree. We really liked the artwork, the blue hue lighting, as well as the open ceilings. It was a fresh experience unlike many of the mundane restaurants you go in these days. You would find this type of design sprinkled throughout the restaurants on Las Olas, so I was happy to find it here as I had no idea what to expect.
I had the tenderloin steak/​filet. Unfortunately, it had some kind of really sweet grilled onions all over the top that was a total fail for me and my date, so I removed them, and then the steak was delicious and perfectly cooked (Note, however, that the first steak came out rare (blue tinge) and I ordered medium; the replacement was a perfectly cooked medium — the waitress making certain to tell me she did write medium on the ticket). It was so tender and I would definitely recommend it, but ask for the onions on the side because you may be disappointed, as I was, with the overly sweet flavor. If i were them and they insist on that topping, then serve it in a ramekin on the side so it doesn’t ruin the perfectly prepared steak and you have the option, after tasting them, to say yay or nay. I guarantee you they’d get a lot of plates back at the end with the onions uneaten. Additionally, by putting the onions in a ramekin it would break up the poorly designed food on the plate. Visually, it looked like an assembly line — all in a row like you were passing thru the cafeteria line. Also, you’ll notice the common color scheme in the 2 main courses we ordered. (see pictures).
Jim/​my date had the meatloaf, which was pretty darn good, and I would definitely say a side of mashed potatoes is spot on for this dish. Not really appropriate with a filet. Another thing I noticed on the menu was you’re going to get pretty much bland mashed potatoes with anything you order. Not good, IMO. The green beans were also bland. The place needs to step up its game on the sides that go with the entrees.
The escargot appetizer was delicious and I’d order it again. The mushroom app was just ok but hard to really judge as it was luke warm. Definitely sat waiting for the other app to become ready to serve. A good chef knows timing, so this fella I believe was good, but maybe just not putting his heart into it. The bread was great also and came out warm and thinly sliced (don’t forget to ask for butter as the olive oil is unacceptable — nothing to it — just olive oil). Fortunately, our escargot app came in a bowl of spectacular olive oil with spices, so we dipped the bread in there and then it was out of this world. In addition, my «house» pinot grigio was one of the best I’ve ever had, and Jim loved his red.
Why the 3 stars: the fact that everything came with mashed potatoes, which were nothing more than, well, bland mashed potatoes. If they could add a baked potato option, or some other style potatoe, it would be an improvement. I feel this also falls into the category of the chef not having his heart in the game anymore. That’s just lazy. Also, we ordered 2 different HOT apps, and they came out at the same time, and one was luke warm. It was as if one guy was in the back and couldn’t time the dishes properly to both come out hot. The escargot was hot and delicious. The portabello mushroom app had been sitting a while before being served and while you could see a little crab, it wasn’t enough to taste it. Also, the mishap with my steak arriving rare resulted in the 2 of us not getting our meals at the same time. Not good management by the chef, and there really was no excuse as the place had maybe 2 tables being served when we were there (early, around 6:30−7) — us being a table of 2 and one other table of 4.
Bottom line, I’ll definitely return to try other things and give another try. Maybe the chef had an off night. Definitely needs some food changes, along with the chef reaching his potential. We loved the ambiance and wait staff. A couple of the dishes were excellent. I am a bit surprised it has been opened so long and they still have these mistakes on a slow night. Not sure, under this menu design, how it has stayed alive since 2010, even though I understand why every dish has mashed potatoes as a side.

Great food and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. We enjoyed everything and will go back soon. Amazing deserts so save room.

Mediocre food at best. Nothing tasted fresh or at the proper temperature.

From the minute you walk in the door you are greeted by the friendliest staff and owner. After your first visit you will be a regular customer. The drinks are fabulous from the boutiquey Martinis to the traditional regular dry martini. Also great wine selection. The food from the appetizers to the entrees will be beyond your expectations. The fish tacos, any way you’d like them to the duck and Pork Chop are spectacular. Dessert I love the Buratta which is fresh made mozzarella with fig spread and croutinis, amazing. You wont regret trying this place.

Talk about getting your mojo back. This place is certainly something out of the ordinary. First let me say that the staff here is delightful. One of the owners came out, we had a fun chat with our waiter and the person at the front was very friendly. The décor here is a bit modern and doesn’t really tie in with upscale but the food certainly was. I loved the beet salad and I had a vegetarian version of the gnocchi that was creative and wonderful. The dessert selection is varied enough to make it a stand out. I tried the pound cake and had a smile from ear to ear. There is tasteful live music which rounds out the package during certain nights. Really enjoyed it.

Great food, great atmosphere, great service and great managers… On vacation from
California and found this restaurant on Unilocal.It didn’t disappoint!

Mojo is now my favorite restaurant, every single thing I had from appetizers, entrée, to dessert was absolutely outstanding. Definitely a culinary experience that I’d recommend in a heartbeat!

The place smells. The music made it difficult to have a conservation. The crab cakes tasted like chemicals. The duck wasn’t bad and the blood orange sorbet was good. Avoid.

Consistently a 5 star experience! Anthony and Dominic have not missed anything. Food, atmosphere, staff; all right on point. Love this place!

Mojo has been on my list «to try» for a long time, I am glad my friend finally suggested it and we tried it last Saturday night. The restaurant has a very cool beach vibe, it offers a sophisticated but casual and comfortable ambiance. The restaurant is illuminated is soft toned LED color lighting which gives the rooms a gorgeous glow, and there is also some very nice artwork decorating the walls.
Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. We ordered the fried artichoke for the appetizer, it was delicious, delicately coated in a bread batter and drizzled in an Aioli sauce, it was delicious. We were also served a bread basket with a small plate of olive oil with fresh pepper for dipping.
For my entrée I ordered the Home Style Meatloaf served with a shiitake bacon onion gravy, and instead of the garlic mash I opted for double the greens offering which were string beans. Everything was delicious, the meatloaf was superb, soft, fluffy, full of flavor with a slight spice after taste, the gravy gave it just the right kick and the greens were perfectly seasoned and cooked.
I have to say I was very impressed with Mojo, not just the cool ambiance but also with the friendly and professional service as well as with the excellent food execution. Everyone at our table was very pleased with the food, I definitely plan on returning and trying some of their weekly specials as well as their Pre Fix menu which is offered on Tuesdays.

My wife and I are going out for Saturday night dinner and his usual Mojoes did not disappoint great meal served wonderfully by our server Shawn this restaurant has become one of our favorites especially for a romantic night out the food is always wonderful the atmosphere is nice highly recommend

The food was very good. The restaurant lacked romance. Since you had to make a reservation, the restaurant should’ve put tables together for couples not tables of 4. Based on how many couples there were. They should have put a rose and candle at each table.

We went to Mojoes last night with my brother and husband Arturo was our waiter we were greeted very nicely as we walked in and were seated we had ordered the crabcakes my brother and I and my husband order the chicken Parmesan along with the soup chicken noodle soup my brother had the soup of the day which he said was delicious and I have a cream Brulé dessert and my husband had Regatta pound cake dessert as well as my brother had the same thing this was very very nice overall the evening was very nice will definitely be coming back here again as it’s always enjoyable the food is great and the atmosphere couldn’t ask for a better restaurant

Hidden gem in Fort Lauderdale. The menu is excellent! Love the service. The beet salad — incredible! The main courses are sooo good. The Crème brûlée is delicious. The blood orange sorbet is as good as it gets.
The owner, Anthony, is accommodating and very nice.
Have introduced many friends to Mojo– and they all love it.
Tuesday, there is a price fixed menu. Incredible deal!

Was so delicious the first time hat I went back for more tonight. The food and drinks were amazing. The server was attentive and always there to assist. We will definitely be back for more.

Can’t beat the happy hour selections! All menu options are tasty, but the mussels steal the show — in addition to the Best bartender in FTL!
I’ll be back again and again. Wednesday is awesome… happy hour all night!

Once again another great dinner, excellent bar and table service!

A lovely looking place with lots of potential but low on the mojo.
A Valentine dinner was sweetly mediocre at best. Fish filet was flimsy on flavor. Steak was blah. Side dishes looked like they were plopped on the plate in an assembly line of lunch ladies — mashed potatoes and green beans or something. Can’t remember. Nothing wrong with it — but not up to par in my book.
And then there was the tuna tartare, served chopped up in a large shot glass… that landed all over my lovely boyfriend’s leather jacket.
Accidents happen and it was a night to celebrate love. and compassion so we made the best of it and used up a bunch of napkins to clean up an move on with our evening. The tuna dish was replaced at no charge but that was it on the compassionate compensation on the part of the restaurant. We were swiftly brought a round of drinks following the tuna tumble, but those drinks also made their way on to our bill later. We were not in the mood to argue or beg for special service so we let it go and made a swift exit.
On the service side — our server started out full of mojo but was clearly pissed that an inexperienced assistant caused the accident. No compassion there, just fear of low tipping which led to her keeping a low profile at our table the rest of the evening. I would have gone the other way and kissed some major ass. I mean, it was Valentines night.
It’s not worth mulling over as the food here just wasn’t good, and that is the key point. The tuna flop was just another reason to lament an overall disappointing experience. Boo hoo. Ok I’m over it.

I’m giving Mojo three stars, but know that my review is really a 3.5. I have been to Mojo before, but not for the food. My boyfriend Sam surprised me this past Saturday by taking me here for dinner. The atmosphere is really romantic with blue up-​lighting and very cozy seating. They also had a live guitarist playing flamenco music– wonderful!
We started off our meal with bread and olive oil. The bread was cold and the olive oil was only seasoned with black pepper. That bread would have been amazing if it was crispy, warm and right out of the oven. Also, come on! Only black pepper? At least throw some Italian seasoning into that oil!
Next we had the calamari appetizer. No joke, this was the best calamari I have ever had in my life! It was served with greens tossed in a fantastic ginger dressing. The calamari itself had Japanese spices and Thai sweet chili sauce on it. The calamari was a perfect mix of rings and tentacles that were lightly breaded and perfectly fried– they weren’t chewy at all! I wish I had just ordered 3 of these appetizers and had that for my meal!
For entrees Sam ordered the Duck Breast and I ordered the Char Sui Pork Chop. I honestly had no idea what I wanted to order. There wasn’t really anything on the menu that stood out to me. I checked Unilocal to see what was the most recommended, and it seemed to be a 3-​way tie between the duck, the pork chop and the salmon. I didn’t feel like eating salmon, and Sam was already ordering the duck (I can’t order the same thing as someone else!), so all that was remaining was the pork chop. I also asked the waitress what her favorite dish was, and she responded by saying that the pork, salmon and duck are good (I can’t stand when they give me an answer like that. I’m asking you because I care about your opinion). There seemed to be a trend with those three dishes, so I went ahead with the pork. I have to say I was quite disappointed with my dish. The pork tasted pretty basic, as the marinade didn’t seem to soak into the meat. I also am not the biggest fan of balsamic vinegar, and that’s all it tasted like to me. There was also a weird wet cornmeal type stuffing. At first I thought I liked it, but then I realized the texture was off-​putting. The pork came with sweet potato, jalapeño corn fritters which were good but not great. They reminded me of hush puppies, which I happen to hate. The pork also came with garlic green beans which were delicious.
I didn’t like my meal, but I won’t discredit Mojo for it. I tried Sam’s duck and it was amazing. This restaurant has a lot of potential in my eyes, so I have a feeling we will be back (especially since Sam rated Mojo 5 stars!).

I brought my girlfriend here for a surprise date this past Saturday. The first thing I noticed was the artwork. They have some really awesome original artwork on the walls. The art, combined with the low-​level blue toned lighting made for a very romantic vibe.
Elizabeth and I were seated right next to the stage, where a flamenco guitarist played for us while we ate. Of course, I had to play it off like I knew that was going to happen!
For an appetizer we shared the best calamari I have ever had… Hands down. It was pan (or maybe skillet) fried without excessive breading and covered in the most delicious «citrusy» and spicy sauce (japanese seven spice, sweet thai chili, lime according to the menu). I can’t wait to try it again!
When choosing an entrée, I like to go for items with interesting combinations of flavors. I usually go into it just thinking that I want to trust the chef and see if they live up to their reputation. For my entrée at Mojo, I had the very popular Breast of Duck. It was served over beets, which are not typically my favorite, but the sweetness proved to complement the duck perfectly while covering the slight gamy flavor that typically lingers in the back of the pallet with this bird. It was served with a blueberry garnish and a cauliflower/​goat cheese purée which I could not get enough of!
The only negative of the meal was the boisterous crowd of men sitting too close to us for comfort. It did detract from the otherwise romantic evening. However, I can not exactly blame the restaurant for this! So I did not take it into account in my 5 star review. Also, Elizabeth was probably not as happy with her entrée as I was with mine, but that was her experience, so I’m sure you’ll see that reflected in her review.
I can’t wait to come back for more calamari!