Season of Seafood: 3030 Ocean Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Braised Chicken Leg Ragu

Season of Seafood: 3030 Ocean Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

By: Alex Park

Fresh oysters with tarragon mignonette; Red Snapper Crudo; Charred Octopus served with Marcona almond puree. Down in South Florida, seafood lovers can rejoice over upscale seafood and stylish American cuisine at 3030 Ocean, Fort Lauderdale’s iconic waterfront restaurant.

Executive Chef Adrienne Grenier

The sleek restaurant demonstrates class and modernity while evoking the flavors of the season through the culinary vision of Chef Adrienne Grenier, “Chopped” champion and executive chef of 3030 Ocean. Her farm-to-fork strategy runs parallel with the restaurant’s ocean-to-table spirit, offering fresh ingredients and explosions of flavor that we at VUE magazine can attest to. Fresh oysters and sashimi from the raw bar carry the taste of the sea to the palate alongside fantastic main courses like sautéed Florida Flounder with Anson Mills polenta, roasted cauliflower and fried capers topped with lemon brown butter. “The menus are always in a flux,” says Grenier, “But the new dishes and drinks were an intentional seasonally-inspired collaborative effort.” The restaurant serves a variety of coastal cuisine including flounder, swordfish, yellowfin tuna, black grouper to name a few of the available options.

Executive Sous Chef Brooke Mallory

But you can’t forget about the drinks. 3030 Ocean offers signature drinks created by their executive sous chef Brooke Mallory. Some of her creations include the Blueberry Whiskey Sour which includes Wild Turkey bourbon, blueberries, lemon juice and simple syrup; the Moscow Mermaid includes vodka, lime juice, old fashioned bitters and ginger beer. “Understanding how flavors, textures and temperatures interplay is a key component in both worlds. I love working behind the bar and am excited to share what we’ve mixed up” says Mallory. Her savory drinks are complementary to the culinary seafood magic at 3030 Ocean. Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. is happy hour –– beer and house wine is served in company with happy hour bar bites that include fish and chips and braised beef tacos.

“The Gosling”

3030 Ocean offers a combined seating for 216 guests including an oceanfront dining room, expansive bar and lounge, and private dining rooms available for special occasions all year around. It’s ideal for business meetings, wedding rehearsal dinners, birthdays and small wedding receptions but beyond events, the restaurant’s allure comes from its high food standards. With the boundless sky and the vast Atlantic Ocean in the Floridian background, it’s all the more reason to indulge in the seafood delicacies of the east.

Photos by: Michael Pisarri