This review comes to us from FTL Today reader 'Neal2222'.  He is a local beach resident and visited Cero, one of the restaurants in the new St. Regis Resort on Ft. Lauderdale Beach.  He took advantage of the "Taste of Ft. Lauderdale" program that ran through November 12th.  Many restaurants around the city offered a 3 course meal for a fixed price of $35.  While the Miami Herald liked the restaurant, sounds like Neal wasn't too impressed...maybe an off night for the new restaurant?  Here are the highlights from Neal2222's review.  Thanks for the review Neal2222!



"Tonight we put our formal dining apparel and walked to the St. Regis. As we approached the entrance two gentlemen uniformed in 5 Star Hotel garb opened the doors of the hotel for us and welcomed us to wonderful evening at the St. Regis...

Judging from the 7:30pm clientèle it appeared that this is an expense account businessman’s restaurant. Most of the tables were occupied by men with ties and jackets but perhaps the hotel would have a more intimate couples atmosphere on a weekend.

There are about 30 indoor tables at Cero. The outdoor tables are directly on A1A so for locals the idea of listening to the rumble of cars and motorcycles during a quiet romantic dinner didn’t appeal to us... The tables on the beach side side of Ceros are on a marble floor and noise echoes throughout the restaurant. There is nothing intimate about the atmosphere. There are however, several cushioned booth tables on the west side of the restaurant. If we would eat there again that is where we would have chosen to be seated.

For our appetizer I ordered the Ahi Tuna and my wife ordered the Sweet Potato soup.
Both were great but the portions were shamefully small (3 pieces of tuna and soup ½ inch deep– see photos below). The Sweet Potato soup was the highlight of the culinary experience.
The Ahi Tuna appetizer on the lunch menu was $19 so these itty bitty pieces are not for those who have a big appetite and are on a budget.

       

For the main course I ordered the Pork Chop and my wife ordered the Seared Scallops.

The Pork Chop was a large portion and cooked perfectly. It is one of the few times I didn’t find this dish dry or overcooked. The Scallops were salty and tasted as if they were underdone. My wife shared a taste with me about 15 minutes after they were served and my scallop was cold.

(Pork Chop below)                                                    (Scallops below)                                                                

      

Tab with tip was $90 without wine or cocktails. Cheap if you are paying with Euros but this meal was not memorable in any way … and I would expect more from a 5 Star Hotel. Sometimes the view, the intimacy, the service or the price compensate for a mediocre meal. The staff was attentive and service was great but again, they only had two tables when they took our order."