Located right on the 'historic' Anglin's Pier, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea's Anglin's Beach Café is a great spot to take in the beach view and have some good food. Anglin's Beach Café recently took over the restaurant and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is limited seating…so if you go visit during peak times…be prepared to wait. We sat outside (most of the seating is outside) and wondered why the whole North side was empty. Well…we soon figured it out. The wind was strong and the cold front made for quite the chilly dinner. It was fine though…since it's good to be cold here in South Florida on occasion.

The server came over right away and took our drink orders. While they do serve alcohol…we went for soft drinks. They had a few specials…one of which was the fried calamari..which we ordered. The menu isn't that large…and while they do have lots of seafood…there are steaks and sandwiches as well. I went for the fried sampler and Jeff went for a seafood sampler over pasta with marinara sauce. The prices are typical 'beach' prices...which means they might be slightly higher than you are used to paying. But with this view, I think it's worth it (if the food is also good).

The appetizer came out and it was a large portion of fried calamari….just the 'rings'. The batter was light and crisp and not too greasy. The calamari was fresh and not tough. The batter, while light…was also light on flavor. It needed something…but the side of sauce went well. We finished the appetizer and settled back to enjoy the view.


(Anglin's Beach Cafe - the View)

Not too long after…our entrées arrived. The portions were HUGE. My Seafood Platter had fried shrimp, fried clams and a large fillet of some kind of white fish. It was served with a side of cole slaw and french fries. The fried clams were kind of tough (most are), but were actually quite big. The fish was crisp, flaky and mild. The low point of the trio was the shrimp. They seemed like they were of the frozen variety and had too much breading. The fries were hot and crisp…but had that 'processed' taste…almost like when there is a light coating. The cole slaw looked promissing…but was quite 'wet' and had too much 'mustard' or 'horse raddish'. I would recommend to see if you can get a different side item and skip the cole slaw. Overall…not bad.


(Anglin's Beach Cafe - Fried Seafood Sampler)

Jeff's plate was not fried. There was a large pile of Angel Hair Pasta in the middle of the bowl. I'd say it was almost a full pound. Placed around the pasta were muscles in the shell, shrimp and I believe a few scallops. Everything was tossed with a garlic marinara sauce and there was even a thick grilled garlic pita bread for dipping in the sauce too. The shrimp were large and firm and had a nice fresh taste. The muscles were also fresh and tasty. Overall…this was the better dish out of the two. I would suggest to cut the pasta serving though. Unless they want you to have lunch or dinner the next day.


(Anglin's Beach Cafe - Seafood pasta)

When we finished our meal…we were stuffed and turned down the key lime pie. We were happy when the server told us that included in the meal was a walk on the pier (usually $2 a person). Not a bad deal. Overall, the meal was $68.90 not including tip. We were lucky to have a $50 coupon from one of the 'Groupon' websites. For all of the seafood, the view and the good service…I think the price was worth it.


(Anglin's Beach Cafe - the Bill $68.90 less $50 Groupon!)


Oh..and the walk on the pier. I think our 2 entrees were the most expensive on the menu…so you can also eat here on a budget and stick to sandwiches.


(The attached Anglin's Pier)



Anglin's Beach Cafe location:
2 Commercial Blvd
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL


FTLToday Score: B