Riverside Market and Cafe – Fort Lauderdale- “Purveyors Of Deliciosity”

Quirky is the perfect word to describe the Riverside Market and Cafe in Fort Lauderdale. And as soon as I laid eyes on it, that quirky Riverside Market and Cafe immediately became one of my favorite places in the entire city. (I’m just sorry it’s taken us years to discover that amazing eatery.)

Last week I was knee deep in packing up our belongings to end our snowbird winter…and believe me when I say packing up is a BIG job! So cooking was the last thing I wanted to do when lunchtime rolled around.

I took a break from packing to search online for someplace to go for lunch…a place we’d never been before.  And that’s when I stumbled upon the description of the Riverside Market and Cafe. It sounded like it was “right up my alley” as my mom used to say. And lucky for us, our good friends and neighbors Norm and Nancy were also up for a lunchtime adventure that day. So we piled into their car and the four of us headed to an old section of downtown Fort Lauderdale to an area that was unfamiliar to Peepaw and me. 

Let’s just say our destination was off the beaten path…WAY off! (Exactly the kind of place we search for!)

And there it was…the Riverside Market and Cafe…quirkiness personified!

I love the mural touting “The Best Memories Are Made At The Market.” (And I’ll be quick to tell you that was very true for the four of us!)

We couldn’t wait to walk through the door…

And once inside? WOW…What a shock to our senses! We didn’t know where to look first!

We were quickly greeted by Clint, the bartender/cashier/welcoming committee. 

Clint asked us if we’d ever been there before. (I think he already knew the answer to that question when he saw our “deer in the headlights” eyeballs as we tried to take in everything around us!)

He told us that all drinks around the perimeter of the store were “self-serve”…right down to the bottles of wine. He told us to help ourselves and just bring any empty bottles or cans up to the cash register when we were finished with our meal and he would add them to our bill. He told us to wander around and sit wherever we wanted and our server would bring us menus.

That’s when we were greeted by a lovely Irish lass named Aisling (pronounced Ashling).

She gave us menus and explained that all the menu items are cooked fresh to order. She told us about the wonderful baked omelets they serve for breakfast (or anytime) but she warned us those omelets take about 30 minutes to reach the table since they are baked, not fried. (I can’t wait to head back for breakfast next winter, God willing!) Then Aisling offered some meal suggestions and we all tried to make our lunchtime choices. 

I LOVE the photo below since all three of my foodie companions appeared to be shell-shocked as they tried to take in our eclectic surroundings! (We had a ball with Norm and Nancy!)

Now…about those drinks.

Norm decided on a craft beer so he headed back up to Clint at the “bar” where he selected a local beer called Immigration IPA brewed by LauderAle Brewery in Fort Lauderdale.

And speaking of beer…If you prefer a can or bottle, you won’t have to go far to search for an opener since you’ll find them hanging on strings all around the room!

I couldn’t make up my mind what to order for lunch so I wandered back to the kitchen area to find out first hand what was cookin’ that day, and I asked several diners if I could snap photos of their food since everything looked absolutely delicious!

From the wings…

To the pizza.

Fresh ingredients prepared by people who care about the food they serve, and about the people they’re serving it to! It’s obvious that the Riverside Market and Cafe staff adds a heaping scoop of LOVE to everything they serve!

By the time I got back to the table, Nancy had selected a bottle of wine to share with me. (It was a good choice!)

And Peepaw stuck with a soft drink that day…

Aisling returned with glasses for our wine and she took our orders. And it wasn’t long before she returned to place some beautiful dishes in front of each of us.

Norm had ordered a sub sandwich…

Nancy ordered a Caprese Salad…

Peepaw ordered  breakfast. Ham and Eggs with Hashbrowns and Toast…

And I ordered a salad with a delicious homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette…

Followed by the most amazing Fish Tacos ever!

The four of us are rarely as quiet as we were while we ate our amazing meals that day. And as we savored every bite we were greeted by the owner of Riverside Market Cafe…Lisa Seigel.

One thing was very clear from the moment we met Lisa. She has a passion for her business and she truly values her customers. It’s no wonder Lisa and her husband have grown their small business into something to be proud of. In fact they are about to launch their THIRD location…and their only advertizing is by word of mouth! Now that’s really something to be proud of in this day and age.

Lisa had no restaurant background…she was a special ed teacher. But her love of students is still being nurtured today since Riverside Market and Cafe gives back to their community in so many ways. In fact Lisa told us instead of helping ten students in her classroom she can now help entire neighborhoods through the events they sponsor.

Yes Dear Readers…the Riverside Market and Cafe is a real gem. And that little “hole in the wall” is a must-see (and EAT) experience if your travels take you to Fort Lauderdale. 

And that mural is right.

The Best Memories ARE made At “The Market”.