Bite the beaches

BlackJack’s Rum Bar & Grill — Flagler Village, Fort Lauderdale

If you’re like me, you’re always on the hunt for the next great spot before it hits everyone’s radar. So when I heard BlackJack’s Rum Bar and Grill had just opened in Flagler Village, I was in. The name alone had me expecting something with character — weathered wood, nautical grit, maybe a little dark and moody. What I walked into instead was a sleek, high-ceiling warehouse space with steel chairs and acrylic floors that felt more Top Hat than tropical hideaway. Not a bad look — but for a place called BlackJack’s Rum Bar, I expected the room to tell me a story before I even sat down. It didn’t quite get there.

The ownership team is no rookie operation — Ted Sabarese, who also runs Drunken Taco on Fort Lauderdale Beach, partnered with Deanne Crosby and F&B director Russ Twining to build something with real intention behind it. You can feel that ambition. Whether the execution has caught up with it yet is another conversation.

Service

Let’s start with the good news — and there was some. Our server was genuinely excellent. Attentive without hovering, experienced without attitude. After drinks landed he gave us just enough time to settle in before circling back — that’s a skill, not a coincidence. Keep in mind the restaurant was nearly empty the night we visited, so the real test will come when the room fills up. But credit where it’s due — the guy knew what he was doing.

The Food

We were a table of four, which meant four different orders and four different verdicts. I’ll be upfront — I’ve been in the business a long time, so my bar may sit a little higher than the average diner. Take that for what it’s worth.

One guest ordered the French toast. The verdict? And I quote — “it was good, not mushy.” High praise. Though I suppose in the world of French toast, not being a soggy disaster is in fact a win. Another guest had the Cuban sandwich and genuinely enjoyed it — called it flavorful, no complaints. The fish and chips, also snapper, came and went quietly. No raves, no grievances. Sometimes silence says enough.

Then there was my order — the grilled snapper sandwich with lemon aioli, lettuce, tomato, on a toasted bun. Simple enough, right?

Here’s where things got complicated. I’m still not entirely sure how the tail of a snapper ends up as the feature protein in a sandwich, but here we are. The piece itself may have been grilled — though exactly when that grilling occurred remains one of life’s great mysteries. The lemon aioli, which had decent flavor, was applied in what I can only describe as a decorative capacity — a few modest droplets that never quite introduced themselves to the fish. Then came an oversized leaf of lettuce, a tomato, and finally the snapper tail, doing its best under difficult circumstances. The bun, described as toasted, appeared to have had a long and difficult journey before arriving at our table — the kind of bun that’s clearly been at the bottom of the bag a little too long.

The Takeaway

Look — I’ve been around long enough to know that new restaurants take time to find their footing. Menus get dialed in, kitchen timing gets tightened, portion decisions get reconsidered. BlackJack’s has the bones of something interesting and a service team that clearly has potential. But right now there’s a gap between what the concept promises and what the plate delivers — and the interior, as sleek as it is, doesn’t do much to close that gap.Will I go back? Possibly. But with recalibrated expectations.

As always — this is just one person’s experience on one night. It’s not meant to put BlackJack’s in a bad light. If anything, I hope it helps. The best restaurants aren’t born perfect — they listen, they adjust, and they get better. BlackJack’s has the opportunity to do exactly that.