Restaurants near Pompano Beach Pier: where locals eat

How we chose this list

Restaurants come and go along any beach, and online lists fill up with places that closed last season. So this page sticks to restaurants with a track record, all of which we confirmed were operating when we wrote it. We have left out prices and hours on purpose. Both change, and the restaurant’s own site or a quick call is the only reliable source.

Menus, hours and even ownership change. Check each restaurant’s website or call before you go, especially on holidays and during the off-season.

Right by the pier

Oceanic

Oceanic sits next to the pier at 250 N Pompano Beach Blvd, with the ocean right in front of you. The menu is contemporary American with a strong lean toward seafood, and it serves lunch, dinner and a weekend brunch. It is the most obvious choice when you want to sit by the water after a morning on the pier.

Beach House Pompano

A few doors north at 270 N Pompano Beach Blvd, Beach House has been serving seafood on the shoreline since 2015. It has two levels, including rooftop seating with wide ocean views, and it is a good pick for a group. Reservations are a good idea on busy evenings.

The pier bait shop

For something quick, the bait shop at the foot of the Fisher Family Pier sells food and drinks along with bait. It is not a sit-down meal, but it saves a trip when you are mid-morning on the pier with a rod in the water.

Along East Atlantic Boulevard

Atlantic Boulevard runs west from the beach over the Intracoastal. A handful of the area’s longest-running restaurants are along it.

Briny Irish Pub

At 3440 E Atlantic Blvd, steps from the beach, the Briny traces its roots to 1945 and calls itself the World’s Greatest Upscale Dive Bar. Expect pub food, seafood specials, indoor and outdoor seating and live music most nights. It is relaxed and casual, the kind of place you can walk into straight from the beach.

Houston’s

Houston’s, at 2821 E Atlantic Blvd, has been on the Intracoastal side of Atlantic Boulevard since 1994. It serves a classic American menu with views over the water, and it suits a nicer dinner out. It can be busy, so plan ahead.

Cafe Maxx

Cafe Maxx, at 2601 E Atlantic Blvd, has been cooking in Pompano Beach since 1984. It is a chef-driven dinner spot and a good choice for an anniversary or the last night of a trip.

A little further: Cap’s Place

If you want a dinner story to take home, Cap’s Place in Lighthouse Point is Broward County’s oldest restaurant. It began as a 1920s speakeasy and gambling spot on an island and is still reached only by the restaurant’s own boat from its dock. Read more in our Lighthouse Point guide.

Eating in on a beach week

Most guests mix a few dinners out with simple meals at home. Every unit at Pompano Breeze has a place to cook. Suites have a full kitchen with a stove, microwave and refrigerator, and studios have a kitchenette. Breakfast at the table and sandwiches packed for the beach go a long way, and they leave room in the budget for a good dinner by the pier.

What to order

This is a fishing town, so look at the fish first. Most places along the beach list a catch of the day, and local favorites like mahi mahi, snapper and grouper show up often. In the cooler months, ask whether there is pompano on the menu. Stone crab season, which Florida sets each year, brings claws onto menus through the winter, so ask your server what is in season when you visit.

Breakfast and coffee

Many guests skip breakfast out entirely and eat at home before the beach. If you want to pick something up, the pier area and Atlantic Boulevard have coffee shops and casual spots, and the selection changes often. A quick search in your map app on the morning you go will show what is open.

Dinner with kids

For families, the restaurants by the pier work best early in the evening, when the sun is still out and the kids can look at the water while they wait. Later in the evening, the bars around the pier get livelier. If you have small children, an early dinner by the pier followed by a walk on the pier deck makes a good evening.

Tips for eating near the pier

• Weekend evenings and holiday weeks are busiest. Book ahead where you can.
• Parking around the pier can fill up. Leave the car at Pompano Breeze when it makes sense.
• Bring a light layer for indoor air conditioning, even in summer.
• Ask about the catch of the day. Local fish is the point of eating here.

Pair dinner with a walk on the Pompano Beach Pier or a look at the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse. When your dates are set, check availability and book direct.