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Last Update: Sep 12th, 2018
Nauti Dawg Marina Cafe

Nauti-Dawg Marina Cafe

2841 Marina Cir
Lighthouse Point FL, 33064
(954) 941-0246
Overall Rating
2.3
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
04/18/2015

Details

Attire: Casual
Parking: Street, Free Marina Lot
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
Reservations: No
Delivery: No

Pros

Quaint, Waterfront Location

Cons

Overpriced, Pedestrian Food

Insider Tips

Stick to the Burgers and Dawgs. Probably better for breakfast than dinner

Critic's Review

I was driving back from deerfield on a sunny Saturday and with no reason to rush home, I decided to try the Nauti Dawg.

First things first, if you don't have a navigation system in your car your chances of finding this place are slim. There is a fairly straightforward way to get here, but the roads are very ruralish; with "bear left" and "bear rights" that could put you way off course.

Once the system says "You have reached your destination", it's nowhere in sight. There's a big parking lot and a lot of pastel colored buidlings; the cafe is on the water adjacent to the marina, about halfway down the street. The street is one-way with just a few spots, so if you get greedy and try to get too close you'll find yourself traveling in a big circle.

Street where Nauti Dawg is Located

There's an older dude "host", who habitually asked "Inside or Outside" even though there are no tables available outside. I don't like sitting outside are a marina, as there tends to be a better chance of smelling fish than fresh, salty air.

Nauti Dawg Outside Seating

I opted for a table inside; I rejected a high top in favor of a regular level table. They had the NBA playoffs on a big TV on the wall but this is the kind of crowd where zero people in the place were watching.

Nauti Dawg Interior

They have a bar in the back, beer and wine only. Not a place I'd want to spend a lot of time.

Nauti Dawg Bar

My server offered the specials without the "Market' prices, so I didn't consider them. They had Conch Chowder as their Soup De Jour. I ordered an Iced Tea while I decided.

Nauti Dawg Iced Tea w "extra" lemon

Once again, when someone asks for extra lemon it means that they like lemon in their tea; the 2 slivers don't even amount to the normal amount you used to get before nickel and dime nation took over.

I was wary about ordering anything complicated, although their vegetable special, brussels sprouts with garlic and tomato sounded interesting. I was just about to order the soup with a greek salad, which I changed my mind and ordered a cheese burger with the brussels sprouts. The burger is now $10 plus $1 for cheese; another restaurant with an outdated menu on their web site.

Music was low and fine, with Ringo and Green Day playing in some sort of Hall of Fame tribute. The view is of the Marina; not a pristine beach but at least you can say it's waterfront.

Nauti Dawg View

When the burger came out, my eyes were drawn to the brussels sprouts. Oh my, did they look scary. Not what I expected at all. The burger looked "ok" if not inspiring.

Nauti Dawg Cheeseburger with Brussels Sprouts

I wanted to ask for a steak knife to cut the burger, but my server dude wasn't very attentive. It's a slow-moving, laid back kinda place. I made due with the butter knife. The burger was certainly cooked to order medium rare. One skinny slice of cheese for $1.

Nauti Dawg $11 Cheeseburger

The "hand packed" burger lacked the thing that makes burgers taste good: fat. The new-fangled burger movement must end and we must get back to 80/20 ground beef that leaves a puddle of grease on your plate. The bun was too floury; kaiser buns can be really good but this wasn't a good roll. Maybe a day old, or maybe they need a better bakery.

The brussels sprouts were perhaps the worst item i've ever been served at any venue in any city.

Naut Dawg Incompetent Brussels Sprouts

Undercooked cabbage balls soaking in some sort of oily butter garlic with raw tomatoes; they didn't cut the core out either. I took a bite only so I could be sure that there wasn't some magic recipe that I'd missed; but it was like bitting into a bunch of marinated cabbage leaves. Utterly repulsive.

I asked for my check and there was no question about why did didn't eat the brussels sprouts; Message for the kitchen: If you don't know how to prepare brussels sprouts, don't put them on the menu. You'll just expose your lack of culinary prowess. This is not food. A starving dog would run away from this rubbish.

Bathrooms are off-site; a few doors down the dock. There's a fish cleaning station right in front of the restrooms for your enjoyment.

Conclusion

This place might be a nice, quint spot for breakfast, but it's wildly overprices for an out of the way cafe with hack food. They're charging Las Olas prices; $19 is what a big waterfront tourist trap charges for a lobster roll.

Come for the view and the casual ambiance; get some overpriced eggs and pretend you're on vacation.

Comment Policy Add Comment
Katie
Reply
$14 for a cheeseburger at this dump? What a joke.
Administrator
Reply
And $10 for a pretty disgusting sounding hot dog.
Ronald
Reply
You picked the right word for those sprouts, Dude. Scary stuff.
Jacob
Reply
Nauti-Dawg is the name and yes you can bring your dog to eat at the so-so lame marina restaurant. The owners stole the name from an High School ex-friend's defunct bar in Colorado (Sorry Laurie!) The bar as you mentioned is tiny and next to the kitchen, horrible to sit at and worse if people are walking by you to the small deck. The prices are high and the food is very inconsistent. Ok for beers after fishing, or maybe for breakfast, but that's all.

Next: Red Lobster