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Last Update: Jun 6th, 2018
Red Door Las Olas

Red Door Asian Bistro

625 E. Las Olas Blvd
Fort Lauderdale FL, 33346
954-870-7090
Overall Rating
2.5
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
06/05/2018

Details

Attire: Casual
Parking: Street Metered
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Full Bar
Outside Dining: Yes
Reservations: Yes
Delivery: No

Pros

Nice Buildout
Great Location

Cons

Creepy Asian Decor
Pedestrian Menu
No Clear Cuisine Concept
Hibachi Rules are Confusing

Critic's Review

Johnny V was forced out of this location when the owners massively raised the rent; you wonder how yet-another Asian restaurant is going to make rent once the hype wears off? Maybe they tempered their demands, or maybe Hibachi will be the next great thing on Las Olas?

I've been thinking about checking this place out, but I can never seem to drag myself here in the evening; hanging out in an Asian bar is not an idea I prescribe to. Their lunch menu isn't all that interesting, but I can always count on getting a table.

It's already too hot to eat outside, and inside there were 2 people in the restaurant at 2:18pm.

Red Door Las Olas Interior

There's only bar seating and bench seating; no tables inside at the red door. No Asian workers in the FOH. The Bar has big TVs showing soap operas and Montell Williams. High brow stuff.

Red Door Bar

The hostess gave me a lunch menu and a dinner menu; no mention of "hibachi" From the dining room you can't see any hibachi tables, so I wondered if they just had a hibachi in the kitchen. I've been unsuccessfully trying to figure out the Hibachi setup here since Tony the owner ridiculed me for not knowing what his concept is despite him being a total marketing midget.

A runner brought out some fried wonton chips with duck sauce; not really what I expected.

Red Door Las Olas Table

Worst iced tea on the street. I'm not sure if it was flavored, or just lousy tea.

My server was curiously absent, since I was the only one in the restaurant who needed service. Long after I put down the menu, she didn't seem to get the hint. Finally she came over to take my order.

The lunch menu doesn't include soup or salad, not that I wanted Miso soup. I just ordered the Pad Thai because there wasn't anything else that appealed to me.

While the decor is "creepy" Asian, the music is not: Alina Baraz, James Blunt and NERVO detected.

The food came out in 9 minutes.

Red Door Pad Thai

My first impression was: "Where are the scallions"? My second impression was "Where are the peanuts". I took a couple of bites. Sweet, no depth of flavor. Nothing very authentic about this. No spice. No egg. Just noodles and bean sprouts and a tiny bit of green.

5 minutes later a runner brought out some crushed peanuts. Not sure why they're not served with the entree. He probably just forgot them the first time out.

Red Door Peanut Service

The plates aren't very good for eating; you need a bigger plate for this dish, particularly if you're not an expert with chopsticks. The tiny piece of lime they gave me wasn't enough (I decided I needed some other flavor); when I asked for a bit more she brought out 3 big limes; why not just give me enough in the first place?

Red Door Extra Limes

I wanted to see what was going on in the back so I made a trip to the bathroom. It's in the back where we see the "Red Door" concept; the doors are painted red.

Red Door at the Red Door

Also in the rear are the hibachi tables.

Red Door Hibachi

So I tried to get some info on the Hibachi from my server, and it went something like this:

Me: "So there's no Hibachi at Lunch?
She: "Oh Yes".
Me: "So if one person comes in and wants Hibachi, they'll send out a chef"?
She: "Sure"
Me: "So how does it work at dinner, do you have seatings?"
She: "Oh, we get lots of reservations"
Me: "Well without reservations, do they have seatings"?
She: "Yes, of course".

Ok, at this point I gave up. I really think she didn't know how it worked. And at this point I didn't really care anymore.

Conclusion

When you bring in a new concept, it's a good idea to explain it so people can know how it works. The owner insisted this was a "Hibachi Restaurant', but the tables are hidden in the back and empty at Lunch and there's no explanation how the tables are populated in the evening. Do you have to wait for hours to get a table? Are tables reserved? Are they community seating? Can I just sit at a table that has an available seat? If they're in the middle of a "show", how does that work?

The Pad Thai here is what you might expect to get at BJs (or Big City Tavern); I don't get why Asian restaurants don't have more authentic food. They claim that Americans don't like it, but then why do I need to deal with creepy decor at an Asian restaurant? I can just go to a nice chain restaurant who knows how to make iced tea.

To me this is an American Restaurant trying to meld a bunch of Asian concepts. I don't want to sit at the bar in a place like this, and I have no idea how one or 2 people can get to experience the hibachi. With only 18 hibachi seats, what chance do I have of even getting a seat on a Saturday night?

I haven't done the Hibachi at Benihana in 20 years, so I don't see myself dealing with this. There's nothing particular good about food cooked on one of these grills; it's all about the show. And I have no idea what kind of show they have here or whether or not it's worth the hassle to check it out.

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I think this place is up for sale. Im surprised they survived this long.

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