A visit to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is made better with a meal at this new-style Japanese restaurant. At its bright refined dining room and bar overlooking the resort’s lush pool, dishes are brought to the table in what seems like a careful choreography. Wagyu tacos with cilantro and spicy Amarillo aji are on the dinner menu, as well as soft-shell crab tempura, Chilean seabass in miso, beef short rib in Gochulang demi, and an extensive lineup of nigiri, maki, hand rolls, and sushi. Chef’s omakase comes in three options and spotlights a different type of fish in each dish, prepared using traditional techniques to preserve the freshness and flavor of each offering.

This Chinese restaurant is open until midnight, every night, making it a great spot for late night cravings of bird’s nest, sea cucumber, and abalone. Less adventurous diners will find a wide selection of noodles and other dishes. Chinese-American fare is lackluster at best, but why order sweet and sour chicken when you can have steamed chicken with lily flower and black fungus?

Besides being a great place to buy anything from local eggs to handmade perfume, this weekends-only covered market is where you can find Hollywood’s culinary diversity at its best. The ever changing roster of eats can include peel-and-eat crawfish, piled high nachos, pastas made on-site, and bounties of local produce.

Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort houses this upscale steakhouse, aptly named after James (Jimmy) William Buffett. The laid-back restaurant features intimate spaces ideal for romantic dinners or small group gatherings and the menu features prime steaks and a wide selection of seafood offerings. The dinner menu of prime bone-in rib eye, surf ’n’ turf and catch of the day is complemented by desserts like banana cream and key lime pie, and plenty of wine, scotch, bottled beer, and cocktail selections. 

There’s something about the combination of a casual waterfront atmosphere, comfort food that appeals to everyone, and Hollywood locals have been experiencing the best of it for the past four decades at Le Tub. The outdoor-seating saloon is know for serving the best hamburger in town, a signature sirloin burger made famous by GQ Magazine and Oprah that is big enough to share. The chili is also a favorite, as are the crab legs, catch of the day, and the daily-made Key lime pie. The lush foliage and quirky objects like a painted toilet seat and bathtubs of the outdoor wood deck facing the Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal Waterway seal the deal. 

Situated on North Ocean Drive, GG’S is known for its alfresco dining and sprawling waterside, as well as a former celebrity hangout of Sinatra, the Rat Pack, and New York mobsters. Locals come here to dine on Florida fresh seafood and steak like stone crab claws, chilled Maine lobster, blackened grouper tacos, roasted chicken, and braised short rib. On Sundays, GG’s hosts a special brunch and live Caribbean music at the dockside lounge. 

Tony Dominguez and Gerardo Landa celebrate the best of food, libations, and entertainment of their native Peru at this vibrant destination. The menu is a blend of fine dining staples and street-food culture specialties like anticuchos de corazon (beef heart skewers), chupe de camarones (Peruvian-style shrimp stew), and tiraditos (sashimi-style slices in coal-smoked Peruvian yellow pepper sauce). Make sure to order one of the strong, refreshing Pisco Sour cocktails to go with the meal. 

Hollywood has one of the highest concentrations of Peruvians in the country, so it should come as no surprise that the country’s cuisine should show up plenty of times this list. Peruvian sandwiches have become increasingly popular in South Florida, and this is one place that takes the fairly minimalist “sanguche” quite seriously. Its fried pork and sweet potato sandwich is its signature.

Before donuts became hip and pastry chefs got their hands on them, they were the everyman’s breakfast pastry. Dandee Donuts is one of the few independent places where sugar-loving diners can still grab an old-school, traditional doughnut. Diners can also sit down and have an omelet, a patty melt, or even a pizza here.

Every town needs a Cheers-like gastropub and in Hollywood that’s the Tipsy Boar. The spot is celebrating two decades this year, and it is still a local favorite thanks to its friendly staff, wide draft beer selection, and an solid menu of bar bites. Diners can choose from guacamole, lamb gyro croquettes, Texas barbecue beef burger, and Sicily chicken, which is pan seared and topped with spinach, tomatoes, and Provolone, then served with a side of fragrant saffron rice. 

This Korean restaurant is one of Hollywood’s best-kept secrets. Don’t expect the trappings of some of South Florida’s better-known Korean restaurants, however. This is a no-frills, homey dive perfect for enjoying a comforting bowl of stew or its famous noodles in black bean sauce.

Nestled in the lobby of the Diplomat Beach Resort, this award-winning steakhouse marries a sophisticated ambiance with top-tier seafood and aged in-house steak dining. Led by executive chef Rashaad Abdool, the kitchen dishes out starters to the likes of prime rib carpaccio, jumbo lump crab cake, or snapper crudo, followed by main courses of Diver scallops, 45-day dry-aged NY Strip, or a shareable dish of twin lobster tail for two, which can be accompanied by sides of the like of roasted bone marrow, Kabocha squash risotto, or seared foie grass. The wine lists boats more than 500 varietals in addition to an extensive cocktail menu.