Who Needs Rose Colored Glasses When You Have Jimbo’s Sand Bar

Having experienced plenty of Florida’s yum to yuck waterfront dining over the years, a wonderful experience is as good a place to start “FLAvorable Mentions” as any & Jimbo’s Sand Bar is it!

Wow, does this place ever have all the right checks in all the right boxes! Now in truth, my initial reaction was “Nah” when we drove by (not so much because of anything I saw, but simply my desire to keep looking) yet my husband had eaten there before, so we went back. Boy – was I not disappointed!

Jimbo’s has managed to retain the perfect balance of open, rustic Florida Tiki bar atmosphere despite the surrounding growth of Fort Lauderdale! The magnificent scenery is never dull or static due to the ideal sized waterway & inter coastal views as it is located at the corner of North Ocean Drive & Dania Beach Blvd Bridge (one of the less then 150 move-able drawbridges remaining in our great state). It maintains a quaint & charming Florida experience without too much fluff in that it has captured the essence of the old Florida we all crave when on vacation. Everything from ringing the bar bell at passing boats, to cheering the fishermen/women on as they slowly parade by with their catch of the day… It boasts the perfect sized dock for boats pulling up without too much fuss, even for the novice boater (which we saw). Locals, seasonal & straight up tourists are all equally welcomed to hideaway for a minute or the day.

Less then 150 movable bridges in our great state and one can be found at Jimbo’s Sand Bar!

This place has an ahhh’mazing wait staff with ready smiles to go ’round. Everyone was ridiculously accommodating (truly), which can be difficult to maintain when dealing with high volumes of seasonal traffic. While everyone was lovely, ask for Tracey because she was the jem of the night!!!

She was personality A+ and I literally allowed her to steer me through every order – which I never do – and she nailed each suggestion! (Can I add another exclamation mark!) Furthermore, I hear they are pet friendly, which makes this place even better for the pooch lovers…

Ask for this gal – Tracey!

…and the FOOD – afterall, it is ultimately about the food! While the menu seemed a bit dodgy, just in that it was a tad scattered, I went with the flow and AGAIN, not disappointed. Everything was seemingly made from scratch…and with Florida food, this is a must but unfortunately a MAJOR downfall of many potentially good spots due to the “get them in/get them out” attitude. Which we did not encounter at Jimbo’s at all. Seriously folks, from the creamy ranch dressing (definitely home-made), smoked fish spread (no liquid smoke there), Angus Burger (delish), to muscles marinara (PERFECTLY COOKED) there was ZERO commercial flavor to be found in any dish (and I can smell that nonsense the minute it is put before me). So while every kitchen has to cut corners here and there, due to time and money, however Jimbo’s does it (if they do it), the pickier Florida diner in me wasn’t able to tell. There was a wide selection of drinks and the recommended grapefruit shandy (again, thanks to Tracey) was spot on, aromatic & light and fit the evening beautifully.

For a slower Wednesday night, there was the perfect amount of good music, laughter & frivolity and I have no doubt that on a sunny weekend day or night, this place would rock in all the right ways! I found the pricing to be fair, all things considered, especially noting the location. There are plenty of choices to keep it within whatever is your budget. Jimbo’s Sand Bar has been featured in floridabeachbar.com & hopeservations.com (need I say more) and has a website jimbossandbar.com you can check out.

…so really the only question that remains,…who needs rose colored glasses when you have Jimbo’s Beach Bar?!? This was a YUM Florida experience from start to finish and this makes it a worthy FLAvorable Mentions!