Dine Out Lauderdale Serves Record 175 Restaurants, From $35 Lunches to Michelin Tables

More than 170 restaurants across Fort Lauderdale are dishing out prix-fixe deals this fall as Dine Out Lauderdale returns with its biggest lineup yet, giving South Florida diners a fresh reason to eat out during the traditionally sleepy late-summer stretch. The annual campaign runs through September 30, pairing $35 lunches with dinner tiers at $45, $60, and a $75 “Lux” option at some of the city's most talked-about tables.

According to WPLG Local 10, this year's edition is Dine Out Lauderdale's largest yet, with more than 170 participating restaurants spread across the city. That figure lines up with numbers from Visit Lauderdale, which reported record participation topping 175 restaurants and rolled out a redesigned online hub letting diners filter listings by neighborhood, cuisine, and price tier ahead of the August kickoff.

The tourism organization has run Dine Out Lauderdale for more than a decade, originally launching it to stimulate local restaurant sales and pull in tourists during South Florida's traditionally quiet late-summer months, per the same organization's account of the program's history. This year's four-tier pricing structure, running from $35 lunches up through the $75 Lux dinner option, keeps that original access-driven mission intact while stretching into pricier territory than in years past.

Michelin Tables Join the Discount Push

What sets 2026 apart is who showed up. High-end venues in this year's lineup include MAASS, the Michelin-starred fusion dining room at the Four Seasons, alongside Michelin-recommended spots Daniel's and Heritage, according to WeekendBroward-PalmBeach. The presence of Michelin-tier restaurants in a fixed-price promotion marks a shift for a city that only recently began earning that recognition.

Beyond the prix-fixe menus themselves, this year's program has expanded into hands-on events not seen in past iterations. Dumpling-making classes at Temple Street Eatery, a Cocktail Club at The Wilder, and a six-course culinary performance called Ode to Tomato at MAD Arts are all part of the record number of interactive events built into this year's campaign, Visit Lauderdale detailed in its event announcement. Craft Food Tours is also running Las Olas Boulevard dinner-and-drinks walking tours featuring three tasting courses, paired cocktails, dessert, and a stop at a private art gallery.

A Bridge Through the Slow Season

The timing is no accident. Dine Out Lauderdale lands squarely in the months when Greater Fort Lauderdale's tourism machine typically cools off, even as the broader numbers behind that machine keep climbing. The region logged more than 20.9 million travelers in 2025, generating $124 million in Tourist Development Tax revenue for Broward County, Visit Lauderdale reported. Broward County hotels hit an 85% occupancy rate in March, a 6% jump year-over-year, with average daily room rates reaching $240.49 on the strength of leisure travel and cruise traffic out of Port Everglades.

That hotel demand is set to keep growing. Fort Lauderdale entered 2026 with 1,233 rooms under construction citywide, headlined by the 801-room Omni Fort Lauderdale, which is bringing new upscale dining concepts of its own, according to Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. Hoodline previously reported on an Italian chophouse planned for that hotel, part of a broader wave of high-end concepts reshaping the city's dining scene alongside projects like the converted church now home to Jay's Steakhouse in Flagler Village.

For scale, Dine Out Lauderdale's economic footprint is modest next to the region's marquee events. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show generated $1.778 billion in statewide economic impact in 2024, according to the Marine Industries Association of South Florida — a reminder that the dining promotion functions less as a tourism blockbuster and more as a steady, seasonal nudge to keep local restaurant tables full.

Among the longtime local players joining this year's push is Wan's Mandarin House, which is marking its 60th anniversary with special events timed to the Dine Out Lauderdale calendar, as Hoodline reported this week. Whether diners drawn in by the discounted menus keep coming back once regular pricing resumes in October remains an open question, one that will likely shape how restaurants weigh the promotion's value against food costs that have stayed stubbornly high.