Livia Bar & Grill in Fort Lauderdale is a great addition to the foodie scene in Flagler Village and helps it spread west with its location on Andrews Avenue in the Motif Apartment complex. It has great mixologists with happy hour specials and good deals on bar bites. The neighborhood has street parking, and the Motif parking garage entrance is on the Northeast First Avenue (east) side of the building. Make sure to look for the QR code signs to get a break on parking in the garage. Walk to the middle of the building on Andrews Avenue to find the breezeway entrance.
Entering Livia Bar & Grill, there’s an expansive patio area with extra-large ceiling fans and nicely cushioned chairs at the bar. The bar also opens into the dining room and has an array of big screens. The dining room has realistic murals of famous female Hollywood stars, including Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren, which were done by Lauderdale-by-the-Sea artist Fabio Onreck. By the way, Livia gets its name from Olivia, the daughter of owner Anthony Licata. He’s of Colombian and Italian heritage. His love of Italian food helped contribute ideas to the menu developed by Executive Chef Brian Cantrell, who was previously at Copperfish Kitchen in Boca Raton, Oceanic in Pompano Beach, GG’s Waterfront Bistro in Hollywood and The Office in Delray Beach.
The six signature cocktails at Livia Bar & Grill dovetail with the theme set by the murals: Elizabeth Tea, Miss Rita, Honey Ryder, The Sophia, Playboy Bettie and Smoke Show Monroe. The latter was a fun smokey presentation—with honey brown bourbon, Montenegro Chocolate Bitters and Maraschino Cherries. The Sophia is a nice twist on a gin drink and Playboy Bettie has All Spice Dram to combine with the smokiness of the mezcal. Miss Rita gives margaritas a twist with Hellfire Guava and Coconut Orange Air.
The Sunday brunch was such a hit that Livia has also added a Saturday brunch. Both feature fun live music with more emphasis on rock music on Saturdays. There are several bottomless drink options. The $20 house version has three options, including a Prosecco Bellini. The $45 rock n roll option has four different margaritas. There’s also a $50 version with upgraded sparkling wine and spirits. (There’s a 90-minute time limit.) A lot of the regular dishes are also on the brunch menu, plus frittatas, chicken & waffles, Florentine benedict, steak & eggs, and a BLT with two sunny-side-up eggs.
Choosing the best among the swarm of dishes that Licata served up for our tasting session is hard. The Sunday meatballs were tender and made with brisket, pork and beef. The crab cake was superb without the stuffing used at many restaurants. The pan-braised Calabrese mussels were large and tender with delightful Nduja (Calabria pork sausage) and a tomato broth. The baby kale added a great twist to the Caesar salad. The pappardelle dish had tender chunks of short rib and the dirty macaroni is a recipe from the owner’s Sicilian grandmother with roasted mushrooms and parmesan truffle butter. (Yum!) The branzino came with a tasty little salad on top with capers, olives, fennel and baby spinach. The “Chicken Martini,” a lighter twist on chicken parmesan with burrata, was also well done.
