Christine's Restaurant, Fine Dining, Wine Bar & Fine Spirits

2671 E Oakland Park Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale Florida
Serving Lunch Tuesday - Friday 11:30 - 2:30
Happy Hour 5-7
Live Music Nightly Thursday - Saturday
Dinner Tuesday - Saturday 6:00 - 10:00
Phone: 954-566-1919 Fax: 954-566-1915

Christine’s is the brainchild of Greg Rhatagan, former owner of the Grateful Palate on 17th Street Causeway, and rising young South Florida entrepreneur, Daniel MacMillan. They share a vision of great food and fine wine & spirits presented in an exquisite setting. Gregory steered the Grateful Palate’s progress for over 10 years while loyally catering to an international clientele. This clientele included mega-yacht owners and in-demand chefs regularly traveling to Fort Lauderdale seeking provisioning. Daniel, a passionate world traveler, spends time seeking out new ventures that bring a sampling of the richness of global culture home to South Floridians.

At Christine’s, simplicity is the favored theme. From the clean blonde wood floors to evenly spaced and expertly hung pop art on the walls to the marvelous Richard Serra-like iron tablets that double as a wine rack, the whole place could have been plucked from a hip Museum of Modern Art soirée during the late 1960s. The serially arranged “W” celebrity photos behind the bar remind one of Robert Scull’s wife in 64 fotomat poses, brushing her hair. The huge French vintage movie posters look like something from the Cinematheque Francaise. The tables are square, buried under thick white Italian linens, elegantly set with Reidel glassware, Royal Doulton china and Villeroy & Bosch silverware. The lines are straight and clean, corners sharp, order prevails. The whole remains absolutely uncluttered. Christine’s simple and elegant setting and thick wine list could suggest snobbery, but there is none.

The food, of course, is what counts most and here Christine’s makes a very fine mark. Appetizers range from a delicately seared kampachi with sesame-kimchee to baby white water clams in a smoky tomato broth. The roasted pecan crusted goat cheese salad features huge sweet blackberries, candied pecans, and two kinds of lettuce glazed with key-lime vanilla vinaigrette. The warm goat cheese is perfectly balanced with this pageant of flavors. The generous, blackened ribeye cap steak served with ciabatta, arugala, and tobacco onions melts in your mouth. Corn crusted yellow tail snapper and grilled pork chops with applewood smoked bacon are only two of the dozen irresistible entrees simmering on plates across the room.

The bar at Christine’s offers its customers super premium spirits. Chivas Regal, Roberto Cavalli vodka and Tommy Bahama Rums are featured in the well. For those who enjoy sampling, single malt scotches are in abundance with 25 selections to choose from. Begin with a Laphroaig 30 or a Glenlivet 21 and work your way to an amorously smoky Macallan 18 year old, the single malts cover the waterfront. And for those in quest of a double-wood, aged single malt, there is the classic favorite, Oban 14.

The wine list is hearty and broad - with over 100 selections from California, Australia, France and Italy, and many other vintage locales. An abundance of bottles offer very serious quality at not-so-serious prices. Customers can either peruse the wine list at their leisure or receive reliable recommendations and descriptions from a truly wine-savvy staff without breaking the bank.