The Group Table Where Las Olas Meets the Water
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants built their Fort Lauderdale flagship on a simple insight: that great group dining requires scale, and scale requires architecture. At 15,000 square feet across two floors — each with Intracoastal terrace access — Ocean Prime on Las Olas Circle is built for the moments that require a room, not just a table. Team dinners that actually bond people. Client entertainments that feel like events. Birthday celebrations where the scale of the occasion matches the scale of the space.
The kitchen delivers a menu that works for everyone without pandering to anyone. The Smoking Shellfish Tower — a tiered seafood presentation that arrives tableside trailing dry-ice fog — is the defining opener for groups. It is theatre and substance simultaneously: king crab, oysters, shrimp cocktail, and cold-water lobster tails assembled with enough precision that the dramatics feel earned rather than contrived. The tower is the moment the table comes alive.
Main courses divide cleanly between an outstanding seafood menu — the sea scallop parmesan risotto (seared dry-packed scallops, parmesan cream, lemon, herbs) is the dish that converts committed carnivores — and prime-grade steaks sourced from hand-selected ranches. The dry-aged bone-in ribeye and the bone-in filet mignon are both sourced to specification; neither disappoints. The wine list is deep in California and France with a respectable selection of aged bottles for special occasions.
Service at Ocean Prime is coordinated rather than personal — the calibre of staff management required to run a room this size without visible seams. Private dining rooms accommodate parties from 12 to 150 guests, with full audio-visual capability for presentations and dedicated event coordinators who understand the difference between a working dinner and a celebration dinner. OpenTable Diners' Choice winner in 2025 reflects consistent execution across hundreds of services.
Why It's Fort Lauderdale's Premier Team Dinner Venue
Ocean Prime occupies the exact point on the hospitality spectrum where a team dinner becomes an event. The Las Olas Circle location is walkable from downtown hotels and easily accessible for arrivals from Broward County. The Smoking Shellfish Tower is a conversation-generating opener that levels the table immediately. Private dining rooms can accommodate full team events with A/V. And the kitchen reliably executes across large covers in a way that most Fort Lauderdale restaurants cannot. Book private dining directly through the restaurant with at least two weeks advance notice for groups over 20.
What to Order
The Smoking Shellfish Tower for groups of four or more — it pays for itself in table energy. Among mains, the sea scallop parmesan risotto and the bone-in dry-aged ribeye are the kitchen's two strongest dishes; split your table accordingly. The lobster bisque is the finest soup on the Fort Lauderdale waterfront. On desserts, the sticky toffee pudding is an unusual and very good choice. For wine, the sommelier's current California Pinot Noir recommendation is reliably well-chosen.