Iconic steakhouse Grille 66 to close

Grille 66 at Pier Sixty-Six to end service after lease expires in May

A Fort Lauderdale dining institution is shutting down: Grille 66 and Bar, the iconic steakhouse at the Pier Sixty-Six Hotel and Marina, announced Wednesday it would close its doors in May.

In a statement on Wednesday, Grille 66 general manager Peter Brennan told the Sun Sentinel that the 17-year-old restaurant will remain open until the restaurant’s lease expires in May, the end of Fort Lauderdale’s dining season. The 225-seat restaurant sits in a standalone building at Pier Sixty-Six, which has been closed for renovations since June 10.

“The imminent closure of Grille 66 is a loss for our community,” Brennan says. “The Grille has been a local staple and enjoyed by so many for the last two decades.”

The waterfront restaurant at 2301 SE 17th St. Causeway opened at Pier Sixty-Six in 2003 with chef Michael Siegel at the helm.

It immediately distinguished itself for Siegel’s all-American menu of 28-day-aged prime steak, inventive seafood and a raw bar.

There are no plans to re-open Grille 66 in a different location, Brennan adds.

“We have enjoyed the opportunity to serve as one of Fort Lauderdale’s premier waterfront dining destinations and want to thank our loyal customers for their years of patronage,” Brennan says. He hopes “everyone will continue to enjoy the very best of the Grille in its final months of operations.”

The news arrives six months after the 17-story Pier Sixty-Six temporarily closed for repairs. The property is being redeveloped to add several condos, villas and single-family homes, along with restoring the hotel’s tower that was damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The hotel plans to re-open some time in 2022. As part of the facelift, Pier Sixty-Six’s property developer Tavistock Development

Company laid off 213 hotel workers last June. No employees were affected at Grille 66, which is registered to G66 Management Company LLC, according to property records, and isn’t owned by Tavistock.

Pelican Landing, Pier Sixty-Six’s laid-back marina bar and eatery, will be unaffected by Grille 66’s closing and remain open during the hotel’s makeover, says Jessi Blakley, a Tavistock spokesperson. Pier Sixty-Six’s marina also will remain open, she says.

“Grille 66 will remain open through the current season,” Blakley says. “Beyond that, no decisions have been made as to future use of the building. That area of the Pier SixtySix property, which includes the Grille 66 building, the Pier Sixty-Six panorama ballrooms, as well as the marina and Pelican Landing restaurant, are not part of the approved redevelopment plans, which are currently under construction.”

Over the years Grille 66 has attracted plenty of waterfront diners enchanted with views of Intracoastal sunsets. Its white tablecloths, 8-ounce barrel cut filet mignon and seafood specialties, such as macadamia nut-crusted Chilean sea bass, have likewise earned high praise.

For more information, call Grille 66 and Bar at 954-728-3500 or go to Grille66andBar.com.

HYATT REGENCY Grille 66 and Bar, at the Pier Sixty-Six Hotel and Marina in Fort Lauderdale, will shut down in May.