Ernie's Bar-B-Q
& Lounge
The place
Since 1947, Ernie's has been doing exactly one thing with absolute conviction: smoking meat. This counter-service BBQ joint on US-1 is the kind of place that makes you forget every trendy restaurant in Fort Lauderdale the moment you smell the smoke.
The menu hasn't changed much in decades — pulled pork, beef brisket, baby back ribs, conch chowder — and neither has the decor, which is to say: minimal. You order at the counter, grab a stool, and eat. The sauce is tangy-sweet in the old-school Florida style.
The conch chowder is an easy-to-miss gem — a nod to South Florida's coastal heritage that regulars order every single time. Get a cup of it even if you think you don't want it. You want it.
What to expect
Counter-service. Cash preferred. Loud and casual — not a quiet dinner spot. Parking in their small lot. Weekday lunch brings the construction crews; weekend evenings bring everyone else.The shop, in frames
What people are saying
Closest spots by distance
Other places to fold into the same trip — measured straight-line from Ernie's Bar-B-Q & Lounge.
