The Manor in Wilton Manors is self-billed as a complex. And that rings true — mainly because it has a complex: total schizophrenia. Taking up a whopping 16,000 square feet of floor space, the Manor consists of a martini bar, restaurant, lounge, sports bar, dance club, piano bar, and (whew!) coffee bar. It's open for lunch beginning at 3 p.m., serves brunch on Sundays at 10 a.m., offers dinner between 6 and 10 p.m., and morphs into a nightclub after 10. It hosts drag shows , brunches, and cabaret nights. Take February 5 as just one example of the extreme scheduling going on here: It's advertising both a Pirates of the Caribbean theme and a victory party for Miss Noche Latina on the same night.
Candace West
The seared scallop tapas ($11.95) was large enough to be an entrée.
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The Manor, 2345 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors. Call 954-626-0082, or
click here.
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Walking into the Manor is like entering a cross between the set of a Twilight movie and Liberace's rumpus room. It's supposed to be a campy version of an English manor. The décor is an eclectic mix of cupids, gargoyles, pool tables, gothic candelabras on salmon-colored walls, and standard pub tables. The main dining area/martini lounge/coffee bar are all combined into one open space. It's sort of like a loft apartment, where you make imaginary "rooms" via furniture layout. The martini bar serves as a central focal point, with dining-room seating to the right of the bar and a coffee counter, lounge area, and pool tables to the left. The Manor's large two-story nightclub area is divided from the restaurant by the kind of inflatable wall you would find in a hotel ballroom.
Sitting at the nearly empty martini bar at 9:30 on a Thursday night, my friend and I were treated to music videos that mashed up soft gay porn, Lady Gaga, and Michael Bublé. If I had to guess what theme the Manor was going for, I'd have to say a gay Dave & Buster's.
The minds (and wallets) behind this behemoth of food and drink are heavy-hitters in the gay nightlife scene. Real estate developers Paul Hugo and Brett Tannenbaum are past owners of several nightclubs, including the Empire in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale clubs the Saint, 825, and the Coliseum. The Manor isn't their first foray into food either. Tannenbaum owned Healthnuts Cafe, and Hugo had Hugo's Deli. Other management team members are nightlife promoter and marketer Gary Santis, who was also behind the Coliseum and, in the '90s, the South Beach megaclub Warsaw; and general manager Jason Tamanini, who was past manager of Halo Lounge in South Beach and Washington, D.C. Executive chef Cedric Washington has been with the Manor since it opened its doors December 16, 2009.
With a team like this, it's no surprise that the Manor can get slammed during its dance parties and private events. But the venue is also trying to be a fine-dining destination. Its website advertises "five start [sic] service with gourmet cuisine." So I wanted to check out the restaurant.
Our cute bartender seemed pretty happy to see us, and I got the distinct vibe that the Manor is female-friendly. I asked for a martini menu and was presented with a spiral-bound minibook. I really just wanted one damned good martini, so I ordered the Perfect Dirty Martini ($10), which came chilled with a few ice slivers floating on top. It was "perfectly dirty," with just the right amount of olive juice and served with three olives. The 007 Martini ($10), made with Bacardi "O" rum, orange juice, and a splash of 7-Up, could have been a sugary nightmare but was made with a light touch and actually tasted like a martini rather than a tropical welcome drink.
The second we sat at our heavy wooden pub table, our server (surprise — a cute guy, wearing black pants and a tight T-shirt!) was already pushing dessert. "You have to have the fried Oreos!" he exclaimed. "It's redneck gourmet!"
Perusing the spiral-bound menu literally took about 20 minutes. The book — I mean menu — is broken into sections: tapas, salads, entrées, and desserts. Selections range from Southwestern and Asian-inspired to American comfort food. The wine list is heavy on American wines, with most bottles ranging from $25 to $40 and glasses averaging $8. I ordered the house Chardonnay.
When it came time to order, I asked our server to bring a selection of their best plates, because I'm the kind of person who can spend an hour deciding which toothpaste to buy, and this menu, with its expansive choices, was making me nervous.
He started with tapas, which ranged from $4.95 to $11.95. On a high note, the Southwestern vegetarian flatbread ($7.95) was crispy, light, and topped with fresh tomatoes, black beans, and corn. The sweet smokiness of the chipotle mayonnaise brought out the flavors in the vegetables. Coconut shrimp ($9.95) were plump and juicy, and the breading had plenty of sweet coconut. The orange dipping sauce wasn't too sweet and had a nice tanginess from horseradish.
Other tapas didn't fare so well. Applewood-bacon-wrapped chilies ($9.95) managed to be both soggy and dried out at the same time. True, the applewood bacon was crisp, but the chili seemed to have soaked up the bacon grease. The dish was accompanied by a cilantro lime crème, which sounds like it would have a nice citrus tang but actually tasted like ranch dressing.
