“When we were thinking of expanding Aida, we walked around Flagler Village and realized that it’s where we needed to be,” Eduardo Gavilan tells New Times, co-owner of Colibri 4 Restaurant Group, which owns Aida. “The vibes are amazing and when the train goes by, there is such character. We see it as the next Wynwood and it’s a place to bring everyone together.”
Aida’s Fort Lauderdale location now occupies the prior American Icon Brewery Kitchen & Taproom building located at 911 NE Fourth Avenue in the graffiti art-clad neighborhood. With Aida’s arrival, the building has received a total gutting and makeover from its once simplistic brewery vibes. Now, it has a contemporary aroma with a central cherry blossom tree, sun-shaped mirrors, and a mural of the restaurant’s namesake muse by ABSTRK.
“While there has certainly been an explosion of Mexican restaurants in Fort Lauderdale in recent years, there is nothing else like this – Mexican seafood – that exists,” says Gavilan. “If you haven’t been, you haven’t tasted food quite like this.”
AIDA. 911 NE Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; aidarestaurant.com. 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday