Vitolo Marks Three Years at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach With a Party and a New Sunday Brunch

At a Glance

• Vitolo, Chef Anthony Vitolo's Italian-American restaurant at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach, marks its third anniversary on Saturday, November 7, with live entertainment and a special menu.
• A new Sunday brunch debuts November 8 and runs every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Brunch highlights: Tiramisu French Toast, Vitolo Pancakes, Brunch Pizza and Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, with cocktails including the Rainbow Cookie Amore, Sorrento Limoncello and Cannoli Carajillo.
• The restaurant is at 551 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.

Vitolo is turning three with two days of celebration at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach. On Saturday, November 7, Executive Chef Anthony Vitolo hosts an anniversary evening with live entertainment and a menu written for the night. On Sunday, November 8, the restaurant opens a new Sunday brunch, served every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The brunch brings Vitolo's Italian-American cooking into daytime: Tiramisu French Toast, Vitolo Pancakes, Brunch Pizza and Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, plus a short list of specialty cocktails.

Brunch is new territory for the restaurant, which has built its following on dinner. The 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. window puts it on the beach's Sunday circuit, a few steps from the Conrad's pool deck.

The dishes carry the restaurant's dessert-first instincts into the morning. Tiramisu French Toast is finished tableside with a pour of sauce; the Vitolo Pancakes come stacked with berries; the Brunch Pizza takes the house pie into the daytime; and Tagliatelle alla Bolognese holds the lunch end of the window for guests who want red sauce at noon.

The cocktails are built around the restaurant's dessert flavors as well: the Rainbow Cookie Amore, the Sorrento Limoncello and the Cannoli Carajillo, a coffee cocktail that borrows the pastry's name.

Beyond the four headline dishes, the restaurant says the brunch carries additional Italian-inspired plates created by Chef Vitolo, and that the menu is meant to be shared in the same family style as dinner.

Anthony Vitolo grew up working alongside his father at the New York Italian-American restaurant that is as famous for its red sauce as for its clientele, a list the restaurant cites as including Taylor Swift, Madonna, Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Barack Obama. He brings the same emphasis on classic Italian cooking and family-style dining to the Fort Lauderdale room, which sits inside the Conrad on the beach.

The dining room, called the Sala Arco for its run of arches, is dressed in deep blue with a backlit bar at one end, and the brunch will be served there rather than in a separate space.

The November 7 celebration honors the restaurant's three years in Fort Lauderdale with live entertainment and a menu Chef Vitolo has curated for the occasion. The restaurant describes the two days as a new chapter, with more ways to eat meals made to be shared.

Anniversary: Saturday, November 7. Sunday brunch: every Sunday from November 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vitolo is at 551 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, inside Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach. Details at vitoloitalian.com.

For more information, visit vitoloitalian.com.