Bongos and Tatu at Hard Rock Offer Industry Nights

via Bongos Cuban Cafe

Bongos' Sky Lounge

​Calling all bartenders, servers, bussers, managers, chefs, and cooks! Those "in the biz" are invited to enjoy the ambiance, and most importantly, discounted food and beverage, at Bongos Cuban Cafe and Tatu, two heavyweight restaurants at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

Just a few weeks after launch, the restaurants hope draws the countless service industry employees in Broward and Miami-Dade who are looking for a place to go on their nights off. As restaurant event coordinator Halley Fitzsimmons put it, "On our off days, we like to go out and get catered to after serving others all week." So cb5 Restaurant Group is extending more generous industry discounts than the vast majority of restaurants in South Florida. Oh yeah, and they're looking to increase business on their slower days.

John Zur

Bongos' sticky glazed short ribs

​Bongos Cuban Cafe, with its casual Sky Lounge on the rooftop (never a cover charge), host an industry night on Sundays. The offer includes two-for-one drinks and $100 bottles of Jack Daniels, Don Juilo Blanco, Grey Goose, and Bacardi. Having opened in December, the restaurant is a beautiful, classy space with sexy lighting and clean, white furniture. It puts the Bongos at American Airlines Arena (and its tacky, touristy vibe) to shame. An item on the menu worth checking out is the ceviche mixto ($12) with shrimp, calamari, grouper, and octopus. It's prepared with an incredible coconut milk and lime marinade and served in a young coconut for a spectacular presentation. The sticky glazed spare ribs ($16) are falling-off-the-bone, slow-cooked baby back costillitas glazed in guava-pepper. The bistec palomilla ($25) is a Cuban style seared steak with garlic mojo and grilled onions, served with a large side of rice. The steak is an enormous cut that can easily feed two.

John Zur

Tatu's green tea mojito and strawberry and Thai basil martini

​Tatu serves up Asian dishes with Cantonese, Mandarin, Szechwan, Vietnamese, and Thai influences. the joint extends a 50% discount on all sushi rolls and 50% off select sakes on Monday nights, from 9pm to midnight, to industry personnel. Featuring an extensive sushi bar, private tatami rooms, and a two-level interior overlooking Paradise Lake, Tatu can accommodate groups of almost any size with ease. Their signature rolls include the marilyn monroll ($19) with shrimp tempura, jumbo lump crab salad, fresh scallops, cucumber, avocado, and spicy mayo, as well as tropical citrus salmon roll ($14) with salmon, mango, avocado, tobiko, and lemon slices. A cocktail worth snatching up from the roving bartender, preparing drinks table-side, is the strawberry and Thai basil martini ($14), made with Bombay Sapphire and cranberry juice. The green tea mojito ($12) was an unfortunately sweet cocktail made with Charbay green tea vodka, basil simple syrup, and crushed limes. The exotic presentations of both food and beverage are splashes of color against the dark, trendy atmosphere with a movie screen over the sushi bar playing Bruce Lee movies.

Why Sundays and Mondays? "Because those are the nights people in the biz usually have off," Fitzsimmons says. In order to claim the discount, anyone working in the hospitality industry must bring a pay stub or business card as proof of employment. Halley Fitzsimmons invites those in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and anywhere else one might be employed by a restaurant or bar, to come check them out. No word on whether they're accepting resumes or not.

Bongos Cuban Café at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
5733 Seminole Way, Hollywood
954-791-3040

Tatu Restaurant at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
5750 Seminole Way, Hollywood
954-583-1499

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