MAASS by Ryan Ratino

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A MICHELIN-Accoladed Team Comes to Fort Lauderdale

MAASS by Ryan Ratino is a contemporary American restaurant on Fort Lauderdale Beach that centers its cooking on the open-fire hearth. Chef Ryan Ratino arrives with a MICHELIN-accoladed team, bringing to South Florida the same exacting sourcing and kitchen discipline that earned recognition elsewhere — here applied to ingredients drawn from what the restaurant describes as "the finest markets."

The menu reflects a confident blending of French technique and Japanese sensibility. Snacks set the tone immediately: a Foie Gras "Nutter Butter" with peanut and concord grape, Wagyu Croustade with smoked onion "fudge" and tosazu, and Wellfleet Oysters finished with Florida orange, coconut, and smoked ginger. Starters push further — a Nori Dusted Tuna Crudo with pomegranate, pineapple, and kombu sits alongside a Foie Gras Terrine with almond, cherry, and pecan sourdough. For mains, a Hokkaido Scallop arrives over a corn custard tart with snow crab, while a Heritage Pork Schnitzel comes with spätzle, sweet-and-sour cabbage, and apple. The anchor of the "For The Table" section is a 14oz A5 Wagyu Bavette sourced from Kagoshima, Japan — the French-Japanese axis made tangible on a single plate.

The Chef's Counter and the Seasonal Tasting Menu

For those who want to get closer to the kitchen, the Chef's Counter offers fourteen seats directly inside the cooking space. It is a front-row experience — guests watch dishes come together in real time, from the first snacks through to dessert. The Counter is available every day.

The Seasonal Tasting Menu runs nightly and moves through a concise sequence: oyster, prawn toast, and wagyu croustade open proceedings, followed by Apple and Burrata, a Koshihikari Rice with comté and maitake mushroom, Brioche Stuffed Amish Chicken, and a closing Tasting of Strawberry. Wine pairings range from the house MAASS pairing to a Luxury option, reflecting the depth of a list that earned Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence in 2024 — one of the more demanding benchmarks in restaurant wine recognition.

Brunch, Sunset Hour, and the Full Picture

On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, MAASS pivots to an à la carte brunch that keeps the kitchen's character intact: a Japanese Soufflé Pancake with maple and cultured butter, a French Omelette with parmesan mornay, Kaluga Caviar over Kennebec kettle chips, and the same steaks available at dinner for those who want to push further. Every evening from 5 to 7 PM, the bar and patio host Sunset Hour — a focused selection of classic cocktails and wines at a single price point, open to anyone who wants a more relaxed entry into what MAASS does.

The room is warm and the hospitality is described as such. The cooking is precise without being cold, rooted in fire and in the kind of sourcing — Châtel Farms beef from Georgia, Hokkaido scallops, Kagoshima wagyu — that gives a menu something to actually say.