The Most Exclusive Dinner in Florida Is in a Backyard Farm With a 2-year Waitlist—and It’s Worth the Wait

At dawn on Saturday mornings, Regina Rodrigues drives her pickup truck to buy hundreds of pounds of food and supplies: oxtail, beef, chicken, onions, rice, sugar. Later that evening, she opens the doors to her literal backyard to feed up to 150 people during a four-hour feast.

Regina’s Farm is an outdoor, nonprofit food experience tucked into the residential Sailboat Bend neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The gathering spot (“We don’t call it a restaurant,” Rodrigues tells Travel + Leisure) is a working farm less than a mile from downtown’s skyscrapers, complete with chickens, rabbits, produce—and a two- to three-year waitlist. 

Rodrigues says the concept was inspired by the roadside, open-air eateries where she grew up in Brazil’s Minas Gerais region. “I brought my Brazil to my backyard,” she told T+L. “The food [in Minas Gerais] is recognized all over the world because it’s very traditional. It’s like mom’s food, grandma’s food. People travel from the Northern and Southern parts of the country to try the food.”

Now, people travel from all over Florida for the experience. Since opening in 2013, the lore of this farm has slowly spread—though only some of what’s actually grown on-site (herbs, select vegetables) ends up in the more than two dozen dishes served during the meal.

Some meats are marinated and prepped in advance, but much of the cooking happens on Saturday—the only day the farm is open. (Though occasional Sundays pop up, too.) It closes in July and August due to South Florida’s rainy, brutally hot summer; the event is rain or shine. This year, the experience reopens on Sept. 20. After pandemic closures and a few viral YouTube and TikTok videos, the waitlist ballooned. It’s currently booked through 2029.

To feed more than 100 people, Rodrigues employs around 13 “helpers,” who assist with cooking, serving, cleaning, busing, seating guests, and more. While waiting, diners sip fresh sugarcane juice and can uncork their BYOB (wine and Champagne only, no corkage fee) at communal tables. As the food opens up like a kaleidoscope, guests are called in groups based on the color-coded bracelets they receive upon arrival.

The menu changes slightly week to week but always stays rooted in the flavors of Rodrigues’ hometown. The first course is a variety of soups (oxtail, chicken, corn, and vegan options) served with pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) and guava bread. The second course brings out an abundance of salads, plantains, yucca, collard greens, and feijoada (the classic black bean and meat stew). The main course features a selection of churrasco (grilled meats), chicken pie, ribs, fish, and beef. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are plentiful. 

Proceeds from the dinner go to the church across the street, Las Olas Worship Center—the church across the street where Rodrigues’ husband, Elizeu, serves as pastor—and support its various missions around the world. Leftovers are served to the local community after Sunday church services.

The event is kid-friendly, too, with a train ride, swings, rope climbs, and opportunities to feed the animals. “Kids can run around and scream and play,” said Elizeu, who is also the tractor-train ride conductor.

Dessert is a production of its own: live flan-flipping, key lime pie, cheesecake, coconut cake, brownies, s’mores over the fire pit, and brigadeiro, a Brazilian treat similar a chocolate truffle. There are also several homemade ice creams, fruit, and Brazilian-style pour-over coffee. 

Of the two dozen guests we spoke to, most were locals who had waited at least two years to get in—and dropped everything when they received the confirmation text earlier that week. One couple, who regularly travel the world to dine at some of the most acclaimed restaurants, said they had been on the list since August 2023 and were struck by how the dishes “let the ingredients shine.” Another guest drove solo from north of Orlando (about four hours away) just “for the experience.”

The meal lasts about four hours, though 40 or so guests were still hanging out when we left after hour five. “People stay all night,” Rodrigues said. “It’s a celebration of life together with other people. It’s an experience, you don’t hurry up. Sometimes I excuse myself to go to sleep, and I sit by my window, and people are still here sharing stories, drinking wine. They don’t want to go.”

Regina’s Farm; reginasfarm.com; 1101 Middle St., Fort Lauderdale. $65 adults, $35 kids. No walk-ins. Text for reservation: 954-465-1900. Free parking. Bathrooms on-site. Doors open around 6 p.m.