Top places: 5 new restaurants to get excited about in Palm Beach County
On a recent night, I was greeted by the aroma of melting Raclette cheese and the lively chatter of an early dinner crowd at one of my favorite bistros, Pistache in downtown West Palm Beach. Ah, the persuasive powers of a great cheese melt. It can bring such bustle on a Wednesday night.
That was my initial thought at Pistache’s Raclette Night, part of an occasional series inspired by the melted-cheese of the Swiss and French alpine traditions.
But you know what else has persuasive power? A welcoming local bistro with consistently fine food and service. Our meal filled our table with charcuterie and cheese, mussels and frites, that decadent Raclette poured over a mix of grilled vegetables and, for dessert, a basket of warm-from-the-oven Madeleines. The service and weeknight scene stirred our restaurant-loving hearts.
This kind of experience is why we leave the comforts of home (and home-delivery) and dress up on a weeknight. It’s what keeps us looking ahead to new, promising restaurants.
Speaking of promising spots, here are five new (or renewed) restaurants to get excited about.
Top spot: USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year include this Palm Beach County favorite
The Blue Door, West Palm Beach
One of the most exciting restaurants to open this year is a celebration of simple pleasures. It hums with customers nightly in West Palm Beach’s SoSo district. This is where talented executive chef Nano Crespo (also founding chef at The Drexel, Miami Beach, and formerly of Miami’s Quinto La Huella) is turning out a sensationally simple Mediterranean menu that’s focused on fresh seafood and grilled meats.
Starters include raw bar items such as snapper crudo with ginger, celery, grapefruit and cilantro ($23) and local tuna carpaccio with herb salad, capers and shallot vinaigrette ($25). Appetizers include Italian fennel sausage with house-made mustard and giardiniera ($18) and crab cakes with frisée, watercress, fine herbs and remoulade sauce ($30).
Main dish highlights: whole branzino with tangy salmoriglio sauce ($47), wild prawns with lemon and herbs ($45) and lamb chops served with tzatziki and cucumber salad ($49).
Read all about the dream team behind The Blue Door in this story by my colleague Eddie Ritz.
The Blue Door: 5700 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, 561-360-2064, TheBlueDoorWPB.com
Masala Mantra Indian Cuisine, Royal Palm Beach
This new, family-owned restaurant in Royal Palm Beach offers a modern take on Indian street foods and classics.
Masala Mantra has a menu that ranges from Indian street dishes (such as jini dosas stuffed with veggies, $15) to curries (including dhaba-style goat curry, $27) to Indian-spiced Chinese food (such as basmati fried rice, $20-$25). Other flavor highlights include tandoor-grilled meats and biryani rice dishes ($21-$25).
“Each dish is crafted to narrate a story, blending tradition with innovation in a manner designed to surprise and delight our patrons,” said owner Krunalbhai Patel in a press release.
He and wife Purnima Patel hosted the restaurant’s grand opening in late January, celebrating what has been a family effort. In fact, their 10-year-old son Hridaan added his own touches. His Minecraft video-game play helped inspire the restaurant's sleek, dark-walled interiors.
Masala Mantra, which offers a full bar, serves lunch and dinner daily as well as an Indian-inspired weekend brunch (Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Masala Mantra: 11051 Southern Blvd., #210, Royal Palm Beach, 561-328-7497, MasalaMantraRoyalPalmBeach.com
NiMo Coastal Mediterranean, near Jupiter
Here’s another new Mediterranean restaurant that’s cause for excitement, this one located in north county. NiMo Coastal Mediterranean restaurant opened in the former Josco Garden space in Tequesta on Feb. 8.
NiMo is the first Palm Beach County restaurant for Miami star chef Niven Patel and his business partner Mohamed Alkassar. The acclaimed duo earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand honor for their Ghee Indian Kitchen in Miami, and their Italian restaurant Erba recently made Esquire’s 2023 list for “Best New Restaurants in America”.
At NiMo, Patel makes good use of the restaurant’s wood-fired oven as well as local seafood and produce in shareable plates that pay tribute to the flavors of the Mediterranean and Middle East. The result is a lineup of pretty terrific dishes such as:
An addictive jalape?o labneh appetizer dip, topped with cucumbers and green beans ($15) and served with pillowy, wood-fired pita.
Tangy za’atar chicken wings with tzatziki dipping sauce ($10 at happy hour, $17 at dinner).
A Parm-style dish that features eggplant from Indiantown’s Kai-Kai Farm. It’s a crispy, smoky bite, topped with burrata and presented with fresh pomodoro sauce and basil ($18).
A heap of grilled, simply salted, Spanish-style lamb chops ($42), served with grilled shishito peppers, a dish that’s great for sharing.
NiMo Coastal Mediterranean: 157 N. U.S. Hwy 1, Tequesta, 561-730-5112, NiMoEats.com
Corvina Seafood Grill, Boca Raton
This seafood-centric restaurant may not be newly debuted — in fact, I wrote about its opening in December 2021 — but the East Boca Raton spot has been renewed. Corvina Seafood Grill is under new management, now run by the husband-wife team that also operates Prezzo in Palm Beach Gardens.
At Corvina, Eddie and Christina Pozzuoli will launch a new series they call Santorini Saturdays this weekend. The themed, Saturday night event offers coastal Greek dishes and drinks served by staff clad in white while local guitarist Murat Turan plays live.
Executive chef Jeff Tunks, who has refreshed his menu, will prepare a rotation of Greek-inspired dishes each week. They include Greek meze plates, Key West pink shrimp saganaki with ouzo flambé ($37), and galaktoboureko, the Greek custard pie that’s baked in phyllo pastry ($12).
The Santorini Saturdays series kicks off March 2, with dinner service starting at 5 p.m.
Corvina: 110 Plaza Real S, at Palmetto Place Plaza, Boca Raton, 561-206-0066, CorvinaBocaRaton.com
Radcliffe’s Speakeasy & Supper Club
The Wine Room, the popular restaurant and wine bar that made Yelp’s 2022 list for “Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.”, has unveiled a speakeasy-style bar that’s accessible through a “secret” alley door behind the restaurant.
In a dim, intimate space, Radcliffe’s Speakeasy & Supper Club offers live music and a full menu.
The ranges from small plates (such as escargot with duxelles butter, black truffle steak sauce and Parmesan brioche croutons, $20) to caviar service (as in waffle topped with caviar, chive crème fraiche and warm maple syrup, $50) to larger plates (like lobster étouffée with garlic-scented wild rice, gulf shrimp and lobster chili butter, $67) to a selection of steaks, seafood and sides.
The bar offers a lineup of crafty cocktails, including the Raven, which mixes black charcoal-infused vodka with lime and Demerara sugar ($16).
Radcliffe’s Speakeasy & Supper Club: 411 E. Atlantic Ave., Suite D, Delray Beach, 561-243-9463, TheWineRoom.com/delray-beach-the-speakeasy
Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New restaurants near West Palm: Blue Door; NiMo, Corvina Seafood
