dining guide
room, and there is also a pasticceria and bar for gelato and espresso. Chef Angelo Romano offers a modern Italian menu. The Mediterranean sea bass branzino is definitely a must-try. Plus, the wine list is a veritable tome. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/547-2500. $$$
safire asian fusion—817 Lake Ave. PanAsian. This stylish little restaurant offers food that gently marries East and West, plus a roster of more traditional Thai dishes and inventive sushi rolls. Menu standouts include tempura-fried rock shrimp or calamari cloaked with a lush-fiery “spicy cream sauce.” Expect neighborly service and reasonable prices. • Lunch Tues.–Fri. Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/588-7768. $
The design that offers both intimate and energetic dining areas, while the menu is by turn familiar (Caesar salad, fried calamari, burger) and more adventurous (truffled steak tartare with crispy egg yolk, squid ink orrechiette). But they’re all good. Dinner daily, Sunday brunch. 561/833-3450. $$
café boulud—The Brazilian Court, 301
LANTANA
Australian Ave. French with American flair. This hotel restaurant gives Palm Beach a taste of Daniel Boulud’s world-class cuisine inspired by his four muses. The chef oversees a menu encompassing classics, simple fare, seasonal offerings and dishes from around the world. Dining is in the courtyard, the elegant lounge or the sophisticated dining room. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/655-6060. $$$
bar italia—210 E. Ocean Ave. Italian. Apicius
café l’europe—331 S. County Road. Current in-
was the perhaps the pre-eminent gourmand of ancient Rome, and while this Apicius is a good deal more contemporary, its gourmet take on the cuisine of Italy would make old Apicius proud. The two open-air dining rooms are delightful, as is the extraordinary wine list and menu of Italian classics and modern interpretations. Vitello tonnato is superb beyond its generic description as “cold poached veal with tuna sauce.” Roasted duck cooked en confit with Grand Marnier sauce is fine too; as is the stellar cacuicco alla Livornese. • Daily 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 5–11 p.m. 561/533-5998. $$$$
the station house—233 Lantana Road. Seafood. If you’re hungry for Maine lobster, plucked live out of giant tanks and cooked to order, this modest replica of a 1920s train station is the place to go. Lobsters come in all sizes (up to 8 pounds) and are so reasonably priced that getting a taste of one without reservations is highly unlikely. • Dinner nightly. 561/547-9487. (Other location: 1544 S.E. Third Court, Deerfield Beach, 954/420-9314) $$$
ternational. A Palm Beach standard, the café has long been known for its peerless beauty, the piano player, the chilled martinis and the delicious Champagne and caviar bar. Try one of its sophisticated classics like Wiener schnitzel with herbed spaetzle, grilled veal chop with a scallion potato cake, and flavorful pastas. • Lunch Tues.–Fri. Dinner nightly (closed Mon. during summer). 561/655-4020. $$$
cha cha’s—150 Worth Ave. Latin/Tapas. A variety of small plates, from Mexican tacos and Argentine empanadas to Spanish potatoes and Cuban dulce de leche, make up the menu of this elegant yet casual and moderately priced panLatin eatery. Though not every dish is successful, the best ones—crusty-creamy papas bravas, savory shrimp and scallion crêpe, buttery cauliflower and fennel gratin, and indecently luscious dulce de leche pot du crème—will make your taste buds do a happy dance. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/833-8800. $$
bice—313 Worth Ave. Italian. Bice continues to
chez jean-pierre—132 N. County Road. French. Sumptuous cuisine, attentive servers and a see-and-be-seen crowd are hallmarks of one of the island’s premier restaurants. Indulgences include scrambled eggs with caviar and the Dover sole meunière filleted tableside. When your waiter suggests profiterolles au chocolat or hazelnut soufflé, say, mais oui! • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/833-1171. $$$
buccan—350 S. County Road. Contemporary
cucina dell’ arte—257 Royal Poinciana Way. Italian. The wide range of items on the menu includes a sausage and fennel pizzette for one and Barolo-braised short ribs with white polenta. The great quality of Cucina’s cuisine, combined with its fine service, ensures a fun place for a casual yet delectable meal—not to mention being a vantage
PALM BEACH hold the title of favorite spot on the island for the see-and-be-seen crowd. The venerable restaurant offers a marvelous array of risottos and fresh pastas and classic dishes like veal chop Milanese, sautéed chicken breast and stuffed rack of lamb. The wine list features great vintages. • Lunch and dinner daily. Outdoor dining. 561/835-1600. $$$
American. The casual elegance of Palm Beach meets the modern culinary sensibilities of Miami at the first independent restaurant by chef Clay Conley. 154
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point for spotting local celebs. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Outdoor dining. 561/655-0770. $$
echo—230A Sunrise Ave. Asian. The cuisine reverberates with the tastes of China, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam and is spec-ta-cu-lar. Crispy jumbo shrimp with soybean plum sauce is delectable, the Chinese hot and sour soup is unlike any other, and the Mongolian beef tenderloin is perfection. Sake list is also tops. This offsite property of The Breakers is managed with the same flawlessness as the resort. • Dinner nightly (during season). 561/802-4222. $$$ leopard lounge and restaurant—The Chesterfield Palm Beach, 363 Cocoanut Row. American. This is British Colonial decadence at its finest. The restaurant offers excellent food in a glamorous and intimate club-like atmosphere. In fact, it’s advisable to make early reservations if a quiet dinner is the objective; the place becomes a late-night cocktail spot after 9. The menu is equally decadent. • Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner daily. 561/659-5800. $$ nick & johnnie’s—207 Royal Poinciana Way. Contemporary American. Expect flavorful, moderately priced California-esque cuisine in a casual setting with affordable wines and young, energetic servers. Try the ahi tuna tacos or short-rib sliders as appetizers, and don’t miss the four-cheese tortellini as a main course. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/6553319. $$ renato’s—87 Via Mizner. Italian with continental flair. This most romantic hideaway is comfortably buzzing in season and quietly charming all year long with Italian classics and a Floridian twist—like the sautéed black grouper in a fresh tomato and pernod broth with fennel and black olives and the wildflower-honey-glazed salmon fillet with crab and corn flan. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/655-9752. $$$
the restaurant— Four Seasons Resort, 2800
South Ocean Blvd. Contemporary American. With a casual, yet refined ambience, The Restaurant is the premier dining venue at the Four Seasons Palm Beach. Savor fresh Atlantic seafood in a contemporary setting complemented by innovative cocktails. Don’t miss the mouthwatering dessert selections. Live entertainment is featured on Saturday nights. • Dinner Mon.–Sun. 561/533-3750. $$$$
ta-boó—2221 Worth Ave. American. This
self-described “American bistro” is less typical “American” restaurant or classical French “bistro” than it is posh-casual refuge for the see-andbe-seen crowd in and around Palm Beach. The eclectic menu offers everything from spicy may/june