Special events, new menus, cocktail collaborations and other attractions will spice up Palm Beach’s dining scene during the 2025-26 season.
With more than 40 restaurants on the island, the upcoming deliciousness is considerable. Here’s a taste:
At Buccan, 350 S. County Road, where seven-time James Beard Award-nominee Chef Clay Conley leads the charge, a new autumn menu is under completion.
Several of the new items are plant-based fare, as Conley and others at Buccan continue to explore and support that cuisine.
New Buccan plates to look for include butternut squash gnocchetti; and burrata with poached pears, delicata squash and walnut dukkah, traditionally a mix of nuts, seeds and spices. There also will be crispy sweet potatoes with tahini, apple, kale and Aleppo crunch; and roasted beet carpaccio with labneh, grated horseradish and orange.
At the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., a bar “takeover” at signature restaurant Florie’s takes place Nov. 13, 14 and 15: Mixologists from Miami’s Café La Trova will be on hand to collaborate and serve signature drinks.
La Trova is known for its Latin flair and lively bar scene led by Maestro Cantinero Julio Cabrera and celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein.
When La Trova “takes over” Florie’s bar, look for some surprise drinks as well as Cuban classics such as mojitos and daiquiris. Another “bar takeover” at Florie’s is set for Dec. 17- Jan. 3, featuring Mexico’s Handshake Speakeasy.
Meanwhile, Florie’s has planned a Nov. 20 collaboration dinner with guest-chef Pushkar Marathe, acclaimed head of Stage Kitchen & Bar in Palm Beach Gardens.
Marathe’s cuisine reflects his “travels all over world, but the roots are deep in India,” he has said. More details are forthcoming, Four Seasons officials said.
At Salute Ristorante, an open-to-the-public establishment in the Palm Beach Towers condominium at 44 Cocoanut Row, regular menus and a five-course tasting menu continue this season.
The restaurant also plans to add live jazz. Dates are being finalized, but performances are expected to take place on Sundays, starting Oct. 26. Salute’s sister establishment, longtime popular Bice Ristorante, 313 Worth Ave., also plans to feature live jazz this season on Saturday.
Oceanfront Al Fresco restaurant at the Par 3 Golf Course on the South End now has a new general manager who many guests know from her long tenure on staff at sister restaurants Pizza Alfresco and Acqua Café in Palm Beach.
Darlene Mendoza “is an amazing professional and a strong and caring leader,” co-owner Jose Duran told the Palm Beach Daily News.
She fills Al Fresco’s manager position formerly held for years by popular Ortega Epigmenio, who died in June after a battle with cancer.
At Al Fresco’s sister Acqua Café, 2875 S. Ocean Blvd., patrons are eager for a dedicated takeout service to begin. It’s expected to be up and running by November with a lunch menu, pizza and dinner items.
Delivery should be added as partnerships with delivery services are cemented.
Elsewhere in Palm Beach, La Goulue, the French bistro at the corner of South County Road and Royal Palm Way, is introducing some new menu items for the upcoming season, as executive chef Gwen Le Pape always creates new items relating to the classic French culinary canon.
Look for organic roasted chicken breast with morel sauce, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and French string beans ($48), as well as roasted herb-crusted rack of lamb, sautéed spinach, root vegetable cake and au jus ($72).
Stay tuned weekly to The Dish at Palm Beach Daily News for updates and continued dining coverage.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: With new menus and cocktail events, Palm Beach dining promises to be lively this season
Reporting by M.M. Cloutier / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
