Eddie RitzPalm Beach Post
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No stranger to great restaurants, Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue has gotten a recent influx of new dining destinations and several more are slated to open in the coming months.
Located on, or just off, the ultra-cool thoroughfare, these new restaurants promise to bring even more options to diners. Among the newcomers, an award-winning West Palm Beach restaurant that's opening a second location.
The fare at these new restaurants includes barbecue, Italian, Southwestern, Asian fusion, upscale American and even a spot dedicated to soft, gooey cookies.
Here are four that are on their way and four more that recently opened and are ready to serve:
Soon to open in Delray Beach:
Tropical Smokehouse
Chef Rick Mace will soon be bringing his beloved and award-winning barbecue to Delray Beach. Taking over the space formerly occupied by Pour and Famous on Atlantic Avenue, chef Rick said it will take approximately six to eight months to complete the buildout and open the new Tropical Smokehouse location. He said the concept will be slightly different than the West Palm Beach restaurant with a heavier focus on their amazing ribs and their absolutely, knock-it-out-of-the-park burgers.
Information: at 524 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. eattropical.com
Opening ETA: Early 2025
More: 5 best burgers in Palm Beach County for National Hamburger Day
Gabriella's Modern Italian
Making its way from New Jersey to South Florida, the popular restaurant, Gabriella’s Italian Steakhouse, will soon arrive in South Florida. When Gabriella’s Modern Italian arrives in the fall, expect an extensive food and drink menu. Owner Frankie Brusco said the South Florida iteration, will lean a little bit "more Italian, less steakhouse." The restaurant is all new construction that will have both indoor dining and a covered patio with seating for 60 guests. And in a town that runs tight on parking, Gabriella's will have its own parking area. Many of the popular dishes from the New Jersey location will be making their way to Delray Beach, Brusco said. That includes truffle ricotta, spicy rigatoni, firecracker shrimp and bistecca alla fiorentina (a 40-ounce, 45-day dry aged, porterhouse, served with steak fries, garlic confit, preserved lemon, bone marrow and parsley salad) for two.
Information: 40 NE Seventh Ave., Delray Beach. gabriellasfl.com
Opening ETA: October 2024
More: Popular Italian restaurant with New Jersey roots coming to downtown Delray Beach
Roka Hula
This modern Asian fusion concept restaurant and bar actually began in Orlando at parent company True Grit's Voodoo Bayou location. True Grit director of operations Chris Acosta said Roka Hula is a speakeasy within Voodoo Bayou in Orlando and that they are taking that concept and elevating it into a full restaurant. Described as a "modern Asian tiki bar," by Acosta, their website calls it "a provocative journey into a hidden world of exotic co*cktails and exquisite elevated dishes." Though a lease has been signed and construction has begun, Acosta declined to give a precise opening date beyond saying "2025." He said the menu will feature many of the same dishes offered in Orlando. That menu includes shareables like ginger tuna crispy rice and hibachi wagyu bites as well as pork belly baos, sashimi, nigiri and much more. The Orlando co*cktail menu includes many creatively-named co*cktails like the 'go-go devil,' 'Saigon suzy,' 'boneshaker boba,' and many more.
Information: 270 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. rokahula.com/delray-beach
Opening ETA: 2025
Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill
New Haven, Connecticut-based Geronimo Hospitality Co. will be bringing the authentic taste of Santa Fe, New Mexico to the Delray Beach with their Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill. Their chefs use ingredients directly from the southwest and the menu includes taste temptations like the fried cauliflower, Frito pie, Navajo frybread, buffalo steak chile soup, tacos, quesadillas, burritos and main plates with dishes including pork chiles rellenos, mixed grill molcajete, gaujillo-braised short rib and more. In addition, the restaurant will offer a massive selection of tequila with hundreds of options. There are currently two Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grills. The first is in Fairfield, Connecticut and opened in 2003 and the second is in New Haven and opened in 2007.
Information: 105 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. geronimobarandgrill.com
Opening ETA: early 2025
Now open in Delray Beach
The Standard
This local restaurant known for it's upmarket approach to a casual watering hole, recently expanded to downtown Delray Beach. Lifelong Boca Raton residents, owners, and business partners, Nicolas and Ryan Martinez, officially unveiled their second outpost in June, in the city's SoFa neighborhood. In less than a month, the duo transformed the standalone building with a full renovation that features an all-new indoor dining room and bar, large u-shaped covered outdoor bar, sprawling outdoor patio, and full kitchen. Property owner, Brian Rosen says The Standard is the perfect fit for the space formerly occupied by The O.G., a concept he originally opened in 2017 as a three-month pop-up that found enduring success as a locals' favorite watering hole. Moving forward, Nicolas and Ryan — who opened the first location in the midst of the pandemic — say their goal is to offer the downtown scene a new option for a late-night bar and restaurant serving affordably-priced food and drink. The menu mirrors the one offered in Boca Raton with a mix of American-inspired dishes along with the addition of tacos, entrée-style salads, and quesadillas. "We've had great success in Boca Raton, and always wanted to bring that to Delray Beach," says Nicolas. "The Standard is a place where people can afford to go five nights a week, or really splurge and celebrate." ~ Nicole Danna
Information: 166 SE Second Ave., Delray Beach. instagram.com/thestandardelray
Bounce
Promising an 'elevated sports bar experience,' Bounce Delray opened in April just off Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach. Occupying the space that was once Delray Beach Market, Bounce features a menu suitable for carnivores, herbivores, gluten-free or a combination. Shareables include options such as tuna poke nachos, kale artichoke dip and blackened fish tacos along with their wildly popular bang bang shrimp and the fried mac & cheese bars. They have several varieties of wings and tenders including the super-cool sounding 'Hot Cheetos encrusted.' The menu also features pizzas and handhelds like the Bounce smash burger, buffalo chicken sliders and the charred ahi tuna sando. For the full 'sports bar' experience, they have over 20 televisions including one that's a 60-foot wide LED wall. The massive, literally larger-than-life image is described as "beyond crystal clear."
Information: 33 SE Third St., Delray Beach. bouncesportingclub.com/delray
More: Popular NY restaurant comes to Delray with monster TV wall, tasty elevated bar food menu
Chip City
Opened in May, this purveyor of sweet treats offers over three dozen varieties of fresh-baked, served-warm cookies. Co-founder Teddy Gailas believes they nailed the definition of cookie heaven with "five- to six-ounce, thick cookies that are crispy on the outside, gooey in the center." At any given time, the shop offer nine varieties of cookies. That offering includes five standards — chocolate chip, cookies n' cream, s'mores and confetti, along with the dairy-free chocolate chip, which is also vegan. The remaining four change weekly and can include blueberry cheesecake, the brookie, cookie butter with Biscoff filling, dark chocolate peanut butter, horchata, mocha cookie, Nutella sea salt, oatmeal apple pie, peanut butter & jelly, red velvet cookies n' cream, teddi-fetti featuring Teddy Grahams, triple chocolate, and white chocolate macadamia.
Information: 302 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. chipcitycookies.com
More: New York City-based gourmet cookie shop now open in Delray Beach
Sugar Factory American Brasserie
This eatery, and sometimes celebrity hot spot, sits in the 300 block of Atlantic Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Lionfish. It had a soft opening on May 18 and is now serving dinner and brunch on the weekends. With over 20 locations throughout the United States, The Sugar Factory is known for its eight-ounce monster burgers (including the Flaming Hot Cheetos burger and the 24K Gold burger), hot honey chicken waffles, soups, salads and more. There are area-specific dishes as well and for Delray Beach one of them is the fried Oreo cheesecake buttermilk pancakes. Take already great buttermilk pancakes then top them with fried Oreos, chocolate sauce, a slice of NY cheesecake, whipped cream, Oreo crumbles, and powdered sugar. Let the good times roll! An official grand opening is planned for the fall. Operating hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Information: 307 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. sugarfactory.com/delray-beach
Eddie Ritz is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network.You can reach him ateritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism.Subscribe today.
