When it comes to food, South Florida is a great place to be. So many new restaurants open nearly every day.
Here’s what’s coming soon to a city near you. Please note: Opening dates are subject to change.
Eataly
700 S Rosemary Ave, West Palm Beach; eataly.com
This “multifunctional marketplace” is coming to West Palm Beach with its signature curated shops and restaurants. Expected to open at CityPlace this fall, specifically in the historic Harriet Himmel Theater building, the project is a partnership with developer Related Ross. The space will have both seated restaurants and fast-casual/quick-service counters, as well as specialty markets with imported Italian goods. “As a true lifestyle destination with an impressive mix of retail, art, design, and cuisine, CityPlace couldn’t have been a better match for our incoming flagship store,” Tommaso Brusò, CEO of Eataly North America, says in a company press release. Eataly has locations throughout the world. Even though details are hard to come by, another Eataly is headed to South Florida: Aventura Mall’s website says it is expected to open in the spring.
Lucky Lou’s Raw Bar
123 NE 20th Ave., Deerfield Beach
Sometime later this summer, the former Bru’s Room near the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier will turn into a casual oyster bar and sporty seafood shack. Originally destined as a new outpost of sports-bar chain Carolina Ale House, owner Lou Moshakos (The Cove Waterfront Restaurant & Tiki Bar, Oceanic, Lucky Fish Dania Beach) switched course earlier this year. Now the plan is to open Lucky Lou’s as an homage to the Deerfield Beach surf-and-turf shack that started his career, he says. In 1978, Moshakos and wife Joy ran Seafood Shanty on Hillsboro Boulevard, across the street from The Cove. Like Seafood Shanty, Lucky Lou’s will be a breezy hub for hand-shucked oysters, pub grub like burgers and fried fish, and round-the-clock sports playing on banks of TVs. “We’re going back to our roots,” Moshakos tells the Sun Sentinel. “This is what’s missing in Deerfield Beach.”
Roka Hula/Courtesy
The Unagi Royale at Roka Hula, a new Polynesian restaurant-bar with a modern tiki speakeasy coming later this summer to downtown Delray Beach. (Roka Hula/Courtesy)
Roka Hula
270 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; RokaHula.com
This Polynesian fusion restaurant-bar, described as a “modern Asian tiki” speakeasy on its website, is plotting a summer opening inside the former Taverna Opa space, according to a publicist. It will become Roka’s second location after West Palm Beach hospitality outfit True Grit (Calaveras Cantina, Voodoo Bayou) opened its flagship inside a Voodoo Bayou in Orlando. The menu will feature pork belly baos prepared four ways — classic, Thai chili, Vietnamese and Korean — along with seared miso-glazed striped bass, sashimi, rolls and an A5 Kobe beef omakase. Of course, it also will serve 14 tiki cocktails (bearing names like Psycho Starlett and Saigon Suzy) and a lengthy rum, tequila, mezcal, shochu and Japanese whisky list.
Eden Restaurant
2615 S. State Road 7, West Park; 954-554-5306; EdenRestaurantFL.com
Care to dine where zebras and lions graze? Videos of wild animals in Africa’s Serengeti and tranquil tropical waterfalls will play on a loop in the dining room, adding to the “immersive dining experience” that will make up Eden, a new themed eatery expected to open this summer, according to owner Cheryl Conteh. Its menu, not yet finalized, will feature Nigerian pepper soup with turkey breast, red chili and olive oil, roast beef kebabs with black and red pepper and passata (uncooked tomato puree), along with whole fried and stewed fish. There also will be three prix-fixe “dinner experiences” ranging from Eden’s Whisper (three courses) to Eden’s Flame (a four-course meal with bubbly and dessert).
Nectar Lab Kava Bar
540 N. Andrews Ave. Suite 101; Fort Lauderdale; nectarlabkavabar.com
Nectar Lab is planning a summertime opening — either July or August — in the ground-floor commercial space of the Motif apartment complex in Flagler Village. It will be the first South Florida location for the Naples-based botanical lounge. “Nectar Lab offers a curated menu of functional herbal teas and botanical elixirs sourced from around the world,” COO and partner Ben Klausner says. “Guests can expect thoughtfully crafted, non-alcoholic beverages that deliver natural elevation and calm — from earthy South Pacific roots to vibrant floral infusions and adaptogenic blends.” As for the location, Klausner adds, “Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village is a thriving canvas of innovation and community — the perfect home for Nectar Lab. The neighborhood’s momentum, rich cultural fabric, and the Motif building’s design-forward aesthetic, made it a natural fit for our next chapter.”
Del Mar
2200 N. Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; DelMarMediterranean.com
The space that formerly housed DUNE by Laurent Tourondel will become the fourth location of this Mediterranean mini-chain from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, when it makes its expected debut in October on the bottom floor of the Auberge Beach Residences tower. The Ohio-based hospitality group has been on an expansionist tear lately, with surf-and-turf sit-down Ocean Prime opening April 29 at Las Olas Marina and another Del Mar planned for West Palm Beach’s NORA district later this year. “This scenic beachfront destination will be an iconic fit for our first waterfront location as we deliver an elevated dining experience where modern elegance meets vibrant flavors,” said David Miller, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ president and COO, in a statement. The 17,000-square-foot, 400-seat Del Mar (indoors and on its terrace) hasn’t dropped its menu yet, but the Naples flagship serves spicy lamb sausage Turkish flatbreads, tomato salads and loaded hummus starters, as well as lobster spaghetti, veal chops, swordfish and 16-ounce ribeyes for entrees.
Sunday Motor Co.
888 North Railroad Ave., West Palm Beach; SundayMotorCo.com
If it’s anything like its Madison, New Jersey, flagship, this car-centric cafe should draw Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and BMW collectors aplenty to its new parking lot in West Palm Beach’s $1 billion NORA District. One of the first restaurants to rev its engines at the entertainment district will be Sunday Motor Co., which expects a summer debut, according to a NORA publicist. Husband-and-wife owners Nick Vorderman and Renee Mee are both car aficionados with a shared love of java fuel. Along with caffeine in many forms (from iced strawberry matchas to maple-turmeric lattes), Sunday’s all-day brunch menu will serve up breakfast burritos, shakshuka with ciabatta, birria chilaquiles, curried chickpea wraps and PLTs (pesto, lettuce, tomato, stracciatella and rosemary on focaccia) in a space percolating with auto-themed merch and decor.
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar
4800 Wiles Road, Coconut Creek; LazyDogRestaurants.com
This California gastropub chain is expanding once again with a new restaurant set to join the sprawling live-work-play complex Mainstreet Coconut Creek, 200 acres of homes, shops, restaurants and parks set to break ground later this year. The addition of Lazy Dog, one of Mainstreet’s first restaurant tenants, was announced by Coconut Creek City Manager Sheila Rose during a budget town hall in April. It will become the chain’s third Florida location; it opened one in Boca Raton in 2021. Barbecue bison meat loaf, pot roast beef dips, peanut butter and jelly burgers, teriyaki bowls and St. Louis-style ribs distinguish Lazy Dog’s massive menu of American comfort classics, along with dog-friendly items.
Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse
221 SW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale; UkiahRestaurant.com
The newest restaurant from chef Michael Lewis (ex-KYU in Miami) will serve Texas-style barbecue simmering in mostly Japanese influences — and it’s poised to have its grand opening on May 21 on Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk, replacing the old Matchbox, a publicist told the Sun Sentinel. The 150-seat, wood-fired sit-down is Ukiah’s second location, joining a sister flagship in Asheville, North Carolina. Its Texas-built Backwoods Smoker will turn out 12-hour brisket, pastrami short ribs, half-chickens and sausage crowned with flame-roasted kimchi and yuzu pickles. The menu will also feature Japanese street food, including beech mushroom tempura with “Tokyo ranch,” and pork belly smothered in a Fuji apple glaze.
Rod Stafford Hagwood
Salvo Osteria Romana is coming to Wilton Manors. (Rod Stafford Hagwood/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Salvo Osteria Romana
2389 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors; Facebook.com
In recent months, this restaurant has been promising through its Facebook page to take over the Wilton Manors space that formerly housed Thai Me Up, which shuttered back in August. Now, owner Salvo Mule has given the South Florida Sun Sentinel an update: The target date is in mid-June. “There is no [authentic] Italian restaurant here,” Mule says. “They have Italian-American, but not Italian Italian. And I thought having been born in Italy and raised in Italy, a really good Italian restaurant would be an asset for Wilton Manors.”
Crema Gourmet
421 NE 6th St., Suite 100 (at EON Squared apartment complex), Fort Lauderdale
216 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
cremagourmet.com
This Miami-based chain plans on opening two additional South Florida locations. A grand opening is set in downtown West Palm Beach on May 29, according to a publicist, and another Crema would debut sometime this summer in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village neighborhood. Crema serves breakfast fare, pressed juices, pastas, sandwiches, salads, wine and beer. Its most popular menu options include the Open Face Breakfast Sandwich, Chicken Club Sandwich and Salmon Bowl.
bb.q Chicken
510 NW Seventh Ave., Fort Lauderdale
3316 N. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach
BBQChicken.com
A new franchise bastion for KFC — that’s Korean Fried Chicken, not the Colonel’s — is shaking into South Florida with two more locations sometime this year, joining the first that debuted in Davie (6370 Griffin Road, Suite C-111) in December. Founded by Yoon Hong-guen in Seoul, South Korea, in 1995, the franchise now roosts at more than 200 locations throughout the country, with KFC flavors in whole, wing and boneless form, ranging from honey garlic to soy garlic to “Gangnam Style,” or tossed in black pepper sauce, garlic and onions. There are also street-food dishes such as kimchi fried rice and Ddeok-Bokki, its twist on classic tteokbokki with soft chewy rice cakes, fish cakes and a sweet-spicy chili reduction.
Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill
105 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; GeronimoBarandGrill.com
Sangria, margaritas and mojitos by the pitcher, Navajo frybread (yes, really), frito pie and other Santa Fe-spun dishes are standard fare at this Connecticut-born mini-chain, now under construction in the former Cabana El Rey space ahead of a mid-2025 opening. Touting ingredients sourced “directly from New Mexico,” per Geronimo’s website, the menu will offer pork burritos braised with Chimayó chiles, guajillo-braised short rib, tableside guacamole punched with chicharron and pomegranate, spaghetti squash burrito bowls, quinoa chile rellenos and handmade corn tortillas with eight meats, from birria to cauliflower al pastor. Meanwhile, spirits will include agave flights and craft cocktails. The 5,000-square-foot location — its first in Florida — comes from Robert Bolduc and Marc Knight, who created Geronimo in 2007 after being taken with Santa Fe cuisine. “The cuisine offers flavors, aromas and spices I had never seen anywhere before,” Knight says, adding it “truly does not exist outside of this region of the United States.”
Other restaurants coming soon
The Hen and The Hog Smokehouse Cantina, 14 N. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach; TheHenHog.com. Replacing Riko’s Pizza, this taco- and barbecue-centric restaurant is expected to open later this year, according to managing partner Yardlene Tabora, who operates rustic diner The Hen and The Hog in Pompano Beach and Boca Raton.
VC’s Kitchen, 1200 W. Yamato Road, Suite B-3, Boca Raton. This new restaurant-cafe in the Shoppes of Blue Lake plaza is set to debut in June, according to Allie Palma, whose father Rich Palma and partner Vinny Carbone are the owners. VC’s will serve salads, wraps, paninis and flatbreads.
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