Southern Hospitality: Top Spots for Dining & Relaxing in Palm Beach This Fall

Big news for the Hamptons crowd, is that one of its most beloved restaurants — Tutto Il Giorno — is coming to Palm Beach. Owner Gabby Karan de Felice has taken prime space for a 200-seat restaurant on the Intracoastal at Royal Poinciana Plaza and plans to open her Mediterranean there next winter.

Ta-boo, the popular restaurant on Worth Avenue that shuttered after 80 years last May, will rise again, this time helmed by one of the country’s most celebrated toques. Thomas Keller, chef/owner of The French Laundry in northern California, has not only taken the space, but is keeping the name, and will be opening it next year, possibly with the participation of longtime owner Franklyn DeMarco.

The Al Fresco group has been at work sprucing up its Palm Beach restaurants. Renato’s has redone its private dining room, Pizza al Fresco has renovated its interior, and Al Fresco at the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course has given its dining room a facelift, adding new chandeliers along with TVs, so sports fans can sneak a peak at their favorite games, while the rest of their party enjoys taking in the ocean setting outside. Al Fresco also has a breakfast scene starting at 7 a.m., with everything from eggs to fresh fruit and yogurt parfaits.

While Jean Denoyer’s La Goulue remains one of the popular spots on Palm Beach island and on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, his two daughters, Charlotte and Carrie Denoyer, have opened their own restaurant, Café Deux, in Harrison, NY.

Meat Market, the highly designed and hopping steakhouse on the island, has expanded to Boca Raton. Favorite menu items from the 6-ounce petit filet to the 64-ounce wagyu ribeye flamed with rum, along with oysters and sushi, will be available at the new outpost. This month, Meat Market will also start live entertainment on Wednesday nights, and networking After Work Fridays.

Next door, the Renaissance Boca Raton Hotel has just completed a massive renovation, including redone guest rooms, fitness center and club lounge, along with the addition of an expansive new resort style pool with waterfall and tiki bar.

David Bouhadana, who drew many fans in New York and the Hamptons with his creative omakase at Sushi by Boū, has opened two Palm Beach county locations — one at 340 West Clematis Street in West Palm, within the Vinyl Fish Club, and a second at 409 SE Mizner Boulevard in Boca’s Royal Palm Place, which has outdoor lounge seating.

Hotels have traditionally been wonderful places to celebrate Thanksgiving, offering an elegant environment as an alternative to preparing a large meal at home and dealing with the clean up after.

Atlantic Grille at the Seagate in Delray is offering such holiday specials as butternut squash soup with nutmeg cream and candied nuts; crab and cornbread crusted sea bass with asparagus and fennel beurre blanc, roast turkey breast with roasted garlic mash and cranberry sauce.

Save room for piecaken — a combo of pecan pie, spiced apple cake and white chocolate pumpkin mousse layer cake.

Polpo, the Italian restaurant within Eau Palm Beach, is presenting an awe-inspiring buffet, with a full garden table, a raw bar and such seasonal treats as roasted squash with cider vinaigrette, beets with endive and vanilla bean poached pears, and baby kale with pomegranate, figs and goat cheese.

There is also a pasta station, a carving station (with turkey, of course), and many alternative entrees such as veal marsala and steak pizzaiola. Sides include roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta and chestnut agrodolce; and sweet potato mash with maple, marshmallow and pecans; and a table of 13 desserts, including cranberry cheesecake, pecan tarts, brownie rocky road and caramel crème brûlée.

See you in December, with more news and holiday updates!