What restaurant will the Four Seasons bring to Fort Lauderdale beach?

Sometime over the next month or two, Fort Lauderdale beach will get a swanky new venue in the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences.

“We want to be that ‘living room’ for Fort Lauderdale where people come in…for a meal, a coffee, a meeting, a spa treatment,” says Mazen Saleh, general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale.

Toward that end, the Four Seasons has plans for a 150-seat restaurant called Evelyn’s Fort Lauderdale. The name comes from Evelyn Bartlett of the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, which sits a few blocks from the north side of the resort.

“She admired everything that was beautiful and natural and [she supported] the arts and we wanted to bring some of that same of her inspiration into the restaurant,” Saleh explains.

“The indoors has floor-to-ceiling windows that can be opened up and invite the outside in and has a separate terrace that oversees our pool deck. We’ve got lounge-style cabanas on the pool deck that on the weekends we’re going to be celebrating sunset with drinks, music, light bites,” he says. “So we intend it to be a spot where everyone would want to come in on a Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday late afternoon for that, drinks and bites while enjoying the different colors in the skies that we have at sunset.”

The cuisine at Evelyn’s Fort Lauderdale

The cuisine will take inspiration from eastern Mediterranean flavors and techniques.

“Think of the Levant region. And when you’re thinking of flavors, think of pomegranate, saffron, olive oil, sumac, all those amazing flavors come and are represented through our dishes. Will you have some traditional additions? Yes, absolutely. But there’s also going to be some dishes that are purely inspired by these flavors and through our chef’s creativity,” says Saleh.

The lunch menu might include shareable dips and spreads, a raw bar and salads. Dinner will be more along the lines of hummus and flatbreads as well as fired meats, fish and vegetables.

Shareables will also be spotlighted, again, reflecting the eastern Mediterranean lifestyle.

“You sit around and you eat … whether it’s a small plate that you’re sharing or a large plate that you’re sharing, as long as you’re sharing it’s good,” Saleh says. “There’s also a huge focus on breads and freshly leavened breads and different types of breads that you can enjoy. So, a huge bread program as well will accompany the three menus actually, from breakfast throughout to dinnertime.”

Most of the action, in terms of food and beverage, will take place on a third floor terrace with two swimming pools — where the menu will be more South American and Latin influence. Evelyn’s Table, the resort’s signature restaurant, also shares that space.

Helming the kitchen at Evelyn’s will be Brandon Salomon, formerly the sous chef for celebrity chef Mauro Colagreco of Florie’s restaurant at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach.

“What’s beautiful about that is that chef Mauro … gets his inspiration from all over the world. His first restaurant, which is the No. 1 restaurant in the world, Mirazur, is located in the south of France. But if you read his menu, it takes inspiration from all over. And then Brandon, our current chef, actually [interned] with him in the south of France and then was operating the restaurant in Palm Beach since its inception. He was ready to take on his next role as our restaurant chef.”

The executive chef for the resort will be Andrew Zarzosa, another world traveler (Dubai, Jakarta, Malaysia) formerly at the Betsey Hotel in Miami Beach.

Honey Fitz

On the lobby level, will be a more casual all-day lounge with 60 seats called Honey Fitz, named after JFK’s presidential yacht, a familiar sight in SoFlo back in the day.

“Honey Fitz is our coffee lounge by day that turns into a market place in the afternoon, where you can come and curate your own picnic basket to take along to our lovely beach across the street,” Saleh says. “And then it transforms into a champagne bar in the evenings where you can have a glass of bubbles before going out for dinner. Or you come back and you want to have a little nightcap before heading up to the room.”

In addition to coffee and baked goods, Honey Fitz will offer menu items such as breakfast sandwiches, salads or flatbreads during the day and charcuterie boards, cheese trays and craft cocktails made at your table in the evening.

Local foodies and out-of-towners can also expect a boulevard-level eatery with the name and concept to be announced later.

The look and the location

“The shape of the building itself actually resembles the shape of a yacht with the heart of the yacht being our third floor where all the guest activities happen on our Atlantic terrace,” says Saleh.

New York/London-based interior designer Tara Bernerd took inspiration from “the natural beauty, the different qualities of light up in Fort Lauderdale with the sunrise and the sunset and the landscaping that we have. And that inspired the interior as well with the shapes, the designs and the color palette that she used to design everything from furniture to wall coverings to the artwork that is represented throughout the building.”

The Four Seasons is at 525 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. between Windamar and Vistamar streets. Several blocks north of the busier-buzzier Strip, the Four Seasons is in the decidedly more chill North Beach Village neighborhood.

Saleh says of the location, “You’ve got the proximity to the bars and restaurants if you want to be there. And you also have the serenity of the relaxation if you just want to…be more on the quieter side.”

For more information, call 754-336-3100 or go to FourSeasons.com/fortlauderdale.