When it comes to food, South Florida is a great place to be. So many new places open up every day. Here’s what’s coming soon to a city near you.
DalMoros Fresh Pasta To Go, West Palm Beach and Delray Beach
Picture this: Heaps of scratch-made pasta served not on dinnerware but inside Chinese takeout-style rice containers. That’s the fast-casual premise behind this Venice, Italy-spawned pasta franchise, which plans to open its first South Florida location on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach in early 2023 under local franchisee David Caruso. The 1,436-square-foot restaurant will offer build-your-own-pasta bowls, starting with a base of four styles — fusilli, rigatoni, fettuccine, bigoli — followed by sauce toppings that range from pesto and cacio e pepe to amatriciana and bolognese. Other recent openings have included St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota, and another outpost is expected to debut later this year at 439 E. Atlantic Ave., in downtown Delray Beach. 400 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; Dalmoros.us
Amar Bistro, Boca Raton
In just two years, Amar is quickly becoming a bit of a boutique brand with the first eatery (and a nearby separate bakery) in Delray Beach as well as another bakery in Boynton Beach. Now comes word that the Amar Bistro reach will extend into Boca Raton, where Amar’s owners — wife-husband team Susanna and Nicolas Kurban — plan to open a second restaurant this summer. “In general, the menu will be 80% similar to our Delray Beach offerings of authentic Lebanese cuisine,” Nicolas Kurban said. “But we will be adding a modern twist to several dishes along with Eastern Mediterranean specialties from Turkey, Greece and the other countries in that region. The Boca Raton location will have a bar, so we plan to offer small bar bites and a happy hour menu, something we couldn’t do in Delray due to the lack of space.” Time will tell, but he adds that the service may include lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends. The new 2,250-square-foot location will be able to seat 76 people indoors (plus another eight at the bar) and 20 to 24 outdoors. 9982 Glades Road, Boca Raton; amardelray.com
Disdwet Restaurant, Boynton Beach
This Haitian takeout restaurant registered to owner Wilphanie Alcegaire is expected to open this winter near the intersection of North Congress Avenue, a few blocks south of the Boynton Beach Mall. Disdwet (which translates from Creole to “10 fingers”), serves Haitian-style pasta, fried plantains, pikliz, boulet vyann (Haitian-style meatballs), rice and beans, pate kode (fried Haitian patties) and house-made akra, or crunchy malanga fritters tossed in bold spices. 1403 Boynton Beach Blvd., Unit 12, Boynton Beach; 262-671-6998; Instagram.com/Disdwet
Cluckin Hot Chicks, Dania Beach
Yet another new chicken franchise is arriving in South Florida later this winter, this one on South Federal Highway, replacing an old Checkers fast-food restaurant. Registered to owners Ahshan Latif and David Shaw, this fast-casual spot leans into Nashville-style hot chicken and every other poultry configuration imaginable: wings, tenders, quarters, sandwiches, waffles and tacos. Chicken is doused in 10 different sauces, from honey-cinnamon “Sweet Heat” to “What the Cluck.” (The menu is, of course, pun-heavy.) Sides include fries, coleslaw and mac ‘n’ cheese. 645 S. Federal Highway, Dania Beach; 754-777-7901; CluckinHotChicks.com
Culver’s, Loxahatchee
After its Broward County debut in August 2020, this rapidly growing franchise known for its burgers and Wisconsin cheese curds is looking to add its newest SoFlo location in Loxahatchee this June from local franchisees Kase and Jennifer Bethel. Savory dishes aside, there are frozen custard concrete mixers (blended with candy toppings), toothsome sundaes and waffle cones that ooze with warm butterscotch and hot fudge. The menu also features chicken tenders, cranberry bacon-bleu salads and Reuben melt sandwiches, but Culver’s star is undoubtedly the ButterBurger, a smashed beef-blend patty so named for its fresh, lightly buttered kaiser roll. 15339 Southern Blvd., Loxahatchee; Culvers.com
Lefkes Estiatorio, Delray Beach
Billed as having a modern take on traditional Greek cuisine, Lefkes Estiatorio is expected to open in the Delray Beach Market food hall in late 2023. The fine dining restaurant morphs into what the brand — out of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. — is calling a “nightlife destination featuring top DJs and entertainment.” Lefkes Estiatorio and Bounce Sporting Club will become two new anchors at the Delray Beach Market when the food hall reopens after renovations this summer. 33 SE Third Ave., Delray Beach; lefkesnj.com
Naked Farmer, Sunrise
This casual American restaurant whose healthy menu changes with the seasons is scheduled to open in February on West Sunrise Boulevard. A farm-to-fork born in Tampa, Naked Farmer created its own direct supply chain with Florida farms, where it sources proteins and vegetables. The restaurant specializes in “build-your-own-harvest-bowls” filled with rosemary-roasted chicken, Faroe Island salmon and grass-fed beef, and topped with “your choice of (un)dressing,” per its website. Bowls also include sides such as chilled beets and feta, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots with lemon gremolata. The mini-chain operates three other outposts in Coral Gables, Tampa and St. Petersburg. 13945 W. Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise; EatNakedFarmer.com
The Peach Cobbler Factory, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale
You need to know about The Peach Cobbler Factory, because this dessert destination has big plans for SoFlo. Franchise co-owners Gregory George and Larry Johnston say they’re developing 30 locations from West Palm Beach to Key West over the next three to five years. The first entries into the market are expected sometime in January: an eatery at Crossroads Square in Pembroke Pines and a 40-foot, double-decker stationary bus in Fort Lauderdale. The concept is a family-style dessert shop with a menu that includes 12 cobbler flavors (served with free ice cream), 12 banana pudding flavors, six cinnamon roll flavors, 11 Bigger & Better Cookies, 12 Cobbler Cookies along with Sweet Peachy Tea, cold brew coffee and Latin blend coffee. Created in 2013 as a Nashville food truck, The Peach Cobbler Factory has appeared on The Food Network and now has almost 200 franchises in the works. 212 N. University Drive (Crossroads Square shopping center), Pembroke Pines; PeachCobblerFactory.com
World of Beer Bar & Kitchen, Royal Palm Beach
This chain emporium of craft-beer suds, wine, cocktails and pub fare plans to open its latest South Florida taproom on Jan. 31 on Southern Boulevard, roughly 3 miles west of the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre. The beer hall touts a mind-numbing variety of draft and bottled brews (there are hundreds, from saisons and stouts to hard seltzers and mead), and its menu features soft-baked pretzels, chicken wings doused in eight sauces and dry rubs, salads and tacos, six styles of hamburgers and four flatbreads, and entrees including steak frites and grilled Atlantic salmon brushed with India Pale Ale glaze. 11121 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach; WorldofBeer.com
Poke Bros., Fort Lauderdale
Replacing the storefront once occupied by ice-creamery Twist Milkshake, this build-your-own-poke-bowl spot registered to owner Jinwang Chen is expected to debut in February inside the Harbor Shops on Southeast 17th Street. The Ohio-born chain offers six signature bowls of the traditional Hawaiian dish, such as the Johnny Utah (salmon, avocado, edamame, cucumber, masago and sriracha aioli) and The Duke (tuna, salmon, shrimp, seaweed salad, ponzu, among other ingredients), along with mochi ice cream for dessert. Later this year, future locations are planned in Coral Springs and Weston. 1909 Cordova Road, Fort Lauderdale; 754-259-1512; EatPokeBros.com
Pizza Cucinova, Wellington
Around this time in 2022, Pizza Cucinova opened three blocks from Fort Lauderdale beach, near where Las Olas Boulevard ends at State Road A1A. Then roughly 10 months later, that location suddenly closed with zero notice on their website or social media. Now we hear from The Mall at Wellington Green that the restaurant is moving operations there. There’s no firm opening date yet. Pizza Cucinova offered “craft-your-own” pizzas, pastas and salads in the $8 to $15 range. 10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington; shopwellingtongreen.com
Naked Taco, Wellington
This clubby Mexican restaurant from chef Ralph Pagano (once of “Hell’s Kitchen” fame) is on its way to debuting its fourth location sometime in mid-2023, within the under-construction Lotis Wellington plaza, north of the corner of State Road 7 and Forest Hills Boulevard. The 3,800-square-foot space will employ 60 people and join Pagano’s (Yes Hospitality Group) other Naked Tacos in Miami Beach, Coconut Creek and Boca Raton. The restaurant has a full-liquor menu and serves ceviche, enchiladas, burritos and fajitas, plus upscale tacos loaded with grilled octopus, Philly cheesesteak, Key West shrimp and chipotle-flavored brisket. Two other Naked Tacos are also planned, in Naples and Pinecrest, later in 2023. 1351-1381 S. State Road 7, Wellington; LoveNakedTaco.com
Bagels & Co., Wilton Manors
Philadelphia-based Glu Hospitality plans to debut the first Florida outpost of its bagel-centric breakfast chain in early 2023, replacing the former Starbucks near Five Points on Northeast 26th Street. The 2,500-square-foot cafe (which includes a patio) will serve hot and ice coffees, lemonade, chai and matcha lattes, breakfast sandwiches as well as lunch sandwiches including turkey club and cheesesteak. There are also 17 bagel flavors and a raft of 29 specialty cream cheese flavors, from bacon cheddar to birthday cake. 1015 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors; BagelsandCoPHL.com
Kanpai, Boca Raton
Closed more than a year after a fire caused structural damage to the restaurant in July 2021, this Japanese sushi-barbecue mashup registered to Lian He is readying its second act. The restaurant plans to reopen in early 2023 with an updated interior and redesigned menu that will still include sushi boats, hibachi fried rice, sashimi and nigiri, as well as Korean-influenced bibimbap, bulgogi and seafood pancakes. 20 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 561-361-8688; KanpaiBoca.com
Jackson’s Chicken Shack, Lake Worth Beach
Fried-chicken purveyors are having a moment in South Florida, and the latest example is this shack registered to owner Stephen Difiore, which is expected to debut in early 2023 in a Jog Road plaza shared with Walmart Neighborhood Market. Jackson’s touts fried and grilled chicken handhelds, wraps, salads, fries — and tenders, naturally — slathered in toppings, dressings and cheeses. 6169 Jog Road, Lake Worth Beach; JacksonsChickenShack.com
El Camino Mezcal and Tequila Bar, Boca Raton
This popular Mexican restaurant chain plans to unveil its fourth location — and its largest — during late spring/early summer of 2023 at Boca Raton’s planned Restaurant Row. The new El Camino will be an expansive 10,000 square feet with the brand’s largest indoor/outdoor bar, plus indoor and outdoor seating for 300 people. Billed as “Mexican soul food,” it features signature dishes from the scratch kitchen such as Mexican street corn, brisket quesadillas, crispy fish tacos, achiote chicken, chili-rubbed steak, burritos, enchiladas and fajitas, as well as Mexican beers and handcrafted margaritas. Menu prices range from $15 to $25 for lunch, $10 to $15 for happy hour, and $20 to $35 for both brunch and dinner. Other locations are in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach. 5355 Town Center Road, Unit 4, Boca Raton; ElCaminoBocaRaton.com
Carmela Gourmet Toast & Coffee Bar, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach
This coffee-and-avocado-toast chain, cofounded in Parkland by owners Rainer Abreu and Rafael Baretta, is in rapid expansion mode, with a rebranded name (changed from Carmela Coffee Co.) and nine new locations planned for 2023. Before that, Carmela’s next Boca Raton location expects to open within the upscale Park Place plaza in January. Along with caffeine, they sling empanadas, avocado toast, flatbreads, salads and more. A West Palm Beach outpost is set to follow in February at the Village Commons plaza. 5560 N. Military Trail, Suite 322, Boca Raton; 701 Village Blvd., Suites 101-102, West Palm Beach; CarmelaCoffee.com
Effe Cafe, Cooper City
More than a year after Nunzio Fuschillo and Patty Lopez’s pop-up bakery ran out its lease at a Cooper City Marathon gas station, the husband-and-wife duo are heading back to their old stomping grounds. Fuschillo and Lopez, both chefs who cut their teeth at a two-star Michelin restaurant in Italy’s Tuscany region, started Effe in 2020 after getting laid off from Michael Beltran’s Nave in Coconut Grove. The plan is for the resurrected Effe storefront to reopen in early 2023, and if the past is prologue, eaters should expect more mojo pork sandwiches, parigiana puff-pastry pizzas, lobster rolls, Cuban sandwich croissants, quiches and cafes con leche from the cult-favorite cafe. 10295 Stirling Rd, Cooper City; Instagram.com/effe.cafe or Facebook.com/effe.cafe
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Delray Beach
Now that this beloved export from New Haven, Conn.’s Wooster Street has delivered its char-blistered pies to Plantation, Frank Pepe has set its sights on Delray Beach. The “apizza” icon is plotting a spring 2023 opening within the Fresh Market plaza on the corner of Linton Boulevard and Federal Highway. Frank Pepe, which has a rabid following among South Florida’s snowbirds and Northeastern transplants, fires its coal-fired apizza (pronounced “ah-beets”) at a super-hot 600 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes, yielding its trademark crispy-chewy thin crust. 1701 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach; PepesPizzeria.com
Black Rock Bar & Grill, Coral Springs
A new location of this Michigan-born, grill-your-own-steaks chain is set to debut this January in the space formerly occupied by The New York Bagel Factory. As with its Fort Lauderdale location (which opened in April 2019), Black Rock’s DIY gimmick is simple: Customers grill and flip their raw Angus beef steaks and seafood to desired doneness over 755-degree volcanic bricks served tableside. The restaurant (which touts a mammoth 14-page menu) also features hamburgers, French dips and Reubens, rib slabs and Maine lobster tail. For dessert, there’s a towering brownie “volcano” loaded with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate and caramel, and speared with shooting sparklers. 2554 N. University Drive, Coral Springs; BlackRockRestaurants.com
Jugo Boss, Lighthouse Point
This detox juicery from Mariana and Diego Uribe plans to open its first brick-and-mortar this January in Lighthouse Point’s Shoppes at Beacon Light. The shop began its life at the Alton Food Hall before migrating into the Yellow Green Farmers Market this summer. Jugo serves six cold-pressed juices including cinnamon nut mylk (raw almonds, cinnamon, vanilla bean, honey), along with immunity ginger shots, acaí bowls and smoothies. 2438 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point; 954-773-4300; JugoBossDetox.com
Stalk & Spade, Coconut Creek
Touting plant-based, dairy-free comfort food, this Minnesota-made vegan chain plans to debut an outpost in early 2023 inside the Promenade at Coconut Creek. Stalk’s 1,800-square-foot space, behind World of Beer, will offer meatless hamburgers, so-called “chick’n” sandwiches and nuggets, fries, wraps and oat milk shakes. It’s one of five new South Florida locations for Stalk. 4437 Lyons Road, Suite E105, Coconut Creek; StalkandSpade.com
Violet’s & Zen’s, Wilton Manors
This sushi-tapas rooftop lounge from the same owners behind Jasmine Thai & Sushi in Margate — Preecha and Benjamin Hongnopkhun — is expected to debut in early 2023 on the southern edge of Wilton Drive, in the space formerly occupied by Siam Cuisine. The restaurant will feature Cobb salads and cheese sampler platters as starters and pasta al Pomodoro and seared ahi tuna as entrees. 2010 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors; VandZWilton.com
Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana, Fort Lauderdale
With any luck, this eighth location, in Fort Lauderdale, will open in a few more months. The newest Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana has to do a complete buildout, turning what was an attorney’s office into a restaurant. But the location — behind the Broward Center for the Performing Arts at the foot of the drawbridge on Avenue of the Arts — was irresistible to the four brothers who own the boutique chain of Pummarolas. Lorenzo, Alessandro, Adelchi and Larry Mele imported their grandmother’s original eatery from Naples to South Florida, where there are now locations in Boca Raton, Midtown Miami, Miami Beach, Kendall (in The Falls) and Coral Gables. There are also two Spanish locations, in Ibiza and Barcelona. The first thing that catches your eye when you go to a Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana is the sawed-in-half Fiat 500 mounted on the wall, a nod to nonna Rosa Donna Rummo, who was known to tool around town in her red sportscar (which Neopolitans said looked like a tomato, or “pummarola” in the dialect of southern Italy). But once you get past that, “the ingredients are what really shine at Pummarola,” says Larry Mele. 620 W Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; Pummarola.us
PopStroke, Delray Beach
This 3-acre, mini-golf course and restaurant designed by Tiger Woods is expected to open another Florida location on an under-construction lot north of George Bush Boulevard sometime in spring 2023. Along with two 18-hole putting courses, there will be a 4,600-square-foot restaurant selling “an expansive variety of craft beer, wine, ice cream, and food to enjoy on and off the course,” according to its website. Its Port St. Lucie menu also lists build-your-own pizzas, salads, chicken wings tossed in 11 different sauces and appetizers such as baby back pork ribs, baked pretzels and potstickers. Delray PopStroke joins outposts in Fort Myers, Port St. Lucie, Sarasota and Orlando. 1314 N. Federal Highway, Delray Beach; PopStroke.com
Grain & Berry, Fort Lauderdale
This Tampa-based, build-your-own-bowl chain plans to plant its newest outpost next February in Flagler Village, across the street from Holiday Park. Grain’s first South Florida location (and 13th in the state) comes from co-franchisee Jeremy Dover, one half of Fort Lauderdale’s Demesmin & Dover law firm. The chain focuses on superfoods and serves bowls with different bases including acai, spirulina, pitaya or yogurt. The menu also features flatbreads and quesadillas with cauliflower or broccoli crusts, avocado toast, smoothies and juices. A Pembroke Pines location is expected to follow in early 2023. 701 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; GrainandBerry.com
Rice Mediterranean Kitchen, Fort Lauderdale
This Miami-based boutique chain of fast-casuals has been serving up Eastern Mediterranean flavors since the early 2000s. There are seven locations in Miami-Dade County. The Fort Lauderdale location is set to debut in the first quarter of 2023 in the Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre, alongside other eateries such as Coyo Taco, Subway and Smoothie King. The extensive menu includes kabobs, wraps and falafel platters. There are also tenderloin, chicken, snapper and sirloin platters. 401 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; RiceKitchen.com.
SushiMas, Fort Lauderdale
This fast-casual is expected to enter the Fort Lauderdale market in spring 2023 with a location at The Quantum, on the edge of the Flagler Village enclave. As the name makes clear, the restaurant serves sushi and Japanese cuisine, and it originally debuted as a delivery- and takeout-only operation in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood in August 2020. A dine-in location opened in Aventura in May 2022. The ambitious expansion slated for next year also includes eateries in Kendall, Doral and Miami Beach, with longer-range plans for Coconut Grove and West Palm Beach. Essentially, the menu will remain the same, with sushi rolls, makis and tiraditos in the $11 to $19 range, as well as crispy rice, gyosa and bao bun dishes from $7.95 to $16. 701 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; SushiMas.com.
Mathews Brewing Co. Scratch Kitchen, Lake Worth Beach
Owner and head beer-wizard Dave Mathews is opening a downtown pizzeria-slash-taqueria a block away from his eponymous Lake Worth Beach brewery on South H Street, he announced recently on social media. The menu is still being finalized, but the South Dixie Highway-facing storefront, which is expected to debut by mid-2023, would serve a variety of tacos and craft beers from the taproom around the corner. 125 S. Dixie Highway, Lake Worth Beach; MathewsBrewingCompany.com
The Hampton Social, Delray Beach
This Chicago-spun restaurant and bar that leans strongly into the phrase “rosé all day” is bringing a pair of locations to South Florida, the first of which expects to debut this January at the upcoming Atlantic Crossing shopping village. Its menu touts mostly trendy seafood fare, including colossal crab cakes and grilled octopus in creamy herb sauce, olives and pistachios, along with oysters and avocado corn pizzas, lobster rolls and smash burgers. Entrees include honey-glazed salmon and short rib atop a bed of creamy polenta. On social media, the 308-seat restaurant is a whole vibe: Instagrammable walls dripping with faux ivy, coastal decor, walls of rosé bottles, chair swings and market lights, and messages like “Let your dreams set sail” written in cursive neon. The 8,390-square-foot project comes from Chicago’s Parker Hospitality, which plans to open another outpost in Mary Brickell Village in spring 2023. 621 E. Atlantic Ave., Suite 100, Delray Beach; TheHamptonSocial.com
Le Colonial, Delray Beach
This high-end time capsule to 1920s French Colonial Vietnam, under restaurateurs Rick Wahlstedt and Joe King, aims to shuffle into the new Atlantic Crossing shopping village by early 2023. At 7,500 square feet, this restaurant-bar will be accented with tropical furnishings, breezy verandas, leather banquettes, mahogany millwork and framed period photographs. Its classic Vietnamese menu, by chefs Nicole Routhier and Hassan Obaye, will offer crunchy green papaya salad dressed in tangy nuoc cham (a sweet-sour-spicy dipping sauce), moist dumplings garnished with ginger, half roasted duck and suon nuong, or lemongrass-marinated baby back ribs. Wahlstedt and King — who operate other locations in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and Lake Forest, Ill. — are planning another Le Colonial in Naples in 2023. 601 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; LeColonial.com
Shabibi, Boca Raton
With the arrival of this Lebanese-inspired eatery from chef and “Hell’s Kitchen” runner-up Ralph Pagano (Naked Taco), Boca Raton’s tony Restaurant Row will be fully occupied, and the 5,300-square-foot space will debut by the end of 2023 or early 2024. Shabibi, which combines the Hebrew word “shalom” (peace) and Arabic word “habibi” (darling), will tout a 70-seat patio and 50-seat bar, a mazza station with brick ovens for fresh flatbreads, a wood-burning grill and a mezzanine area where DJs and belly dancers will entertain. Shabibi will join current Restaurant Row tenants Fiolina Pasta House, Pubbelly Sushi and El Camino, all expected to open next year. 5355 Town Center Road, Boca Raton
New River Cafe and Bakery, Fort Lauderdale
Her tantalizing red-and-green velvet cake smeared in coquito cream cheese won Netflix’s “Sugar Rush Christmas,” and now Sabrina Courtemanche is opening a downtown Fort Lauderdale bakery in early 2023. Courtemanche, the executive pastry chef at Riverside Hotel, plans to open the shop in a retail space near the hotel, where she’ll make confections such as snicker brownies, chocolate-chip sourdough loaves, cinnamon rolls and pumpkin tiramisu. For those who can’t wait until the debut, the chef will helm a cake-decorating class during January’s Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival. 420 SE Sixth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; Facebook.com/NewRiverCafeBakery
