<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=42aG7Z_1H4OgvNN00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=42aG7Z_1H4OgvNN00" width="767" height="533" ><figcaption>PHOTO BY TINA RONDEAU</figcaption></figure>Hours &amp; Address: Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.916 Turtle Cove Lane, Vero Beach 32963 | Phone: 772-494-6440What and Where: This new restaurant on South Beach does not simply aspire to be the best in Vero. It wants to be one of the best in Florida – and in the time it has been open, it is making a strong early case.Ambiance/Atmosphere: Classy dining setting.Adult Beverages: Interesting cocktails. Very few wine options by the glass. Excellent but very pricey wine list by the bottle.Reservations: Highly recommended.Price: $$$$Rating: Not open long enough for a rating.For years, I have adhered to a firm rule to not review a new restaurant until it was open at least six months. It simply is not fair to pass judgment on a new eatery during its shakeout period.But I have decided to make an exception and write an expanded First Bites column for the Blu Fin, which in its initial month of operation shows promise of fulfilling its ambition of taking Vero Beach dining to a new level.This attractive restaurant on A1A a half-mile south of Riomar is light-years removed from your fathers’ Charlie Brown, a Vero eatery that occupied this site in the ’90s and is fondly remembered (no eye-rolling please) for its salad bar.And no doubt about it: Blu Fin is off to a very strong early start.But with a number of self-styled “influencers” posting raves on social media (and loosely throwing around the word Michelin), I have decided to give readers a better idea of what to expect (and not expect) from what (by Vero standards) is a very pricey restaurant.Let me start by saying this is not a “Michelin star” restaurant. Too many of the restaurants that seem to get Michelin stars these days have become multi-course theaters for experimental cuisine or laboratories of molecular gastronomy. This restaurant is not that at all.At the Blu Fin, you order exactly what you want to eat – a starter, an entrée and a dessert – rather than submitting to a 14-course, four-hour narrative.Blu Fin is what I call a “real-meal” restaurant, more like some of the classic fine-dining restaurants found on the upper East Side of Manhattan.While many of the choices here are indeed a creative fusion of tastes, the chefs are not serving one small plate after another containing the results of their experiments with the chemistry and physics of cooking.On two recent visits, we were warmly greeted in the attractive reception and bar area by the hostess, and shown to a table in a nearly filled dining room. Even though the place was buzzing, the attractive décor kept sound to a pleasant hum that did not interfere with conversation.The server quickly took our drink order. While the Blu Fin has an accomplished mixologist, we ordered a couple of glasses of wine from a very short list. Wines by the bottle appeared to be well curated and they seemed fairly priced, but most were very expensive.Of the starters, on our first visit I enjoyed the heirloom tomato and strawberries carpaccio. Very nice, but when we stopped by 10 days later, our server urged me to try the olive-oil poached lobster in a lettuce gazpacho. All I can say is “Wow!”My husband sampled two different appetizers. While he loved the cured red snapper, he was less enthused about the beef tartare, which was served surrounded by a moat of lobster bisque. The wood-smoked beef was great, he said. But in combination with the bisque, the dish didn’t quite work.For entrees on our first visit, I had grilled Madagascar tiger shrimp (prized prawns that lived up to their reputation) and my husband had the grouper roasted on a cedar wood plank surrounded by Champagne clams. On our return, I tried the roasted heritage chicken with foie gras velouté and wild mushrooms (superb) and my husband had a tasty black Angus ribeye.As for service, I still can’t get over how quickly an all-new staff, in a new restaurant, has come together. From its very first week, Blu Fin was already functioning like a Swiss watch.Then while I was writing this last Thursday, I heard that the casual restaurant adjoining the Blu Fin, the Motley Cow Tiki Bar, had opened. We dropped in the next night. It was mobbed by a generally younger crowd. After a short wait (they don’t take reservations) we had drinks and a light dinner.It absolutely is too early to write a review of the Motley Cow, but its caramel flan with dulce de leche dessert would be a big winner even in Argentina.A lot of good things seem to be going on down on South Beach, and I will leave you with one final thought: If you can get a reservation at the Blu Fin this winter, give it a try.Photos by Tina Rondeau</div></body>

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Hours & Address: Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. 916 Turtle Cove Lane, Vero Beach 32963 | Phone: 772-494-6440. What and Where: This new restaurant on South Beach does not simply aspire to be the best in Vero. It wants to be one of the best in Florida – and in the time it has been open, it is making a strong early case.

The 32963 First Bites Dining Review: The Blu FIN

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Hours & Address: Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. 916 Turtle Cove Lane, Vero Beach 32963 | Phone: 772-494-6440. What and Where: This new re

The 32963 First Bites Dining Review: The Blu FIN

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