Best new restaurants 2023: 15 most notable that opened on the Treasure Coast this year
Among at least 59 new restaurants that opened on the Treasure Coast this year, TCPalm deems these 15 to be the most notable for various reasons. However, taste and personal favorites are subjective.
Restaurant news: These 28 Treasure Coast restaurants closed in 2023
Casa Pasta Cucina
Cousins Matias Asenjo and Rodrigo Eboli, originally from Argentina, opened the downtown Fort Pierce restaurant in January in The Galleria of Pierce Harbor building, replacing the short-lived The Fort Social at the former Rooster in the Garden Ristorante. They serve authentic Argentinian-Italian food, homemade pasta and a weekend brunch. Check out the menu.
Circa69 American Gastropub
The new restaurant near the Jensen Beach Causeway opened in February in the building that formerly housed a Tony Roma’s restaurant on Indian River Drive on the southwest side of the traffic circle. Chef Mike Vogler, the former executive chef of Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa, created the menu, which includes a lot of seafood. Check out the menu.
Waterfront Sailfish Lounge & Grill
The downtown Stuart restaurant, which is owned by Derik Shambaugh and Jim Corrigan, opened in February in the location on the St. Lucie River that was the old Mulligan’s Beach House Bar & Grill. It serves a lot of seafood, including fried beignets with crab and shrimp. Check out the menu.
Oak & Ember Steakhouse
Local restaurateur and Chef Kyle Greene opened the downtown Stuart restaurant in February in the former location of LouRónzo’s. It’s the second location for the steakhouse, which originally opened in Port St. Lucie, and the fifth restaurant on the Treasure Coast for Greene. Check out the menu.
Latin Melting Pot
Sisters Maritza Paulino and Gloria Lopez, originally from Colombia, opened the Vero Beach restaurant in March in the Miracle Mile Plaza. It serves traditional Latin dishes, as well as some interesting twists. It has Cuban coffee, Latin pizza, Spanish eggs and traditional sandwiches from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Puerto Rico. Check out the menu.
Old Havana Nights
Vivian and Hector Garcia, a married couple from Havana, Cuba, opened the Stuart restaurant in March next to Park Avenue BBQ & Grille in the Riverside Shoppes plaza on the northwest side of the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart. They serve Cuban food, including a Guajiro burger on plantain bun. Check out the menu.
Florida Food Life
Husband-and-wife team David and Naen King opened the Port St. Lucie restaurant in April next to the Shell Bazaar on U.S. 1 in Port St. Lucie, between Tiffany Avenue and Jennings Road. They based the menu on the best-sellers from their food truck, Good Eat See Food, such as catfish, alligator and frog legs. Check out the menu.
Zakura Sushi & Thai Restaurant
Brothers Siriphong “Chef Ken” Pajanang and Phao “Chef Phao” Phonklang, as well as Chef Ken’s wife, Rose Kampeero, and family friend Nan Sumrarrat, opened the Port St. Lucie restaurant in May in the Paar Center at Paar Drive and Port St. Lucie Boulevard. They all hail from different regions of Thailand. Check out the menu.
Island Pig & Fish
The Fort Pierce restaurant opened in June in the Harbour Cay plaza, a new shopping plaza on South Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce. Owner-operators Taylor Shull and Chef Dean Dupuis had been talking for years about their concept to combine Florida seafood and Southern barbecue. Check out the menu.
Pylos Greek Kuzina
Three Greek cousins whose grandparents were from Kalamata, Greece — Kevin, Brandon and Robert Jaboro — opened the Palm City restaurant in June in the former location of Pastaio Handmade Pasta & Pizza on Southwest Martin Downs Boulevard just north of Southwest Martin Highway. Check out the menu.
Nonna’s
Local restaurateur and Chef Kyle Greene opened the Jensen Beach restaurant in August on South A1A, just north of the Jensen Beach Causeway and across the street from his first restaurant, Kyle G’s Prime Seafood & Steaks. He’s paying homage to his adopted family and bringing Italian food back to Hutchinson Island with his sixth restaurant. Check out the menu.
21st Amendment Distillery
Jeff Palleschi opened the Vero Beach restaurant, distillery and cigar bar in September on 13th Avenue in downtown Vero Beach, in the building that formerly housed the Ironside Press. The name is a nod to the 21st Amendment that repealed Prohibition. The restaurant’s menu features shareable food. Check out the menu.
Palm City Social
Rick and Elizabeth Wilson and their son, Taylor, opened the Palm City restaurant on Martin Downs Boulevard in the Martin Downs Village Center. They also own The Gafford in downtown Stuart. It’s a social gathering place with appetizers, handhelds, salads and small-plate options. Check out the menu.
La Mattina’s Trattoria & Pizza Bar
Michael La Mattina opened the Port St. Lucie restaurant in November in the newly constructed Torino Lakes plaza, just south of Midway Road. His parents, Nicholas, 72, and, Carmela, 70, cook their authentic Italian recipes in the kitchen. He’s from Sicily, and she’s from a little town outside Naples. Check out the menu.
Curfew
Tia Fanelli opened the downtown Vero Beach restaurant with her husband, Al, and their partner, Deb Kershaw, in the former location of Southern Social on 14th Avenue. A new restaurant serves its full menu until 10 p.m. every night, but a late-night menu is served until 11 p.m. weekdays and until 1 a.m. weekends. Check out the menu.
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm’s entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Best new restaurants in Stuart, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach
