Hot restaurant news: Palm Beach Gardens favorite to open at Boca Raton's Restaurant Row
A small-plates restaurant that energized the dining scene in north county with its award-winning food and vibe will open a second location in Boca Raton. Stage Kitchen & Bar, recently listed among USA Today’s 2024 Restaurants of the Year, is expected to debut at Boca’s Restaurant Row by the end of 2024, co-owner/chef Pushkar Marathe told The Post.
The complex’s owner PEBB Enterprises confirmed the news in a press release. Stage Boca will bring Restaurant Row to tenant capacity when it takes over the 5,200-square-foot space where chef and “Hell’s Kitchen” alum Ralph Pagano had planned to open a Lebanese-inspired restaurant called Shabibi.
At Restaurant Row, Stage will join Fiolina Pasta House (an Italian restaurant by Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning chef Fabio Trabocchi), El Camino Mexican restaurant and the upcoming Pubbelly Sushi.
Marathe, whose global dishes often pay homage to the flavors of his native India, says diners can expect “a newer version of Stage in a bigger space and with a bigger bar and a more evolved menu.”
“The menu will be diverse. We’ll have an open wood-fired pizza oven, and we’ll be adding some international flatbreads to the menu as well,” says Marathe, who earned James Beard Award semifinalist honors in 2023 for his work at Stage Kitchen in Palm Beach Gardens. He says he’s looking forward to bringing Stage’s flavors to an increasingly diverse city.
Marathe and restaurant partner Andy Dugard opened the original Stage in February 2020, just days before Covid-19 forced the temporary closing of restaurant dining rooms. But the concept quickly drew a local following, then destination status and later a classic-Indian sister restaurant, Ela Curry Kitchen (later renamed Ela Curry & Cocktails), in northern Palm Beach Gardens.
The restaurant partners also hold a lease for a Stage location in downtown Delray Beach, though that project has stalled, says Marathe.
More about Stage: In Palm Beach Gardens, a chef’s dream restaurant debuts
What’s to eat at Stage?
Stage’s “more evolved” menu leans heavily modern-American while Marathe’s Indian inspirations serve as a backbeat.
◾ Must-have starters include warm, house-made naan (garlic, black truffle, spicy cheese or plain), Marathe’s brûléed chicken liver pâté spiced with cardamom, green ginger and fenugreek and Stage’s smoked local fish dip, a tasty reminder that you’re in South Florida.
◾ Try the fish. The daily catch is served in Bengali-style sauce with shishito peppers and potato foam.
◾ Don’t miss Stage’s popular Indian butter chicken, and Marathe’s spiced fried chicken in a Malvani-style coconut curry and lime preparation is a delicious bite.
◾ Veggies also take the stage at Stage. The restaurant offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Grilled delicata squash is served with herbed tahini.
The name Stage (pronounced “staahj”) not only refers to a culinary stage, it’s a wink to the stagiaire, the unpaid trainee chef in a classic kitchen.
Stage Kitchen Boca
◾ Expected to open by the end of 2024 at 5355 Town Center Rd., as part of the Restaurant Row complex in Boca Raton.
◾ For more information about the Stage concept and menu, visit StagePGA.com.
Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stage Kitchen, a USA Today 'best restaurant', to open in Boca Raton
