28 Best Restaurants in Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast, Florida

Perched on the Lake Worth Pier, Benny's has a walk-up bar, a takeout window, and a full-service beach-themed restaurant serving casual fare at bargain prices. "Beach Bread" is a take on a waffle sandwich; the fresh seafood is from Florida waters. Eat-in diners come here for long afternoons of beer and cocktails, enjoying prolific alfresco seating and a spectacular view of the sun glistening on the water and the waves crashing directly below. There's no free parking here, just meters.

There are rooms with a view, and then there's this view: uninterrupted sea from a wraparound veranda at the southern end of Humiston Park. Even better, the food here is a straightforward, delicious celebration of fresh and fabulous. The emphasis is on Florida seafood (don't miss the fresh snapper), with organic and gluten-free touches. Sunset lovers (and bargain hunters) rejoice over the two-course prix-fixe menu Monday through Thursday from 5 to 6 pm. A kids' menu is available.

It's tucked away in a strip mall and has only 50 seats inside (counting the bar) and a handful out on the sidewalk, but everything down to the condiments is made in house here. Rabbit sausage and noodles or lamb meatball risotto are examples on the seasonal one-page menus the chef puts together daily. When there's fish on the menu from local waters, go for it. At the open kitchen in the warm, modern space, you can banter with the chefs if you sit at the bar.

This laid-back food hall and community-centric market complete with colorful murals is a crowd pleaser. There's plenty to taste, with 12 vendors selling everything from tacos to fried chicken to rolled ice cream. There's also a unique event space and weekly curated programming for all ages. Check out the small farmers' market on the weekend and live jazz that accompanies brunch, along with community yoga and kids activities. Standouts include shrimp po' boys from Roux Cajun Cuisine, bowls of ramen from Ramen Lab Eatery, and cold brew from Pumphouse Coffee. A full bar serving wine, beer, and cocktails is also available.

A sprawling cavern of wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and cocktails, this sibling to popular bûccan is a hit. Soaring ceilings, concrete floors, dark wood, and an open kitchen provide a buzzy backdrop to dishes of nicely charred pies (made with organic flour) and homemade pastas. Like chef-owner Clay Conley's other spots, the food here is hearty, unfussy yet sophisticated, and wonderfully balanced, from the curry cauliflower hummus to the hand-rolled macaroni with Florida rock shrimp and fennel. The popular weekend brunch (with a show-stopping breakfast pizza) fills up during the season, so make a reservation.

This hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern bakery, deli, and market is packed at lunchtime with regulars who are on a first-name basis with the staff behind the counter. From the nondescript parking lot the place doesn't look like much, but inside, delicious hot and cold Mediterranean treats await the takeout crowd. Choose from traditional gyro sandwiches and lamb salads with sides of grape leaves, tabbouleh, and couscous.

Atop the glossy Restoration Hardware store adjacent to The Square is this regal, glass-enclosed atrium outfitted with white couches, crystal chandeliers, lush greenery, and a tinkling fountain. It's proven a hit with all walks of life; everyone basks in the sun-filled room and tucks into seasonal comfort food (prime rib French dip, truffled grilled cheese) and lingers on exceptionally comfortable couches. The food and drink services extend to the Barista Bar off the atrium on level four, which serves craft espresso, homemade pastries, and glasses of wine. You can even take the wine with you while exploring the rest of the showroom as you wait for your table; during the season the waits allow for plenty of perusal time.

An outpost of the famed New York Italian spot, this chic café churns out crispy pizzas, delicate pasta dishes, and to-swoon-for desserts with polished service. The vibe is '60s era glam meets dreamy Milanese café, making it a hit with both socialites and shoppers, who stop in for an espresso break in between jaunts to the boutiques at Royal Poinciana Plaza. House pastas include a heavenly cacio e pepe, while salads and simply grilled fish are light and flavorful. The gelato is made fresh daily, so make sure to save room for a scoop.

French and American influences are clear in the Swiss chef's dishes, from rack of lamb with Dijon mustard to grilled filet mignon stuffed with Roquefort and fresh spinach. The formal dining room has subtle, elegant touches, such as votive candlelight and white tablecloths. A more casual menu is available at the bar.

In downtown West Palm Beach's waterfront district, this hot spot is an alternative to the bar food, tacos, and burgers more common in the area. "Green" cuisine---seasonal salads, vegetarian dishes, and sustainably produced meats and seafood---is making waves at the avocado-theme restaurant. Small plates of stuffed zucchini blossoms, octopus with chorizo and fingerling potatoes, or a mushroom fricassee with grits and truffle oil are examples of plates designed for sharing. A raw bar, specialty sushi, a vegetarian list, and inspired sandwiches are included among the pastas, salads, meats, and fish also listed. A brunch here with an extensive menu is popular. Craft cocktails, a nice wine selection, and beers are served at the long bar in the bistrolike eatery with casual-chic decor. Dine inside or out.

A mainstay for local boaters who cruise up and down the Intracoastal Waterway, Banana Boat is easily recognizable by the lighthouse on its roof. On weekends casual crowds clad in tank tops, flip-flops, and bikinis dance to live island music while downing frozen drinks (try the Dirty Banana or Hurricane Wilma) and nibbling on bar foods like burgers and ribs. Brunch is served on Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm; it's just lunch and dinner—or should we say liquid lunch and liquid dinner—otherwise.

Palm Beach ladies who lunch leave the island for an afternoon at Belle and Maxwell's, while young professionals loosen up after work at the wine bar, part of the bistro's expanded dining area. Tucked along Antique Row, it looks like a storybook tea party at lunch, with eclectic furnishings and decor and a charming garden. Expect colorful luncheonette dresses and great soups, salads, and sandwiches at affordable prices midday; at night, it becomes a fun, twinkling bistro, offering creative comfort fare such as homemade orecchiette with squid and sausage and classic chicken marsala, along with fillets and a risotto of the day. Dessert lovers know the sweets are all made in-house; call ahead to get whole cakes, pies, and tarts to take to grateful hosts.

Yes, this pub was actually shipped from England, where it had stood for 150 years in London's historic Chancery Lane. There it was a watering hole for famed English residents, including Winston Churchill; here you may hear stories of lingering ghosts told over some suds. Chow down on a ploughman's lunch (a chunk of Stilton cheese, a piece of bread, a slice of English pork pie, and pickled onions), fish-and-chips, and bangers and mash (sausages with mashed potatoes). This is a pub's pub—nothing fancy, very hearty. English beers and ales are on tap and by the bottle. It's also a late-night place and has live music on weekends.

With a contemporary farm-to-table menu and spacious dining rooms and bars, this spot in PGA Commons has plenty of local fans. Happy-hour crowds fill the patio bar–lounge area to sip the craft cocktails and nibble from a cheese or salumi board. The fare includes such contemporary farm-fresh dishes as a double-cut Duroc pork chop and chophouse steaks, including a daily butcher's cut. Comfort dishes like Jerry's bacon-wrapped meat loaf satisfy those missing their mom's cooking. A separate children's menu is available.

Farm-fresh foods with a Southern accent are served at this chef-owned restaurant with a theater kitchen, where comfort foods are taken to new levels. (Slow Food, a group that celebrates local foods and artisans, has given the restaurant a "Snail of Approval.") The vibe is both hipster and rustic melded into an open (and often noisy) space; the chefs provide entertainment, and the bar is lively. On an ever-changing menu (check the website for the current list), find homemade condiments and jams served with crab hush puppies, sweet-tea fried chicken, or blackened Gulf shrimp. Look for unusual meat dishes as well: a U.S. Prime teres major is a seldom-seen shoulder cut served here with asparagus, warm potato salad, and garlic butter—creative fare in a convivial setting. If listed, don't miss the Grand Marnier soufflé for dessert.

Taking up the local-food mantle, the menu here includes inventive dishes following the seasons using locally sourced meats, seafood, and vegetables. Whenever possible, the foods are organic or sustainable. Bison meat loaf, a Buddha bowl, and "spasta" (pasta made from squash) with chicken meatballs are some of the popular entrées. Dishes such as the chicken chop tagine or za'atar-spiced salmon are preparations that let foods work with flavors rather than be disguised by them. Vegan and vegetarian dishes, including juices, "mocktails," and desserts, are on the menu, and dietary requests are accommodated with the same creativity. The wine list includes many organic and sustainable varietals. Mixologists apply the same philosophy of fresh, local foods to their craft cocktails.

Expect a wait for dinner, which is not necessarily a bad thing at this island paradise of a waterfront restaurant and bar. Take the wait time to explore the bridges and trails of the open-air tropical oasis, or grab a chair by the river to watch the sunset, listen to the live band, or nibble on some conch fritters at the large tiki bar until your table is ready. Try the lemon-butter hogfish for dinner, and stick around for the live music (a full concert calendar is on the website). Breakfast, offered only on weekends, is good, too. That said, it's more about the view and vibe than the food here.  There's only valet parking on site; a free lot is about a block away but fills up fast in season.

Decorated with vintage travel posters of its namesake city, this two-level restaurant serves authentic Cuban specialties on the cheap, including great Cubanos (pressed roast pork sandwiches), arroz con pollo, and ropa vieja. The friendly place attracts a late-night crowd at its popular walk-up window. Get strong Cuban coffee (often awarded the best in Palm Beach County), sugary fried churros, and fruit juices in exotic flavors like mamey, mango, papaya, guava, and guanabana.

Since 1950, this diner's eat-in counter and "cooked in sight, it must be right" motto have made it a congenial setting for meeting old friends and making new ones. Nowadays, Howley's prides itself on its kitsch factor and old-school eats like turkey pot pie and a traditional Thanksgiving feast, as well as its retro-redux dishes like a potato-and-brisket burrito. Forgo the counter for the retro tables or sit out on the covered patio. The café attracts a loyal clientele into the wee hours (it's open weekdays until midnight and weekends until 2 am and has a full bar).

In the heart of The Square, this European-style eatery offers Italian specialties and a wide variety of fine wines. The menu includes classics like chicken parmigiana, risotto, and fettuccine alfredo. Pizzas from the wood-burning oven are especially good. Service is friendly and efficient, but the overall noise level tends to be high. Sit at the outdoor tables next to the main plaza's dancing fountains if you can.

If Italy had old-school luncheonettes, this is what they'd look like: a storefront of yellow walls, dark-green booths, white linoleum tables, and cascading sconces of faux ivy leaves and hand-painted Tuscan serving pieces for artwork. It's self-described by the husband-and-wife owners (who are always at the front) as an "upscale diner," and locals swear by it for breakfast (served all day) and lunch. Expect a short wait any day in season at peak hours. There's always a treat on the house, like a glass of sorbet to finish lunch; and don't miss the shrimp scampi—the sauce is so good, you'll want to dip every bit of the fresh focaccia in it.

This local favorite is not much to look at and a bit tricky to find, but well worth the search. The fried-food standards you might expect at such a casual, small place that uses plastic utensils are not found on the menu; instead there are fried tuna rolls with basil and panko-crusted fried oysters with spicy fruit salad. A variety of beers are fun to pair with the creatively prepared seafood dishes that include wahoo, mahimahi, and snapper, all of which are locally sourced. Wait for your table next door at Maxi's Lineup—also under Moir's ownership—during the busy winter season when lines are long.

Scenesters line the massive indoor-outdoor bar from noon until the wee hours at this cooler-than-thou retro library restaurant, but it's worth your time to stop here for the best burger in town. There's a whole selection, but the Prime CEO steals the show: Maytag blue cheese and Gruyère with tomato-onion confit, arugula, and bacon. Other upscale renditions of comforting classics like nachos (a delicate puff of whipped crab per chip served with jicama slaw), fried green tomatoes (panko-and-cornmeal–crusted with crisped bits of Serrano ham), and "naughty" alcoholic shakes are worth every indulgent calorie.

An informal seafood spot—serving crab cakes, fish sandwiches, and fillets—and a favorite of locals and tourists, is perched on the Intracoastal Waterway with spectacular views. Observation decks with separate bars wrap around the back where boats can dock; indoors is more family-oriented. Of course, order the namesake Key lime pie—the house specialty has been featured in Bon Appétit.

The hidden-garden setting is the secret to the success of this European-style pizzeria, where you can dine under a canopy of century-old banyans in an intimate courtyard. Specialties are 12-inch hand-tossed brick-oven pizzas with toppings such as prosciutto, arugula, and caviar. There's even a carbonara breakfast pizza (part of a small morning menu) and a Nutella dessert pizza. Piping-hot calzones, salads, and baked pastas round out the choices. Next to the patio, look for the grave markers of Addison Mizner's beloved pet monkey, Johnnie Brown, and Rose Sachs's dog, Laddie (she and husband Morton bought Mizner's villa and lived there for 47 years). Delivery is available at night.

West Palm Beach's Rhythm Cafe is anything but Palm Beach formal (the decor includes a feathered pink flamingo perched on the terrazzo floor). Fun, funky, cheesy, campy, and cool all at once, the former 1950s-era drugstore-cum-restaurant on West Palm Beach's Antique Row features an ever-changing creative menu of homemade items with Italian, Greek, American, and Creole influences. Favorites include "tapas-tizers" like the lemon-doused saganaki (flaming cheese) and the goat-cheese-onion pie and main courses like the graham-cracker-crusted chicken in key lime sauce and fish of the day.

This lively waterfront restaurant overlooking Peanut Island is a great place to chill out after a long day of mansion gawking, boating, or beach lounging. Choose a table in the dining room or under an umbrella on the terrace and enjoy mainstays like conch chowder and coconut shrimp. More upscale entrées—this, after all, is still Palm Beach County—include Florida lobster tail and sautéed yellowtail snapper. Breakfast is a winner here, too. Kids like to spot the lobsters and starfish that hang out around the docks, and it's a local favorite for happy-hour drinks. A weekly art-and-crafts show sets up on the dock Thursday night. Sportfishing charters are available at the Sailfish store, and the Water Taxi stops here. There are also motel rooms for rent.

Located in the center of historic Hobe Sound, this cozy dining spot with a pleasant, screened-in patio offers piano dinner music on Friday. Locals like to hang out at the old, English-style wine bar; however, the food itself is the biggest draw here. Try a lobster roll and the signature Gorgonzola salad for lunch, and any fish dish for dinner. On weekend nights, order the excellent, slow-cooked prime rib, another specialty.