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If Avocado Grill is any indication of the future of restaurants in West Palm Beach, perhaps I should start packing.
With few exceptions, eating in downtown West Palm has always been an adventure in beer, burgers and barbecue. So what a pleasure it is to walk into the light-filled Avocado Grill, where the predominant color is, well, avocado. Pops of green show up on upholstery and tile behind the bar. And, oh, what a bar it is, with seating for 20 and a comfortably wide, marble bar top where I had my first meal here just a few weeks ago.
French-born owner Julien Gremaud has been cooking in South Florida for the past 13 years, first as a personal chef and from 2009 onward at Pistache French Bistro in West Palm and PB Catch on the island.
Four-month-old Avocado Grill is what you get when you cross the skill of a European-trained chef and the commitment to fresh ingredients of a locavore. With the exception of eight “large plates,” the entire menu is composed of shareable small plates. Naming a restaurant after a single ingredient can be a tricky business, but Gremaud happens to love the avocado’s versatility so much that he opens his menu with six variations on the theme.
Grilled avocado wedges ($12) feature charred quarters with a spiced mango and watermelon salad. Gremaud is not afraid of simplicity, especially when it’s so simply delicious. Likewise, the easy addition of ginger to made-to-order guacamole ($13) transforms the same old into something entirely new. Tuna avocado spring roll ($12) sees the wrappers filled with tuna and Gremaud’s favorite fruit. The wrapper gets crispy from a quick dip in the fryer, but somehow the tuna stays rare and the avocado uncooked.
Beet salad ($9) with goat cheese, herbs and pears is presented almost formally, but gets back to hominess the minute you bite into the earthy mixture. Warm butternut squash and Brussels sprouts salad ($10) sees its ingredients shredded before being tossed in a cranberry-garlic dressing. Grilled Japanese eggplant ($8) with ginger and soy takes an unsuccessful turn toward Asia— it’s mushy — but it set us up for the inventive sushi offerings.
Riceless tres amigos ($16) features tuna, salmon, escolor, papaya-macadamia salad, avocado and pickled cucumber wrapped not in nori, but soy paper. Naughty Nico ($15) wraps salmon, tuna, roe, cucumber and cilantro in nori. It’s covered in spicy tuna and topped with hamachi, avocado and jalapeno.
It’s a menu with wide appeal. We were delighted with Middle Eastern spiced lamb sliders ($6 each), dressed with cucumber and feta yogurt and harissa aioli. Guinness-braised pork cheeks ($12) are served with delicious truffled grits, chestnuts and cabbage slaw. Pork-belly buns ($11) combine tender pork with cucumber, romaine, chiles and hoisin sauce on soft, Chinese steamed buns. A pair of short-rib-stuffed pasta shells ($13) are served with just enough Gorgonzola cream.
The lunch menu sees many of the same dishes, plus sandwiches and more salads. Try the pesto-crusted chicken breast ($14) served over balsamic-dressed spinach and green beans with strawberries, red onion and pine nuts. Hope the five-cheese sandwich ($14) topped with a gently cooked egg is on the specials board if you visit Avocado Grill for lunch. Decadence doesn’t get any better.
Rarely am I impressed with every dessert in a restaurant, but I’d go back to Avocado Grill for any of the three we sampled. The chef’s beloved avocados show up in an avocado Nutella mousse ($7), which everyone ought to order. It balances chocolate to hazelnut to avocado perfectly. I love the tartness of passionfruit tiramisu ($9), served in a martini glass, and the richness of a chocolate-peanut-butter sundae ($9). Served on a platter, it’s hardly recognizable as a sundae.
The past few gloriously cool weeks have meant that the windows and doors at Avocado Grill have been open. I’m sure it makes the 48-seat restaurant seem much larger. Its high ceiling and open kitchen help.
There’s not much I don’t like about Avocado Grill. The wine list is concise. There’s some great beer. They serve oysters. Service is outstanding, professional yet friendly. It’s a very busy restaurant, but on both visits a hostess made sure to thank us.
It’s a small thing, but it shows me that Avocado Grill is as serious about hospitality as it is about food.
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Avocado Grill
125 Datura St., West Palm Beach
561-623-0822, AvocadoGrillWPB.com
Cuisine: New American
Cost: Moderate-expensive
Hours: Dinner daily, lunch weekdays, brunch Saturday-Sunday
Reservations: Suggested
Credit cards: All major
Bar: Full service
Sound level: Can be noisy
Outside smoking: Yes
For kids: Highchairs
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Parking: Meters and nearby lots and garages
