Category Archives: West Palm Beach

Grato West Palm Beach Pizza

grato west palm beach pizza

Last year there was a lot of buzz about a new restaurant opening near Antique Row in West Palm Beach. The chatter said that the team behind the very successful Buccan in the Town of Palm Beach was opening a new place called Grato. What made Buccan a must try spot was the rock star chef and two-time James Beard Award semifinalist Clay Conley was involved, now he has turned this former lighting store into the next hot spot in town.

Since I don’t really like waiting to eat at restaurants, especially ones I haven’t tried yet to know if they are worth waiting for, I never went to try Grato. After my friend got us some reservations on a Sunday night, I decided to make the trek up to this section of Dixie Highway and see what Grato in West Palm Beach had to offer.

Grato Pizza Oven

We ordered a basic $16.50 Margherita pizza. It didn’t take too long for the pizza to come out, and we were seated close enough to the pizza oven that I was actually able to watch as our pie was made. Although it didn’t appear that the pizza maker used excessive amounts of flour, when the pizza arrived it was layered across the top part of the crust. I didn’t let that stop me from diving in and taking my first slice.

 

grato pizza west palm beach

 

My first impression of the pizza was just ehhhh. It was soggy, and just had a sort of bland, mild taste to it. My second bite was a bit better, since it wasn’t so hot. Although it still was mild, it had a nice taste to it and it was easy to notice the quality ingredients used in the pizza here. I couldn’t tell if the oven was actually wood, or if they just burn some wood to make it appear like that, but it works on gas. I will have to ask the next time I go.

 

grato pizzeria west palm Beach

My second slice ended upside down after flipping it on the table, so I patiently waited to see if my guests were done, and then I grabbed my final slice. The sauce here is fresh and quality but not very sweet. The cheese is definitely fresh and of the highest quality. The dough wasn’t extremely tasty but I think that was mainly due to the excessive amount of flour on the pie. Here is a photo above to show what I am talking about. Lots of restaurant owners love to question me on my assessments so it is best to show a visual. This way there is no room say “you don’t know what you are talking about, we don’t put excessive amounts of flour on our pizzas”.

Grato in West Palm Beach is a place I would return to and try the pizza again. The scene is trendy and the place is usually packed. The lighting is dim, and the wood burning in the oven is bright. Next time I might sit at the pizza counter to watch what goes on there for a while.

Grato Pizza in West Palm Beach gets 6 out of 8 slices.

ITALY Pizza in City Place, West Palm Beach

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While walking around City Place we noticed that the gelato place near the fountains had a menu. Maybe during previous visits to this West Palm Beach shopping center I missed that they served pizza here, but I have a hunch it was only recently added to the menu. The name of the place was now ITALY Fast Quality Food.

We walked inside ITALY in City Place and were seated at a table that was rather tightly squeezed in, and with our luck there was a crying baby next to it. We literally could touch elbows with the couple next to us on both sides.

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IL Bellagio Italian Restaurant Pizza West Palm Beach, FL

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Many times we’ve eaten at Il Bellagio Restaurant in City Place, and many times we have enjoyed our Italian dishes. Being that we usually go to this restaurant and sit a wonderful view of the fountains with other couples, I usually got pasta and skipped the pizza I have noticed on the menu. Things were about to change today.

Went for lunch with a close friend of mine and since we were in a bit of the rush (since we were going to the art show at the Palm Beach Convention Center) I ordered the pizza thinking it would come out quickly. Boy was I surprised with how wrong I would be.

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Allora Pizza North Palm Beach Northwood

The Northwood section of West Palm Beach still isn’t a place I like to go to, since it doesn’t feel safe and is just steps from street walkers and drug dealers. I recall many years ago a builder in West Palm Beach mentioning to me that the smart money was heading to the north of downtown and closer to Northwood. Well safe to say I haven’t seen any smart money these ways, nor do I think anything smart will happen for several years. A few restaurants recently took advantage of the cheaper rent up these ways and decided to take a shot at attracting some folks to frequent the area.

One of these restaurants is Cafe Centro which has a pizza place called Allora Pizza attached to it. Not sure why they have a different name since they share the same bathroom, kitchen and servers it seems. But, here we were at Allora Pizza or Cafe Centro or whatever it was. All I knew is they had pizza and that my friend was buying.

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Ta-boo Palm Beach Worth Ave Pizza

Went to a charity event at Ta-boo Restaurant in Palm Beach the other night to help out the Fisher House. I have always enjoyed my meals at Ta-boo during my previous visits to Worth Ave, but I never ordered the pizza there. I do not even think I ever noticed pizza on the menu at Ta-boo, so when I saw them serving pizza during the event, I couldn’t wait to check it out. During a previous visit to Ta-boo I actually sat at a table next to Rod Stewart for what it is worth.

The waiters were placing small pies cut up into even smaller bite size pizzas, with nothing to pick them up with, and I was getting disgusted watching all the attendees grab the slices with their hands, so I waited for the next fresh pie to come out and grabbed a few slices before anyone else could manhandle them.

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Romeo’s Pizza Restaurant West Palm Beach

While killing time in between meetings the other day, I drove west on 45th street to see what was out there. If you drive east on 45th street in Mangonia Park or Riviera Beach (I am not sure what area it is there) you will know that this is a risky decision. I had no idea what I might encounter out these ways, but I was bored and decided to try it.

I passed by a crummy looking shopping center while heading west and noticed there was a pizza place inside it called Romeo’s Pizza, so I decided to spin around and see what it was about. Upon pulling in and parking, I almost decided to leave before even getting to Romeo’s Pizza. There were numerous undesirables hanging around outside the stores nearby, some asking for money, others just asking for trouble. Not very comforting. Once I saw the closest one to me get distracted by a stopping car, I quickly walked in.

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City Cellar Pizza West Palm Beach City Place

Herb and I went to go meet a friend the other night in City Place, which is in West Palm Beach. Originally we were going to go to Bellagio, and sit outside near the fountains, but our friend decided she wanted City Cellar instead. Although I had eaten at City Cellar in West Palm Beach before, I never paid attention that they had a few pizzas on their menu. Previously I had the hamburger, and prior to that I had something else which slips my mind.

City Cellar was extremely quiet on this Monday night that we went. I think there were maybe two other tables in this huge establishment. Even the bar only had a couple of drunkards scream at a tv thinking that they could actually change something in the basketball game they were watching by throwing profanities at the little box. Another reason I have never drank or ever will. I ordered a plain pie (like usual) and waited.

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Cucina Dell Arte Pizza Palm Beach

Amidst the diamonds, pulled back faces, and 70 year old men with 25 year old girls in Palm Beach, lies a pretty good restaurant known as Cucina Dell Arte on Royal Ponciana. Many people, especially the younger locals (you know the ones that actually live on the island for more than two weeks a year) say this is one of the better restaurants to dine at, and to see and be seen. They especially recommend the breakfast at Cucina Dell Arte, but I was only interested in visiting there once I heard they had pizza on the menu. I do intend on going back there for breakfast one day, since the outside dining patio seemed like a really cute place to enjoy a Sunday morning meal.

Cucina Dell Arte in Palm Beach is simply decorated in mediterranean colors, and the staff was cordial and attractive. There is a bar in the center of the establishment, and kind of intrusive for those trying to walk by or around it, but that doesn’t seem to stop the families and couples dining there throughout the day, especially in season.

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Grimaldi’s Pizza West Palm Beach, FL

Was meeting my uncle and aunt the other night in downtown West Palm Beach, and originally we were going to go to Hot Pie Pizza, but I remembered I hadn’t yet been to Grimaldi’s Pizza which recently opened up at the end of Clematis Street. Grimaldi’s Pizza is located in the same spot that Fire Rock Pizza was, and didn’t last too long. Recently Grimaldi’s Pizza has been on a mad craze to open several locations around the country. When I go back home to Long Island, there are Grimaldi’s Pizza now too. I never loved the original, so I wondered how these offshoots would taste.

Initially I wanted to try the Grimaldi’s Pizza that opened in Palm Beach Gardens, but they shortened my commute and opened one in West Palm Beach. So we went to check it out, and hoped for the best.

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Lutina’s Pizza West Palm Beach

Was at an event the other night in West Palm Beach and when it ended some of the attendees suggested we go to Rooney’s on Okeechobee. We agreed to go and hang out for a little while but I noticed as I pulled up into this shopping plaza that they had a pizza place located named Lutina’s Pizza that I had never heard of, and decided that I must give it a try since I might not ever make a special trip up these ways to try it again.

Lutina’s Pizza was far from fancy inside, and it was a walk up counter place with quite an extensive menu. They even had Filipino food on the menu, which led me to believe this was not Italian owned. Not that it mattered, since some of the best pizza I have had was made by Turkish people in Sweden. I ordered a slice and began to wait for it to come out of the oven.

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