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

Named after Florida visionary and resort founder Henry M. Flagler, this swanky spot is part of the culinary collection of The Breakers Palm Beach and features elevated comfort food like lobster rolls, chicken pot pie, and a daily homemade pasta, along with sophisticated cocktails. Located just a few minutes from the resort on Royal Poinciana Way, it is situated at Via Flagler by The Breakers and features a handsome bar with a colored mosaic limestone base and plum and gold leather bar stools. Shaded bronze chandeliers and a series of arched, floor-to-ceiling windows along with banquette seating give the space a vintage-but-luxe feel. Brunch is served weekends, and reservations are recommended.

Sustainable seafood is the focus at this airy "sea-to-table" spot that dabbles in sushi rolls, grilled fish, and creative American cuisine. The namesake lionfish (an invasive species that wreaks havoc on the local marine ecosystem) shows up in a ceviche bathed in avocado, key lime, and coconut or can be ordered whole and grilled with lemons, capers, and charred greens. A full sushi menu along with larger mains of lamb chops, roasted chicken, and a grass-fed beef burger round out the eclectic menu. The craft cocktails are best enjoyed at the daily weekday happy hour from 4 to 6 pm and from 5 to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

This handsome chophouse situated on the ground floor of the buzzy Ben hotel serves Florida-inspired seafood and steaks with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. The indoor dining room is decked out in dark woods and floor-to-ceiling windows that open to outside seats offering views of the city’s marina. Dishes of Florida sweet-corn fritters, Prime dry-aged NY strip, and sides of truffle-butter mushrooms are hearty, yet sophisticated.

The historic Sundy House, a 1902-built Victorian home with meandering gardens, ponds, and charming gazebo seating, is home to chef James Strine's “New Florida cuisine,” which essentially comprises Caribbean-, Cuban-, and Latin-inspired dishes. The cocktails are refreshing, the lush outdoor setting is downright magical, and the gourmet comfort food has a creative streak. Dishes include fish tacos, poutine, popcorn shrimp, and baked cannelloni stuffed with spinach and Brie. The legendary Sunday brunch, served from 10 am to 5 pm, is a seated buffet of brunch classics that pair with bottomless mimosas or sangria.

Top Chef finalist and James Beard Award nominee Lindsay Autry debuted her own Southern-inspired American cuisine in The Square to the acclaim of local critics. The menu of updated comfort food includes fried green tomatoes, creamy tomato pie, pimento cheese done table-side, and shrimp and grits. The sweeping space with an open kitchen and high ceilings, and separate bar-lounge, still feels comforting with its rustic accents. Craft cocktails follow the menu, with many seasonal offerings. Desserts like the Rocky Road bar and Mom's carrot cake are fitting codas to the Southern feast.

This trendy restaurant mingles the personalities and flavors of a New England oyster bar, a modern sushi eatery, an eclectic seafood grill, and an award-winning dessert bakery to create a can't-miss foodie haven in the heart of Delray's bustling Atlantic Avenue. Dishes like the oyster bisque, New Orleans–style shrimp and crab gumbo, tuna crudo, and lobster fried rice are simply sublime. The restaurant's colossal bakery adds an unexpected element of carb bliss with a full roster of homemade breads and desserts, including seasonal pies and an insanely divine pecan pie in a glass. Pastas, too, are made in house. On the downside, the place can be so busy and noisy that you can't hear your dining companions, especially in high season.

Like a hermit crab sliding into a new shell, Conchy Joe's moved up from West Palm Beach to its current home, a 1920s rustic stilt house on the Indian River. It's full of antique fish mounts, gator hides, and snakeskins and is a popular tourist spot—but the waterfront location, very casual vibe, and delicious seafood lure locals, too. Grouper marsala (the house specialty), coconut shrimp, and fried Bahamian cracked conch are menu fixtures. Don't miss the conch chowder. Live reggae gets people out of their shells Thursday through Sunday.

Palm Beach's window on Asia has a sleek sushi bar and floor-to-ceiling glass doors separating the interior from the popular terrace dining area. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese selections are neatly categorized: Wind (small plates starting your journey), Water (seafood mains), Fire (open-flame wok creations), Earth (meat dishes), and Flavor (desserts, sweets). Pick from dim sum to sashimi, pad Thai to Szechuan beef, steamed sea bass to shrimp lo mein. On weekdays, come for the early shift (5–6 pm) for half-price sushi and cocktails in the restaurant's Dragonfly Lounge.

The pick of the lake, this lodge-style restaurant started at the Okee-Tantie campground as a fish place with four tables in a corner. Now the taxidermy-filled joint beckons bikers and tourists for fresh catfish (the signature dish) as well as frogs' legs, alligator tenderloin, and oysters on the half shell. You can also order a selection of ocean fish like mahimahi and snapper. Not feeling like fruits of the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee? There's steak and other land-spun delights. They'll cook your catch, too.

Opened in 1941, this family-owned Old Florida–style restaurant combines its ocean view with Tiffany-style lamps, wrought-iron chandeliers, and paintings of pirates. Count on at least three kinds of seafood any day on the menu, along with steaks, pork chops, soups, and salads. The house drink is "Pusser's Painkiller"—a curious blend first mixed by British sailors in the Virgin Islands and rationed in a tin cup. It commemorates the 1894 wreck of the Breconshire, which occurred offshore and from which 34 British sailors escaped.

Although "the island" is no doubt a bastion of French cuisine, this cozy bistro across the bridge on the Clematis Street waterfront entices a lively crowd looking for an unpretentious good meal. The outdoor terrace can't be beat, and the fabulous modern French menu with twists such as roasted sliced duck with truffled polenta is a delight. Save room for dessert: the homemade pudding Breton, a fluffy, raisin-accented brioche bread pudding paired with crème Anglaise, could be straight out of a Parisian café.

If you love oysters and other raw bar nibbles, head here, where black-and-white photographs of oyster fisherman adorn the walls. The polished tables give the eatery a clubby look. Spoto's serves up a delightful bowl of New England clam chowder and a truly impressive variety of oysters and clams. The Caesar salad with crispy croutons and anchovies never disappoints. Sit outside on the patio to take advantage of the area's perfect weather or in the Blue Point Lounge off the main room, where live music is often booked.

The tropical incarnation of the fabled Upper East Side boîte frequented by New York’s chicest set, this pop-up takes residency at The Colony hotel during the fall and winter season. Known as “a club without dues,” the restaurant attracts a devoted clientele of socialites and aristocratic types (names like Lauder and Kennedy are on the guest list), who come for straightforward American and European cuisine ("designer" meat loaf, crab cakes, curried chicken salad) with friendly and impeccable service in a sophisticated yet relaxed environment. Al fresco dining is available at Swifty’s POOL, bringing the classic spirit of Swifty’s outdoors, serving lunch and dinner daily.

This Old Florida landmark, which has been in business since 1941, attracts Worth Avenue shoppers looking for a two-hour lunch or weekend brunch and a dinner crowd ranging from tuxed and sequined theatergoers to polo-shirted trust funders on school break. Fillet of sea bass with ginger-soy glaze, snow peas, and jasmine rice and a char-broiled pork chop with crispy artichoke hearts are popular entrées from a changing menu. Don't miss the signature Ta-boo Lust, a coconut-cream pie with a walnut-cookie crust. The Palm Beach martini is the drink to order—with passion fruit and peach nectar and, of course, champagne. Drop in late at night in season when the music is playing, and you'll probably spot a celebrity or two.