Corvina, an upscale, seafood-loving restaurant opens in Boca Raton

Liz Balmaseda, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
On the menu at Corvina restaurant in Boca Raton: fresh oysters with pickled ginger and vodka mignonette granita.
On the menu at Corvina restaurant in Boca Raton: fresh oysters with pickled ginger and vodka mignonette granita.

Boca Raton, where steakhouses are popular and plenty, welcomes an upmarket, seafood-focused restaurant Friday. Corvina Seafood Grill makes its debut in eastern Boca, just south of Palmetto Park Road.

The stylishly set spot, which offers indoor and al fresco dining areas as well as an indoor/outdoor bar, is powered by a team of restaurant veterans who have opened and operated an eclectic batch of eateries in the Washington D.C. area.

A peek at the interior dining room and bar at Corvina restaurant in Boca Raton.
A peek at the interior dining room and bar at Corvina restaurant in Boca Raton.

Their Passion Food Hospitality group includes Corvina’s executive chef/partner Jeff Tunks, who has earned much acclaim in a career that spans four decades and concepts that range from seafood-centric to American pub fare to Caribbean to Mexican cantina.

Corvina's menu

At Corvina, Tunks' menu leans into a mix of Latin American and Caribbean flavors. Some at-a-glance menu highlights:

On the menu at Corvina: Grilled prawns “Diablo” served in a chipotle cream sauce with a Venezuelan sweet corn and cheese cachapa (pancake) and pineapple chutney.
On the menu at Corvina: Grilled prawns “Diablo” served in a chipotle cream sauce with a Venezuelan sweet corn and cheese cachapa (pancake) and pineapple chutney.

• Fresh oysters served with a pickled ginger and vodka mignonette granita ($19).

• Honduran-style tuna ceviche marinated in coconut milk, lime, ginger, chile and cilantro ($17).

• Charbroiled oysters with chipotle-lemon garlic butter and cotija cheese, served with warm Cuban bread ($19).

• Whole local red snapper prepared Veracruzana style with tomatoes, olives, capers and pickled jalapeño (market price).

• Brick-pressed Jamaican jerk chicken served with rice and peas and rum-glazed sweet plantains ($22).

A Brazilian-inspired moqueca seafood stew at Corvina restaurant.
A Brazilian-inspired moqueca seafood stew at Corvina restaurant.

• Brazilian-inspired moqueca fish stew with prawns, lobster, mussels, fresh-catch fish, coconut milk and dende (red palm) oil ($36).

• Grilled prawns “Diablo,” served in a chipotle cream sauce with a Venezuelan sweet corn and cheese cachapa (pancake) and pineapple chutney ($28).

At Corvina, Tunks will work alongside Passion Foods business partner David Wizenberg and the group’s operations manager, Eduardo Pagan, who will serve as the restaurant’s general manager.

They are joined in this independent venture by partners and restaurant investors Dean Carras and Patrick Marino.

More: Carbone restaurant group to open sister eatery in Palm Beach Gardens

More seafood love: Food Shack’s sister rises in unexpected spot

Corvina's Pacaya Volcano Roll is layered with crispy shrimp, avocado, flame-torched spicy tuna and lava sauce.
Corvina's Pacaya Volcano Roll is layered with crispy shrimp, avocado, flame-torched spicy tuna and lava sauce.

Corvina Seafood Grill

  • Opening: Friday, Dec. 3

  • Hours: Open for dinner Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Mondays.

  • Happy hour: Served at the bar daily from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., featuring a variety of $9 bar bites.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Corvina, a seafood restaurant with outdoor seating opens in Boca Raton