Openings: Bar 25 debuts in former Mellow Mushroom space in Delray Beach
A new restaurant with a modernized pub-meets-diner menu, craft cocktails and a bottomless-mimosa weekend brunch has revamped the former Mellow Mushroom space in downtown Delray Beach. Bar 25 opened in early July on Federal Highway.
Owner Anthony Giovanniello, who also owns Nick’s New Haven Style Pizzeria and Bar in Boca Raton, brought in veteran chef Walter Pytel, formerly of Fort Lauderdale’s popular Café Martorano, to lead the kitchen.
Pytel favors generous portions and a menu with mass appeal.
“We wanted to make a statement with the food, so I tapped into my favorite food memories to present dishes that are familiar yet modernized,” Pytel said in a news release.
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The chef creates a variety of flatbreads (including one topped with sliced picanha steak, blue cheese and caramelized onions, and one crowned with Philly-style shaved rib-eye steak, sharp white American cheese, caramelized onions and cherry peppers), priced from $19 to $26.
Also meant for sharing: cauliflower tacos, Old Bay-dusted crab fries and the New Jersey native’s signature mushroom-onion pierogies, all priced from $11 to $28.
There are larger plates as well, including miso-glazed salmon ($28), a Philly cheesesteak platter ($26) and a French onion chicken cutlet topped with Gruyère cheese ($26).
Bar 25’s weekend brunch steps up the energy with a live deejay and all-you-can-drink mimosas and Bloody Marys.
The 5,000-square-foot space is done up with welcoming touches: green leather booths set against exposed-brick walls, classic lighting and artistic accents, an indoor-outdoor bar and a covered patio.
Owner Giovanniello, who has an Italian restaurant called O’ra Cucina and Bar in the works for downtown Delray's upcoming Atlantic Crossing complex, says he envisioned Bar 25 as a unique, polished and accessible spot.
“It’s the type of place that a chef or restaurant owner wants to visit on their day off because the service is as friendly as it is at any of their favorite local spots,” he said in a news release, “but the experience is elevated by the culinary program and design.”
Bar 25
Location: 25 SE 6th Ave. (Federal Highway), Delray Beach, 561-359-2643, Bar25.com
Hours: Open Monday through Friday from noon to midnight, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Happy hour: An extended happy hour is offered (only at the bar) from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drinks include a selection of $5 draft beer, $6 wines, $6 well liquors and $8 cocktails. Bites include options priced from $7 to $13.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bar 25 restaurant debuts in former Mellow Mushroom space in Delray Beach
