Polpo, restaurant that serves Italian seafood, to open location at Eau Palm Beach
Planned as an oceanfront restaurant with a “cozy” upscale ambiance and an emphasis on Italian seafood, a second location of a longtime Greenwich, Connecticut establishment is set to open this winter at Eau Palm Beach Resort.
Polpo, which translates to “octopus,” could open by mid-December in an oceanfront dining space getting a makeover as part of a wider multi-million-dollar renovation underway at the seven-acre Manalapan resort, which remains open.
Introducing a Palm Beach-area outpost of Greenwich’s 20-year-old Polpo has always been in the cards, but “we didn’t make the decision to do so until after we found the perfect fit,” founder Ron Rosa told the Daily News.
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Polpo will offer guests such fare as grilled octopus and branzino amid “a fun and cozy” fine-dining ambiance, said Rosa, a native of Calabria, Italy whose early-career restaurants included Ecco in New York’s Tribeca.
“Everyone who comes to Polpo gets the feeling of being in their own private club,” he said.
The new restaurant is in the former Temple Orange bistro, whose orange hues have given way to an aquamarine palette as Polpo takes shape.
Arched windows, a bar, and a marine-themed wall mural are key features of the new indoor-outdoor floorplan, said Maurice Salcedo, principal of West Palm Beach-based Bilkey Llinas Design, which is executing Eau’s renovations.
“The new layout at the restaurant brings the outside in, accentuating the oceanfront location,” Salcedo told the Daily News.
Under the culinary direction of Eau’s executive chef Neill Bailey, Polpo’s menu draws on the Greenwich flagship, plus adds such Florida seafood as pompano.
Dover sole and branzino deboned tableside and served in copper pans are among interactive seafood presentations planned.
Live lobsters will be brought to patrons’ tables before becoming a dish called “angry” lobster prepared with white wine and hot peppers.
Baked clams and grilled octopus with cannellini beans and arugula are among other seafood dishes.
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The menu also includes burrata Caprese; meatballs in marinara sauce; Prime-grade steaks; and ravioli with truffle cream sauce. Groups will be able to opt for tagliolini prepared in a giant parmesan wheel.
In addition to an extensive wine list, Polpo’s beverage program will offer such pours as signature cocktails and house-made Italian limoncello.
Rosa’s wife, Dominique, who for decades has helped run Polpo in Greenwich, said the couple’s restaurant philosophy is to build dining around “experiences,” from greeting guests “like family” to offering “attentive French-style service.”
Add to that Polpo’s “storied gastronomy” and Eau’s “hospitality expertise,” the resort’s General Manager Tim Nardi said. “Eau Palm Beach’s partnership with Ron and Dominique Rosa is a perfect union.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Polpo Italian seafood restaurant to open at Eau Palm Beach Resort
