CAFE L'EUROPE

  The newest new restaurant in Palm Beach just opened. It is the revamped, redecorated and reimagined Café  L’Europe at  331 South County Road. Café L’Europe was established in 1980. It was closed in July 2020 for renovations and has reopened for the 2020-2021 season.  It has  always been considered as one of the best restaurants on the island.

Whereas the old café had two large rooms with a wall separating them, the redesign has one single large and impressive room with a horseshoe bar in the middle. The blank foot high ceilings, the large windows and the abundance of light result in a soaring room reminiscent of blank. While the capacity of the restaurant is actually 175 people,  it looks as if it could hold considerably more.

The tables are conveniently distanced, but not very far apart. On the banquettes it is too easy to converse with your neighbor. The best table, in my opinion, is number 63 – a large round table in the north west corner looking out onto both the dining room and the street corner. There are also outdoor tables for parties of two or four which seem most attractive.

The dining room is run by Emanuella      and the maitre d’ is Bruce Ramsey. Bruce is one of the stalwarts and has been at the café since      He is also among the most charming and hospitable greeters in all Palm Beach. For fans of the older Café L’Europe, the legendary blind pianist, David Crohan, is still at his post, but without his dog. He is one of the reasons people flocked to the restaurant in the past.

Our expectations for the food were quite high because the two chefs running the kitchen at Café L’Europe came from the now-closed restaurant “Chez Jean Pierre”. Benoit Delon and Alain Krauss were in part responsible for “Chez Jean Pierre’s” success: now they are fully responsible for the cuisine at Café L’Europe. Will they rise to the occasion? 

Our appetizers consisted of “Boudin Blanc”, a chicken and pork sausage, and the small charcuterie board, composed of an excellent selection of smoked hams, olives, superb cheeses, and a smoked honey which was absolutely delightful. The small charcuterie board served three of us and was left unfinished. It is almost a meal unto itself. The lobster bisque, however, was disappointing: bland, insufficiently seasoned, and totally lacking bits of lobster meat.

Main courses consisted of pan seared scallops ($48) which my guests said were superb. The veal Wienerschnitzel ($52) is not easy to perfect. It was delicious and way too large. It came with the two classic accompaniments of red cabbage and spaetzle - prepared correctly in the Viennese tradition and well seasoned. I have sampled it on three different visits. It met my very high expectations each time.

Lobster filled ravioli ($44) were acceptable and good, but conventional. A selection of three types of caviar ($75 to $155) was also on the menu, as was organic chicken milanese ($35). The Dover sole meuniere ($62) was perfectly cooked, redolent of the sea, with glazed carrots and sauteed spinach.

Desserts  ($10 to $25) were uniformly beautifully plated and so artistic that you wondered if you should destroy the symmetry by eating. The “affogato” was superb: hot expresso poured over hazelnut gelato. The tiramisu was light and frothy with fresh mascarpone. A hazelnut soufflé was delightful. Only the apple tart (“tarte tatin” - a french classic) left a little to be desired. I would call it a “semi-tarte tatin” as it needed more seasoning and more pastry in the base.

Drinks were as expected. As usual in these columns, I always put in one comparative drink for price equivalency purposes. A glass of scotch, here Johnnie Walker Red, came in at $   

The wine selection is large and not exorbitantly priced. The excellent Mendoza Malbec cost $13 per glass and the Piper-Heidsieck brut was $19 per glass. Francis Ford Coppola’s ridiculously overhyped “Director’s Cut Sonoma” was overpriced at $23 per glass. 

Service was beyond our expectations: attentive, quiet and instantly available. And done with smiles, despite the ubiquitous face masks. If you can, ask for a table served by Francisco from Nicaragua, who is professional, courteous, knowledgeable and good looking!

Our major complaint was the non-piano music, which was too loud and impeded easy conversation. In fact, the Café L’Europe is too noisy in general. The very casually dressed clientele appeared at times to have had too much to drink and consequently raised their voices.