Restaurants in Coconut Creek

Don Hoy's experience in the restaurant industry began at the early age of 13, when he took a job as a busboy at Dan Dowd's Steak House. With an unwavering determination to succeed and a perfectly shaped head for a chef hat, he quickly ascended the steak house's culinary ranks, later earning the title of head chef in the early '80s. In 1992, Don and his wife Joan pursued the dream of owning a restaurant by purchasing Landlubbers Raw Bar and Grill, which would later become Lito's Turf and Surf. The husband and wife team do not work alone, however, enlisting their three sons to help cook, work the line, and carve new recipes into the family tree.

Lito's Turf and Surf brings together some of the tastiest offerings of both land and sea in a menu anchored by Maryland crab cakes, grilled lobster tail, brawny Angus burgers, and succulent prime rib. From the restaurant's tan leather booths, diners can direct their gaze toward flat-screen TVs showing national and college sports and toast glasses of craft brews and wine every time football players perform bone-crushing tackles or synchronized flash-mob routines in the end zone.

Hand-select one dozen bagels from The Breakfast Joint's 32 varieties. Bagels are freshly baked in house and come in all the traditional varieties, as well as interesting flavors such as french toast, jalapeño, olive, apple pie, banana split, and pumpkin. Though not included in this Groupon, The Breakfast Joint also offers many classic and creative cream-cheese toppers, from vegetable to cinnamon ($1.99).

Chef Yozo Natsui's training in his native Japan, combined with more than 15 years of experience behind the stove, helped earn Bluefin Sushi & Thai Grill the distinction of Best Sushi, 2010 in the Sun Sentinel's Best of South Florida series. Inside a sleek dining room, servers transport fresh slices of fatty tuna and hand rolls from the sushi bar, where Yozo and his cadre of chefs carefully assemble edible cylinders lined with fresh seafood and cool vegetables. They accompany their platters of seared-steak teriyaki with soup or salad, and envelop medleys of vegetables in tempura batter before exposing them to a deep fryer—which is hotter and more philosophically profound than a bourgeois fryer. Servers pour an extensive selection of cold, hot, and flavored sake alongside various wines, imported Asian beers, and Thai iced tea.

Mirrors and ornate paintings surround diners at Lily Garden with a serene atmosphere as they sample a menu filled with Hunan, Cantonese, and Sichuan dishes. Each white-clothed table in the dining room supports a crescent vase of flowers, and red paper lanterns dangle above the booths along each wall. Delivery and catering services are also available.

Tender pieces of chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork simmer in a variety of aromatic sauces, including curry, savory black bean, and fiery sichuan. The Triple Crown In Bird's Nest specialty holds chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegetables in a crispy potato basket, and the seafood straw mushroom combines succulent lobster, scallions, and scarecrows used to frighten away hungry pelicans. Lily Garden also serves beer and wine and curates a gluten-free menu for patrons who swear off the wheat-based protein.

A blue awning and fragrant wall of tropical flowers transform Taso’s Greek Taverna’s patio into a private enclave, illuminated by a string of twinkling lights. Inside, the ambiance is no less welcoming: sunlight streams through windows and illuminates pale-yellow walls and paintings of Mediterranean vistas. At the restaurant’s sister location, Taso’s Greek Taverna 2, the atmosphere is just as charming, with glistening wooden tables and a serpentine ceiling outlined with fluorescent light.

The ambiance is the first sign of Chef Taso Katechis’s commitment to celebrating Mediterranean culture. In the kitchen, chefs roast lamb and beef, stuff fresh fish and flaky filo dough with spinach and feta, and garnish their edible masterpieces with traditional accoutrements of Greek potatoes and warm, homemade pita. Additionally, they serve up a kid’s menu of Greek specialties to help create an experience that’s pleasing to both children and parents, much like a sock-puppet rendition of Law and Order.