Restaurants in Riviera Beach

The chefs at Moran’s Italian Burger Bistro build each burger from the ground up by hand according to blueprints laid out by each customer. Diners decorate a range of patties, from fresh ground beef to portobello mushroom to alligator, with their choice of cheese and rich sauces, including bacon béarnaise and lemon-caper aioli. More convenient than keeping a dragon on retainer, Moran's brick oven crisps the dough on specialty pizzas, such as the margherita with fresh basil and mozzarella, and personalized pies made with a choice of crust, sauce, and toppings that include spicy salami, roasted fennel, and pork belly.

Two walls of windows fill the dining room with bright rays of natural light. The Tuscan ambience is highlighted by a stone-framed counter and distressed-wood tables reminiscent of an Old World tavern or the apartment Romulus and Remus shared before building Rome.

The blue-and-white banquettes, bright-white drapery, and faux shuttered windows fall right in line with Taverna Opa’s Greek theme, but it is the food, cocktails, and entertainment that really bring the eatery to life. At the restaurant, rated good to very good across the board by Zagat, smoky aromas waft from a wood-fire grill and swirl through the air as servers cart around dishes of lamb chops, gyros, and traditional Greek meze that earned accolades from Gayot.

Greek tunes and live DJ beats keep the atmosphere festive, as do dancing staffers who break out into a Zorba dance throughout the night. A belly dancer also weaves between tables, mesmerizing diners with her abdominal precision and occasionally tossing napkins to alert management that someone fell happily asleep in their moussaka.

Aromas of roasted garlic and basil waft from the warm ovens at Cafe Centro as chefs prepare a menu of Northern Italian seafood specialties. Beneath the dining area's rustic timber ceiling, servers deliver plates of fettuccine crowned with lobster and brandy cream sauce or fillets of grilled salmon, yellowtail snapper, and branzino. Other dishes include crusty calzones with soft, melting interiors and housemade desserts such as tiramisu. Wrought-iron chandeliers cast a warm glow over racks of bottles filled with fine wines and rolled parchment notes from the pirate who lives in the cellar.

When restaurateur Chris Papas set about creating a Greek taverna, he decided to serve simple, healthy dishes that follow the Mayo Clinic diet––less salt, more fresh herbs, and heart-healthy oils. Below the iron curves of hanging lights, tables hold specialty dishes such as greek lasagna and Aunt Geri's family-recipe moussaka. Fresh whole fish like snapper, bronzino, and dorade as well as filets of Pacific sea bass and sole are brought in daily. Shrimp and lamb souvlaki platters marinate in special Greek-imported spices in the kitchen before they're brought out to pair with more than 20 wines by the glass and 30 by the bottle. After taking a final bite of their gyro, guests can replace the desserts perpetually stolen from their windowsills with housemade baklava.

Chefs at Casa Mia Trattoria & Pizzeria slide wooden pizza peels into a glowing wood-fired brick oven to retrieve sizzling pies, while cooks nearby craft pasta for lasagna entrees. Beneath the soft light from pillar candles mounted on wrought-iron chandeliers, servers weave between dark-wood tables in the dining room, delivering paninis and salads topped with the morning news.

Contemporary and classical styles mingle across Gazebo Cafe’s menu of shareable plates and French-influenced entrees, including duck-liver pâté, balsamic confit, and roasted rack of lamb. The meshing of new and old also surfaces in the dining room, which elegantly sports sleek, cobalt blue chandeliers and antique chinaware. Floor-to-ceiling windows illuminate servers as they float from table to table, pouring wines from a list of more than 200 bottles and training silverware to perform intricate song-and-dance routines.

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