Delray Dines

03/22/2026

Another sushi joint on the way--Downtown Delray.
https://hoodline.com/2026/03/philly-hotspot-double-knot-plots-sushi-invasion-at-delray-s-sundy-village/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQs58VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEejvtFxwgrYDzfGze60rbsjSf4I28vqmH3QiJksnaDeECeHQovkJHJF2xddXw_aem_OLHsUoxwZbMH70mQk7SbEw

Double Knot is coming to Sundy Village in Delray Beach — no opening date yet.

03/20/2026

NOUTTA SUSHI AND THAI IN WEST DELRAY BEACH IS A GEM HIDDEN BEHIND A PLAIN SHOPPING CENTER FAÇADE

By ALAN J. WAX
© 2026 Alan J. Wax

Noutta Sushi and Thai is an upscale restaurant in a downscale strip center in West Delray Beach.

Open for little more than a year, Noutta is located in the 40-year-old Kings Point Shopping Center on Atlantic Avenue at Jog Road, just a few doors away from Bagel Tree and Famous Market.

The shopping center’s plain white and grey façade belies what you’ll find once you open the door to this gem of a restaurant that features some of the best — and most interesting — sushi and sashimi that you will find in West Delray, making it a go to place for aficionados of raw fish.

Inside, the decor is a stark contrast to the exterior with its modern styling. The walls are bright red. White wave-tiles define the sushi bar. Vases of flowers are everywhere, and red paper lanterns hang from the black ceiling.

Behind this gem are Noutta Phommahaxay and Fernando Garcia, both former sushi chefs at the Broken Sound Country Club in Boca Raton.

Phommahaxay, who is Laotian, greets you with a smile as you are seated and, when you depart — quite satisfied —he offers a friendly wave. On a quiet afternoon, he may stop by your table to ask about your meal.

As for the wait staff. No black T-shirts here. On a recent Saturday evening, servers were attired in white, long-sleeved dress shirts, black slacks, black vests, and ties. My weekday server, Mei, was friendly and gracious.

That’s just appearances, to be sure. The food also sparkles.

Noutta delivers pristine, freshly cut, clean-tasting sushi and sashimi that’s beyond what I consider the vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry varieties typically found in other sushi restaurants in the West Delray Beach area. Videos posted by the restaurant on Facebook show Phommahaxay, who got his sushi-making training in California, breaking down huge fish flown in from Japan.

Some of those finny creatures are destined to be daily specials listed on an illuminated blackboard. Among them are fish species that you may not have heard of ($9-$12 a piece). And a non-seafood item, Wagyu beef with caviar and fresh black truffles ($25).

On my first visit, I opted for some of those unusual piscine sushi offerings, as well as some more common varieties. It proved to be a bit of a wallet buster with six pieces totalling $60.

They included:

Shima aji ($12), also known as white trevally, had a delicate, buttery clean flavor and firm, slightly crunchy texture.

Kanpachi, also called greater amberjack, had a mild buttery flavor that’s less fishy and firmer in texture than hamachi (yellowtail).

Kinmedai, also known as splendid alfonsino, whose white flesh was also sweet, rich, and buttery.

These were artfully presented — placed slanted side-by-side — on an oblong blue ceramic plate. In addition to the specials, I ordered otoro, the most coveted, fattiest, most-premium cut of bluefin tuna, which had intense white-pink marbling and a melt-in-your-mouth texture; chutoro, a less fatty tuna cut, and hamachi —all of them melt-in-your-mouth and mildly flavored, a contrast to the slightly tangy, sticky vinegared rice, salty soy sauce, pungent wasabi, and pickled ginger.

On another evening, I stuck to the regular menu, ordering a sushi sashimi combo ($54.99), which included nine sashimi slices —tuna, salmon, and escolar, six pieces of nigiri sushi — fish slices atop a mound of rice, and a hamachi scallion roll, all served on a round black platter decorated with seemingly real red flowers. These fish offerings were as fresh and delicious as my previous hand-picked choices.

The choices are more limited, but bargain-priced compared to the dinner menu. The quality is the same, nonetheless. On my first lunch visit, I ordered a bento box ($15,99), in this case, a fire-engine red multi-compartment tray that included six slices of sashimi, salmon, tuna, and escolar, three pieces of the same fish served as sushi; one California roll; a pan-fried gyoza, and a serving of house salad with carrot-ginger dressing. All quite satisfying.

For those who opt to splurge, there are two omikase (chef’s choice) options, 10 pieces for $150 and 15 for $200. If someone wants to treat me, I’m in.

From Noutta’s Thai menu, I tried papaya salad ($11.99), a classic dish in Southeast Asia. It was fresh and crisp with long, grated shreds of the popular tropical fruit, shredded carrots, grape tomatoes, and pork rinds atop leaves of lettuce with a slightly spicy dressing. To me, it needed a tad more heat than medium to make it shine.

On the other hand, a lunch-size order of Thai red curry with chicken ($12.99) was creamy and had just enough spark to make it worth devouring.

Dining companions at various times ordered more familiar fare: Pad Thai ($17) and sweet-and-sour chicken ($17) without vegetables for a picky eater. There were no disappointments.

Noutta’s beverage list is not only interesting but also offers some sakes — the best beverage to wash down all that sushi —with prices reaching into the stratosphere. Among them is Daishichi Myoka Rangyoku at $750 for a 720 ml. bottle. I settled for a lesser 120 ml. bottle of the dry, crisp, but smooth and fruity Ozeki Junmaki “Dry Fancy” at $15. There is a range of other relatively inexpensive sakes and a selection of familiar beers, except for Baeran Schwarz Hyukunen, a dark, German-style beer from Japan that I hope to try on a future visit.

The exotic fish varieties, other well-prepared foods, beverages, and a tasteful interior combine to make Noutta Sush and Thai a true dining destination.

Noutta Sushi And Thai
6592 W Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33446
(561) 908-2244

02/22/2026

A FIRST TIME TRYING WALLEYE

Never had Walleye before a recent visit to the new Culver’s on Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach. Native to Canada and the northern U.S., Walleye is widely considered one of the best-tasting freshwater fish. It’s flakey white flesh is tender and almost sweet tasting. The breading on this filet was quite crisp. A bit of tartar sauce added some nuance. A vanilla milkshake, made with Culver’s rich soft-serve custard, was excellent, but it wasn’t appropriate to wash down my fish sandwich.

12/14/2025

New eateries coming to Delray and environs.

Here are 5 restaurants you can expect to open soon in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Lake Worth Beach, and Boca Raton.

12/09/2025

New Mediterranean eatery headed to West Delray Beach, according to businessdebut.com.
It's called La Marsa, a branch of a Michigan restaurant.
The location is 13800 S Jog Rd #101, Delray Beach.
The opening is soon, pending final inspections and a soft opening.
What to expect: Fine-dining Mediterranean ambiance (~5,000 sq. ft., ~150 seats) with a private event room and planned entertainment (belly dancing, live instruments).
Menu highlights include Halal options; 72-hour–marinated New Zealand lamb chops; house-made pita and hummus; hearty lentil soup.
Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–10 p.m. No full bar at launch.
Who’s behind it: Managing partner Yousif Elsebaei. Florida growth aims to mirror the brand’s steady Michigan expansion

11/24/2025

DINNER AT SOPRANOS, A NEW BOYNTON BEACH ITALIAN EATERY, STARTED ON A HIGH NOTE, BUT ENDED FLAT

By ALAN J. WAX

A group of us went for a fairly early dinner on Saturday at Soprano’s, a relatively new Italian eatery in the shopping center behind Flakowitz in Boynton Beach. Arriving at 5:45 p.m., the place was packed —there are about 60 seats inside and a few more outside. The clientele, one might guess by their hair colors, are the folks who turn in for the night at 9 p.m.

We scheduled our early dinner, however, so we could play cards afterward. But after the two hours that had elapsed from the time we were seated until we departed, our evening of Canasta was cut short.

For those who are aware, this site was once home to Mamma Mia Express, and after that, Bella Mia, whose name still adorns the sign over the restaurant and the restaurant’s website. We’d heard and read the buzz about Sopranos, which opened just a few months before, so we decided to give it a try.

It’s a casual place with a traditional Italian-American menu and a short wine list that includes only house wines by the glass, half-carafe, and carafe. Rather than imbibe some unknown vino, I stuck to tap water.

Service, while gracious, was slow. The hostess provided menus as she seated us, and a food runner delivered a fresh-from-the-oven round loaf of focaccia with a plate of garlic-flavored butter —do-it-yourself garlic bread. We happily munched on the bread while we waited and waited some more for our server to appear to take our orders, while runners sped through the dining room carrying trays of pizza. Other servers appeared to be standing idle near the kitchen door. Perhaps we should have ordered a pizza.

We started on a high note. My wife’s salad was huge, and the soups were robustly flavored. For me, the minestrone was one of the best I’d had in South Florida, bursting with flavor and spoonfuls of diced vegetables.
But our empty appetizer dishes remained on the table long after we’d devoured the foods on them, taken away only after a long wait for our entrees.

Only one of our foursome enjoyed her entree, the eggplant parmigiana, which she pronounced delicious. To be sure, she says that no matter what she orders, or where. The Chicken Francese ordered by my wife, Jeanne, arrived swimming in a lighter-than-expected wine-butter sauce. It was just “okay,” she said.

Two of us who ordered veal and chicken parmigiana, respectively, were less happy. My friend’s chicken parm was okay, he said. My veal parm was less than tender, and the edges of the crispy fried cutlet were a tad blackened. My friend and I agreed that the red sauce on the entrees and on our al dente servings of penne left much to be desired. Thick and on the sweet side, it lacked acidity and spices, tasting like the kitchen forgot to do something to the heavy, grainy tomato paste that it resembled.

Only Jeanne ordered dessert — after waiting quite a while for our server to reappear — a chocolate fudge cake. It arrived with four spoons and small mounds of whipped cream. I’d swear it was made by Bindi, which supplies frozen cakes to eateries across the nation. Jeanne’s serving suggested it needed more time to defrost. It was a sad ending to a not-so-joyous dinner. For some of us, Soprano’s was a once-and-done.

Soprano's Boynton Beach
7410 Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach
561-509-0925
bellatrattoria.com

11/04/2025

Found this in another group. The former Chaiyo Thai Street Food on Atlantic and Miliary is now Atlantic Sush and Asian Bistro, opening on 11-6-25.

11/03/2025

Ruven's Restaurant, the deli in the Shoppes of San Marco, has a new owner, Herode Auguste, according to public records. I'm told they now serve Hebrew National products.

11/02/2025

A $20, CASH ONLY 4-COURSE CHINESE DINNER

Following up on a review in another Facebook group, my wife and and I dined recently at the newly renovated sit-down ABC Chinese Restaurant in a strip center on Military Trail at Hillsboro Blvd. Deerfield. It's been under new ownership for the last several months. It's old-style Chinese-American fare, not my cup of oolong.

The bright white dining room is modern, decorated with paintings, including one of a clipper ship at sea, and the floor is grey luxury vinyl tile. The bathroom floors and walls are marble. The owner, Lucy Feng, formerly of Shanghai City, and server, Diane, attired in bright red, are energetic, cheery, and accommodating.

The hook here is the 4-course $20 cash-only sunset dinner that’s available all the time. It’s soup, egg roll, selected entrees, egg fried rice, and a scoop of ice cream.

We gave the $20 special a try..

I started with the Hot and Sour soup, which was loaded with ingredients and not overly gloppy. A bit too mild for my palate, except for too much black pepper. Knowing this, thanks to review by fellow foodie and Chinese food aficionado Jason Perlow, I asked for vinegar and hot oil on the side. A small spoonful of each made the soup just right. JMy wife had the wonton soup. which she pronounced as bland. I found it a tad salty.

Egg rolls were crisp, but small, and had a char from a tad too much time spent in the deep fryer.

Fried rice, alas, without any additions aside from egg, thankfully, was not drowned in soy sauce and was satisfying.

We added an order of BBQ spare ribs (four for $4.95). The texture suggested they were stewed. A bit too fatty and greasy for me.

My wife ordered Orange Chicken as her main. The dish was brightly colored and the sauce tasty, but the chicken was rubbery.

I had Sizzling Prawns with Garlic Sauce. You could hear the sizzle from the time it came out of the kitchen. Composed of a handful of jumbo shrimp, snow peas. and an abundance of onions, however were fresh perfectly cooked.

Ice cream — chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry — arrived in those tiny stainless steel cups. They were brightly colored - the pistachio was a deep green hue -but was more icy than creamy. =

For $20, ABC Chinese is a good deal. For me, though, I’d rather not drive 25 minutes from Delray Beach. Indeed, I'd drive further for more authentic dining experience.

ABC Chinese Restaurant
1919 W Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
(954) 421-8720 or (954)421-8030
http://abcDeerfieldBeach.com

03/21/2025

MISTAH LEE’S SMOKIN’ GOOD BBQ in West Boynton was our dining destination Thursday. Juicy smoked brisket, fall off the bone smoky ribs, collards and cornbread for dinner. We met and chatted up pitmaster Lee Stransky. Stransky’s roving food truck won “Best BBQ” in the Sun Sentinel’s Best of South Florida Dining series (readers’ choice), following recent wins at the St. Pete Bacon & BBQ Festival and The Red Meat Lovers Club Best Sandwich of South Florida. It's on SR7 just north of Faith Farms in a strip center called The Melrose Shops.

03/21/2025

Satisfying my craving for a slice of Brooklyn. Excellent! Introducing friends to Angelo's L&B Spumoni Gardens style pie. From the first bite I was transported back to 86th Street in Brooklyn near to where Angelo grew up.