It took a little longer than expected but former New York toque Raffaele Esposito finally opened his elegant Raffaele Ristorante (508 Via De Palmas, 561/392-1110) in Boca’s Royal Palm Place.
Esposito, who ran the eponymous Rafaelle in New York for two decades before decamping for South Florida, has turned the former Argentango space into a stylish yet comfortable restaurant sheathed in luxurious materials from Italian tile floors to granite countertops to dangling light fixtures finished with mother-of-pearl.
The menu gives traditional Italian dishes some Big Apple sophistication, with dishes like linguine alla verza (said to be a fave of Frank Sinatra at Raffaele New York); house-made tagliolini with scallops, shrimp and squid; quail stuffed with sausage, pancetta and pine nuts; and jumbo shrimp in a sauce of cognac, Dijon and roasted peppers.
I had the chance to check out some of the menu at a pre-opening dinner, and think local diners are really going to appreciate Esposito’s deft touch in the kitchen and very un-South Florida like (e.g., charming and professional) service. Among the highlights: crispy-creamy arancini with a mild-flavored curry sauce, rigatoni stuffed with a light veal mousse in a cream-enriched tomato sauce, and those jumbo shrimp in a cognac-Dijon sauce good enough make your napkin edible.
