There was a pretty big toque to fill at the Mandarin Oriental’s uber-posh Azul restaurant five years ago when Michelle Bernstein left, but Clay Conley stepped in and the elegant restaurant overlooking Biscayne Bay never missed a beat.
Now the former culinary director for the Todd English restaurant empire is striking out on his own, leaving Azul at the end of September to move to Palm Beach and open his own eatery, which he’s calling Buccan after the wooden frame used to roast or smoke meats in the Caribbean.
Buccan will go into the former Beach House Bistro space, which will get pretty extensive renovations to give a stylish yet rustic edge to match the food Conley plans to serve.
About that food: Stylistically, it will be similar to Conley’s menu at Azul, with the cuisines of the Mediterranean at its core but plenty of South American and Caribbean influences. It will also be more casual and less pricy, mostly small plates with a few large, plus a wood-fired grill, brick oven and raw bar. No formal menu yet but that’s coming.
Conley’s partners in Buccan are Piper Quinn and Conley’s former colleague with Todd English, Sam Slattery. The chef says he’s looking forward to the Island’s sense of “community.” The community says it’s looking forward to some damn good food.
