*** 1/2 (OUT OF 4)
Royal Palm Place, 101 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
561-395-2675
Chopslobsterbar.com
Cuisine: steak and seafood
Cost: expensive
Hours: dinner daily
Reservations: advisable
Credit cards: AE, DC, D, MC, V
Bar: full service
Sound level: moderate
Outside smoking: yes
For kids: high chairs, boosters, special dishes cooked to order
Wheelchair accessible: yes
First impression: Wow! Part high-end steakhouse and part high-end seafood house, almost every element of service is impeccable. Be prepared to spend some real money.
Background: The first Chops opened in 1989 in Atlanta. Buckhead Life Restaurant Group brought the concept to Boca in March 2007.
Ambience: Dim lighting, mahogany walls and a coffered ceiling create an intimate, clubby feel in one part of the restaurant. The herringbone tiled vaulted ceiling in the main dining room will remind you of the Oyster Bar in New York City’s Grand Central Station.
Starters: Rich Maine & Maine lobster bisque ($17) includes chunks of lobster. It’s $12 without added lobster. It could have been served hotter. Even better was Lobster Bar Fresh Seafood Chowder ($10), a mishmash of seafood mixed with corn and potatoes in a milky broth. Loaded Wedge iceberg salad ($10) was topped with tomato, bacon, chopped, eggs and just creamy enough blue cheese dressing.
Appetizers: Shrimp cocktail ($16) is presented as I remember it from forever: Four jumbos curled over a footed, ice-filled glass and served with zesty cocktail sauce. Classic steak tartar ($14) is mixed table-side and served with toast points. Jumbo-size stone crab claws (market price/$54 per pound the night I dined) seemed small for jumbos.
Entree excellence: Steaks are grilled over extremely high heat, giving each cut a delightfully seared exterior. A 10-ounce filet ($34) was cooked perfectly rare. An 8-ounce New York Strip ($24) was almost overdone at medium rare. Among the fish specialties is delicate Genuine Whole Dover Sole (market price/$44 when I dined). Classically prepared with lemon and capers, it’s expertly filleted table-side. The smallest lobster available was 2 pounds ($50/market price) and it was steamed beautifully. But don’t leave without trying the superb flash-fried whole 6-ounce lobster tail ($24). It redefines lobster after years of broiling, steaming and grilling.
Side issues: Lobster macaroni and cheese ($24) tasted like the lobster bisque had been poured over the pasta known as gobbetti. Where’s the cheese? Creamed spinach ($10) was just right.
On the lighter side: Fish can be prepared as simply as you want. The choices include Scottish salmon ($28), Florida snapper ($29) and Chilean sea bass ($32).
Liquid assets: The wonderful wine list includes 40 bottles under $40.
Sweet!: White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie ($10) is a sophisticated version of the down-home dessert. There’s also brioche bread pudding ($10) and a lighter candied almond tuile with fresh berries, Chambord cream and raspberry sorbet ($10).
Service: Formal, but never haughty. Servers work in efficient teams of two.
– John Tanasychuk
