Cafe Via Flora — Restaurant in Palm Beach

As a frequent traveler due to the demands of my profession, I often find myself journeying across South America, Europe, and within my home country. While locating a restaurant is a relatively straightforward task, discovering an exceptional one proves to be a challenge. Recently, I encountered Cafe Flora in West Palm Beach. Given my status as a Floridian residing in close proximity, I opted to visit this establishment for a Valentine’s Day dining experience. I secured an 18:45 reservation, albeit with the unexpected requirement to prepay for the booking online, totaling an exact sum of $317.50 at the insistence of my wife.

This amount covered a three-course meal, excluding cocktails, spirits, or wine, and notably encompassed a mandatory 20% gratuity. Upon our arrival, we were captivated by the remarkable ambiance of the outdoor seating area, evoking a distinctly European atmosphere. Regrettably, the culinary offerings did not measure up to the setting. In comparison to the service and cuisine provided by Chops, Kalutz, Okeechobee Steakhouse, and Aglio Italian Restaurant, Cafe Flora fell short in terms of quality. I strongly advise against investing time and money in this exorbitantly priced establishment.

I sampled the lamb, which left me with a lukewarm impression, while my wife opted for the chicken. For appetizers, I selected the spicy tuna, and she chose a type of salad. As for dessert, we both indulged in an Italian doughnut, the name of which escapes me. In hindsight, I estimate that our meal should have amounted to approximately $200, exclusive of gratuity. Regrettably, we overpaid for an experience that ultimately delivered only mediocre service and cuisine, lacking the anticipated "wow" factor.

It appears that the requirement to prepay for reservations may have been implemented to ensure guest attendance. However, I have resolved never to repeat this experience, and I would have adjusted the tip to 10% to reflect the level of service received. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the items listed on the online menu at the time of our reservation were not available at the restaurant. It appeared that certain menu items had been omitted. Specifically, I had intended to order the 10-ounce filet, which, to my disappointment, was not an option according to the server. When I pointed out that it was listed on the online menu, he simply apologized. Additionally, the key lime pie, which had been advertised on the online Valentine's Day menu, was also absent upon our arrival. In light of these discrepancies, it seems that my initial expectations were not met. As the saying goes, "fool me once, shame on you."

FYI parking is a mess including valet (we did valet and waited 35 minutes before our car was brought to us) find parking...

NEW YEARS EVE PRIX FIX DINNER 2024-2025: We attended Cafe Via Flora's New Year's Eve dinner last night and it was the worst meal that I've experienced in many years....quite a statement but nonetheless valid. My lamb may have actually been spoiled and I could not eat the first piece without gagging. It was readily removed from the bill but they literally offered no replacement...so, no entre. None. As for the appetizer, it was 4 pieces of shrimp, good sized but very warm and several of us at the table thought that they were on the verge of spoilage. They also seemed to be running short on cocktail sauce as we had to ask for more as they provided literally 2 teaspoons of sauce for 4 shrimp. Not a big deal, but I've never had to ask for more cocktail sauce before in my life. As for the desert, the key lime pie was warm with melting whipped cream oozing some sort of clear liquid. The dimensions of my "slice" were 5 inches long, 2.5 inches tall, and 1/2 inch wide....seriously. I measured it as I had nothing better to do. It was impressive that anyone could cut a piece of pie that thin, and the person who cut it should be working at a high-end a sushi bar. It should have been presented as a "key lime pie shaving" on the menu. Ultimately, the only edible item was the bread which they seemed to be rationing. They only brought more to the table when we asked the manager, as the service staff just ignored us multiple times.

Now for the really nauseating part: The bathroom is located down a hallway that is so long that I think it's actually in West Palm. The best part is that there is a keypad on the bathroom door that the staff failed to mention requires a code to enter. They did this with multiple people thereby requiring them all to walk back into the restaurant to get the code and then walk back to the bathroom to use it. Perfect exercise when one "has to go".... Once inside their bathroom, it was filthy. Not dirty or messy. Abject slimy filth in my opinion. Beyond that, they were short-staffed (understandable on New Years) but the staff attitude was horrific.

So for $200 I got 4 shrimp, no entre, a key lime pie sliver and one Arnold Palmer. Quite the deal. Based on their staff demeanor, the awful food, and the filthy bathroom the name of the restaurant should be more accurately changed to Cafe Va Fangool. Will we be back? Ah, no.... Instead, we'll go to Micky-D's or pick up a hot...

Hi, myself and some friends recently dined at Cafe Flora in Palm Beach. We were looking forward to a great last dinner in PB, but we were unfortunately met with the opposite. The dinner service started off pretty typical, our waiter greeted us and came back to take our food and drink orders. As we were waiting for our food, I quickly realized we may not be as valued as other guests that our server Valentina was also tending to. Our server had repeatedly gone to her other tables multiple times without ever checking on us. Moving on, our food comes out and we begin to eat. We have been eating for a long while now and still our server has failed to check on us even though I have watched her check multiple times on other tables. Other staff come to take our food away as we are essentially done with our dining experience. The manager comes to chat as I am assuming he can see we are visibly upset and bothered. I explained my concerns and he nicely apologized and offered us complimentary dessert. Following my conversation with the manager, our server, Valentina, has still failed to converse with us in any way except passing out our dessert plates. We are quite literally continuing to be ignored by our server! We have our dessert and finally receive the check from our server which would be the second verbal interaction we had with her. I'm writing this review out of concern and disappointment. As someone who has worked in the service industry myself, I was appalled to say the least. A representative, such as a server is a reflection of the entire establishment. Please take into consideration how you treat each and EVERY customer. I can only hope Valentina will do better...