Dear Olivia, the whimsically named new Parkland restaurant, is the most recent addition to P Hospitality Management’s rising portfolio. Recently opened within the former Deja Blue house in Parkland Commons, the idea is a ardour challenge for South Florida–born restaurateur Paul Greenberg, who joined Christina and Eddie Pozzuoli’s restaurant group final 12 months.
Greenberg, co-founder of high-energy hotspot American Social, envisioned a contemporary neighborhood eating vacation spot that will really feel like a house away from dwelling for younger households, bar regulars, and critical diners alike. With a world-class culinary and cocktail workforce, a heat environment, and three a long time of hospitality expertise, he’s delivered—providing a welcoming atmosphere, a superbly designed indoor/outside house, nice meals, impressed drinks; and the not-so-secret ingredient—a wholesome dose of enjoyable.
The beating coronary heart of the restaurant, a big wraparound indoor/outside bar, was three deep on a current go to, as patrons in every little thing from après-golf apparel to stilettos sipped craft cocktails. Diners packed the twinkle-lit lakeside terrace on a sultry South Florida summer season night, unable to withstand the lure of the setting. Indoors, the sunshine and ethereal eating room buzzed with dialog—creating the intangible vibe that’s the secret sauce of profitable eating places. Dear Olivia feels tailored for the Parkland eating scene.
Joyful, energetic, and a little bit bit cheeky, Dear Olivia channels the persona of its namesake, Greenberg’s nine-year-old daughter. She’s usually onsite along with her father, checking in on tables and proudly telling patrons that it’s her restaurant and “she’s there to ensure they’ve a good time”.
“Parkland hasn’t had a restaurant like Dear Olivia,” Greenberg says. “I needed to carry the neighborhood the identical kind of culinary and bar expertise that you simply discover on Atlantic Avenue or Las Olas—nice meals, artistic drinks, and distinctive hospitality—with out the costly Uber experience and babysitter prices.”
The menu is globally impressed however approachable—even playful—taking diners by a spread of choices. Starters and Shareables embody melt-in-your-mouth biscuits with honey butter and pimento cheese, and Cast Iron Baked Brie served with fig jam, toasted walnuts, and grilled ciabatta bread. Main plates would possibly function a wonderfully grilled Char Siu Pork Chop served atop a crispy rice cake with sesame spinach and Asian barbecue sauce, or branzino with recent, seasonal accompaniments.
The Adult Happy Meal, a riff on the viral “Girl Dinner” pattern, is already a bona fide favourite. Comprised of a Caesar salad, French fries, and a wonderfully poured soiled martini, the idea feels extra like one thing you’d discover on a menu in Miami or New York than Parkland—and it’s already one among Dear Olivia’s prime sellers.
“We have been stunned to see how standard the Adult Happy Meal is,” Greenberg muses. “It’s playful, not one thing you see at each restaurant—and that’s precisely why we needed to carry it to ours.”
Other early favorites embody the double smash burger, seared to crispy perfection and topped with caramelized onions, pickles, and house-made AP sauce (mayonnaise, ketchup, sizzling sauce, and maple syrup); jumbo coconut shrimp with Thai inexperienced papaya salad and mango candy chili sauce; and indulgent Reuben egg rolls full of pastrami, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and roasted heirloom carrots. Desserts are unattainable to withstand, from Mile High Key Lime Meringue Pie with graham cracker crust, mango sauce, and toasted coconut, to my private favourite—Cookies: fresh-baked chocolate chunk cookies served with a calming milk bottle.
The youngsters’s menu, kid-tested and permitted by Olivia herself, goes past hen tenders (although Greenberg insists theirs are “subsequent degree”). Steak suggestions, grilled shrimp, fish, burgers, and a well-liked favourite—ramen—cater to budding younger foodies.
With a bar that instructions consideration the second you enter, beverage director Jose Gil—who labored with Greenberg at American Social—spent months perfecting a cocktail program designed to resonate with the neighborhood whereas reflecting present developments. Gil has created a grasp class in cocktail making. Vintage cocktails equivalent to Manhattans and Negronis share the menu with ingenious signatures just like the Strawberry Smash—a refreshing mix of Maker’s Mark bourbon, ginger syrup, strawberries, lemon juice, and Q ginger beer—and Just Friends, made with El Tesoro Blanco tequila, blueberry purée, lemon juice, Pom Wonderful, sage spice, and topped with bubbly Salt Pom air foam that provides a recent dimension.
Greenberg strongly believes that zeal and private dedication are essential to a restaurant’s success. He is onsite on daily basis, delivering dishes to tables, chatting with company—generally with Olivia and his different two youngsters, Cameron (11) and Luke (5).
“I nonetheless get enthusiastic about openings and like to spend so much of time within the restaurant to ensure I share my pleasure with our company,” he says. “The tradition you create from the beginning helps generate the kind of camaraderie that’s so essential to a profitable restaurant. When your butts get kicked and also you sit down together with your workforce on the finish of the night time and have a look at one another and say, ‘We survived’—that’s an amazing feeling. The understanding of being a part of one thing, night time after night time, making folks joyful and taking good care of them.”
Dear Olivia is positioned at 7805 North University Drive in Parkland. Menus and reservations obtainable at dearoliviaparkland.com.
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