Avalon Steak & Seafood

Avalon is a fresh, new, shining spot in the heart of Delray's Atlantic Avenue, right next door to Roccos Tacos. We enjoyed a pre-grand opneing meal hosted by Creator and Founder, Curt Huegel and Antonello Paganuzzi - Director of Operations. The entire staff was attentive, professional and made us feel right at home. The photos we shot in this article are what you can expect to see. The appetizers included the Lump Crab Cocktail and Angry Lobster. The crab was sweet and served with a mustard sauce, wonderfully done. The Angry Lobster was an decadent find on the menu. The lobster (halved) was fresh and the sauce was a perfect blend of spice and character. We opted to endulge in the Wet Aged Petit Filetand NY Strip. This were cooked to a perfect medium as requested, with a light drawn butter for a bit of added flavor. They do offer a house made steak sauce and a chimichurri sauce as additional accompaniments. We tried the NY Cheesecake, that melted in our mouths, not too heavy, and certainly not light.

This is a comfortable, well run establishment with a great steak and seafood menu that we expect will be around for decades to come. Be sure to tell them that South Florida Free Press recommended them to you.

Conceptualized by New York's veteran hospitality operators Host Restaurants, the 30-year visionaries behind award-winning dining institutions including Scarpetta, Campagnola, American Cut, Bill's Townhouse, and many others, Avalon will showcase the best in land and sea from all coasts with modern dishes taking star at the dinner plate inside an atmosphere designed to radiate approachable, unstuffy elegance.

Affectionately named Avalon, after the legendary island in the Arthurian legend, a place of haven and purity fabled for its restorative healing powers, Avalon will be about bringing guests who love life on the water and life by the sea to enjoy a unique new comfort-minded steakhouse experience designed to evoke an air of modern tranquility and escapism through the art of delivering upon a great quality night out.

"At Avalon, we want you to linger longer, enjoy your time here and not feel pressured to rush your meal. Dinner was made to savor; life is too short to not enjoy a great quality steak," explains Host Restaurants President and Founder Curt Huegel.

When it opens this month, Avalon will bring a robust, sustainably-sourced premium selection of prime, organic, grass fed, hormone, steroid, and antibiotic free offerings, including steaks, beef, poultry, and seafood to South Florida's dining scene, anchored by an esteemed 250 bottle wine list for wine lovers of all regions, showcasing sought after labels from unique wineries around the world. Guests who prefer spirit-centric pairings to their meal will also delight in Avalon's creatively conceived cocktails presenting inventive twists on classic libations.

Finding the perfect brick and mortar location in South Florida for Avalon was years in the making, explains Huegel. "We were waiting for the perfect spot to present itself in South Florida for the past five to seven years and were grateful to have had Menin Development offer Avalon's address on the Avenue. So many of our top patrons have second homes and extended family members whom they visit in Palm Beach, Boca, Delray Beach and around South Florida, and whenever they would return to New York, they would express their wishes and wants, sharing what was missing for them with existing concepts in town. We finally found the right space and the timing to make the move was right. We want our loyal guests to know that we couldn't be more excited to reveal Avalon, a steakhouse expressly designed with these guests in mind," says Huegel.

Avalon's beachy yet stylish interiors were also designed with intention. Bright, naturally lit and intimate, pristine and nautically-inspired, the atmosphere and palette is soft, soothing and designed to evoke the feeling of relishing in a tranquil and relaxing, stylish day at sea. Elegant neutrals and oceanic blues are topped off by the addition of picturesque coastal greens. The expansive indoor/outdoor bar was designed for laid-back and non-formal easy eating, keeping parties of one and two in mind. There will be two traditional dining levels - al fresco street dining for guests who prefer sight-seeing passerbys and second floor dining for a more intimate, social dining experience. All dining areas at Avalon will be implementing the strictest of COVID-19 protocols and are mindful of personal space and superior comfort.

"We believe that a memorable dining experience is one that should provide a relaxing, supportive, inclusive guest experience that is customer-centric without judgement or attitude. Our entire premise for any restaurant that we build, is to build for and around the guest experience. Avalon was expressly designed to deliver for the South Florida customer," says Huegel.

Cooking techniques at Avalon will take modern day guest requests into mind, "Ten years ago, the edgy steakhouse was defined by lobster mac and cheese; today the guest need has evolved. We're seeing health-minded requests and protein-centric asks. Guests are looking for clean comfort food, well prepared plates where the quality of the ingredients stand on their own merit. Avalon will present an abundance of seasonally-sourced organic meats, produce and fish that won't cut corners when it comes to quality, prepared to our guests' desired temperature, keeping everyday affordability in mind."

Avalon was designed to be the place to gather and meet your best friends, your family members, your fellow entrepreneurs. "It's about creating an atmosphere of familiarity and comfort. We'll be the kind of establishment that gets excited when our guests step into the room. We want our team to remember your name and remember what you love to eat. We're committed to accessible price points that won't compromise quality and will honor that premise by always staying innovative and fresh with weekly rotating specials and of course, everyone's fan favorite - a unique, weekly lifestyle happy hour destination where you can get excited about the fellow guests and dynamic personalities you'll connect with at our bars. We're excited to present a haven we felt the community deserved after hearing about the needs for some time."

Signature dishes at Avalon will encompass modern steakhouse classics cooked to preferred temperatures such as Filet Mignon, 28-Day Dry-Aged Prime Ribeye, 36 oz. Tomahawk for 2 , to sustainably-sourced seafood specialties including Whole Roasted Fish of the Day, 32 oz Aged Bone In "Tuna Ribeye", Scallop Carpaccio with Huckleberry Agro Dolce, Spiced Cashew, Citrus Segments Basil Oil, Marigold, Angry Lobster with Fermented House Sriracha, Ginger, Pullman Toast, to light entrees for those health minded or vegetarian such as Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini, Herb Vinaigrette, Goat Cheese, Basil as well as inventive comfort dishes including Kimchi Fried Rice.

Avalon Delray is a new coastal-inspired twist on the traditional steakhouse by acclaimed New York restaurateurs Host Restaurants. Avalon will open this winter for dinner and happy hour with brunch to come at a future date. For more information, visit www.avalondelray.com.