For years the working assumption on the island was that summer belonged to somebody else. The dining rooms went dark, the calendar thinned, and anyone with the flexibility to leave, left. That assumption is out of date. The winter of 2025 to 2026 brought a run of openings serious enough to shift the island's dining map, and the events calendar has quietly stretched to fill months that used to be considered off-season. If you are here through the summer, the payoff is real: the same new rooms, without the wait.
The Island's Dining Map Redrew Itself This Winter
Three openings in particular changed what a Tuesday night in Palm Beach looks like.
Tutto Mare arrived in early January at Royal Poinciana Plaza, and it did something no other restaurant on the island has done: it put a dining room directly on the Intracoastal. The Tutto il Giorno team brought the spirit of Gianpaolo de Felice's southern Italian upbringing to the reimagined Royal Poinciana Playhouse, with branzino acqua pazza, fritto misto, and paccheri con frutti di mare under 12-foot oak-beamed vaulted ceilings designed by Gabby Karan de Felice. If you had written off the Playhouse building as permanently quiet, it is worth another look.
A few blocks away, the hospitality group behind Hotel du Cap in Antibes, Le Bristol Paris, and Eden Rock in St. Barts opened its much-anticipated first US property in Palm Beach, and along with it Coco's, which features a bit of the French Riviera vibe, including some signature dishes from the Hotel du Cap like steak Diane. That is The Vineta Hotel, and the ground floor has become an unusually complete evening: dinner at Coco's, then a drink at The Vineta Bar, a sophisticated nod to the former Leopard Lounge, offering a high-fidelity cocktail program within a meticulously restored historic setting. For residents who remember the Leopard Lounge, this is the room to see first.
The third is The Polo Room, which does not need a long introduction on the island but is worth flagging for anyone who has not been in since the initial rush. Co-owned by the Argentine polo icon Nacho Figueras, The Polo Room channels the glamour of the Wellington polo circuit into a Palm Beach dining room, with vintage 1980s and 1990s photographs from polo photographer Ricardo "Snoopy" Motran on the walls, horsehead ice buckets at the bar, and a menu that runs from raw bar and handcrafted empanadas through prime steaks and Lobster Frite.
| New this year | Where | What it added to the island |
|---|---|---|
| Tutto Mare | Royal Poinciana Plaza | The only restaurant on Palm Beach with Intracoastal-front seating |
| Coco's | The Vineta Hotel | Riviera-style hotel dining, with Hotel du Cap dishes on the menu |
| The Vineta Bar | The Vineta Hotel | A cocktail room in the bones of the former Leopard Lounge |
| The Polo Room | Palm Beach | Equestrian-themed dining tied to the Wellington polo world |
Why Summer Is the Better Time to Use Them
Here is the part the visitors do not know. All of the above are, in season, difficult tables. West Palm Beach has always had the water, but this summer it has earned a dining scene and social calendar to match, with megayachts at Rybovich, the Intracoastal shimmering at golden hour, and a stretch of Flagler Drive that comes alive every weekend from June through September. That energy pulls demand across the bridge and into the island, which means January and February at Tutto Mare or Coco's will look nothing like a Wednesday in late July.
The math is straightforward. A restaurant that opened in January with island-wide anticipation gets six months of full seatings before it faces its first real quiet stretch. Summer is that stretch. The rooms are still open, the kitchens are still staffed, and the tables that require a two-week wait in March are available the same afternoon in August. If you have been meaning to try any of these openings, the calendar is on your side right now.
Across the bridge, the same logic applies at Kyma, worth mentioning here because it is a short drive and a genuinely different room. The team behind the popular Greek estiatorios in Flatiron, Midtown West, and Roslyn, Long Island has branched out to West Palm Beach with a spacious location that occupies two dining rooms and an expansive rooftop with a stellar view of the island. The view of your own front yard from a rooftop is one of the more pleasant summer detours available.
The Fourth on Flagler, from the Island Side
The Fourth of July is the single event that reliably pulls island residents off the island and onto the West Palm waterfront. This year is bigger than most. South Florida's largest free outdoor Independence Day celebration marks America's 250th anniversary this year, with live music across three stages, a military honor ceremony, family entertainment, and an 18-minute fireworks display over the Intracoastal starting at 9 PM, staged along Flagler Drive between Banyan Blvd and Fern St.
A few practical notes for anyone watching from the island side:
- The best sightlines from Palm Beach are along the west-facing Lake Trail stretches and any dock or terrace with a clear view across the Intracoastal.
- Bridges close and reopen on their own schedule that evening. If you plan to cross for the event, cross early and stay.
- The 18-minute run time is a useful planning number. Dinner at 7, walk or drive by 8:15, back home before the traffic pattern resets.
For residents who prefer their Fourth on the water, Peanut Island sits just inside the Lake Worth Inlet, a short run from the docks with a beach, snorkeling, and some of the most spectacular views of Palm Beach Island.
Slow-Season Rituals That Don't Require a Reservation
If your summer default is a book and a beach chair, the island has more to offer than the season implies.
Worth Avenue has quietly outgrown its old December-to-February rhythm. The old days of a Palm Beach social season that opened in mid-December and snapped shut the day after Washington's birthday are long over; these days, Palm Beach and Worth Avenue are busy with events all year long, some to benefit local charitable organizations, others as a way to celebrate island living in general. The Avenue's own event listings are worth checking weekly rather than seasonally.
Across the bridge, the cultural infrastructure runs through summer. The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, with its 2,193-seat Dreyfoos Concert Hall and two smaller venues, hosts more than 1,800 events annually, with performances continuing well into summer. The Norton Museum of Art, consistently ranked among the top 20 art museums in the United States, is open year-round with several exhibitions open to the public. Both are ten minutes from the island.
And a beach note that residents sometimes forget to make use of. Palm Beach has a polished feel; it is a good choice when you want beach time along with lunch, shopping, or a stop around Worth Avenue. Summer weekday mornings are the version of that experience with no one in it.
A Word for Part-Time Owners
For homeowners who close the house in May and return in November, this year's openings are worth a real look on your next trip down. A quick two- or three-night stop in July or August, timed around one dinner at Tutto Mare, one at Coco's, and a morning boat run to Peanut Island, is a very different Palm Beach than the one you leave in the spring. It is also the version that helps you make faster decisions about the property itself: what to open up, what to keep closed, what needs attention before the fall.
If the house is closed and unattended between visits, the calmer summer schedule is also a good moment to reassess the routine that keeps it that way. Weekly interior checks, storm-window drills, and vendor coordination look different in July than they do in January, and the season is short enough that a good rhythm now pays off through hurricane season.
Let's Connect
The island rewards residents who stay curious through the quiet months, and 2026 has given us more reasons than usual to be. If you are weighing a purchase, a sale, or looking for a steady point of contact for a home you leave for part of the year, Jenna Fantauzzi is here year-round and happy to help you think it through. Reach out any time through the contact page, or read more about the island on the Palm Beach neighborhood guide.
