Critic's Review
It is with great pride that I confirm that Nut Job Emily has left the building and Pronto By the Sea is History. Tropical Krave restaurant coming soon.
Pronto By the Sea is what happens when a Rich Guy buys a restaurant for his wife.
Review 9/12/14
This place is some sort of partnership between the Leon Padula (Owner of Gran Forno, Gran Forno Pronto and Cafe Del Mar) and a couple who owned a dog grooming / Milk Bone Bakery in Palm Beach.
I think the idea here is to sell more wine as the bar is the central focus. "Bare Wood" is the theme; sort of like DBA cafe theme that leans blonde.
There's an open kitchen, because all restaurants in 2014 have to have an open kitchen.
It started off badly when I was told than they didn't have iced tea. In 1000 reviews, I think this is the first time that's happened. My server wasn't very conversational and it wasn't clear if they were out or they didn't have it; how long does it take to brew some tea? I got a menu that had fewer choices that the one on their web site (the one we have here), and I couldn't really find anything I wanted. I didn't want a sandwich or a pizza. So I decide to just order the mussels. I got a glass of water as I didn't want soda either.
It's sort of an odd ambiance; they have TVs on nothing interesting; music is 50s ("The Wanderer", "Lollipop", The Flamingos and Elvis). The mussels came out in about 15 minutes.
Nice, big plump mussels. If you've ever been to Gran Forno Pronto, you know that these guys aren't very good restauranteurs. While the frying pan is a cool gimmick, it was a bit awkward. I asked for an oyster fork; it was clear that my server didn't know what an oyster fork was as she had to ask someone. I suggested that I could use a bowl for the shells, but it didn't register; I had to use a side dish that could hold about 5 or 6 shells before it had to be emptied. There was also no place to put down the fork without it sliding into the pan. The bread was also soggy/soaked and would have been better on a separate plate.
The "red" sauce wasn't particularly interesting; the mussels were fine.
I don't know about coming here for dinner; it's not wildly overpriced but it's not cheap either. They get $3 for Illy coffee, so 2 eggs with bacon or sausage with coffee will cost you $13. What I got was $9 and was a good value; but overall the place feels like a coffee shop or diner and it's priced higher than that.
The GM doesn't seem to have any previous restaurant management experience (maybe the owner's girlfriend?), which explains mucho.
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