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Review: Jake’s Stone Crab Restaurant in Boca Raton
By John Tanasychuk, Sun Sentinel
Important: This article was last updated on April 8, 2010. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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 Royal Palm Place, 514 Via de Palmas, Boca Raton 561-347-1055 Jakesstonecrab.com Cuisine: seafood Cost: expensive Hours: dinner daily Reservations: suggested Credit cards: all major Bar: full service Sound level: conversational Outside smoking: yes For kids: menus, high chairs, boosters Wheelchair accessible: yes  |
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First impression: With Florida stone crab season set to end May 15, get to Jake's quickly. (Just know that owner Davie Leschen plans on featuring Bahamian stone crabs all summer long.) Along with stone crabs (market price), Jake's has an exhaustive menu that includes everything from classic Oysters Rockefeller ($14) to more contemporary dishes liked Herb Crusted Scallops ($28) and Pecan Crusted Grouper ($28).Ambience: The 150-seat restaurant takes up a narrow diagonal corner of the plaza and includes a big outdoor patio. Tables are covered in white linens. Upholstered chairs are so comfortable you'll want to linger.
Starters: Mostly crispy fried calamari ($14) comes with a chunky, garlicky marinara. The Big Blue salad ($15) was big enough for three of us to share. Like all good salads, it's a mixture of textures and tastes that includes red onions, cherry tomatoes, candied walnuts, a nice mix of greens and, of course, blue cheese. Other appetizers include Bahamian Conch Chowder ($10) and Shrimp and Scallops Quesadillas ($16).
Entree excellence: Every dish we sampled featured perfectly cooked seafood. Moist pan seared Citrus Sea Bass ($29) is served with Caribbean rice and asparagus in an unusual tomato saffron broth. Shrimp Scampi sauteed in Key lime juice, garlic and wine ($29) comes with Swiss chard and Texmati rice. My only quibble was that there was too much garlic in the dish. Very good Roasted Black Pepper Salmon ($25) comes with a dollop of mustard dill dressing. It's too bad the accompanying Swiss chard was cold.
Side issues: While the stone crab claws are nicely cracked and served with a great mustard sauce, they ought to presented a little more elegantly. Pile them neatly on a bed of lettuce, rather than throw them on a plain white plate.
Sweet!: One of the bright spots in the meal. Key lime pie ($10) hits all the right tart-to-sweet notes. New York style cheesecake ($12) is thick, dense and creamy.
Service: Top notch. The staff works in tandem almost seamlessly. When a side of hash browns didn't make it to our table until we'd finished our entrees, our waitress removed them from our check, but wrapped them up for us to take home.
Contact dining correspondent John Tanasychuk at jtanasychuk@sunsentinel.com or write to him in care of Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.