New restaurant: Waterfront chophouse, seafood restaurant will replace Mr. Manatee's
What's the name of the new restaurant in Vero Beach?
Cooper's Chop House & Seafood
Where is Cooper's?
30 Royal Palm Pointe, Vero Beach. It's the former location of Mr. Manatee's Casual Grille, which closed in April.
Who owns Cooper's?
Co-owners chef Daniel Wise and Jake Rawls. Cooper's is named after Wise's dog, a golden retriever.
What kind of restaurant is Cooper's?
Cooper's is a chophouse and seafood restaurant. It's like a Ruth's Chris Steak House. Cooper's has upscale, fine dining dinner service, but also will offer a more affordable lunch service and happy hour menu.
The building was given a facelift to appear lighter and cleaner. It has an intimate dining room, an outdoor front porch and a closed-in back pork facing a canal from the Indian River Lagoon.
What kind of food does Cooper's serve?
Steaks and seafood. All of the meats are cut from USDA Prime beef and then wet- or dry-aged with its house seasoning blend. Each steak was served with two sides during the soft opening phase that started Nov. 24.
What's on the Cooper's menu?
Clams on the half shell: Florida middleneck clams ($10 for 6, $18 for 12)
Oysters on the half shell: From Sebastian or Florida west coast ($13 for 6, $25 for 12); blue points from Norwalk Islands, Connecticut ($15 for 6, $25 for 12); great whites from Barnstable, Massachusetts ($15 for 6, $28 for 12); chef's flight with two of each oyster ($18)
Pimento deviled eggs: Served with truffle greens ($15)
Salads: Cooper's chop salad ($16), Simply the Pointe ($18), Jake's chopped wedge ($13), Caesar Royale ($15)
Soups: Chophouse sweet bourbon onion or clam chowder ($12)
Lobster mac & cheese: Buttered warm water lobster, cavatappi pasta, creamy Gruyere sauce, topped with garlic panko crumbs ($42)
Baked lobster tail thermidor: Served in the shell with creamy Dijon, white wine shallot sauce, topped with Gruyere cheese, Yuko mash and seasonal vegetables ($58)
Cooper's baked grouper imperial: Grouper with baked crab meat, shrimp hollandaise sauce, panko bread crumbs, served over crab risotto ($52)
Grilled Faroe salmon: Roasted corn puree, succotash, chimichurri sauce ($40)
Steaks: 10-ounce Cooper's bourbon pineapple sirloin ($38), 8-ounce center-cut filet mignon ($55), 14-ounce New York strip ($52), 10-ounce beef sirloin ($32), 16-ounce prime ribeye ($56), Duroc bone-in pork chop ($38), Colorado double-cut lamb chops ($52), Frenched veal chop ($52), Porterhouse lamb chops ($38)
Seafood additions: Oscar Bearnaise style ($20), lobster hollandaise ($25), crab au gratin ($25)
Sides: Spinach cream and fried shallots, crispy Brussels sprouts and bacon, Yukon mashed potatoes, truffle cavatappi mac and cheese, roasted seasonal vegetables, truffle fries, baked potato with caviar and chive-creme
What else will Cooper's have?
The restaurant eventually will have lunch and happy hour, live music on the front patio, a detailed wine list and an expanded menu.
What's the Cooper's owners' background?
Fort Lauderdale native Daniel Wise always wanted to be a chef. He traveled to learn different cuisines to bring to his restaurants. He previously was the chef at the Vero Beach Yacht Club, Indian River Club and what is now Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital.
In July 2021, Wise took over The Restaurants at Maison Martinique, which include the Creperie, located at The Caribbean Court Boutique Resort. He still owns it with general manager Colleen Carr.
Georgia native Jake Rawls has been a general contractor for about 15 years. He's owned Subway locations in South Florida, but Cooper's is his first Treasure Coast restaurant. He kept hearing about the oysters at Mr. Manatee's but never got the chance to visit the restaurant before it closed.
Wise and Rawls didn't know each other before the real estate agent showing the property introduced them. Neither could afford to open a new restaurant there individually, so they joined forces and cosigned a lease in August.
When will Cooper's open?
Dec. 6
What are Cooper's hours?
5-9 p.m. for dinner Wednesday-Sunday (closed Monday-Tuesday). When Cooper's adds lunch, it also will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What's Cooper's website and social media?
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at [email protected]. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Cooper's Chop House & Seafood replaces Mr. Manatee's in Vero Beach