Review: Downtown restaurant has small plates, late-night menu and coolness factor
Everyone knows a clever restaurant name will help us to remember an eatery’s moniker. This newer Vero Beach restaurant does have a clever name: Curfew.
Clever because it is one of the very few places in Vero Beach where you can get a good late-night meal. But we found Curfew to be memorable for some other reasons too.
Reason No. 2: meatballs served on polenta with marinara sauce ($14.50). What could be better than three tender meatballs drenched in a marinara bursting with fresh flavors of sweet tomatoes and basil? Here is what’s even better. When these delicious meatballs are served over a creamy pool of cheesy polenta, as they are at Curfew. Yum, yum, yum!
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Reason No. 3: angel hair pasta croquettes ($13.50). A basket of these perfect little cheesy cylinders is fried up oh-so tenderly and served with that delicious house marinara.
Reason No. 4: the classic Curfew burger ($22.50), and for our vegetarian friends, the Beyond Burger ($20.50). Those who love a smash burger (pressed thin and grilled crispy on the edges) will say hallelujah after a bite of these double house blend smash beef patties with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, cheddar cheese and a sublime garlic aioli on a soft, fresh roll. The Beyond Burger, with a vegetarian patty, is also nicely grilled and topped with vegan mayonnaise instead of garlic aioli. Burgers are served with waffle fries that are crispier and more to my liking than your average waffle fry.
There were a couple of menu items we could have done without. We were drawn to the Caesar salad ($12) because of the pieces of fried green tomato croutons, which were a nice touch. Unfortunately, there were too few of the crouton pieces, and the romaine lettuce was in a very wilted state.
The bourbon cheese bites ($15) came with a tangy and delicious cheese, but the soft pretzel bites were just so-so, similar to those from the freezer section of your grocery.
We loved all the many sharable, small plate menu options. The small plates come out of the kitchen as they are ready, so the only downside is a common one to restaurants everywhere: The tables are just too small to hold all the goodies. But that is a problem with which we can deal!
There is an impressive craft cocktail menu that adds to the restaurant’s "coolness" factor. The right side of Curfew has high top tables, a bar and trendy décor with a huge window that opens to the sidewalk in favorable weather. The left side of the restaurant, the Florida Room, is decorated according to its name and has regular-height tables. There is outdoor sidewalk seating as well.
Again, Curfew has a high-level "coolness" factor. As my Philadelphia daughter told me, this is a place to which she will for sure bring her visiting big city friends.
As you may have surmised, we will indeed return to Curfew. We’ve just got to try the fried rice and the churro cheesecake spring rolls!
Curfew
Cuisine: American
Address: 1932 14th Avenue, Vero Beach
Hours: 3-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday-Saturday; closed Sunday
Phone: 772-205-2212
Online: curfewvero.com
Alcohol: Full bar
Maribeth Renne dines anonymously at the expense of TCPalm. Contact her at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Restaurant review: Curfew in Vero Beach has late-night menu
