Bourbon Steak Delray Beach

The Restaurant

Bourbon Steak Delray Beach opened in 2016 inside The Seagate Hotel at the eastern end of Atlantic Avenue, four blocks west of the ocean. The dining room is the polished centrepiece of the resort: a U-shaped marble bar, a wood-and-brass main room seating about a hundred, and a glass-walled wine vault that holds the restaurant's 350-label list. It is chef Michael Mina's only Florida location and his only South Florida operation — a serious credential by itself.

The steakhouse format is built around Mina's signature butter-poached technique: prime cuts (Wagyu strip, dry-aged ribeye, an 18oz porterhouse) are slow-cooked in clarified butter before being finished over an open hardwood grill. The duck-fat fries, served free at the start of every meal in three sauces, are the room's calling card. The shellfish tower is among the largest on the Atlantic Coast. The wine programme leans heavily on California cult Cabernet and Burgundy village wines, with a focused by-the-glass list selected for steak pairing.

The room runs at a confident, unrushed tempo. Service is attentive without being intrusive — water glasses refilled, the second bottle decanted, the sommelier on the floor. For business dinners, three private alcoves seat eight to fourteen behind partial walls. For a high-stakes evening in Delray Beach where the restaurant itself is part of the message, this is the only address that doesn't require qualification.