The Ben boutique hotel debuted on the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront Thursday, Feb. 13, bringing a novel range of food-and-drink offerings.
But before you settle in for a cocktail at the city’s only waterfront-facing rooftop bar, you should know this modern hotel is steeped in local history and professes an affinity for adventurous stories, most of them true. The hotel, which opened Thursday, Feb. 13, takes its name from an 1892 Victorian-style estate known as the Ben Trovato, an Italian phrase that translates loosely to “happily invented.” Perched on the shores of Lake Worth, it was home to pioneer-era author Byrd Spilman Dewey.
So The Ben is a stylish tribute to Dewey -- who was grandniece of President Zachary Taylor and co-founder of Boynton Beach -- as well as to the well-traveled luminaries she hosted at her palm-fringed estate.
“A free flow of high society would come through the estate. And back in the day, it was all about the stories you told and the places you’ve been,” says Eric Hammer, food and beverage director at The Ben, which is part of Marriott Bonvoy’s Autograph Collection hotels.
Along those lines, you can expect the setting for your dining experiences to be “a good mix of New World and Old World sophistication,” as Hammer describes it.
Here are five things to know about the hotel’s dining and drinking options:
ONE. The main restaurant, Proper Grit, takes a modern view of Old Florida, tapping area farms (like Swank and Kai-Kai farms) and specialty purveyors for ingredients. Located downstairs off the main lobby, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a few other dining and drinking experiences. (More on that later.) The menus celebrate the state in dishes like Florida wild boar terrine with smoked bacon and dried stone fruit, Florida conch and avocado crisps, smoked local catch dip, grilled whole Florida lobster and local black grouper. Rounding off the coastal theme are steaks, chops and tableside-carved roast chicken for two.
Inspired by Byrd Dewey’s era, the menus required a good amount of research on the part of Hammer and the hotel’s leadership. It meant poring over menus from the 1890s and early 1900s, recognizing common threads to modern Florida and dishes that could be modernized. This is how the wild boar terrine came to land on the starter menu, “wild boar being local to Florida,” says Hammer.
He also collected vintage books that will serve as the restaurant’s check presenters. Servers tuck the checks into favorite book passages and deliver them to diners with an anecdote about why they chose that page, says Hammer, who has designed a 100-bottle wine list with a focus on American wines.
Joining Hammer in the hotel’s culinary endeavors are executive chef Andre Sattler and chef de cuisine Jesse Pita.
TWO. The Ben’s rooftop bar, Spruzzo, offers sweeping views of the waterfront, the city boat docks and the Palm Beach skyscape, including The Breakers. Set next to the hotel’s rooftop pool, the entirely al fresco bar and lounge serves Mediterranean-inspired small plates with an emphasis on seafood and raw bar items.
“We’re calling them ‘light bites,’” says Hammer, a Certified Sommelier who comes to The Ben from The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, where he served as food and beverage director (and before that, the Boca Raton Resort and Club, where he was beverage director).
Light bites as in wahoo poke with ponzu and charred lemon, colossal prawns with lemon and fennel salad, charred Spanish octopus with causa (Peruvian potato salad), roasted chorizo with orange marmalade. To share, there are raw bar items (like stone crabs and oysters) and a large seafood tower. Plus, a trio of desserts. For sipping, Hammer has selected a range of Champagne, “unique” whites and rosés.
And, by the way, the Mediterranean menu inspiration? It’s a nod to the travel adventures of Byrd Dewey’s friends.
THREE. There’s afternoon tea as well at Proper Grit, which includes lounge-y areas for sipping, reading and telling tales. But as everything at The Ben, there’s a twist to the traditional. The hotel calls the Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon (3 to 5 p.m.) service the “Tea and Tonic Experience.” Sure, there will be a range of teas, but expect “more layers and intricacies” to the menu, says Hammer. By that he means crafty cocktails fortified with house-made infusions, including one signature, chamomile-infused sip that’s poured from a teapot.
“We’re making afternoon tea a modern-day event,” he says.
FOUR. There’s a full brunch served at Proper Grit on Saturday and Sundays, as is expected in brunch-loving downtown West Palm. Brunch here will offer a mix of a la carte dishes and a few focused food stations, serving crepes, carved beef tenderloin and smoked salmon, plus a biscuits-and-gravy bar. During the week, several “all day brunch” items are offered on the lunch menu.
FIVE. There’s also a pup brunch at Proper Grit every Saturday, starting March 7. This brunch extends the pooch-friendly spirit of the hotel’s dining patio. It’s also an homage to Byrd Dewey, an avowed animal lover and conservationist whose most famous book, “Bruno,” recounts her adventures with her shaggy brown dog, a water spaniel-setter mix. Expect dog treats, an onsite groomer and activities in partnership with the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, a brunch partner.
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THE BEN
Opens Thursday, Feb. 13, at 251 N. Narcissus Ave., West Palm Beach; 561-655-4001
Proper Grit, the main restaurant, is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with the bar open till 11 p.m. A happy hour is offered at the bar and outdoor patio Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., serving half-priced drinks and starters.
Spruzzo, a rooftop bar and lounge serving small plates at lunch and dinner, is open Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to midnight, Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
