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Food top-notch, atmosphere laid back at Callaro’s in Lake Worth.
By Liz Balmaseda – Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

For being a newish place on the block, Callaro’s Steak House has a wonderfully lived-in feel. Yes, there are candles and white tablecloths, branded steak knives and wine glasses, 82-buck Chateaubriand steaks for the sharing, and a solidly restored space (formerly occupied by L’Anjou on Lake Avenue).

But there’s also the kind of non-pompous, sockless-loafers feel that draws you in on a Sunday night – or a weekday lunch or dinner – for decent rib-sticking fare and warm, attentive service.

Of course, this is not Callaro’s first rodeo. The steak house relocated last year from Manalapan, where it operated for 10 years. Owned by two Lake Worth families (Riggins Crabhouse owner Danny Callaro and his partners Beth Scragg and chef Keith Scragg), the place opened in a prime corner of downtown Lake Worth in January after extensive renovations.

The menu is well-varied with steaks, fresh seafood, chicken, chops, sandwiches, salads and abundant appetizers. Nothing fancy going on here – and this is not a bad thing. In fact, the best reason to come to Callaro’s is to feast on a 22-ounce, bone-in hunk of ribeye known as the Cowboy Steak ($34.99).

With a nice char on the outside, this is a tender, flavorful steak that’s served with a salad and a simple side dish of your choice. For steak lovers who want far less steak, there’s a delicious steak and crab cake combo ($32.99) that offers respectable surf and turf portions. That steak, an 8-ounce New York strip, is ruggedly grill-marked and nicely seasoned. It arrives with a broiled, deceivingly small crab cake that’s chock-full of lump blue meat and very little filler. (A crab cake appetizer is $10.99.) A kicky and creamy horseradish-mustard sauce is served on the side for the crab cake.

Speaking of sauces, another delicious one is the house-made steak sauce, hinting of deep tamarind notes.

We sampled a blackened snapper ($34.99) from the daily-specials menu that proved to be fresh and sumptuously presented, but needlessly gilded. It sat upon a portobello mushroom bed in a pool of mustard sauce, crowned with two enormous, beautifully grilled shrimp. Too much.

The simple pleasures here, like the hefty appetizer serving of deep-fried calamari ($15.99) with two kinds of sauces (warm tomato and horseradish-spiked mustard), are best.

Then again, there is such a thing as too plain. The mashed potato sides are served unadorned and unapologetically lumpy. They do benefit greatly from Callaro’s homemade gravy – another yummy sauce.

Simplicity shone again in the coconut cake ($4.95) we sampled for dessert. In a good way. Light, airy and coconut-scented, it proved to be an appropriate final bite as it was refreshingly straightforward.

There are good reasons why Callaro’s, the restaurant concept, has stayed in business for more than a decade – it offers good, straightforward fare that’s graciously served. It’s a terrific addition to Lake Avenue.

Read the article directly on the Palm Beach Post website

(All photos copyright from the Palm Beach Post-Bill Ingram)

You can contact Callaro’s Steak House at 561-588-9730.

As the world changes, some cities win and others lose. Seven months ago a little place called Callaro’s Prime Steak and Seafood closed its doors. With the theater next to it closing, the wise owners knew it was time to relocate. Not too much later, our own French restaurant of more than 20 years closed down. But the magic of the location on J Street and Lake Avenue would not lay dormant.

Callaro’s (now just called Callaro’s Steak House) is a critically acclaimed and award-winning restaurant. My peers from TV and newspapers have named it “best of” so many times. And they were correct to do so. Downtown Lake Worth is truly the winner to have a restaurant of this caliber call us home. In just the second night of its rebirth, the restaurant was packed with regulars and almost all of the tables are seated. How can there be regulars on just a second night? The key word here is loyalty. I have never witnessed a restaurant that can close down for seven months and have the same patrons from the closing day come back and ask for and receive the same wait staff.

Of course there are new servers here, some of the brightest and the best that our city can offer, and many of whom I recognize. But you have to acknowledge that after seven months the majority of the wait staff is from the old location. This is a very high-caliber restaurant. As I sit at the large bar waiting for a table, I meet a couple who have traveled about 30 minutes to get here. The seven months was simply too long for them.

The attention to detail and food quality is well beyond expectations. This restaurant could be magically transported to New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, or even Chicago, and compete with the best that they have. It is a true upscale steak house and seafood establishment. The wine list is quite extensive and I choose to start off my dinner with a split of Louis Perdrier, a sparkling wine.

My dinner tonight is going to be simple, a salad and a steak. But this is Callaro’s and what is simple to me is a detailed step-by-step process of perfection to everyone here, from the front of the house to the chef in the back. My house salad is fresh and light. With iceberg lettuce and healthy spinach the salad indulges my appetite but does not suppress it. Octavian, my waiter, waits for the right moment – this is a place to take your time with a meal and with your company – and brings me my main meal. I ordered one of the prime cuts of steak known as Filet Mignon. It comes out exactly as I ordered, medium, and is tender to the cut. I could not imagine a more perfectly cooked steak. Octavian comes and checks on me to make sure everything is good. A good trained waiter will make sure he or she visits you just enough times to let you know that he is available for you, and at the same time will make sure he does not pester you. The service and training at the restaurant is simply impeccable. This is not only my feelings because as I talk to the tables around me, they share their satisfaction with both the food and service given.

Inside the three dining rooms, there is a merging of two distinct worlds. The Palm Beach crowd has come over the bridge and taken advantage of the complimentary valet parking, and many of our neighborhood residents are here, too. A fair amount of visitors have also stopped in. The bar is packed. Though you may want to plan ahead and get reservations, especially for weekend nights, it is not necessary; the food is worth the short wait. Callaro’s is open for lunch and dinner and also offers a Sunday brunch. Stop by as soon as you can and you too will soon be a regular. You can see my video of this restaurant on my Facebook page. Search for Leonard Goffe.

Leonard Goffe, The Downtown Guy, may be reached at: leonardthedowntownguy@gmail.com

This 10-year-old, award-winning steak and seafood restaurant has reopened in the former L’Anjou space after moving from Manalapan.

“I am so excited to bring Callaro’s to my hometown,” co-owner Danny Callaro said in a press release. “My family and I have lived here for many years, and I always wanted to be downtown. We have had such a wonderful experience working with our neighbors and the city of Lake Worth.”

A months-long renovation has lent a classic look with an expansive bar and antique saloon-style piano for entertainment on certain weeknights in the future.

Lunch and dinner are served daily. Menu favorites, such as prime rib (12 ounces, $28.99; 24 ounces, $37.99) and filet mignon (6 ounces, $26.99; 10 ounces, $36.99), have returned, along with new items, such as the Lake Worth Caesar salad with fried calamari and chilled shrimp ($18.99) and Florida lobster tails (8 ounces, $18.99).

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