Clay Conley opened Grato in January 2016 at 1901 S Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach as the casual, wood-fired counterpart to Buccan, his higher-end room across the bridge in Palm Beach. Conley is a James Beard-recognised chef, and Grato is where he cooks loose and unpretentious: a rustic Italian neighbourhood restaurant built around fire, open seven nights a week with a rotating seasonal menu.
The Kitchen
The whole kitchen is organised around two pieces of equipment: a wood-burning brick oven and a wood-burning rotisserie, and the cooking reads better when you know that. The pizzas come out of the brick oven fast and hot, with the blistered, slightly charred crust only live fire produces. The signature, and Conley's own favourite, is the ham-and-fontina crespelle — a thin crepe rolled around ham and fontina, topped with a poached egg and a charred scallion vinaigrette, the runny yolk doing the work of a sauce. The pastas are handmade: rabbit ragu over mustard orecchiette, paccheri with a long-cooked Sunday gravy, braised lamb with herb penne. Pastas start around $16 and pizzas around $17, which is the other headline — this is serious cooking at neighbourhood prices. The wine list is sensible, most bottles under $120, built to drink with the food rather than to impress.
The Room
Loud, warm and busy — booths, a bar facing the open kitchen, and the brick oven glowing at the back. The crowd is boisterous, the lighting low, and the energy comes from the room and the fire, not from any design statement. It is comfortable for a couple in a booth, easy for a solo diner at the bar, and works for a table of friends. Dress is smart-casual; nobody here is checking for a jacket.
Best for a Date Night
Book Grato for an unfussy date night in West Palm Beach: shared pizza and pasta, a fair bill, a room with enough noise to take the pressure off, and food good enough to talk about. It is the antidote to the stiff Palm Beach special-occasion dinner — the place you go when you want the evening to feel relaxed rather than staged.
Practical Info
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Not For
Skip Grato if you want a hushed, white-tablecloth Palm Beach occasion — it is loud, busy and casual, the tables are close, and the format is shared pizza and pasta rather than a composed tasting menu. For that kind of evening, Conley's own Buccan is the better booking.
Frequently Asked
Is Grato worth it?
Yes, as a reliable neighbourhood Italian rather than a special-occasion splurge. Clay Conley, the James Beard-recognised chef behind Buccan, runs it around a wood-burning brick oven and rotisserie, and the cooking is honest and well-priced. Pastas start around $16 and pizzas around $17, which makes it one of the better value tables in the area.
What should you order at Grato?
The ham-and-fontina crespelle with a poached egg and charred scallion vinaigrette, which is Conley's own favourite, plus something from the wood oven and a handmade pasta such as the rabbit ragu over mustard orecchiette or the paccheri with Sunday gravy. The wood-fired pizzas are the other reason to come.
Where is Grato and who is the chef?
Grato is at 1901 S Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, opened by chef Clay Conley in January 2016. Conley also runs the higher-end Buccan in Palm Beach and is a James Beard-recognised chef. Grato is the casual, wood-fired Italian side of his cooking.
How much does dinner at Grato cost?
It is mid-range. Wood-fired pizzas run around $17 and handmade pastas from about $16, with mains and shared plates pushing a full dinner with a drink into the moderate range. Most of the wine list sits under $120. It is priced as a neighbourhood restaurant, not a Palm Beach blowout.