- November 18, 2024
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There’s a new dining option now available in the European Village. Chophouse 101 opened its doors this month featuring cuisine prepared by Flagler Palm Coast High School alum and classically trained Chef Tyler Guerriro.
The steakhouse and bourbon lounge took over the space that used to be Kokoro Sushi Bar and Japanese Bistro. Kokoro is now closed, but will eventually re-open in a smaller, more intimate unit still in the European Village.
“Originally when we bought this unit, we planned for it to be a steak house,” said Laura Barnes, who own the restaurant with her husband, Lee. “But then Kokoro closed in Palm Harbor, so we moved it here. But we’ve always had the steak house in mind.”
The menu offers farm-to-table seasonal options as well as grass-fed angus beef, cut in-house.
“When it comes to development, I try to keep it as fresh as possible, but also consistent and a different at the same time,” said Guerriro, who recently moved back to Palm Coast after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, in New York. In New York, Guerriro trained under Certified Master Chef Mike Lazzaro, but he said much of his culinary inspiration came from his culinary teacher at FPC, Lori Savoca.
Many of Guerriro’s menu items are spinoffs on classics, such as the shrimp special, which uses a sweet corn puree instead of the classic grits. Other menu items include octopus carpaccio, a variety of cuts of steak ranging from 8 ounces to 24 ounces, New Zealand Lamb Chops with mint pesto and berry compote, Chilean sea bass and duck. Side items including truffle mac and cheese, garlic and wasabi mashed potatoes and bourbon sautéed mushrooms round out the menu.
Sous Chef Alex Weinlien, who has cooked in several high-end restaurants throughout Miami, is the right-hand man alongside Guerriro and Lee Barnes in the kitchen.
Laura Barnes is managing the front of the house and Mixologist Nikki Timar is behind the bar mixing biters from scratch and creating hand-crafted cocktails. Her signature drink is Good Thymes, which includes muddled strawberries and thyme with high west double rye, fresh lime and maple with an absinth finish.
The concept is a swanky speakeasy with a rustic home feel.
“We want it to feel like a 1920s place, with classical swinging music and a comfortable ambiance,” Lee Barnes said. “You don’t need a suit and tie, but it’s also upscale. The wait staff is in plaid shirts, blue jeans and red chucks. We want everyone to feel welcome and not think it’s going to be too fancy.”
The Barneses hope that the upper scale menu coupled with the extensive wine and bourbon list will offer something new to Palm Coast, which they feel has been lacking. It’s all part of revitalizing the European Village, they said.
“Most of the people that stopped coming here, it is because it was dilapidated and nothing was here anymore,” Lee Barnes said. “People are just happy to see it back online. The whole village has a vibe — this place has turned around.”
The Barneses, who also own Burrito 101 a few units down from the new Chophouse 101, now own five units in the European Village and when Kokoro’s reopens later this year, will run three restaurants in the village.
“We plan on making this a food mecca, every time you come to the village, you can try a different kind of cuisine,” Guerriro said. “It’s what Palm Coast needs, everyplace in one area.”
Chophouse 101 is open 5-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5-10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations are strongly encouraged, call 445-9259.
