Ponte Vedra's Hidden Paradise: Restaurant Review

By:Kylie Kidd

Upon pulling into the dirt parking lot at Palm Valley Outdoors Bar and Grill (PVO) in Ponte Vedra you get the feeling of the deep south. Moss dangles from trees lazily as the cicadas buzz happily. The building is big but somehow easy to miss under the enormous Palm Valley Bridge. When walking through the door to the restaurant, scents of garlic, butter, fish and heavy blackening spices fill your nose. The inside will most likely look like a ghost town with no one sitting enjoying a fish sandwich. Paintings and pictures of fish and wildlife hang on the walls, all by local artists. Palm Valley Outdoors clearly is all about the outdoors because the patio was sprinkled with people, busy for a weekday. If the vibrant picnic tables and happy guests don’t catch your eye, then the view sure will. The restaurant sits right on top of the intracoastal water way and the view will just take your breath away. Boats can pull up and dock while their riders sip on the exclusive PVO Jack Daniels or bite into a warm creamy garlic shrimp.

If this isn’t enough PVO has its own bait shop opened before the restaurant. The bait shop sells rods, live bait, lures and fishing wear. They also rent out paddle boards and kayaks for adventure seekers. Then you hear something clucking and screeching and a live rooster comes running out of the corner. “His name is Roo and he just showed up one day and was home”owner Mike Kara explains. Roo was friendly and let me touch his feathers a bit. Then your attention gets drawn to a giant cage behind the counter and a squirrel curiously starts climbing on the bars to get a closer look at you. This is Roscoe who was also rescued by the owners when he was a baby. “The place just keeps surprising you”an onlooking customer comments.

The lunch menu boasted twenty-four handcrafted cocktails, over five hundred whiskeys, and twenty-six made from scratch meals and much more. I started off with a signature cocktail called Roo’s Rum Runner named after the star of the show. The rum was barely recognizable over the taste of banana, berry, pineapple, orange juice and grenadine. The flavors will instantly remind you of a tropical paradise but if you just look around you are in one. The Ahi Tuna Salad is a must (even if you don’t like tuna ask them to sub it out with shrimp it changes the salad up and adds a new flavor) “It’s very pleasing to look at” says a customer. If Picasso painted a salad it may be this one, PVO takes great care in their presentation and it shows. The salad is a fluffy bed of mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumber and almonds. On top is the Ahi tuna which is seared with sesame seeds. The dressing is a soy caramel glaze with an Asian vinaigrette that can be described as Asian fusion. The salad is garnished with seaweed and crispy wontons. It is fresh, crunchy, sweet and sour all at the same time. I was able to talk to owner Mike Kara about his ingredients “they are sourced from freshest quality that changes everyday” he says proudly.

Palm Valley Outdoors is known for having good seafood, but I decided to go with the new non-seafood entree on the menu. To be a versatile seafood restaurant you have to have something for non-seafood lovers as well.I ordered the PVO Chicken…not rooster don’t worry. The food came out very swiftly and again the presentation was truly an 11/10. The chicken was grilled tenderly and fell apart easily. Next to it was a bed of Coconut mango rice which was very rich, sweet, and creamy. On the bed of rice was a mango chutney sauce which was sweet but tangy at the same time. Finished off with fried plantains. A variety of flavors put together in perfection.

My waitress Megan was very opened to talking about her experience at PVO and how fast paced it is. Having just moved from Oklahoma she described it as a completely different atmosphere and a fun place to work. “I didn’t have any friends moving here and then I met my co-workers who became my friends” Megan enjoyed her summer working at PVO. Summer and spring are the busiest time of the year at PVO.

The anticipation was building towards the dessert menu (which I always look at first) I decided to go all out and try two of the best desserts, the ice cream cookie sandwich and traditional key lime pie. The key lime pie tasted like your average key lime pie it was good and tangy. The ice cream cookie sandwich is anything but average however… it comes out warm with the ice cream slowly oozing out. It’s served in a cast iron skillet because there’s no way you can pick the monster up. Drizzled in chocolate sauce that drips onto the skillet, it is a sweet chocolate dream I could eat every day. The cookies aren’t baked enough that leaves the center perfectly gooey and soft. If you go to PVO and don’t get anything else, please get the ice cream cookie sandwich.

“In the future for PVO is a marina and more locations on the water”owner Mike states happily. The restaurant has been opened since July 2014 and it’s clear that owners Mike and Toni Kara take great pride in their little paradise on the intracoastal. The word used to describe the restaurant the most is “unique” down to the atmosphere, food, people, and rooster Palm Valley Outdoors is the unique dining experience everyone must try.

You can find this paradise at: 377 South Roscoe Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 32082

Hours:Sunday: 11am-9pm

Monday: Closed

Tuesday-Thursday: 11am-9pm

Friday-Saturday: 11am-10pm

Recommended Dishes/Drinks:

Strawberry Basil Bourbon Lemonade $13

Roo’s Rum Runner $11

Ahi Tuna Salad $15

PVO Chicken $18

Catch of the Day Entrée $27 or market price