Restaurant openings: New waterfront, rooftop bar debuts in downtown West Palm Beach

Downtown West Palm Beach’s newest elevated dining/drinking experience happens atop one of the waterfront’s most popular restaurants, Elisabetta’s.

The rooftop Bar Capri offers sparkling water views, so there’s no doubt about where you are: above the Flagler Drive waterfront, Palm Beach etched in the distance. But the new bar, which opened quietly April 1, also transports you away from the city, even if just until the parking meter lapses.

You want to order a spritz, have some marinated olives or maybe a slice of pizza bianca, get lost in conversation on a sofa adorned with pillows wrapped in Amalfi lemons and blues.

The relaxing new bar and lounge, which has seating for 75 on an open-sided, covered area, offers simple bites: snacks, pizzas, cookies, tiramisu, drinks.

Bar Capri menu highlights

? Starter bites that include a bar-snacks board with marinated olives, roasted Marcona almonds and provolone ($20).

? Red-sauced, personal-size pizzas such as the Margherita pie ($18.50), the Giardino pie that’s topped with fior di latte mozzarella, peperonata, roasted garlic and hot honey ($25) and the Quattro Carni that’s topped with four types of cured meats ($22.50).

? White, personal-size pizzas such as the Yellow Tomato Pesto pie topped with fior di latte and olives ($21), the Tartufo pie topped with truffled mushroom sauce, cremini mushrooms, fior di latte and basil ($28.50) and the Capricciosa pie topped with Gorgonzola, pear, truffle honey and basil ($21.50).

? A cookie box filled with a variety of fresh confections ($11) and tiramisu ($11).

To drink, there’s a small selection of wines by the glass and bottle, and a range of martinis ($15), Champagne cocktails ($15) and classic Italian cocktails ($15).

Drink highlights: refreshing strawberry/basil martinis and pineapple martinis, a classic Negroni and Aperol spritz, a lovely, crisp verdicchio wine from Italy’s Marche region and espresso drinks.

Happy Hour deals at new waterfront spot Bar Capri

Those looking for a deal may want to gravitate toward the bar, which offers happy hour daily from 4 to 7 p.m. That means half-price pizza and discounted drinks.

But I expect it might be busy. I visited Bar Capri during its soft-opening days and watched the bar seating fill up between 5 and 6 p.m. And that was before word about the place had spread.

While the lounge and dining table area may be pricier during happy hour, it offers the best views.

Those views inspire chef Lisabet Summa, the corporate culinary director at Big Time Restaurant Group and the force behind Elisabetta’s. She calls Bar Capri “an ideal setting for lunch, happy hour or an après dinner drink”.

Bar Capri at Elisabetta’s in West Palm Beach

Located at 185 Banyan Blvd., above Elisabetta’s, West Palm Beach, 561-342-6699, BarCapriWPB.com

Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday and Sunday from noon to midnight.

Happy Hour: Offered at the bar daily from 4 to 7 p.m. and features half-price pizza and discounted drinks.

Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected]. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Elisabetta's restaurant opens rooftop Bar Capri in West Palm Beach