Stats:
Ranking: N/ARead Full Review
- Restaurant Name:Echo
- Location:Palm Beach, Florida
- Websitewww.echopalmbeach.com
- Address:230A Sunrise Avenue
Palm Beach, FL 33480 - Special OffersRequest Special Offers And Coupons
Ratings:
The Review
Another trip to Florida led us to the posh sushi restaurant Echo in Palm Beach, part of The Breakers resort. This place is definitely hip. There is a large outdoor area in the front and inside is a large and elongated sushi bar that merges with a full bar. Everything is decked out in bright colors and the inviting wrapping benches have pillows for your comfort. Everywhere you'll notice modern touches, from the lights to the stylish dishes, including metal chopsticks, which sound cool but were a little slippery to manage. The gracious manger Kelly sits us in a booth upfront and places us in the hands of Alex our accommodating waitress.
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Edamame We are brought complimentary edamame which is flavorful and salty while we wait for our drinks.
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Pink Bamboo We ordered two specialty cocktails from their wide-ranging selection. One is the Pink Bamboo with some blueberries. It is light, refreshing and has a slight tart to it.
Green Lotus The other is the Green Lotus, which has a touch of grapes. Also light and refreshing, this has more of a citrus taste. Think a spiked Sprite, but better and without the carbonation. Very Good. -
Sashimi Platter After a few sips and some edamame we dig into the Sashimi Platter Alex serves us. The impressive knife skills of the chef are in full effect here. Our platter includes: Tuna, Hamachi, Seared Tuna, Salmon, Sweet Shrimp, Cobia wrapped around Ikura and White Tuna and Tuna wrapped tight in cucumber slices.
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Sauces Our chef also sends over some sauces for us to add and try with our fish. These include: a light yuzu sauce from the tart yuzu fruit, a savory garlic soy sauce, a slightly sweet ponzu sauce and a spicy kimchee sauce. The sauces were a unique, creative touch and we enjoyed pairing them with different fishes.
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Tuna Sashimi The tuna is incredibly soft and does not have a strong fish taste.
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Hamachi The Hamachi is delicious. It is super tender and even comparable to some of the Toro that we have had.
Seared Tuna Sashimi The seared tuna has a great taste and we both enjoy it slightly more than the plain tuna. It goes great with the garlic soy sauce
Salmon Sashimi The salmon is fresh and soft, pairing well with the yuzu sauce. Think salmon with lemon. -
Sweet Shrimp The sweet shrimp is the best I've ever had. Sometimes I find a slight after taste with sweet shrimp, but this one was pure and delicious. The sweetness of the fish and spice from kimchee sauce is a great combination.
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Cobia The cobia was subtle but salty. This is a fish that we never had before and found it enjoyable. The ikura, salmon eggs, inside is salty and juicy.
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White Tuna & Tuna Cucumber Rolls The white tuna and tuna cucumber rolls were crunchy and the white tuna was incredibly luscious.
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Wonton Soup We are both a little under the weather and order Wonton Soup in hopes of healing our throats. Alex puts the soup down and the smell of it makes my mouth water. The soup is full of large pieces of bok choy, wontons and the biggest slices of barbequed pork I've ever seen. The pork is succulent and stands out. The wontons easily break with a spoon and soup is busting with flavor and infused with a touch of ginger
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Cobia Yuzu We have an appetizer of Cobia Yuzu. It is cobia and masago served over sliced cucumbers and cilantro. The dish is garnished with yellow pea shoots. The sauce is drizzled over the shoots and hangs like sap from a tree, very cool. As stated, cobia is new to us. Cobia, commonly referred to as black salmon or black kingfish, is a member of the Rachycentridae family. The fish has a broad body and a flat head, which can lead to it being mistaken for tiny sharks in the water. The fish has a firmer texture and slightly bland but bold flavor. This dish has a light taste and the yuzu adds a touch of sweetness. The cucumber and shoots provide a light crunch.
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Tuna Shishito We switch to a spicy dish called Tuna Shishito. It is diced slices of tuna, shishito peppers, diced tomatoes, masago and garnished with jalapenos, kimchee sauce and black tobiko. Everything was served in a freshly made, giant wonton shell. This dish was very flavorful and on the spicy side. Shishitos are spicy/sweet green Japanese peppers and paired well with the jalapenos and kimchee sauce. The main ingredients in Kimchee sauce are typically chili pepper, garlic, and paprika leading to its red color and bold spice. Overall this was a very enjoyable dish.
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Lobster Tempura We receive our first sushi roll, Lobster Tempura. This roll has lobster tempura, masago and asparagus inside. It was topped with mayo and a wasabi thai chilli sauce. The lobster has a great flavor and the tempura is light, not ruining the texture of the large chunks of fish. The sauce is addicting, with just a little heat, and we use our sushi to scoop it up.
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Palm Beach Roll Next we had the Palm Beach Roll. Kelly informs us this is one of their most popular. The roll can either be topped with baked conch or baked shrimp and ours is served with conch. Conch is a sea snail and is a meaty fish. The roll is a California roll, (avocado, cucumber and crab) with baked conch mixed with a spicy mayo, scallions and masago on top. The pieces of sushi are served in an attractive teardrop shape and form a circle with the baked fish in the middle. The baked conch is warm and almost gooey, though not heavy and drenched with sauce, and has a slight smoky flavor to it. It is easy to see why this roll is a favorite and it quickly disappeared.
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Spicy Yellow Tail Sashimi Next we took a mini sushi roll break and tried the Spicy Yellow Tail Sashimi. It was thin slices of Hamachi, topped with jalapenos served in an exquisite sauce. The sauce was a mix of garlic soy sauce, shiso peppers and jalapenos. The fish is amazing and the heat from this dish is subtle, hitting you afterwards.
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Ginger Beef We try a dish from the other side of their menu, Ginger Beef. It is large strips of tenderloin, stir fried vegetables and crispy pieces of sweet potatoes. The dish is served in large pieces of butter lettuce and mixed with ginger and soya. The beef was well cooked, tender and savory. The vegetables are perfectly cooked, still a little crunchy and the onions and sweet potato pieces stand out. If you're not a sushi lover, this is a great pick.
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White Tiger Roll But we are sushi lovers, so its pack to some more rolls and fish for us. We are next served the White Tiger Roll. The roll is shrimp tempura and eel inside with escolar (white tuna) and eel sauce on top. The roll is crunchy and sweet, but a little lackluster as the shrimp overpowered the other fishes.
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Chef Special Roll The creative chef Ryan whipped up a creation of his own for us to enjoy. It was chunks of spicy tuna, topped with tempura flakes and lightly covered with eel sauce and spicy mayo. These little bites size pieces were awesome. The fish was soft and creamy, it was light and the perfect mix of spicy sweet. While you won't find this on the menu, the closest option is the Spicy Dragon Roll. However if may be worth inquiring about.
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Toro We are also brought two exquisite pieces of toro, one sushi and one sashimi style. After taking a bite, we are both stopped in our tracks and we savory each last bit. The fish is rich and butter like in texture, with an incredibly smooth flavor.
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Thai Curry Chicken We are nearly at capacity when we are brought another dish from the other side of their menu, Thai Curry Chicken. This dish has a great flavor. It is slices of chicken, with mango, eggplant, snow peas and sweet potatoes. It is served in a light coconut curry with thai basil. Thai bail is a sweet basil with a distinct flavor. The dish is spicy, with an undertone of sweetness. The eggplant and sweet potatoes are my favorite part. The sweet potatoes blend with the spicy heat and the eggplant is tender. A must order, if you like a little spice and do not care for sushi.
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Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake I also have to mention two wonderful beverages we had. The first was sake that Kelly brought us. It was a bottle of Hou Hou Shu sparkling sake. This light, "sake champagne" is easy to drink. It is very light with a delightful sparkle and a mix of sweetness and acidity. I would definitely order this.
- Final Thoughts: To ease the throat again, we order some loose Chamomile tea. It comes with a little jar of honey, adding sweetness and coating our throats. The loose tea is very enjoyable. Bottom line, Echo is more the type of place you go to on special occasions or when traveling and exploring what West Palm has to offer. They are an upscale restaurant, which is reflected by the type of service you receive and the quality food you are served. Swank touches can be found from the valet parking, to the interior decorating, to the menu selection and ingredients, to the kind servers in uniform. Keep in mind that dinner here is not cheap, but you are also paying for the experience. They do offer plenty of some solid sushi dishes. Their rolls are tight and thick, making them quite filling. They have an extensive menu, with something for everything and their other dishes are equally as good. Our visit here was enjoyable, but you have to decide for yourself if it is worth the splurge. I'd say try it and live a little.
- Recommendations: Any Drink on Menu, Sashimi Platter, Tuna Shisito, Palm Beach Roll, Toro
- Cities Located Near: Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Boynton Beach, North Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Century Village, Boca Raton, Lantana, Jupiter, Lake Park, Gardens, Delray Beach, Palm Springs, Kings Point, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Broward County, Pompano Beach
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