The Rebel House

Let’s REBEL

A gastropub is defined as a pub, bar or tavern that offers meals of high quality. As I found out on my latest Road Trips For Food (RTFF) to The Rebel House in Boca Raton, this restaurant is in a whole other league. One with it’s own motto, “imbibe, ingest, induldge”.

I think my friend Gregg summed up the restaurant beautifully when he said, “The Rebel House is best described as punk-funk foodie fun with a tattooed eclectic sensibility from the imaginative cocktails to the small/large plates and culminating in fun sauced up desserts for the chocolate lover and more.”

Walking into The Rebel House is a feel-good experience in and of itself. Not one for those who can’t handle a LOT of stimulation because the artwork is on the ceilings as well as the walls, the beams have writing on them and there is a vibe that begs one to get in the mood for an amazing evening.

What is dinner without a great drink? The drink menu at The Rebel House is almost as interesting as the food menus. This will not come as a surprise to any of you, but I ordered two drinks (throughout the meal vs. within the first five minutes!); the first one was called CPR – Russian Standard Vodka, Chocolate Ganache and Fresh Strawberries and the second one was called Recess – Diplomatico Rum, Cinnamon Peanut Butter Syrup and Rebel Strawberry Jam.

If I could have tried a few more drinks from their menu I would have, however, I thought it might be considered rude to pass out at the table. The Sweet Revenge – Pearl Vodka, Fresh Smashed Watermelon, Hint of Jalepeno, Simple Syrup was also loved by friends Gina and Peter.

The Rebel House was lovely to accommodate our large party of 11 with two tables next to each other along the wall. There was enough space in the middle of the tables to get in and out; yet they were close enough to pass plates back and forth.

We decided to order by table. My table of six called out the various items that were on our ‘must try’ list and that was how we ordered. The food comes out when it is ready vs. being held under a warmer until all dishes are completed. This was great for us because our table, very quickly, ran out of space.

The top dishes we tried were: Spicy Tuna Chop Chop, Corn Risotto, Brussel Sprouts, Rebel Fried Rice, Local Grouper, Charcuterie Platter, OG Recipe Fried Chicken and Biscuits, BBQ Duck Steamed Buns, Vegetable Pot Pie as well as Pork and Clams.

You have to go on The Rebel House’s website to read all the tempting descriptions, but I have to share the vision of the Pork and Clams, because I have never had a dish presented quite like this. It was really incredible to see the dish come out in light of the fact that I happened to be sitting on the side of the table that had the pig’s tail curling up at me. As one friend put it, she still has dreams about a pig looking for his tail!

We relished each dish and were fairly full before dessert arrived; however, there is ALWAYS room for dessert, as all of you might have already surmised.

We……I ordered one of each dessert and told our wonderful server Katy to ask pastry chef Danielle Herring to send out more if she felt it was needed. With names like The Rebel, The Binge, The Hot Mess, The Time Warp and The Overdose, you can well imagine that I was a VERY happy camper.

To give you a clearer picture behind the names of the desserts, allow me to describe a few in greater detail…

The Time Warp – Grandma’s Coca Cola Cake/Bing Cherry Mousse/Jack Daniels Glaze/Cocoa Nibs

Nom-Kins – Yeast Raised Doughnut Holes/Maple Bacon Glaze/Bourbon Anglaise/Pecan Croquant

The Overdose – Devil’s Food Cake/Peanut Butter Cheesecake/Banana/Toffee Sauce/Honey Roasted Peanuts

The Rebel – Fried Bananas/Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Cream/Peanut Butter Sauce/Marshmallow Fluff/Bada Bing Cheeries, Whipped Cream

Banana & Nutella Spring Rolls – Cinnamon Sugar/Marshmallow Fluff/Strawberry Jam

The desserts were definitely not the ‘precisely coiffed’ kind…you know, the ones that have everything lined up symmetrically with crisp clean lines on each plate. These are desserts meant for digging in and enjoying. As Teresa put it, “Very messy but good”.

For me, the true test of a restaurant is when I wake up the next morning thinking about my return visit and equally longing for the drinks, apps, dinner and desserts. This is not something that happens as often as I would like, but The Rebel House most definitely accomplished this. Lisa messaged me, tongue in cheek, “I think we should say it was awful, so that it can remain the best kept secret!”

Tempting, so very tempting, but we want EVERYONE to go to The Rebel House. Hopefully, co-owners Mike Saperstein and Evan David will realize that we need them to open a location in the northern part of Palm Beach County! We all want to rebel a bit in the Palm Beach Gardens!