The Tribune

Two experienced restaurateurs are set to open Palm Cay’s Billfish Grill during the 2014 first quarter, ensuring eastern New Providence residents no longer have to drive far to dine out.

For chef Lise Watson-Russell (think Chives) and Peter Rounce, of Graycliff Bahamas, Billfish Grill is an opportunity to do what they both label as novel – create a casual dining experience with exceptional food inside a residential community.

“We are creating a restaurant inside a residential enclave with a large (194-slip) marina. It’s a far cry from designing a restaurant that caters to corporate clients, business lunches or dinner meetings,” said Mr Rounce.

“This has to be family-oriented, light-hearted and casual, a place with a lot of familiar faces, but the food has to stand out. Overall, our vision is to deliver a high-end Out Island experience for guests without their ever leaving the island.”

Palm Cay’s three-storey clubhouse is being transformed into the Billfish Grill, which is thought to be the first high-end restaurant on the southeast coast.

With a degree in hospitality, Mr Rounce specialises in finance and marketing. He points to the 280 degree view - 1,200 feet of white, sandy beach on one side, the swimming pool and kiddy pool straight ahead, the long pier and Atlantic Ocean beyond..

For Ms Watson-Russell, who earned her Culinary Arts degree from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and gained her reputation at Goodfellow Farms before opening Chives at the New Providence Community Centre on Blake Road, it is all about the food.

“It really comes down to the freshness and healthiness of ingredients, the blending of flavours and the presentation, but of all three components, it’s the freshness that creates the finest taste,” she said.

While a beachfront bistro and caf�, to be called Chives Dockside at Palm Cay, will satisfy the appetite for a light breakfast and coffee, salads and sandwiches for residents driving children to school, or boaters heading out for the day, the more upscale Billfish Grill will feature a menu that ranges from freshly caught fish, cooked to order, to thick rib eye steaks, a new twist on pulled pork prepared in a wood-fired grill that’s great for pizza, too, and a variety of conch and crawfish dishes in season.

The restaurant will seat 126 persons between inside dining and al fresco on several patios.