Installing ceiling panels for noise abatement and adding a separation between the bar and restaurant are among the recent changes implemented at 3 Palms Grille.
Owner Bernard de Raad said the restaurant had been receiving complaints about loud noise from the bar, so they wanted to address it. Because the restaurant is an open space, he said sound from the bar area can spill over into the quieter parts of the restaurant.
"Just a week ago we installed ceiling panels and now it's much, much quieter," said de Raad. "Usually the No. 1 complaint is not the quality of the food but its ambiance atmosphere, so we take that to heart and that's what we changed."
The restaurant has also added a decorative separation between the bar and restaurant to further divide the two spaces.
These renovations are part of the overall transformation of the restaurant, which opened in mid-November 2016. Since the space’s earlier days as simply the Oak Bridge Clubhouse, de Raad said the venue has evolved from a “rundown” locale with a “very dated” atmosphere, to a bustling restaurant with a contemporary feel that he said is busier than ever. The current state of the restaurant is the result of a partnership between Oak Bridge owners Jeff and David Miller, de Raad and his wife Vivian, who also run Cap’s on the Water, and John Nagy and his wife/partner Karen Thomas, who also run Eleven South in Jacksonville Beach.
According to de Raad, the most unique aspect of 3 Palms Grille is its location between the restaurants involved in the partnership.
“What's different is that we have two proven restaurants in the area [Caps and Eleven South] where people have an expectation level, and now it’s [Three Palms Grille] a convenient location in the middle," he said.
While customers from within the Sawgrass gates regularly visit 3 Palms, de Raad noted that residents living outside the community are welcome as well. To be granted entry into the Sawgrass Players Club community, visitors must simply inform security personnel that they're visiting 3 Palms Grille.
“There's this stigma attached to being inside the [Sawgrass Community] gates,” de Raad said, “but we’re open to the public.”
De Raad noted that 3 Palms Grille offers a "classy, upscale version of a brunch" featuring crab cake benedict, blackened shrimp hash, steak and eggs, vegetable frittata and more. Its lunch menu offers sandwiches, salads, sliders, flatbreads and other options. For dinner, the restaurant serves main plates such as local flounder, scallops, a New York Strip steak and more.
For more information on 3 Palms Grille, which is located at 254 Alta Mar Drive, visit www.3palmsgrille.com.
