Chef Kevin Sbraga has announced November 14 as the opening date of his newest restaurant, Sbraga & Company, located in Jacksonville, Florida. Opening in a new, mixed-use urban park, Unity Plaza, located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Jacksonville, Sbraga & Company will be a stylish, sophisticated, inviting restaurant.
The restaurant’s cuisine is a contemporary approach to the cultural influences of Northeast Florida, which no other chef is focusing an entire concept on. Spanish pickling methods in the Mushroom Escabeche with serrano chilies, yucca, carrots, and onions; Dirty Rice with Carolina gold rice, pork sausage, and mustard greens inspired by the traditions of the West African Gulla and Geechee; a nod to Native American food culture with baby corn in the Hog & Hominy, alongside crispy pork, cheese grits; interpretations of Southern classics like Fish Fry with shaved catfish, boiled shrimp, and crab fritter; the region’s fresh-off-the-dock, coastal seafood featured in Snapper Crudo with pickled strawberries, red onion, and jalapeño; and “Floribbean” [Floridian and Carribean] fruit in the Tropical with grapefruit curd and cardamom sugar all play a part in the region's story.
With around half of the menu dedicated to Southern crops and grains, the versatility of regional ingredients and Chef Sbraga’s passion for progressive American culinary techniques are both showcased.
A 6-foot, wood fire grill is the centerpiece of the kitchen, with meat, local seafood, and vegetables coming off of the hearth. The raw bar features traditional ingredients in fresh combinations, and modern interpretation of classic raw bar staples like Carrot Ceviche served with orange honey habanero dressing, pumpkin seeds, and toasted rice. Sbraga & Company is one of the only restaurants in Jacksonville to bake its own bread. Daily house-made offerings include Southern staples like cornbread, angel biscuits, and beer bread.
This will be Sbraga's first restaurant outside of Philadelphia on Sbraga Dining's roster. It currently includes The Fat Ham, offering small plates featuring the chef’s signature twists on Southern comfort food and Sbraga, a modern American restaurant on Philadelphia's Avenue of Arts with a “no boundaries” approach to cooking.
