FOOD CHANGING ITS STRIPES
Fort Lauderdale cocktail lounge The Wilder snares chef from Lionfish in Delray Beach
The popular downtown Fort Lauderdale lounge The Wilder will soon evolve into a destination where its inventive cocktails share the spotlight with a food menu elevated in both sophistication and scale. The man in charge of executing the transition is Executive Chef Johnny Demartini, a young up-and-comer who most recently held the same position at the buzzed-about Lionfish in downtown Delray Beach.
Demartini, 33, has a resume that includes a stop at Delray Beach hot spot Death or Glory, stints with restaurateur Dennis Max at Max’s Harvest and Max’s Social House, and the Cooper in Palm Beach Gardens. He was born in Australia, raised in Venezuela, moved to Boynton Beach at 13 and now lives in Lake Worth.
Asked about his departure from Lionfish, Demartini is diplomatic: “I just wanted a new challenge.”
The new menu, which will debut in two or three weeks, will continue The Wilder’s focus on small plates and reflect Demartini’s affection for seafood, vegan traditions and influences from Asia and South America.
“My menu is taking your taste buds around the world, my way. Something new, something fun, something approachable. I want people to be able to read the menu and understand what it says,” he says.
Highlights range from the Bánh Mì Empanada (ground pork, kimchee aioli, pickled vegetables; $8) and tangy Wilder Wings (with gochujang-scallion salsa; $12) to Tuna Tiradito (mango leche de tigre, house chili oil, crunchy garlic; $17) and Hen of the Woods (confit chicken, crispy maitake mushrooms, romesco verde, pickled shallots; $15).
Demartini is not ruling out his preparation of the invasive and venomous lionfish appearing on a future menu.
Located just east of the bustling intersection of Broward Boulevard and Federal Highway, The Wilder has 110-120 seats inside and out, including one of downtown’s prettiest and most popular patios. It has served food in the past from a menu of basic dips, appetizers, sliders and flatbreads.
Demartini will work in a large, 1,500-square-foot kitchen that until recently was a next-door sister business, the now-defunct Boulevard Kitchen & Juice Bar.
The storefront space, with large windows facing the street, will host multi-course chef ’s table dinners with cocktail
pairings for up to 16 guests in the kitchen. There will be two dinner seatings
each on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We’re turning up our food product 10 notches,” owner David Cardaci says. “Hopefully we can drive people to [The Wilder] not only for cocktails and the experience, but for food as well.
It’s something we didn’t really have before.”
Cardaci says The Wilder will continue to feature its creative cocktail service, under the direction of general manager Tamara Jovanovic, and DJ-fueled late-night parties.
The Wilder was opened in 2017 by Cardaci and wife Vanessa. The couple’s Knallhart Management Group is a busy player in downtown Fort Lauderdale, operating the popular bar-club Rhythm & Vine, Roxanne’s cocktail lounge and a soon-toopen rooftop pool bar at a Marriott hotel across Federal Highway from Holiday Park.
Also set to debut in the
next couple of months is a multimillion-dollar restaurant-nightclub venue that Knallhart has created inside and outside the shell of the historic First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Flagler Village.
The Wilder is at 701 E. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Hours are 4 p.m.-midnight Tuesday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 3-9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday. Happy hour is 4-7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Visit IntoTheWilder.com.