Christine Lee’s restaurant reopens in new location

An old warhorse is back in action at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. Christine Lee’s restaurant reopened Dec. 14 at its new location on the ground level after moving from its thirdfloor perch overlooking the track.

“It’s good to be back,” says Mary Lee, the secondgeneration owner whose mother, Christine Lee Mallock, founded the restaurant in 1959 in northern New Jersey. “It was a long four months.”

Its new home, near the track’s walking ring across from Yard House, could be a boon to the venerable Chinese-American steakhouse, which has been a mainstay in South Florida since 1970.

Lee says the new location will bring greater foot traffic, more newcomers and could make things easier for loyal, aging customers who had a difficult time making it to the third floor.

“I’m getting a lot of positive feedback,” Lee says, as she greeted happy patrons on Sunday. “I never realized how many people had a fear of elevators and would not come upstairs.”

Christine Lee’s temporarily closed in August after the racetrack’s owners decided to convert a picturesque space on the clubhouse’s third floor — which had been the restaurant’s home for the past decade — into a nightclub and special-events venue.

“It took about a month longer than we were hoping, but everyone is telling me that’s not so bad,” Lee says. Gulfstream’s winter racing meet started Dec. 1.

Christine Lee’s has had a nomadic existence since the start. The restaurant moved to South Florida after Mallock survived a parking-lot attack at the original restaurant in New Jersey.

It had three homes in Sunny Isles Beach over three decades, attracting a loyal and star-studded clientele that included Lucille Ball and Don Rickles. Christine Lee’s operated at the Golden Strand hotel (1970-’74), the Thunderbird resort (1974-1995) and then a strip mall on Collins Avenue before taking up residence in a prime location overlooking the Thoroughbred racing strip in Gulfstream’s rebuilt clubhouse and casino in 2007.

The restaurant is now run by Mary Lee and her daughter Cynthia. The trackside location was lucrative on major racing

days such as Florida Derby Day, when the restaurant would charge hefty minimums for set menus, but it was not the easiest place to find or reach..

The new location, in the

former home of Paladar Latin Kitchen, will be more visible and will feature several new wrinkles. The restaurant will now serve lunch daily (not just on weekends) and offer several new menu items, including ramen and poke bowls. Mary Lee says she also trimmed some “dead items” from the menu, including lemon chicken and shrimp with asparagus.

“Customers can always make requests, and we’ll make it if we have the ingredients on hand,” Lee says.

Christine Lee’s will be open noon-11 p.m. daily.

MICHAEL MAYO/SOUTHFLORIDA.COM PHOTOS The new location of Christine Lee’s at Gulfstream Park seats 160 inside, with 18 seats at the bar, and has another 120 seats outside, some overlooking the track’s walking ring. The restaurant features numerous televisions and betting terminals.

Christine Lee’s restaurant reopened Dec. 14 in its new, ground-level location at Gulfstream Park. The Chinese-American steakhouse, which has had several homes throughout South Florida since 1970, moved from its third-floor perch overlooking the track after a decade.

MICHAEL MAYO/SOUTHFLORIDA.COM PHOTOS The rear wall of Christine Lee’s features dozens of photographs of celebrities who have visited the restaurant through the years, including Don Rickles, pictured with current owner Mary Lee, daughter of founder Christine Lee Mallock.

Christine Lee’s restaurant will be open daily for lunch at its new Gulfstream Park location and will offer several new items, including tuna (or salmon) poke bowls ($18) from its sushi bar.