"Wagener Terrace restaurant Park Cafe reopens as dinner-focused eatery Park & Grove this evening at 5 p.m. (though it will eventually incorporate brunch and lunch). During the pandemic, fewer people dined out for lunch and breakfast, so Park Cafe owner Karalee Nielsen Fallert wanted to focus on evening services. She brought on chef Ramon Taimanglo, former executive chef at Peninsula Grill, and later announced the refresh of the name and menu. Within three weeks, the Park & Grove team completely remade the dining room to look more like a sleek, seductive restaurant (photos coming soon), rather than a bright sunny cafe, and completely revamped the menu (the avocado toast is still there though). Taimanglo keeps the fare seasonal on the new South menu with the emphasis on local products and produce. This time of year, there’s plenty of peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, and squash. The menu (seen in full at the bottom of this post) focuses on sharable small plates, multiple choices of proteins done up with different sauces, and a la carte sides to share. It’s unfussy food prepared by a very skilled chef. Park & Grove will be open from August 4 to August 7 for dinner service (Tuesday to Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.). Beginning August 7 they begin brunch services starting at 9 a.m. After August 10, the restaurant will open for lunch during the week at 11 a.m. and brunch during the weekend at 9 a.m." - Erin Perkins
