New Casual Eatery In Boca Mall Already A Hit

By Marci Shatzman

It’s early Saturday evening at Maggie McFly’s new restaurant in Town Center at Boca Raton Mall, and it’s filling up inside and out.

Servers emerge from the scratch kitchen with both hands full, whether it’s drinks or food from a 16-page menu, both sides.

The bistro just opened Nov. 20 in the mall’s Nordstrom corridor. The patio sits under a huge sign out back between the Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue entrance.   

“We’re doing very well between mall shoppers and word of mouth,” marveled co-manager Lorenzo Mucci.

Dinner diners ranged from families with kids, to adults sitting at banquettes or eating along the 30-seat circular bar lined with TVs. The restaurant seats 350 total, 112 on the covered outdoor patio with 28 hi-top and low-top tables and a fire pit for chilly nights. “Parking spots” inside stash walkers and strollers. There’s a playlist of music most people will recognize.    

This is the ninth location for Maggie McFly’s and the first in Florida. They’re open daily for early lunch, happy hour, dinner, and Sunday brunch, with late nights way past mall hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday brunch is served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Happy hour is 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

There are no reservations per se, but you can call ahead for priority seating. Banquettes are arranged to accommodate large parties.   

What sets Maggie McFly’s apart is preparing all the food and even their sauces from scratch, with 182 items to choose from, Mucci said, in genres from American to Asian, Italian, and Latin. The menu is full of choices for salads, sandwiches, burgers, pastas, seafood, steak and ribs, pizza, tacos, main dishes and sides, kids’ foods, light fare, and appetizers.  

We ate our way through Ahi tuna nachos, Tex-Mex egg rolls with guacamole dipping sauce, calamari with two sauces, edamame and sliders. “Try the eggroll sampler so you’ll know what you want to order next time,” Mucci suggested.

I started our meal with their cucumber basil martini, surprisingly refreshing. Brian had a flight, a tasting of four short glasses of beer. He liked Civil Fresh lager the best. Many are local craft beers. They also serve flights of mules, margaritas, whiskeys and tequilas. There are separate cocktails, beer, wine and whiskey menus.  

Maggie McFly’s prides itself on gluten-free choices and local sourcing, and lists both on their menu. Most desserts are from local purveyors. Liam Bleakley was our gracious server and doubles as a bartender.