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Disclosure: I received complementary catering from Papa’s Raw Bar and Papa Hughie’s. No monetary compensation has been received for this post. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
When it comes to seafood, South Florida locals all have their favorite spots — and one of them, undoubtedly, is Papa’s Raw Bar. Known for its stone crabs, conch and fresh fish caught from the restaurant’s own fishing boats, and cool, casual vibes, Papa’s is South Florida’s answer to that island life we all crave.
I introduced you to Papa’s Raw Bar last year as excitement ramped up for Chef Chad Wyrosdick’s participation in the South Beach Seafood Festival chef competition, and I’ve been raving about this place ever since. The menu has a little something for everyone — Asian-inspired seafood, like shrimp spring rolls, stone crab rangoons, and various options of made-to-order fried rice; three styles of ceviche; a huge sushi menu; and countless other items. But while this “Key-West-style tavern” has extreme personality and is well worth visiting and becoming a regular, you can also bring home the deliciousness by way of Papa Hughie’s Catering. Papa’s offers catering for weddings and engagement parties, office luncheons and corporate events, tropical luaus and yacht parties — and even small home gatherings like one I had at my own condo recently. An event representative is one call away to help plan everything from start to finish. Staff can be onsite for serving; and rental of tables, chairs, lighting, etc. is available as well.
While I didn’t need the additional help of a planner or rentals, it’s great to know that Papa’s Raw Bar can offer customers these options, along with its fresh, high-quality seafood and sushi menu. Speaking of which, the menu is huge. Hors d’oeurves such as wahoo salad on flatbread, clams casino and mini crab cakes; ceviches and sushi boats; hibachi fried rice and entrée options; family-style main dishes like blackened mahi-mahi with pineapple-mango salsa, chicken piccata and seafood lasagna; pastas and party platters, and even à la carte items for smaller gatherings are available. Papa’s Raw Bar will go above and beyond to ensure that you and your guests are getting the best Papa’s experience, even thought you’re outside of the restaurant.
Papa’s supplied me with a beautiful spread of shrimp cocktail, sesame-seared tuna and sushi to share with my guests, and not one person left that evening without complimenting both the presentation and flavorful freshness of the seafood. There wasn’t a thing leftover, except for a few sets of chopsticks and a drizzle of soy sauce. The fan favorite of the night was most definitely the tuna. The platter comes with pickled ginger and wasabi, seaweed salad and calamari salad, and a teriyaki-ginger sauce on the side. The calamari salad is one of Papa’s signatures and one of my favorite things ever — it’s what they serve in the VIP tent each year at South Beach Seafood Festival and is always the one thing I totally fill myself up on. But I made sure not to fill up on calamari on this particular night, as there was tuna and sushi to indulge in as well. The tuna was incredible and a definite must-get when using Papa’s as your caterer. There is also a wahoo version offered, as well as platters of conch fritters, smoked fish dip, chicken satay and more.
Sushi lovers will love being able to build their own boat, featuring any of Papa’s Raw Bars rolls offered on their regular menu — and there are a ton to choose from. Aside from simple à la carte sushi and sashimi, there are 30 specialty rolls, all inspired by locals, eight classic rolls, and six rice-less rolls. Talk about decision-making…
No matter what you choose, Papa’s promises that each ingredient will be the freshest of the fresh. The rolls are named after Papa’s regular customers, and a lot of them are extremely unique, like Debbie’s Panko Chicken Roll with cream cheese, avocado, asparagus, cucumber, sesame seeds and bomb sauce, or the Charlotte’s Web Roll with fried soft shell crab, masago, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, eel sauce and sesame seeds. You can sub with brown rice, rice or soy paper, and even substitute avocado for cream cheese — just ask! All of the catered sushi boats come with soy sauce, spicy mayo, eel sauce and chopsticks.
There’s no question about where I’ll go for any kind of seafood or sushi catering from now on. It’s time for you to check out Papa Hughie’s catering menu or call 954-830-0014 and start planning!
Papa’s Raw Bar is located at 4610 North Federal Highway in Lighthouse Point. The kitchen is open for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 4-10pm and the bar is open until 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 4-11pm and the bar is open until midnight. Lunch is available on Saturdays and Sundays starting at noon. Happy hour is all day everyday until 7pm, as well as 9pm-close and features $2 off all draft beer, $1 off all beer cans and bottles, and $3 off glasses of wine. Weekly promotions include Wine Down Mondays with half-priced bottles of wine (excluding bubbly); Taco Tuesday with $4 fish or shrimp tacos and $13 Loco beer buckets; Ladies Night on Wednesday with half-price glasses of wine; Mother Shuckin’ Thursdays featuring half-price grilled or raw oysters; and $25 off the “Kapetan’s List” of specialty wines on Friday and Saturday.
