Drive down landmark Center Street in Jupiter, Florida, and you could easily pass one of the town’s most charming restaurants without even realizing it’s there.
The Sims House doesn’t look like a restaurant from the road; it has no flashy signage out front to advertise its presence. But it’s one of the most unique restaurants in the area, a testament to the exciting possibilities around preserving Old Florida.
Built in 1924 by Eli Sims, a contractor, mason, and influential Jupiter pioneer, the Mission-style home is one of the town’s earliest surviving residences, dating back to Florida’s land boom of the 1920s. Sims arrived in the Jupiter area with his family in 1895 and later played an important role in the community’s development.
Today, the house is a locally designated historic landmark—and, improbably, a reservation-only restaurant. That’s thanks to Jupiter resident Ernie Fidanza, who, after driving past it for years and wondering about its history, acquired the property in 2015. (He then founded the Jupiter Historical Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the dwindling number of historic structures remaining in town.)
Fidanza spent years working to restore Sims House, eventually completing its transformation into a restaurant in 2021, all the while retaining the home’s quaint character and details like original Dade County pine and archways.
Dinner In An Old Florida Home
Cozy and homey, dinner here doesn’t feel like going out to dinner; it’s more like being invited into an Old Florida home for the evening, which is fun for both groups and couples. Tables are tucked into various rooms and intimate corners throughout, while a tropical brick patio and bar outdoors offer a romantic place to dine and drink beneath the palms and string lights.
The menu is just as intimate, and Sims House only opens on nights when it has at least five reservations. The chef then works the menu around what’s available, with locally sourced produce and seafood whenever possible, plus a rotating selection of homemade desserts.
What to Order
On my most recent visit, entree choices included skirt steak with black beans, white rice, plantains, and chimichurri; pan-seared mahi-mahi topped with mango salsa; Parmesan risotto; salmon; and a linguine named for the iconic Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse nearby. The menu is simple, approachable, familiar, and tasty—just the way you want it in a place like this.
We started with sriracha garlic edamame before moving on to the skirt steak and the mahi, which arrived over rice and black beans with sweet plantains. There’s also a thoughtfully curated wine list with bottles from lesser-known wineries, adding another element of hidden-gem discovery to an already unexpected dining experience.
As delish as the food is, the setting is what makes Sims House memorable. In a stretch of South Florida where new development is never-ending, dining within walls that have stood for more than a century is rare and special.
Because at Sims House, preserving a piece of Old Florida doesn’t mean putting it behind glass—you can pull up a chair and experience it as a welcome guest.
Sims House has very limited seating and serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Reservations are required.
Read the original article on Southern Living
