Il Fiore brings Italian sandwiches old-school charm and mafia-inspired flair to West Boca Raton with Chef Michael Monaco at the helm
West Boca Raton, Florida – A new culinary gem has arrived in South Florida, and it’s already turning heads with its unique blend of Italian food, storytelling, and just the right dash of mafia mystique. Tucked into a plaza at 9874 Yamato Road in West Boca Raton, Il Fiore is the latest venture from Chef Michael Monaco — a man who has spent a lifetime perfecting not just recipes, but entire experiences around food.
Chef Monaco isn’t your average restaurateur. He’s an author, a culinary historian, and a North Jersey native with deep ties to the old-school Italian-American culture that gave rise to both his palate and personality. He’s cooked with legends, trained under Frank Sinatra’s personal chef, and earned praise from “The Sopranos” star Vincent Curatola, who once said, “If anyone knows anything about cooking Italian food in North Jersey, it’s Michael Monaco.”
Now, with Il Fiore, Monaco is hoping to bring that East Coast energy down to South Florida — a region he sees as ripe for the kind of Italian food that feels both elevated and accessible. “The demographics made sense,” he explained. “Boca is really attractive to what I want to do — a scalable sandwich operation like All’Antico Vinaio.”
That inspiration, the famed Florence-based sandwich shop known for drawing long lines around the block, served as a blueprint for Monaco. But he’s not simply copying a trend. Instead, he’s adapting the idea with his own twist, grounded in South Florida ingredients and sensibilities. The key, as Monaco says, is the bread. “All’Antico Vinaio uses a Tuscan-style schiacchiata, a type of bread similar to focaccia but lighter, crispier and more traditional,” he said. “Their bread is the cornerstone of their success.”
To replicate that success, Monaco teamed up with a founder of Delray Beach’s Old School Bakery, who bakes his seeded and unseeded varieties fresh each day. The result? A crisp, flavorful sandwich base that supports the showstopping ingredients stacked on top — without weighing you down. “When you have a sandwich like this, you don’t have that big full feeling like you ate too much. It’s light, it’s phenomenal,” Monaco said. “I would never order a chicken parm from a pizzeria. I’m using Bell and Evans chicken and I top it with fiori di latte, a fresh mozzarella made with cow’s milk.”
But Monaco’s menu isn’t just about flavor — it’s also filled with personality. His sandwiches are named after close friends, heroes, and inspirations. The Valli, for example, is named after iconic Four Seasons singer Frankie Valli and features mortadella, pistachio pesto, roasted red peppers, and creamy stracciatella — the rich, velvety filling found inside burrata cheese.
There’s also a tribute to another Jersey legend: Anthony Bourdain. “He was from one town over,” Monaco said. “That recipe is his recipe.” That sandwich comes packed with pan-fried mortadella, provolone, spicy mayo, and a dijon mustard spread — a fitting homage to the late culinary rock star.
But the item Monaco is proudest of? The Boca Bomb — a powerhouse creation named after the city where his new restaurant now lives. It’s a layered masterpiece of prosciutto, mortadella, hot soppressata, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, and stracciatella. It’s bold. It’s balanced. And it’s just a little bit cheeky — much like Monaco himself.
While mortadella shows up often on the menu, it’s not just a nod to Italian tradition. It’s also a deliberate move designed to appeal to Boca Raton’s sizable Brazilian population. “Brazilians love mortadella!” Monaco explained. “In Newark, there’s a big Brazilian population too and mortadella sells off the charts.”
The menu doesn’t stop at sandwiches. Il Fiore offers full plates, pasta dishes, salads, seafood, and pizzas — including one called the Five Families, a meat-lover’s dream that stacks on hot soppressata, meatballs, fennel sausage, cotto ham, and prosciutto. It’s a cheeky nod to Monaco’s New Jersey roots and the cinematic world that so often informed his childhood. In fact, his second book is titled “There’s A Fredo In Every Family: How To Let Go” — a clever reference to The Godfather and the complications of familial loyalty.
You can even pick up a copy of that book — along with his first — right at the counter at Il Fiore. They sit beside a rotating selection of house favorites, like the San Gennaro sausage and peppers sandwich and the Chicken Scarpariello entrée — all made with the same attention to detail and respect for heritage.
As much as Monaco cares about the food, he also cares about how it’s presented — and how it makes you feel. Il Fiore isn’t about over-the-top fine dining. It’s about quality ingredients, honest preparation, and a connection to something larger than yourself. It’s the kind of place where stories are as important as seasoning, and every bite comes with a sense of place — even if that place is 1,200 miles away in Newark.
There’s an Italian phrase that guides much of what Monaco does: buono come il pane. Literally, it means “as good as bread.” But in spirit, it’s about being genuine, warm, and good to your core. That’s exactly the energy he’s trying to cultivate with Il Fiore.
“It’s all about the bread,” he said. And in this case, it really is.
Il Fiore is now open seven days a week, offering full-service catering, family-sized takeout packages, and an invitation to sit down, slow down, and eat like you mean it. Whether you’re in the mood for a nostalgic bite or just want to try a sandwich unlike any other in Boca, there’s something here for everyone — and a story waiting to be told with every order.
