HMF at the Breakers

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Resort Bar and Lounge Rooted in American History

HMF sits inside The Breakers Palm Beach, an Italian Renaissance-style resort that has stood on the oceanfront sands of Palm Beach since 1896. The initials honor Henry Morrison Flagler, the industrialist who founded the property and whose vision turned a remote Florida barrier island into one of America's most celebrated destinations. That origin story is not merely decorative — it shapes everything about the place, from the hand-painted lobby ceilings completed by 72 artisans brought over from Italy, to the commitment to world-class service that has persisted across more than a century of ownership by Flagler's own heirs.

The Setting

The Breakers was rebuilt in 1926 by Schultze and Weaver — the same architectural firm later responsible for the Waldorf Astoria, the Pierre, and the Sherry-Netherland in New York — modeled after the Villa Medici in Rome. The result is a 200-foot main lobby with an arched, hand-painted ceiling that remains intact today. HMF occupies a prime position within this landmark building, offering the kind of atmosphere where the history of the resort is felt in the room itself.

Cuisine and the Cellar

HMF's American cuisine is complemented by a wine program that earned the Wine Spectator Grand Award — one of the publication's most prestigious distinctions, held continuously since 1981. That recognition places HMF among a very small group of restaurants in the world whose cellars and wine service meet the guide's highest standards year after year. For guests who take wine seriously, it is a meaningful signal before they even sit down.

The broader resort dining landscape at The Breakers spans ten restaurants, from the casual beachfront to the formally sophisticated, and the American seafood tradition runs through several of them. At HMF, the bar and lounge format invites a more relaxed register of that same quality — cocktails, conversation, and a wine list that has been earning its reputation for over four decades.

Who Comes Here

The Breakers guest register has historically read, as the resort itself notes, like a "who's who" of American society — Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Astors, Carnegie, and Morgan in the early decades; a similarly distinguished clientele today. HMF carries that legacy without leaning on it too heavily. The room is for anyone who wants to experience Palm Beach at its most considered — unhurried, well-poured, and set against one of the most storied backdrops on the American Atlantic coast.