Inside: Euphemia Haye

(Credit: Danielle Hier)

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Euphemia Haye is one of the most charming restaurants ever encountered.  There is something other-wordly about it, and there's no question as to why it has the reputation of being Longboat Key's most romantic restaurant.

The Ambiance:  If any restaurant can make you want to stop and smell the roses, Euphemia Haye can, with a long stem fragrant red rose on every table, overlooking an outdoor botanical garden with a low-lying miniature waterfall.  Inside, photography, modern and classic art, Broadway posters and even framed copies of sheet music adorn the walls.  Appropriately, the song “Romance” is prominently displayed in one of the dining areas.  As if in a gallery or on stage, even soft studio lights accent the walls. 

The Sounds:  Sometimes, the word “cozy” is a polite way of describing a restaurant where the tables are packed together like sardine cans, but at Euphemia Haye, while the tables are positioned closely together, they are sectioned off in such a way as wherever you are sitting, and with whomever you are dining, you will feel as if you were given your own private room. 

The sounds of champagne being removed from an ice bucket, the piano instrumentals being played in the background, and even the mild knocking of the kitchen door swinging open as servers bring entrées to the table will be a welcome addition to the setting.

The Food:  As an starter, the Snails Leslie ($11.50) was served in a creamy garlic butter sauce with portabella mushrooms and seasoned with fresh parsley.  Perfectly proportioned, the French delicacy has just enough left over sauce for dipping the fresh baked bread served upon arrival. 

Euphemia’s famous Crispy Duck ($37.50) was garnished with walnuts and fresh raspberries over a berry sauce, and filled with a bread stuffing.  I say “famous” because nearly 1/3 of the entrée orders are for their raspberry duck.  Paired with a glass of the house Acacia Pinot Noir ($9), Euphemia Haye also has an in-house wine cellar, with bottles ranging anywhere from $30 up through $300. 

For dessert, the Apple Crumble Pie ($6.50) was as pleasant to the senses of taste and smell, as to the eyes, as their most popular pastry was presented with layers of warm cinnamon apple slices in a graham cracker crumbled crust. 

The Price Fixe:  If you are fortunate enough to be visiting Euphemia Haye in the summer, you might be there in time for their special off season Price Fixe dinner.  This year’s feast included slightly smaller 3-course portions of the menu’s signature appetizers, entrées, and desserts, all for $35 per person.

The Haye Loft: The upstairs Haye Loft at Euphemia Haye is comprised of two separate sections, the lounge and the dessert room.  The dessert room resembles a French cafe' with cheerful natural light beaming through the windows, highlighting a row of tempting home made pastries.  Here, diners can either pop in for dessert and an espresso after dinner, or order light bites from the downstairs restaurant menu.  While there is no reserved seating in the dessert room, dinner guests take priority on seating, and those popping in for dessert only are seated on a first come, first serve, basis.

At the lounge, you can sit at one of the leather covered pub chairs, or relax around a coffee table sipping an espresso ($3.50) while listening to the keyboard stylings of a visiting artist singing his rendition of Gershwin favorites.  On this particular night, I got to hear pianist Mike Markaverich as his fingers danced over the keys playing “Killer Joe” with subtle interludes of standards like “Our Love is Here to Stay” and even “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in a Jazzy swing.

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Euphemia Haye is located at 5440 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Longboat Key, FL 34228. Phone: 941-383-3633.http://www.euphemiahaye.com. For more info. on Mike Markaverich, phone 941-951-1487 or email thejazzcats@comcast.net

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