Euphemia Haye Restaurant & The Haye Loft — Restaurant in Longboat Key

We heard so much buzz around Sarasota about Euphemia Haye Restaurant that we had to try it! The cynic in me thought that the buzz, as is so often the case, may just be a product of mere hype. Boy, was I wrong!

Parking was easy as Euphemia Haye has a parking lot behind it. We entered by walking up a walkway lined with perfectly manicured flowering bushes and other shrubbery with delicately and meticulously strung lights. It felt like walking through a magical secret garden.

We entered and were promptly welcomed by David who allowed us to pick our table. We picked amongst tables with a single long-stemmed red rose in a beautiful glass vase on each one, a classy look for each table and the rooms overall. We chose to sit next to a window facing a beautiful garden in a room that felt like a charming Northern home inside, as you can see in the photo collage, although the photos don’t do it justice.

David was attentive, accommodating, knowledgeable, and provided such excellent service that we felt like VIPs during our first visit to Euphemia Haye.

In addition to the special service, the food was outstanding!

The Zucchini Fettuccini consisted of fresh strips of zucchini quickly sauteed in roasted garlic olive oil and topped with homemade tomato sauce and Sartori parmesan shavings. It was so delightful! I was amazed that it was so much like pasta, but without the heavy feeling... bonus!

The Sweet N’ Spicy Shrimps consists of jumbo Gulf shrimp, seasoned with Cajun dust, char-grilled, and served with a honey mustard sauce. We told David earlier in the evening that we don’t always like spicy food, so he offered to leave the Cajun dust off of the shrimp without us even asking him to, which was so kind of him and we greatly appreciated that he listened and was thoughtful enough to offer that option. The shrimp themselves and the flavoring on them were all delicious!

I was not sure which salad to get, so David recommended the Classic Caesar Salad with fresh romaine lettuce in a creamy lemon and anchovy dressing with garlic, Parmesan, and croutons. Great recommendation! The Caesar was lovely - a proper Caesar salad, but not overpowering in the anchovy flavor.

The Filet Mignon Fritzie consisted of an 8-ounce center cut tenderloin of beef steak, expertly seasoned and grilled to the guest’s liking, which is medium with a warm pink center in my case. The filet was served on a Wisconsin potato pancake with caramelized shallots, and a bourbon demi-glace. This entree was magnificent. The filet was tender and the potato pancake was delicious! The only constructive criticism I would add is that the potato pancake was SO good that I would ask for it to be served on its own, not under the filet, so it retains more of its crispness. The chef was very accommodating with special requests, which was so appreciated, so I think he would do that for me. It also impressed me that I took half of the dish home and it even warmed up really well the next day!

We added the Sicilian Brussels Sprouts, which are split and pan-blackened in olive oil and garlic. Brussels sprouts seem to be trendy at fine dining restaurants lately, so I’ve had them at many places and Euphemia Haye’s were definitely the best I’ve had! Perfect mix of seasoning and perfectly cooked, as in a bit overcooked to give it a perfect texture without being burned.

As far as dessert, I long for the days when Chocolate Mousse was easier to find when dining out. In recent years, it feels like chocolate mousse cake and other chocolate mousse creations are easy to find, but a good chocolate mousse on its own is harder to get, but Euphemia Haye serves Chocolate Mousse with fresh whipped cream and it did not disappoint! It was what I would consider a traditional and decadent chocolate mousse, unendingly rich, as chocolate mousse should be. It was beautifully and intelligently served with vertical layers (yes, vertical layers) of mousse and whipped cream, which gave it supreme balance.

(See the rest of my review on my Instagram...

We walked upstairs at Hayloft at approximately 7 pm on Sunday January 28, 3024. The hostess upstairs who I thought was supposed to greet us and give us a tour of the desserts did not acknowledge my wife and I along with another party due to texting on her phone. After about 2 minutes she turned around and finally acknowledged all of us. No tour of the dessert bar was offered by her. She rushed and seated us at the 2 top at top of stairs. We sat at the table at top of stairs the last time we visited and found it not very enjoyable. My wife asked if we could sit at the other unoccupied 2 top near the dessert bar against the wall by the window. The hostess very bluntly replied that that table isn’t cleared yet. There were only two other parties, presently seated at that time when we walked up to the hayloft, what would be so difficult in taking a few moments to clear that table with the hayloft pretty much empty at that time. We sat at the table for nearly 15 minutes before the server acknowledged us. This was our fifth visit to the hayloft over the last several months, and this waiter had waited on us, each of the previous times, and he did remember us, as I had tipped him extremely well on the four previous visits. We both ordered the steak Sandwich on pita bread with salad, and I asked for my dressing to be on the side. Approximately 20 minutes later, our food arrived, and my salad had no salad dressing on the side. The server said it would be there in just a moment approximately 10 minutes later my salad dressing arrived. We then proceeded to eat our dinner and not one time over the next 30 minutes did he check on us to see if we needed anything additional. When he did finally arrive, he walked up and said, would there be anything else I reply yes what do you have for dessert? He replied to me I don’t know. We have 16 of them up there so you have to go up and look. My reply to him was that the only reason I am asking is because the hostess never gave us a tour of the desserts and they’re not listed on a menu. I tried to make it easy and said well do you have the hummingbird cake tonight? He said very coldly no I That I said we’ll just have coffee that I would like to get the French vanilla coffee please. His reply after about 10 seconds of looking at me, was that well it’s probably gonna take at least 15 minutes because we don’t have any clean coffee presses. I was truly shocked and after that, I said, please bring us the check. Approximately 10 minutes later, he finally brought the check. I was going to make the hostess/manager at the front desk by the door aware of The very poor experience we had this evening, but there was nobody at the stand in front of the door. There was no hostess at the door to greet us, while we arrived at the door in the lower level that night At 7 PM. This was very much unlike the previous four visits, while we really enjoyed our time at the restaurant, except being seated at that two top at the top of the stairs. If the hayloft would’ve been completely packed at the time, I could see it, but they were more than half empty, and not willing to even make an effort to accommodate our table request. We absolutely love that restaurant and have been coming there since October of last year:; what an extreme disappointment this turned out to be All of the previous hostesses upstairs in the hayloft have been an absolute delight and extremely informative and friendly and made us feel so welcome and happy to be there.. we drive each way from Tampa 55 miles to get to that restaurant. We loved...

I really want to love this restaurant, and it has so much going for it, but our first visit last night was very disappointing. We called ahead, expressed that it was our first time visiting and a birthday as well, and could they please give us a really nice table as we wanted to be sure we loved our first experience. When they called to confirm out reservation, we repeated this request. More on our table in a bit...

We arrived early, and chose to have a cocktail upstairs in their bar (The Haye Loft), which also has an "abridged" menu. Fantastic atmosphere, think "early American/quaint New England". Fun bartender, lively and gracious crowd, and a wonderful piano player/singer. Perfect martini and upstairs is where they show off the fantastic desserts, under glass, that are available both upstairs and down. They really are something to behold, huge in portion, tantalizing in presentation, and not to be missed. We had a wonderful time and promised ourselves we would simply dine upstairs the next time.

We proceeded downstairs to claim our table and were seated in a small, cramped service bar area right behind the hostess stand. We were told AC was broken in the dining room, yet we later discovered that there were several other dining rooms, some with AC and patrons and lovely available tables (not busy on a Monday night). But we were stuck by the entrance in the much less upscale service bar.

Our waiter was nice enough but completely lacking in warmth, humor, and a sense of hospitality. No effort to smile or engage. Matter of fact, professional, but not personable in any way. We attempted to engage him and befriend him, but we received little to nothing in return. Maybe he was having a bad night?

The menu is quite expensive; entrees range from $32 to $54 and include no "extras", such as a vegetable; these are all a la carte. I don't mind paying $200 for dinner for two, but it has to be exceptional. My wife and I shared some wine, had two appetizers, two entrees and a side. Our entrees were brought out far too quickly, within 10 minutes of ordering, and we felt hurried and rushed. Food was good but not memorable, but there were many other enticing menu selections we would like to try in the future.

We ordered the apple crumble desert to go, and when we got home and opened it, it bore no resemblance to the superb desserts in the display case upstairs; it was small, had no shape or form, and had no sauce or crumbles of any kind; just dry apple slices sprawled on a small piece of foil.

The dining room itself, the one area that was so important to us to sample that we requested it twice, was absolutely wonderful, in a very New England linen tablecloth sort of way. What a shame they stuck us in the worst part of the restaurant, as if we were being scolded for some unknown transgression.

This place is so tastefully New England, so rare here in Florida, and holds so much promise because of how well the menu reads and how good the desserts look, that we will try once again. But we'll take it a bit more cautiously next time, staying upstairs for dinner where we found the better experience, and we will think carefully before we agree to spend $200 for two only to be so sorely disappointed. We SO WANT to fall in love with the main restaurant because of it's quaint intent and old world charm, but we feel sorely cheated and they will need to earn our trust with a few visits to their...