Bagatelle | Restaurant Review

Bagatelle, located on Duval Street is a convenient place to stop and get a bite to eat while walking around downtown. Downstairs at the bar you can relax with a drink and watch a game on the TV or get a delicious meal. You can also eat  upstairs or downstairs, in the dining room or on a balcony. This old conch house turned restaurant has many little nooks and crannies where you can sit and feel comfortable, surrounded by its beautifully tropical decor. Colorful painting by local artists along with gorgeous mirrors adorned the walls to make the dining area both tropical and classy.

We celebrated my BFF’s birthday here this weekend and we ended up having a fabulous meal. After deciding what part of the restaurant we wanted to be seated in, which was a task for us! In the summer months it gets to be sweltering here, especially on the balcony, so we decided to eat inside and were very comfortable.

To start, we ordered a few drinks, appetizers and salads. The tuna tataki appetizer was very fresh and served with a nice wakame salad. The BBQ shrimp, paired with a mixed baby green salad, was nicely presented and prepared perfectly with just enough BBQ sauce to make it enjoyable without being overpowering. The wedge salad was a typically wedge salad; it was tasty and fresh. And the raspberry, walnut, and gorgonzola sale was a perfect mix of flavors incorporated for a special salad.

As main plates we ordered the hogfish, the ribeye, and the lobster tail. The hogfish was pan seared perfectly, served over a potato cake that tasted like yummy breakfast hash browns, spinach, and a butter sauce. What a great combination that made! The ribeye was a real surprise. It was cooked medium as requested and the flavor was wonderful, but the best part of the steak was that it was not a bit piece of fat which can sometimes happen at many restaurants, especially those that are not steak houses. The grilled lobster tail was served with a mouthwatering mango risotto and the lobster was presented in the shell, partly attached which was a little complicated for my friend to extricate, but it was tender and tasty.

The appetizers and entrees were so divine that we cleaned our plates and were too full for dessert. However, we did get coffee as a nice compliment to end our meal. Again, I was impressed with the coffee which was not too strong and not too weak.

Throughout the meal the service was wonderful. We never wanted for anything. The waitress thoroughly impressed us with he manner and her attentiveness to our table.

I can highly recommend Bagatelle for both a casual dining experience or an upscale and romantic dinner. Just make reservations and ensure that in the summer months you are sitting inside rather than sweating your behind off on the patio.

For more information about things to do and see in our island city, go to our Key West Web Site. You can also visit our Key West Events Calendar to see more details on upcoming special events.