The Happiest Hour with Matt Dukes Jordan

Bagatelle Has a Dangerously Good Happy Hour

by Matt Dukes Jordan

Bagatelle is a dangerous place. The classic Key West restaurant is in a beautiful old historic Conch house down at the touristy end of Duval and offers fine dining, complex cocktails, and awesome bar snacks during happy hour. The danger happens when you get a bowl of the lobster mac as a $5 snack between 4 pm and 7 pm and after savoring it you find yourself licking the bottom of the bowl for the last tiny droplets of the luscious cheesy-creamy sauce. This could be embarrassing. I used my fork instead.

Under the ownership and guidance of Damian DeAngeles since October 2013, this legendary escape — home to 1970s after-hours parties that were so insanely wild few can even remember them — has again become a magnet for locals. It’s been spruced up and offers $6 cocktails during happy hour — in a bar downstairs that is open-air, an enclosed air-conditioned bar upstairs, and a moon lounge out on an upper deck where full-moon parties take place monthly.

During my happy-hour visit I had two cocktails and two bar snacks. I got there at about 4:30 and left at 6:30. When I arrived a few young dudes were at the downstairs outside part of the bar (which extends inside). By the time I left the downstairs bar — was full and people who arrived were going upstairs to the moon lounge outside and to the inside bar up there. A number were locals.

My first cocktail was a jazzy variation on lemonade made with organic vodka, cane syrup, and some homemade blueberry jam and basil and a splash of soda– tasty! It’s on the specialty cocktail menu as blueberry-basil lemonade. Jessica was the bartender, a hip woman with fascinating tats (tattoos). A Conch! Funny! I had the luscious mac and cheese with lobster and some tasty tacos made with pork belly that had been slow-roasted for six hours! Very good but the mac and cheese was the winner for me. I had a specialty mojito as my second drink — it was made with fresh raspberries, fresh mint, fresh lime juice, blackberries, and Veev — sort of like vodka made from the acai berry in Brazil. This was my fav of the two cocktails. They also make a mango mojito, a Kentucky Sunset with bourbon and orange juice and lemon and agave. Rum punch made with Cruzan mango rum looks good!

Like I said, the bar downstairs was full when I left, the happy hour in full swing. I’ll be back  for the mac and cheese and other cocktails made with fresh fruit, fresh juices, and interesting spirits like Veev.

Happy Hour 4-7 daily. Prices for cocktails — $6. Snacks — $5. 115 Duval Street. See bagatellekeywest.com. 305-296 – 6609.

the bartender is Jessica — a Conch

the drink: blueberry-basil lemonade

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