Beach Bistro reopens after shutdown. ‘Great air’ is now on the menu at famed restaurant
A noted player on Anna Maria Island’s fine dining scene, Beach Bistro, has reopened after being closed for seven months due to COVID-19 concerns.
While diners will find the same fine cuisine for which owner Sean Murphy and his staff are known, the restaurant, located at 6600 Gulf Drive, has been over-hauled to ensure the air is safe to breathe with hepa filtration, and ultraviolet light and ionization treatment.
In addition, the air handling system has been upgraded to provide continuous and rapid replacement of indoor air with fresh air from outdoors.
“For 35 years, we have been celebrating great food and great service. Now we are also celebrating great air. We are very proud of that,” Murphy said.
Murphy has reduced seating indoor from 60 seats to 32, while offering 16 linen-draped tables on the sand overlooking an iconic stretch of Gulf of Mexico beach.
For now, the restaurant is open 5 - 10 p .m. Wednesday-Sunday by reservation only at 941-778-6444. Restaurant staff will check back as a reminder and also to inquire about how the guests are feeling before they arrive. Masks are required, unless diners are seated. Temperatures are taken at the entrance.
“We have created as safe an indoor environment as you can have,” Murphy said.
Thus far, the only glitch has been finding the steak knives that were misplaced during the interim that Beach Bistro was closed, Murphy said. They have since been located.
Customer satisfaction has been 100 percent, including from a member of the Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, Murphy said.
“If you strive for perfection, you will achieve a high degree of excellence,” Murphy said.
During the hiatus, Murphy kept Bistro fans informed of opening plans through his emailed news letter.
“We have always said we would reopen only when we thought we could do so safely. We think we are ready and that the time has come,” Murphy said.
Dan Walden, the popular head bartender at Beach Bistro, agreed.
“We are all glad to be back to continue and to start again,” Walden said.
The five-course menu at Beach Bistro is an artistic, as well as gustatory, experience.
Subtitled “A Stroll on the Beach,” the prelude is a little cocktail “to make everything better,” a mini-praline Alexandra “because in difficult times we should eat dessert first,” and house pan bread with tapenade, pesto and stewed tomatoes.
Then follows acts two, three, and four when diners diners select one course from each act. This might be the most difficult part of the evening. For example, in Act Three, the choices are bourbon-and-maple-grilled shrimp, scallop pan roast, Maple Leaf Farms duckling leg confit, Lobstercargots, or One Great Cheese. Similar challenges await in the other acts.
“The Curtain” is, of course, desserts. The choices: Bananas Foster, Chocolate Truffle Terrine, key lime pie, or Praline Alexandra.
“The restaurant is my life’s work and it is part art form and part sports team. It’s like running a hockey team and a ballet,” Murphy said. “It was awful depressing when the restaurant was empty. The only thing that will take me out of that is when we make people happy.”
Murphy expects to return the restaurant to seven-day operation in about two weeks.
Also newly reopened under a reservation-only system is The Doctor’s Office, 5313 Holmes Blvd., #B, Holmes Beach, which offers craft cocktails, draft beers and bar fare. For reservations call 941-213-9926.
