On a recent Wednesday evening, I took my wife for a stroll through the Spanish-inspired historic streets of St. Augustine, Florida. Walking down the cobblestone streets is the beautiful architecture of the Levior Museum and Flagler College set against the pristine blue sky and full of flying palm trees . On this beautiful evening we found a perfect little place for lunch. The Collage restaurant is located on Hypolita Street and is really the kind of restaurant you would find in Shakespeare.
The collage was once home to a French restaurant a> richly textured, wrought-iron props with hanging glass accents and a beautiful hanging glass chandelier The interior is complimented by cozy tables that seat 49 guests and bougainvillea trees outside.
This Wednesday evening my wife and I were lucky enough to arrive at the 7pm seat. Cozy Collage was opening at 5:30 pm for dinner and was packed with guests, two bartenders and owner Mike Hyatt working as a busboy, host and wine lover when we arrived. Even though the space was close, I still felt a romantic vibe with the subdued lighting and love throughout the table. We were given water and menus and ordered immediately.
while we waited for our first course, we were treated to fresh bread. The bread was warmed and served with olive oil and sauteed pesto and garlic. The garlic at the collage was clear and kept it all soft in the center. This was something that my wife and I had never seen before and thoroughly enjoyed.
First of all, his wife had a son from Caprese, and it will be followed twice. The salad was fantastic according to my dear wife; each leaf had only the right treatment, the tomatoes were fresh and although he had said a few minutes earlier he wanted to eat less carbs and delicious mozzarella cheese . My tomato paste was the perfect temperature, just a little spicy and I could taste the spinach. Both the soup and the salad were a good size; filling not filling you
Between the salad and the appetizer we were treated to sipping watermelon Home Made Cookies. This watermelon is an unexpected and pleasant surprise. The watermelon sorbet had an icy consistency that reminded me of summer days when I was a child and SnoIce Cream Cones man.
From the sorbet to the entrees, the atmosphere at Collage was lovely. Listening in Mike Hyatt’s work room; regular heating chatters when the hairdressers from the local college and local hair salons assured comfort brought back to another stranger and. an extraordinary journey.
My wife ordered the USDA hand selected 8oz tenderloin with Collage’s signature steak, mashed potatoes and shaved vegetables. My wife had only given up meat during Lent and this was her first taste of steak in just over forty days. He gets his burgers well done, but the steak is medium or medium rare. He said Collage’s signature sauce had a big spicy lime but it was perfect served on the side so he could decide how much steak to add to the melt-in-your-mouth meatiness. Medium is how he ordered his steak this evening, although he noted that he would try medium rare next time around, so that the middle would have a little more pink.
I ordered chicken cordon bleu which was fantastic. A collage of chicken cordon bleu served with pepper butter mashed potatoes, shaved vegetables, ham, spinach and stuffed with Havarti cheese. and piled on the bear sauce. Keeping in line with many entrees at Collage, the garnaise sauce had a bit of lime pepper, but still went down creamy and smooth.
Until then, he was a basketball player, but he was a basketball player. I say this because the table is dreamy. I am at a loss for words as to why my wife could not find a place for the Bougainvillea table. She is a fanatic for strawberries and Bougainvillea is strawberries sautéed in butter and black pepper over a home made vanilla ice cream with cabernet vanilla sauce I’m definitely going to, if I ever make it back to D. Augustine, try their cake at rum cake. which he looked out of sight.
Being in the old town of St. Augustine, Florida, you are in comfortable walking walking distance from anywhere. You will pass famous architecture and cute shops. Say hi to Mike Hyatt while he works the room and sit back to enjoy the work of master chef Melody Stewart. From the moment you roasted garlic you know you’re in for a treat.
Report:
- www.collagestaug.com
- 904-829-0055.
- 60 Hypolita Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084
