Maison Blanche

Editor's pick

2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, FL 34228

(941) 383-8088

http://maisonblancherestaurants.com/

Categories: Restaurant

Cuisine: French

Features: Date night, Private room, Prix Fixe menu, Upscale

Cost range: 20.01-100.0

More in this neighborhood: Sarasota beaches

Jose Martinez's seven-year-old Longboat Key special-occasion restaurant serves uncompromisingly haute French cuisine in a glamorous, white-curtained dining room designed by architect Franck Hammoutene. It's an evening's theater, a reason to dress up and order a bottle of something nice (300 labels, many unusual and with a steep markup). Sink into dark leather club chairs and marvel at the soaring flower arrangement at room's center. Then get to work on the menu, deciding between a la carte or the strictly splurgy prix fixe options. Roasted ribeye, textbook asparagus soup and a plush suckling pig are among the finest offerings.