Blue Heaven - Key West, FL

Posted By Michael Stern on September 22, 2008 9:27 AM

Wild chickens run among streets and gardens all over Key West, but even most al fresco restaurants manage to keep them away from dining tables … with one significant exception. At Blue Heaven, chickens are welcome. In fact, they feel right at home. In this supremely laid-back restaurant in old Bahama Village, cocks, hens and chicks roam along the dirt-floored patio pecking for bugs or the occasional scrap of pancake offered by a diner. It’s not unheard of for a particularly bold rooster to hop onto the back of an unoccupied chair at YOUR table and crow loud to wake you up in the morning better than a triple espresso.

An incredibly colorful place to eat, Blue Heaven has been the home of a boxing ring (Ernest Hemmingway sparred here), a bordello (the tiny rooms upstairs are now part of an art gallery), a bookmaking parlor, and a cockfighting pit (heroic roosters are buried in a little graveyard behind the dining area), as well as inspiration for Jimmy Buffett’s song “Blue Heaven Rendezvous.” It is delightfully disheveled, casual in the extreme and one of Key West’s most evocative dining experiences.

Starting at eight o’clock every morning, when neighborhood roosters are still greeting the sun with gusto, three meals a day are served. Much as we relish the jerk chicken and barbecued shrimp at lunch and supper, it’s breakfast we like most. Before the this little plot of paradise begins to bake (Key West is the hottest city in the U.S.), it is a special joy to sit out under the shade of the banyan trees and fork into banana pancakes with maple syrup or spoon into nutty-flavored granola with fresh fruit, and drink coffee from mugs inscribed with the house motto: Blue Heaven: you don’t have to die to get there.

One other reason we like early breakfast best is that seats are usually available. In the evenings and on weekends, the wait for a table can be maddening. And true to its spirit of taking life easy, Blue Heaven does not take reservations.

Overall Rating

banana pancakes

barbecued shrimp

banana heaven dessert

jerk chicken

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Posted By Hank Miller on August 2, 2011 6:11 PM

Been here on two different occasions 10 years apart and yearn to return each time. This place exemplifies the Keys' laid back attitude (chickens roam the yard), with great and I mean GREAT food! I am bringing a group down from Islamorada in November just so they can experience this cuisine and atmosphere.

Overall Rating

banana pancakes

barbecued shrimp

banana heaven dessert

Pork Tenderloin

Key Lime pie

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Posted By Dave on July 26, 2011 6:53 AM

The banana pancakes are terrific! And don't forget, they serve some of the best Key lime pie that you will ever taste. This is one of my favorite restaurants on the island.

Overall Rating

banana pancakes

Key Lime pie

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Posted By Pam Mason on July 25, 2011 7:23 PM

Blue Heaven is the most eclectic eating experience I've ever had! Even if the food wasn't superb (and it is), the atmosphere is not to be missed. The restaurant is primarily outdoors. There were baby chicks, their colorful mothers herding them around tables, and a great staff along with the sweet scent of home-cooked food in the air.

My favorite were the banana pancakes, accompanied by REAL maple syrup and a thick, delicious fruit smoothie. My husband had eggs Benedict, pronouncing it one of the best. The restaurant's history and current atmosphere make one feel as if she is in a very special place.

Overall Rating

banana pancakes

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Posted By Randolph Becker on December 12, 2008 2:14 PM

Blue Heaven is about 300 feet from my front porch. It has taken me 61 years to get to this position, but the wait has been worth it! OK, why?

First of all there's the ambiance: the canopy of trees, the floor of recycled pool table slates on which Hemingway probably lost a few bucks, the chickens, the cats, the amazing tables. You are always on vacation in (Blue) Heaven.

Second, the food: I was going to write that breakfast is my favorite meal here (I can smell it each morning from home) with the pancakes and the lobster benedict, but then I considered the other meals of the day. Fresh fish without any deep-frying in sight! So fresh! Never been disappointed.

Third, there are the owners, Ricky and Suanne, who are the greatest people in the community (yes, I am speaking of community here). I joined Ricky in the march with kids around the neighborhood for the next president of the USA. I meet Suanne at the city commission meetings every two weeks. They give back way, way more to the community (of Key West, of Florida, of the US, of humanity) than they take in.

And here is a quick tip to the wise: they recently became the operators of Salute, the only real, genuine, Euro-style on-the-beach ristorante in Key West. So, watch out for fresh, local ingredients in a setting with sand-between-the-toes. The other night (OK, election night) my wife ordered the yellowtail there (done up in a neo-Med setting in a bowl with broth and olives and . . .) and I saw her finish an entree for the first time in years. Yep, she licked the bowl.

It is all good!

Overall Rating

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