30 Best Restaurants in The Florida Keys, Florida

What started out as a fish house on wheels appears to have broken down on the corner of Caroline and William Streets and is today one of Key West's junkyard-chic dining institutions. Step up to the window and order a grouper sandwich fried or grilled and topped with key lime sauce. Other specialties include fish nuts (don't be scared, they're just fried nuggets) and cracked-conch, shrimp, or soft-shell crab sandwiches. It's a must-do Key West experience.

You'll find seven or more inspired entrées on a changing menu each night, including anything from yellowtail snapper to seared duck breast. End your meal on a sweet note with chocolate pot de crème and homemade ice cream. There's also a fine selection of wines and custom martinis. Adjoining the intimate Marquesa Hotel, the dining room is equally relaxed and elegant.

This is the place to satisfy any French-pastry craving—from the made-from-scratch croissants to the cookies, muffins, coconut macarons, and of course, breads. A lovely patio is the perfect backdrop for breakfasts of brioche French toast, quiches with fresh salads, and a croque madame oozing with bechamel and poached eggs. Look out for the little French bulldog who meanders around the tables and is the unofficial mascot of the place.

Take the short boat ride to lovely Sunset Key for lunch or dinner on the beach, where the magical views are matched by a stellar menu. At dinner, start with the crispy lobster-crab cakes, then move on to one of the creative entrées, such as seared scallops with spiced butternut squash. Choose a table inside looking out over the Gulf or outside beneath the palm trees.

This casual-yet-stylish haven of "American coastal comfort food" has garnered local and national accolades for its eclectic seafood-focused menu and industrial-cool design. The crab beignets are a must, as is the Southern-style fried chicken with bacon salt fries and barbecue ribs. The brunch here is legendary, and the breakfast with banana-bread pancakes does not disappoint. Craft cocktails like the Key Lime Martini and Hemingway's Daiquiri pair nicely with the seafood feast.

Twinkling lights draped along the lower- and upper-level porches of a 100-year-old Victorian home set an unstuffy and comfortable stage here. If you like to sample and sip, you'll appreciate the variety of small-plate selections and wines by the glass. Starters for lunch or dinner include a cheese platter, crispy duck confit, and a grilled octopus plate. Salads and pastas and a selection of gourmet tacos round out the lunch menu. For dinner, there are also larger plates like "Soul Mama" seafood soup or crispy Florida Keys whole snapper.

Picky palates will be satisfied at this funky, dark, and sensuous tapas restaurant, which is well off the main drag and is a secret spot for local foodies in the know. Small plates include yellowfin tuna ceviche with hunks of avocado and mango or filet mignon with creamy Gorgonzola butter. Waiters recommend choosing three small plates per person, then sharing.

In a contemporary setting with indoor and outdoor seating, welcoming staff serve original, eclectic dishes that stand out from those at the hordes of Key West restaurants. Key lime–stuffed French toast and yellowtail snapper Benedict make breakfast a pleasant wake-up call; the crab cake BLT commands notice on the lunch menu. Two varieties of homemade gnocchi are a dinnertime specialty along with daily fish specials and steak. Brunch is served daily 9–3.

The sunset views alone are worth a visit, but the food here is stellar as well. Enjoy a key lime martini at the bar or a seafood dinner in the air-conditioned dining room or on the open-air patio. For dinner, try the lobster quesadilla or seafood cocktail as an appetizer before moving on to the shrimp and lobster fettuccine with asparagus and chèvre or crabmeat-stuffed yellowtail. The breakfast menu features a bevy of options from fruit smoothies to lobster Benedict. Creative salads and sandwiches make lunch an intriguing affair.

The outdoor dining area here is often referred to as "the quintessential Keys experience," and it's hard to argue. There's much to like about this historic Caribbean-style restaurant where Hemingway refereed boxing matches and customers cheered for cockfights. Although these events are no more, the free-roaming chickens and cats add that "what-a-hoot" factor. Nightly specials include black bean soup, Caribbean barbecue shrimp, and jerk chicken. Desserts and breads are baked on the premises.

This little corner of France hides behind a high wall in a residential neighborhood. Inside, French training intertwines with local ingredients, creating delicious takes on classics, including a must-try conch carpaccio and some of the best bouillabaisse that you'll find outside Marseilles. Hog snapper is a specialty, prepared several ways by chef John Correa, including with beurre blanc or red-pepper-custard sauce. From the land, there is filet mignon with a wild-mushroom demiglace.

Because of its location where the fast ferry docks, Conch Republic does a brisk business. It's huge, open-air, and on the water, and the menu is ambitious, offering more than just standard seafood fare. Try a Caribbean-style twist on oysters Rockefeller with the baked oysters callaloo, or opt for paella, plantain-crusted mahimahi, or steak. Live music adds to the decibel level.

Pop into the bakery for something sinfully sweet, or spend some time people-watching at the sidewalk café next door. You can get breakfast or lunch at the café, and the bakery is open late. Try the eggs brioche with mustard sauce for breakfast. Quiche and savory sandwiches are the standouts at lunch, but you can also get delicious burgers and salads. Finish off your meal with a chocolate Grand Marnier mousse. There's a second location on Stock Island.

This is the place to dine—alfresco or in the dining room—on refined Cuban classics. Begin with a megasize mojito while you browse the expansive menu offering tostones rellenos (green plantains with different traditional fillings), ceviche, and more. Choose from Cuban specialties such as roasted pork in a cumin mojo sauce and ropa vieja (shredded beef).

If you want a taste of the island's Cuban heritage, this is the place to dine alfresco or in the dining room on refined Cuban classics. Begin with a megasize mojito while you browse the expansive menu offering tostones rellenos (green plantains with different traditional fillings), ceviche, and more. Choose from Cuban specialties such as roasted pork in a cumin mojo sauce and ropa vieja (shredded beef).

At this family-style restaurant, the dining room bustles, the food is traditional cubano, the prices are reasonable, and the sangria is muy buena. There are well-seasoned black beans, a memorable paella, traditional ropa vieja, and local seafood served grilled, stuffed, or breaded.

Inspired by an Ernest Hemingway photograph of a family fishing trip in Key West, this oceanfront spot pays homage to pristine seafood that's served alongside views that will make you feel like you're on a luxury liner. While the indoor dining room has a bright and airy feel with nautical decor, the outdoor patio is the spot to reserve, a fitting backdrop to dishes of wood-roasted oysters with smoky lemon, Key West pink shrimp, or grits and vegetable island curry. Don't skip the key lime pie for dessert; this one stands out from the pack.

Smack-dab on the docks, this legendary place gets its name from the oysters, clams, and peel-and-eat shrimp that are the stars of its seafood-based menu. It's not clever recipes or fine dining (or even air-conditioning) that packs 'em in; it's fried fish, po'boy sandwiches, and seafood combos. For a break from the deep fryer, try the fresh and light conch ceviche.

It's worth a drive to Stock Island for a meal at this down-to-earth spot, where hogfish is, of course, the specialty. Favorites include the "Killer Hogfish Sandwich," which is served on Cuban bread (be sure to sprinkle it with one of the house hot sauces), as well as the hogfish tacos, gator bites, lobster BLT or pot pie, pulled-pork sandwich, and barbecued ribs.

If you must have your cheeseburger in paradise, it may as well be here. The first of Buffett's line of chain eateries, it belongs in Key West more than anywhere else, but, quite frankly, it's more about the name, music, and attitude (and margaritas) than the food. The menu has a Cajun-Caribbean flair, and live bands pack the place come dinner and into the wee hours.

Feast your eyes on a steal-your-breath-away view and beautifully presented dishes prepared by executive chef Doug Shook. Once you get over sticker shock on the seasonally changing menu, settle in on the outside deck and enjoy dishes like cracked conch with mango chutney, lamb chops with sun-dried-tomato relish, and tamarind-glazed duck breast. A more affordable option is upstairs at The Cafe at Louie's, which serves tapas such as shrimp fritters with coconut curry.

This longtime favorite serves large portions of homemade pastas that can be matched with any of the homemade sauces. Tables are arranged in a brick garden hung with twinkling lights and in a cozy, casual dining room in an old house. Everything out of the open kitchen is outstanding, including the bollito misto di mare (fresh seafood sautéed with garlic, shallots, white wine, and pasta) or the memorable spaghettini "schmappellini," homemade pasta with asparagus, tomatoes, pine nuts, and Parmesan. The wine list—with more than 350 offerings—includes old and rare vintages, and also has a good by-the-glass selection.

Pizzas are the star of the show at this bustling trattoria a short walk from the Duval fray. The kitchen churns out a variety of Neopolitan pies from its 2-ton wood-fired oven made of bricks and stones from Mt. Vesuvius. Pastas run the gamut from gnocchi to buccatini done cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) style. Antipasti and salads round out the lengthy menu.

Neapolitan pizza purists will be impressed with the thin-crust, artisanal pies, all cooked in a wood-burning oven and made with Italian plum tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, and extra-virgin olive oil. And this neighborhood spot, created by the same folks who own the popular Hogfish restaurant, has garnered attention not only for its pizza, but also its Italian comfort food like the spaghetti and meatballs topped with Sunday gravy or the baked lasagna to go; at happy hour, be sure to try the limoncello wood-fired wings.

Sister restaurant to Blue Heaven, this colorful establishment sits on Higgs Beach, giving it one of the island's best lunch views—and a bit of sand and salt spray on a windy day. The intriguing menu is Italian with a Caribbean flair and will not disappoint. For dinner, popular dishes include linguine with mussels, lasagna, and white bean soup. At lunch the gazpacho refreshes and the yellowtail sandwich will having you singing "Amore."

Named for the award-winning jam-maker and pastry chef Sarabeth Levine, this locally owned restaurant serves all-day breakfast, best enjoyed in the picket-fenced front yard of a circa-1870 synagogue. Lemon ricotta pancakes, pumpkin waffles, and homemade jams make the meal. Lunch offerings range from a griddled smoked mozzarella sandwich to a poached salmon Cobb salad. Start dinner with the signature velvety cream of tomato soup or the roasted red beets and Gorgonzola salad.

This local hot spot has a casual Key West vibe and an eclectic menu. The specialty is the local fish of the day (like snapper with creamy Thai curry), but you might also try the tropical shrimp salsa, wild-mushroom quesadilla, or old-fashioned meat loaf with real mashed potatoes. For dessert, the strawberry pie provides an added measure of down-home comfort.

At this handsome restaurant, lovely aromas waft from the wood-fired oven in the open kitchen. Among the popular choices on the dinner menu, which has both small plates and full entrées, are lemon-crusted sea scallops, rack of Colorado lamb, and small pizzas (including a white seafood version). Bragging rights continue as it has won the Master Chef's Classic at the Key West Food and Wine Festival for three years running.

You don't have to be a vegetarian to love this new-age café decorated with bright artwork and a corrugated-tin-fronted counter. Local favorites include homemade soup, veggie sandwiches and burgers (order them with a side of sweet-potato fries), grilled portobello mushroom salad, seafood, stir-fry dinners, and grilled veggie pizzas. There's also a nice selection of draft beer and wines by the glass, daily desserts (including vegan selections), and fish-of-the-day tacos.