Laurie

We will be in Key West for 6 days, in the last week of November.

I would like to know what some of your favorite restaurants are in Key West. We have been there twice, so I know of a couple of places that we like.

Our favorites were: Seven Fish, B.O. Fish Wagon and Schooner Wharf's.

Do you have other suggestions?
Thank you! Laurie

gc

ttt

We're going in mid-October....eager for replies.

SusanCS

I love Alice's, and though it's pricey, we enjoy Louie's Backyard for lunch. We gave Turtle Kraals another chance a few months ago and liked it a lot - our previous experiences there weren't all that great.

tpatricco

Hi Laurie, We were just in Key West the first week in June.

We're from NYC area so although we found the food ok, we were not amazed or enraptured by any of it.

We did love Pepe's (in the 800 block of Caroline St.) for Breakfast.

Many here have raved about Rick's Blue Heaven. We had a terrible dinner experience there (1.5 hours waiting for our entrees after being seated with no clues offered). I wasn't impressed with their dinner menu either. I think this may be a better place for breakfast or lunch.

Fogarty's on Duvall is a great place for burgers & sandwiches. Great variety of choices on their menu, large portions & reasonable (for KW) prices.

Flying Monkeys Bar is right next to Fogarty's if you're in the mood for high octane frozen drinks.

Half Shell Raw Bar was fun for oysters & beers in the afternoon. After 4:00 they have bargain prices for happy hour.

Two Friends Patio had good atmosphere & better than average non-gourmet food.

Conch Republic is touristy and I thought their menu was just plain lousy.

Mangia-Mangia had good fresh pasta selections & nice patio atmosphere if you sit outside. Note: they stop serving at 10:00pm

Mangoes (on Duval) is excellent for lunch or dinner. Very nice menu for sandwiches, entrees and anything in between. Great service & nice atmosphere too.

Caroline's Cafe (on Duval) had a great menu for lunch & excellent service. Also a good location for people watching as you dine. Great Bloody Marys.

We also ate at Kelly's Caribbean but they were also having a private party there in the bar area the same night so I think the service & menu may have been lacking as a result of the party. Atmosphere in the upstairs dining room was nice although their menu didn't do anything for me.

A few places I would like to have tried but we were travelling with friends (non-foodies) and we just ran out of time. These were Louie's Backyard, Alice's & Michael's - all of which I have heard good reviews.

Good luck planning your trip! We did a fun Kayak tour in the mangroves with a great guide if that's something that interests you. Trish

Nicole350Z

I live 15 minutes from Key West so I try to avoid Duval Street~for steaks I have always had great service and GREAT food at Shulas and Flagler's. Ambrosia, a small japanese restarant with sush bar, has great sushi. PT's gives large portions and the food is good!

JackOneill

I think the best burger in the world can be had at Caroline's. (Okay, so most people don't go to Key West for a hamburger, but it is worth trying.)

We tried 815 (I think that was the name/number). Relatively new place. Trendy. Okay, but probably wouldn't do it again.

I like Turtle Kralls, but Susan said, it's sort of hit or miss. To me, it's a much better lunch place than dinner place.

I prefer Pepe's for breakfast.

Blue Heaven is an institution, but I think it's best for breakfast (which is how it gained its reputation). Lunch and dinner are not great, in my experience.

7 Fish is super, but it's a very small place.

The Marquessa has great food, but it's tres expensive and they have gotten a little full of themselves.

And Louie's. Well, I think you should do a search on this forum to see the yes/no opinions of the place. I don't like it a bit.

Have fun.

Laurie

Thank you for all of your suggestions!
I am sorry to hear that Blue Heaven has gone downhill. We had breakfast there a few years ago and it was good.


Two Friend's Patio and Caroline's Cafe sound like places we would probably like.
Thanks for the info about Half Shell Raw's happy hour.

I seem to remember that Crabby Dick's had some pretty good happy hour specials too.

Thanks again for your recommendations!
Laurie

Tim_and_Liz

We love Schooner Wharf and Louie's.
A couple other suggestions: Paradise Cafe for great Cuban sandwiches (The "Monster Sandwich")
Also, if you have a car and want a local's bar on the water (mangroves, not ocean) with some great atmosphere, head out to Geiger Key for a yummy fish sandwich and a bottle of beer.

Laurie

Hi Tim and Liz,
Thank you for helping me remember the name of Paradise Cafe! We shared a sandwich there last time we were in Key West and it was very good.

Darn! We won't have a car this time in Key West so we will have to stick around Old Town.

Does anyone know if there are any grocery stores easily accessable by foot in Old Town? We have rented an apartment with a kitchen and would like to save a little money by eating in a few times.

seabreeze57

Crabby Bill's has a good deal on oysters on the half shell, a dozen for a couple of bucks last time I was there. http://www.crabbybills.com/

It's pretty casual and can get loud when the band is playing. Not so bad if you get there prior to 7:00 pm.

Another casual but fun place is the Lazy Gecko:
Two For Tuesday
9pm - Close
$2.00 Domestic Bottles
$2.00 Drafts
$2.00 Wells
$2.00 Daiquris (7oz)
$2.00 Pizza Slice til 11pm

http://www.thelazygecko.com/

seabreeze57

There's a Winn Dixie:

0.82 miles
2760 N Roosevelt Blvd
Key West FL http://keywest.citysearch.com/

You might want to take a taxi though

Laurie

Seabreeze, Thanks for the information about the grocery store.

I was happy to hear about the Lazy Gecko too. Their specials sound great! I checked out their website and it looks like a fun place.

Knowing about some of these happy hour specials will make our trip to Key West much more affordable.
Thanks again! Laurie

tpatricco

Laurie, Fausto's gourmet market is in the 500 block of Fleming (1.5 blocks off Duval). It's a small supermarket, but also had a great selection of gourmet prepared foods, antipasto fixings & good grazing stuff. They also sell wine & beer.

SusanCS

The Waterfront Market in Key West Bight has fabulous produce, fish and meat. Sadly, they charge fabulous prices, too.

Laurie

Thanks for telling me about Faustos, tpatricco. It should only be about a 3 block walk from the apartment that we are renting.

Thanks for the Waterfront Market, Susan. I really enjoy the Key West Bight area. We may pop in there one day too!

sdaniels

I am a big fan of Cuban sandwiches from little grocery stores. One of my favorites was 5 Brothers and also there is a good one on White Street (near the laundromat) but I can't remember the name of it. Not fine dining but yummy.

iceeu2

Many many years ago...about 15 or so...the real icee and I were in Key West and loved it..

Now, here is what we did find disturbing...at that time just about every place we went into had a $25 minimum credit card charge...Geez....is it still that way?

Laurie

No, I have never heard of a $25 minimum credit card charge.

JeanH

Just to add a few more options to the mix.

El Siboney for great Cuban food.

Finnegan's Wake has a huge beer selection and according to my family, great burgers.

We love Seven Fish.

I wasn't impressed with Mango's. Over priced and mediocre food.

Decent pizza at Upper Crust on Duval.

I'm not a barbacue expert, but we had decent sandwiches at Meteor, and the prices were very reasonable.

Diana

Fausto's is amazing! Great wine selection, and good deli sandwiches.

Don't write off Blue Heaven for breakfast - it's a must-see. Pepe's for breakfast or for their Thanksgiving dinner (they have it every Thursday) or their meatloaf - yum!

Mango's has only three things on the menu I love - best conch fritters, Bloody Marys and a salad with hearts of palm that is to die for.

Louie's was great in December, but it's expensive, and when it's bad, it's BAD. (We had given it another try and loved it this time.)

MUST get a frozen Key Lime pie on a stick (dipped in chocolate - YEAH!) at Blond Giraffe.

Good Caribbean/Bahamian food at several little "joints." I can try to find the name(s) if anyone's interested.

Mangia Mangia is good. Someone else mentined Marquesa being overpriced and pretentious - our findings as well.

El Siboney is an experience not to be missed. Get an icy cold Hatuey beer to go with your meal.

Get a pedicab to go out to dinner at least once and cruise Duval. Great way to see town.

Grand has the best Mojito's in town and a very cool bar inside.

Bagatelle is no longer very good, but either the downstairs or the upstairs bar - ask for "Grubby" - is a cool hangout. OK wine list.

Pisces - used to be Cafe des Artistes, same owner - is always good.

Have fun!