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inexpensive, fun restaurants in Key West

We will be in Key West in early May. We would like to go to some inexpensive, fun restaurants. We have enjoyed BO's Fish Wagon and Schooner's Wharf and we are looking forward to trying El Siboney's. Can anyone recommend other similar places? Thanks for your help! Laurie

Have you tried Pepe's?

How about the Half Shell Raw Bar? It's got wonderful fresh fish and isn't particularly expensive, at least by Key West standards.

Thanks for your suggestions! We at at Pepe's when we were in Key West 2 years ago. The food was wonderful and the portions were large but my friend was a little frustrated with the long wait for a table.We waited about 1 1/2 hours on a Tuesday night. We haven't tried Half Shell Raw Bar. Maybe we will check that out. What do you think of Bahama Mama's Kitchen, Iguana Cafe or Meteor Smokehouse? Also, Cap't Runaground Harvey's Floating restaurant looks interesting. Thank you!

Half Shell Raw Bar Turtle Krawls Pepes (worth the wait) Meteor is good but maybe not great BBQ New place on the Pier of Ocean Key House Never heard of Bahama Mamas Iguana Cafe looked like a dump

Camilles is my favorite breakfast (and sometimes, lunch) place. Right on Duval. Great food. Local hangout. Pepe's is good, but the wait can get extreme. Blue Heaven is attractive (in a funky way) and the food is good, but, again, the wait can be extreme. I've always gone to Turtle Krall's (GREAT location) but the last few times the food hasn't been up to snuff. Have fun.

What time would you recommend getting to Pepes to avoid a long wait?

7 Fish - very good, casual, make reservations Half Shell - great fresh fish Pepes - yes theres is a wait usually for dinner but get there early. Depending on the time of year, try getting there before sunset. Camilles - gets mixed reviews. No longer on Duval Street. Turtle Kraals - good southwest Skip Capt Harveys - not good P.T.s - sports bar

Thanks for all your suggestions. I was thinking about 7 Fish but I wasn't how pricey it would be. I'm sorry to Cap't Harvey's is not good.It looked like a fun night out on their website.Maybe we will try Pepe's again, a little earlier this time. Thanks again for all your help. Laurie

Laurie-Early May you shouldn't have a problem unless there is something going on like the boat races. We were there last week of April last year and no line.

Heard they opened a Crabby Bills in KW-Went to one in the Clearwater area & thought they were reasonable & had great seafood

We enjoyed Bahama Mama's. The seafood dishes we ordered were prepared simply (blackened, sauted), and very good. It was a nice change of pace from most of the other restaurants we went to (no mango chutney in sight). The crab rice and shrimp cakes were great side dishes.

Thanks buttercup! I'm putting Bahama Mama's back on my list of restaurants to try! The menu looked pretty good to me and the prices are reasonable.Thanks! Laurie

Laurie: We lived there for 3 years,so here goes: El Siboneys-good Cuban, local and tourists Alices on Duval-good, at the gay bar La Te Da, expensive,dinner Dennis Pharmacy,Simonton St,locals,burgers 5 Brothers Grocery,Southard St;Friday's conch chowder, best on the rock La Trattoria,Duval St,Italian Louie Backyard,good, expensive,on the water, great views Monte's,mm 25, Summerland Key,excellent seafood Mo's, White St, outstanding,go early, not always open, depends if the owners are in town (Canadians) Paradise Cafe,Eaton St,good Cuban sand Rusty Anchor, Stock Island, great seafood,locals primarily,reasonable Sandy's Cafe,White St,walk up /take out only, best Cuban sand,at the laundromat,Trust me on this one,get yourself a Con a Lache coffee too Our favorite to this day is the Half Shell. Good food, atmosphere, eat at the bar and talk to the locals Stay away from N.Roosevelt and most restaruants downtown. There is small cafe in town, forget the name, but great breakfasts.Simonton or Southard street, I forget. Excellent breakfast sandwiches at Sandy's. Have fun. Don't rent a car, parking is tough. Walk, cabs, scooters, etc. Do Schooners at night or Ricks. Go to the night show at the 801 gay bar. It's a good time and you'll swear these guys are women and they are good singers. You'll see gays and local couples in for the show. Good time of year for snorkeling and diving as the water is starting to warm up. Water gets rough when windy so don't let those hawkers tell you otherwise. Terry & Suzanne (now back in MI, we must have been nuts)

Good advice from the above but if you want inexpensive Alice's, La Tratorria, Louie's Backyard can all be scratched from your list. They are pricey and Louies is not what it once was. Ricks is a meat market bar so if you are in your early 20's go for it.

we loved half shell and pepes