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If you're a fan of vibrant coastal decor and fresh local seafood, you'll gush over this restaurant and bar overlooking the water and Hawks Cay Marina. The menu is varied with options that include burgers as well as grilled fish, the cocktails are creative, and there are more than a dozen beers on tap. Live music and comedy nights bring in the locals. The restaurant also offers a "Hook and Cook" option whereby your catch is prepared and served family style with sides.
540 Duck Key Dr., Duck Key, Florida, 33050, USA
Known For
- Locally sourced seafood like grouper cheeks and Key West pink shrimp
- Pricey menu
- Family friendliness
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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.
600 Fleming St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Relaxed but elegant setting
- Good wine and martini lists
- Desserts worth ordering
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch, Reservations essential
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Nestled on the third floor of the main building of Baker's Cay Resort, this waterfront spot offers panoramic views of the Gulf and a creative menu of Creole-Caribbean-inspired dishes. Start off with a round of craft cocktails (the Dark Rum Sazerac is a popular one), and then head to a table on the multilevel balcony for a dinner of Keys pink shrimp and lobster pasta or local mahimahi with miso-honey glaze. The white-chocolate bread pudding with rum sauce for dessert will leave you swooning.
97000 Overseas Hwy., Florida, 33037, USA
Known For
- Spectacular views
- Creative cocktails
- Whole fried fish
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It's easy to miss this café tucked between Grassy Key and Marathon, but when you find it (upstairs at Rainbow Bend Resort), expect it to be filled with locals who appreciate a well-planned menu, lovely ocean view, and quiet evening away from the crowds. For starters, dig into escargots à la Edison (sautéed with vegetables, pepper, cognac, and cream) before feasting on specialties, such as a rarely found chateaubriand for one or a seafood medley combining the catch of the day with scallops and shrimp.
57784 Overseas Hwy., Florida, 33050, USA
Known For
- Seclusion and quiet
- Amazing escargots
- Hand-cut steaks and fresh fish
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch, Reservations essential
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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.
245 Front St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Amazing sunset views
- Sophisticated atmosphere and expensive food
- Lobster bisque
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations are required for the ferry: no reservation, no ride, Reservations essential
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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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.
915 Duval St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Fun place to people-watch
- Intimate and inviting atmosphere
- Light jazz during dinner
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon. and Tues., Reservations essential
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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.
425 Grinnell St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Homemade gnocchi
- A nice variety of fish specials at dinner
- Daily brunch
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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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.
245 Front St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Upstairs bar overlooking Mallory Square
- Key West pink shrimp
- Popular weekend brunch
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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.
1029 Southard St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Hogfish in several different preparations
- Intimate, romantic atmosphere
- Award-winning key lime pie
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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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.
1435 Simonton St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Well-trained staff
- Craft cocktails
- Fabulous key lime pie
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Colorful abstract mosaics and inviting, upholstered banquettes almost steal the show, but the food is equally interesting. The menu, a fusion of East and West, offers sushi rolls that combine local ingredients with traditional Japanese tastes. A wood grill is used to prepare such dishes as grilled catch of the day and hardwood-grilled rack of lamb. Wine and sake choices are abundant, and the manager is a wine connoisseur, so take advantage.
81701 Overseas Hwy., Florida, 33036, USA
Known For
- Drunken scallops
- Showstopping decor
- Dessert cupcakes that look like sushi
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch, Reservations essential
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A few yards from Florida Bay, this popular seafood restaurant, completely renovated in 2023, has large picture windows that offer great sunset views, though most patrons dine outside on the sand. The menu includes such irresistible entrées as lobster linguini and a prime rib eye. In addition, there are sandwiches, a burger, and sushi. And you can't miss the restaurant's famous Key lime pie and seasonal fruit crisp. The extensive property has two tiki bars and a boutique.
88000 Overseas Hwy., Florida, 33036, USA
Known For
- A gathering place for locals and visitors
- Fantastic fresh-fish sandwich
- Extensive wine and cocktails lists
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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This bayfront restaurant wins high marks for its surprisingly stellar cuisine, tables in the sand, and tiki torches that bathe the evening in romance. Seafood takes center stage, but you can always get roasted organic chicken or prime rib. The tapas menu caters to smaller appetites with offerings like fried calamari and conch salad. Sit in a dining room outfitted with surfboards, or outdoors on a beach, where the sunset puts on a mighty show and kids (and your feet) play in the sand.
81600 Overseas Hwy., Florida, 33036, USA
Known For
- Feet-in-the-sand dining
- Full-moon parties
- Intoxicating sunset views
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Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Ocean Grill serves up fresh Key West seafood in good portions at fair prices. The "Scalouper" is just of one the unique offerings: jumbo diver scallops sliced on the diagonal and served atop pan-seared, local black grouper with a mint puree—sounds odd, but it tastes delightfully fresh. Bring your dog and sit on the patio as roosters play in the courtyard, or dine inside amid cloud-painted trim and white brick walls painted with giant words of cooking wisdom.
1075 Duval St., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Shrimp and grits
- Bottomless Bloody Marys and mimosas every day 9–3:30
- Creamy lobster bisque
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If it's a clear night and you can snag a reservation, this restaurant will treat you to a sherbet-hued sunset over Florida Bay. Try the key lime seafood, a happy combo of sautéed shrimp, lobster, and crabmeat swimming in a tangy sauce spiked with Tabasco served over penne or rice. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available. To beat the crowds, stop in for lunch, which offers the same great food, minus the hassle.
103900 Overseas Hwy., Florida, 33037, USA
Known For
- Bacon-wrapped scallops
- Sunset views
- Choose your fish, choose your preparation
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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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.
3841 N. Roosevelt Blvd., Florida, 33040, USA
Known For
- Upscale atmosphere (and prices)
- Popular happy hour
- Noise when busy
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
