Food & Travel Guide to Key West!

Hi friends! My fam and I just returned from our 3RD trip to Key West and we like to think we are becoming quite the Key West foodies! We have found some pretty killer spots over the three trips, returning to our very faves but also finding new amazing spots each time! A local told us that there are over 200 restaurants on the island! I mean DANG that's a lot! So to help you all narrow down your search, I'm gonna give you our favorites!

From breakfast & coffee, lunch, dinner, happy hour, I've got ya!!

Also I'll give ya some good spots to watch the sunset that aren't super crowded like Mallory Square! Plus we'll do a run down on the two beaches and Dry Tortugas National Park.

OOHHH and might as well give y'all the run down on key lime pie !!!! 😝

BREAKFAST & COFFEE!

---> Cuban Coffee Queen!👑☕️

2 locations: Downtown (5 Key Lime Square) and Waterfront (284 Margaret Street)-- I recommend the downtown location! They have more seating there!

V quality cuban coffee, which is big in Key West! We love the cafe con leche! The pic below is an iced cafe con leche. They have great breakfast sammies too which come on their homemade cuban bread! I recommend getting the Sunrise Special: Half a breakfast sandwich and a cafe con leche. I can personally vouch for the Key Wester breakfast sandwich (pictured below). My parents got the breakfast burrito and were big fans of it as well!

----> Keys Coffee Company

Right across the street from Cuban Coffee Queen (downtown), 505 Southard Street

We love this spot for a quick breakfast and of course coffee! Their breakfast tacos are killer! A must! They have cafe con leche, but they also have some quality smoothies to choose from. They have a great variety of breakfast sandwiches and bagels as well. Not a ton of seating so probably not great for a large group, but we took our order to go back to our air bnb to eat!

----> Old Town Bakery

930 Eaton Street

Super cute lil bakery right on Eaton Street. No seating so definitely a grab and go place. We took our food down to the waterfront and grabbed some benches to sit on. Pastries and breakfast sandwiches were amazing. The bread on the breakfast sandwiches was to die for! Pastries we loved: raspberry cheese danish & raspberry croissant.

----> Firefly Key West🌟

We loooovee this spot! Amazing brunch! They have dinner as well but we've been there for brunch twice! They put their twist on breakfast with a southern comfort flare. My fave was their chicken and waffles. I also had the spicy chicken biscuit sandwich, which was very good and HUGE haha but you definitely need to like spicy food! Very good mimosas as well! Future bro-in-law Josh got a cold brew cocktail that he said was very good too.

----> Blue Heaven 🐓💙

729 Thomas Street

A Key West classic! Awesome outdoor patio seating with good vibes. Serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but we've only been for breakfast! We've been here twice, and both times the food was excellent. Both times I had their huge plate-size pancakes (blueberry & banana, I prefer banana it's sooo good). They have great seafood breakfast options as well. My mom had a yummy lobster omelet with a side of their homemade banana bread which is definitely worth a try.

* This place is popular and gets busy quick. I recommend either making reservations or if you are going there for breakfast, get there right when they open at 8 am. We rolled up at around 7:59 am and there were already tables seated and a line started.

----> Glazed Donuts🍩

420 Eaton Street

Not your average donut place! Glazed had super fun flavors and the presentation was beautiful as well. We went hard and got a dozen so we could share and try a bunch of different donuts. My favorites were the Brown Butter Hazelnut and Maple with Candied Bacon. Other flavors included: Original Glazed, Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate Cake, Key Lime, Blood Orange, Lemon Pistachio.

LUNCH!

----> Garbo's Grill

409 Caroline Street

This is a repeat visit for us! Garbo's was showcased on Guy Fieri's Diners Drive-In's and Dives and for good reason! They operate out of a super cool old Air Stream and park it behind a little bar. Our faves: Umami Burger, Yum Yum Shrimp Tacos, Fish Tacos, Korean Tacos (spicy), & Mango Dog. - They are also open for dinner! We've been for both lunch and dinner.

----> Fisherman's Cafe🐟

205 Elizabeth Street

This is a great lil grab and go lunch place. It's a walk up window with only about one table! We biked there and took our food to go back to our Air BNB. My sister and I split the Shrimp Club Wrap and we loooved it. The shrimp was super fresh and there was an awesome sauce on it. We got sweet potato fries for our side and they were super good too. We can also vouch for the fish tacos! Yum!

----> Courthouse Deli

600 Whitehead Street

A super convenient lunch place when all you want is something simple like a sandwich. I personally did not eat here but multiple members of my family did and talked very highly of the sandwiches they got. They also serve ice cream! We stopped by here one night to grab some!

----> DJ's Clam Shack!

629 Duval Street

Another Guy Fieri stop on DDD. Good for lunch or dinner! A small place that's also a walk-up window. They do have some seating on a deck behind the restaurant. We sat there once but have also taken the food to-go. You HAVE to get the lobster roll. It is KILLER!! Conch fritters and their fish & shrimp tacos are also amazing.

DINNER!

----> First Flight Brewery ✈️

301 Whitehead Street

Located in the building that was originally the birthplace of Pan-Am Airlines, it is such a neat location. Beautiful patio seating with a garden canopy surrounding you. Labeled The Southernmost Microbrewery, this is a must stop for craft beer lovers. However, the non beer lovers have full bar options. Personally I loved the Key Lime Margarita! :)

A little pricy (entrees ranged around $15-$40) but definitely quality food and amazing seafood options. We shared meals and apps too which made it more reasonable! With a group of 12 we got a pretty good spread of what they have haha so here's what we liked: Appetizers: Scallops, Brussel Sprouts, Di Parma Flatbread

Entrees: Seafood Linguini, Whole Snapper, Lobster Tail

----> The Commodore Waterfront Restaurant

700 Front Street

Okay so this place is NICE, like nice nice. Haha this was our fancy meal of the trip. We went here our second time in Key West for our Christmas Eve Dinner. Located above the Boathouse Restaurant (which is more low-key, owned by same people) it has a great view of the marina. You won't go wrong with anything you order.

----> Eaton Street Seafood Market🐠

801 Eaton Street

This place is great for both lunch and dinner. They serve up fresh caught seafood as entrees and sandwiches, but they also have a seafood market where you can take fresh fish to cook at home. We've done both. Our Air bnb had a grill so we bought fresh mahi mahi, grouper, crab cakes, and scallops. They were super helpful in figuring out how long we should cook the fish and how we should cook them. We also grabbed some sides (potatoes & veggies to grill and fresh fruit and fresh foccacia bread) at the local farmer's market which is every Thursday till 2pm down at the Truman Waterfront Park.

HAPPY HOUR!

Okay, soooo my family is HUGE on happy hour. Big supporters! This is pretty much our go-to move. Not only for the good deal on drinks but of course the food. We can usually get filled up on the happy hour appetizers and we love being able to share and get a sampling of so many different menu items! This is why I didn't list a ton of dinner restaurants lol. But also these places were serving dinner so hit them up for actual dinner meals too if ya want!

----> Santiago's Bodega

207 Petronia Street

Serving Spanish style tapas, this is a great happy hour location. They have about 5-7 tapas on the happy hour list and then a very extensive full menu of tapas. We ended up getting a few off the happy hour list but also ventured onto the full menu. They are definitely small plates. Our waitress suggested that each person order two. The 6 of us there did this and passed around each plate, so we could all try.

Our Recommendations: Chicken Skewers (must!), Bacon & Basil Wrapped Mushrooms, Croquettas, Miniature Quesadilla (must!), Puff Pastry, Smoked Salmon Carpaccio

*** OH and you must get the red sangria if you're a sangria person because wow, it might just be one of the top sangrias I've had. Not too sweet, it was perfect.

----> Moondog Cafe & Bakery🌙

823 Whitehead Street

This is the cutest place ever! It was new to us this time as it has just opened in the past year or so and I had been eyeing it on Instagram (go give them a follow!). They have the best patio with cute dangling lights and large trees shading it. We went for happy hour but I would have loved to go for breakfast too. They have typical bakery items to grab and go as well - beautiful croissants, danishes, banana bread, etc. Both of my sisters and their SO's went for lunch and were big fans of the pizza.

Okay, so back to happy hour deets lol.

--- Drinks: SANGRIA! Guys I am telling you, Key West knows how to make a good sangria. Here I got the White Sangria and it was amazing. They had a list of craft beers that made my dad and the guys happy too lol.

--- Food: Roasted Garlic-Honey Bruschetta, Truffled French Fries, Chicken Potstickers, Brussel Sprouts

--- Mains: we did order a few items from the main menu including Blackened Mahi Sandwich & Tortellini

**** They also had an awesomeeee Key Lime Pie- topped with meringue which I usually don't like but it wasn't a traditional meringue. It had a more whipped cream/marshmallowy consistency lol. Needless to say, we finished it real quick haha.

----> The Boathouse

700 Front Street

So, this is the place below The Commodore that I mentioned earlier. We went there on our second trip to Key West and we loved it. Super solid happy hour menu that has an extensive list of food options. We were lucky enough to snag a seat out front right by some of the boats (more like yachts lol) in the marina. This place definitely gets super busy so be ready to wait.

KEY LIME PIE!

We love love love us some key lime pie in my family haha. Led by my dad, the ultimate key lime pie connoisseur, we've taste tested quite a few of what the birthplace of key lime pie has to offer in this category. So here's our ranking. I know there are some other spots who have key lime pie we haven't tested so here's our top choices from the ones we have tried.

1. Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shop (we buy whole pies from here to have at our air bnb throughout the week lol)

2. MoonDog Cafe & Bakery (if you want meringue on yours, get it here!)

3. Key West Key Lime Pie Company (also solid but came in third because crust is not as thick as we like)

SUNSET

Alrighty, so the sunset in Key West is a pretty big deal. It's beautiful and something special to see the sun disappear behind the water. With this being said, you have to find a good spot to watch that sun go down! Mallory Square is usually everyone's go to and we've done this a few time but it is CROWDED. It's worth maybe going to once if you want to see street performers and the shops/restaurants right around there, but we like more chill vibes and the places I am about to tell you are just that!

---- Fort Zachary Taylor State Park: The grounds hold an old military fort and beach lines! We like to go here during the day to hang at the beach and then return at night to watch the sunset! It does have a cost to enter but it's daily so you keep your receipt and can leave and come back for the sunset at night. Prices vary depending on if you are in a car, bike, or walking. We rode our bikes each time and it was $2.50 per person.

---- USCGC Ingham Maritime Museum: This one was probably our all-time favorite spot for the sunset. We just discovered it on this third trip of ours. It's a happy hour sunset located on the USCGC Ingham Coast Guard Ship. It's no longer in service and is permanently docked in this location (Southard Street, in the Truman Waterfront Park). This happy hour sunset is only on Friday and Saturdays and opens an hour before sunset. $5 per person to get on the ship then there's a bar with beer and wine. All proceeds go to maintaining the ship, which is awesome. Also my dad would want me to say use the bathroom while on the ship haha the bathrooms are located below the ship and you'll get to see a little more of the ship.

COCKTAIL BAR

Okay so last but not least by any means:

Caroline's Other Side

429 Caroline Street

We love love loved this spot! It's seriously a hidden gem! Located right at the corner of Caroline and Duval street, it's hidden away a little bit. It's in a beautiful old home and one side is a cocktail bar and the other side is a more casual bar. There's a restaurant in the back as well. The front yard is fenced off and hidden from the street by greenery. In the yard is lots of seating, jenga, corn hole, and ping pong. We went here on New Year's Eve and basically had a whole half of the yard to ourselves. The cocktails were so fun and creative. Watching them be made was half the fun! We also had a few appetizers. We thought the conch fritters were the best we had had on the island. The fried mahi mahi is also worthy of mention!

BEACHES

Key West is not known for their beaches, however, a beach is a beach and they were well worthy enough for us Missourians lol.

Smathers Beach-- man made so has better sand and is more of your typical 'lay on the beach' beach.

Fort Zachery Taylor State Park- very rocky but is neat that pine trees and wooded area back up the beach. Great for hammocking!! They also have chairs to rent which makes rocks no big deal. I will recommend wearing your sandals down to the water with you though haha.

DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK

So, this could really have it's own blog post, but I wanted to give Dry Tortugas a shoutout! This national park is located 70 miles west of Key West and is only accessible by boat or sea plane. I have been there twice and my sisters have now been there three times. It is such a cool experience and we all 100% recommend doing it. Located on one of the four islands that makes up Dry Tortugas National Park is Fort Jefferson, the largest brick structure in the Western Hemisphere. While there, you can walk the fort, snorkel, and check out the bird sanctuary. Check out the U.S National Park's website for more information.

While the ferry that takes you out there is less expensive, we highly recommend you take the seaplane. It is an incredible experience taking off and landing on water. You get an aerial view of the fort and you are one of 10 people on the plane.

ACTIVITIES

Other notable activities to consider in Key West!

- Rent bikes to ride around the island including places like Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and the Southernmost Point (90 miles to Cuba! Also a good photo op with the famous buoy!)

- Harry S. Truman's Little White House: get a tour of Harry S. Truman's Key West residence.

- Ernest Hemingway House-- we never did this but it's definitely notable especially if you are a Hemingway fan. Also if you feel like it, might as well checkout the island lighthouse located right across from the Hemingway home.

- USCGC Ingham Maritime Museum-- we didn't have time to go on this tour, but would have loved to. The ship has a lot of history, seeing time in several of our nation's wars.