Suggestions for mid-March visit. Casual seafood oriented preferred. Thanks in advance.
It has been a couple of years, but I was always a fan of Pepe’s in old Key West for breakfast-great mimosas.
For dinner the best spot I know is Louie’s Backyard-great view for sunset etc.
I don’t think there is any “great” food in KW. There used to be a great spot for happy hour near the harbor, if I think of the name I’ll post it.
-paul
Keep your expectations low. It’s not a food destination. Blue Heaven is pretty good and it has a nice, outdoor setting. El Siboney will scratch the Cuban food itch. Bien, formerly Paseo, has good Caribbean sandwiches. All the locals recommend Santiago’s Bodega, but unless you have a real sweet tooth for your food, avoid.
We had lunch here http://www.turtlekraals.com/ and enjoyed it very much. It had been recommended to us by our stockbroker. Not real fancy but the food was good.
Seven Fish is pretty good, they are away from Duval St. and Mallory Square. http://www.7fish.com/
We’ve also enjoyed The Flaming Buoy in the past. http://theflamingbuoy.com/
Conch Republic is OK. It can be hit or miss, when they are on they are ON and when they miss, they miss in a big way. Much more touristy than the previous recommendations. http://www.conchrepublicseafood.com/
Pepe’s is great for breakfast as mentioned. I’ll try and get some more recommendations when I speak with my wife. Enjoy your trip.
My final dinner in Key West was at Mangia Mangia. Italian place that has a good amount of seafood specialties:
They have a decent wine cellar, but be aware that their website link to their wine list needs considerable updating for bottles no longer available. I ended up getting a 2005 Kongsgaard chard (they no longer had The Judge listed on their website), which was solidly priced at $150 for the bottle. Food was good and portions were on the larger side.
This is about right, although there are enough decent places to keep you busy for at least a few days’ visit. Among the places already mentioned: Blue Heaven was good. Nice outdoor seating if the weather allows it. I don’t really remember the wine list. Louie’s Backyard had pretty good food, a great view, and a serviceable wine list. El Siboney was also good for regular cuban. El Meson de Pepe was good as well. Reservations recommended at least for those first two places.
I have a strange suggestion, which is Sandy’s Cafe. If you click on the link, you will see that it is in a laundromat. So only go if you were serious about “causal” and that kind of quirkiness makes you think “that’s cool” rather than “that’s disgusting”. Found it out of desperation b/c they do very late delivery service, but actually went there several more times on the trip. Their “Cuban mix” sandwich turned out to be pretty addictive. They have a counter with some stools you can sit at. It’s something different at least.
Not a restaurant recommendation, but just some notes on going there: One of the best parts of the trip was the driving to & from Miami in a convertible (highway patrol are well aware that this is a popular tourist corridor, though). Also, depending on what you mean by “mid-March” you should be aware that St. Patrick’s day has a tendency to spread out across several days in certain parts of town (especially Duval St).
Sandy’s is a quintessential Key West experience. Cuban coffee in the morning, sandwiches in the afternoon.
5 Brothers is another good choice for that.