Favorite Key West restaurants?

February 14, 2014 8:53 AM

Going to Key West in May and looking for restaurant recommendations. (I'll be staying near Truman & Duval Streets.) Anything from street food up to serious foodie welcome.
posted by JanetLand to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

I just got back from Key West a couple weeks ago -- There are so many good restaurants! :-)

My new favorite for dessert and/or drinks is Better Than Sex. I can only describe the drinks as decadent: beer served in glasses dipped in chocolate, champagne and caramel, etc. YUM!

I also really like Nine One Five on Duval. It is a great combo of delicious food and people watching, especially if you sit outside. The staff was also super nice and accomodating.

Mangia Mangia for delicious fresh pasta.

Have fun!
posted by Shadow Boxer at 9:07 AM on February 14, 2014

Oh gosh, El Siboney! Excellent Cuban restaurant, great, cheap food. Fantastic sangria. I eat there every time I'm in town.
posted by rinosaur at 9:10 AM on February 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

BO's Fish Wagon, for yummy fish sandwiches, without a doubt.
posted by bink at 9:24 AM on February 14, 2014

My parents really love The Rum Barrel. I've never eaten there myself, but as advertised, their rum is really, really good.

Sarabeth's and Blue Heaven are fantastic for brunch. Blue Heaven also makes one of the better of the many, many key lime pies you can find in Key West.

Kelly's has a great happy hour special, and awesome apps. The mojo pork tostada, the cheese dip, and the crab were all great.

Sloppy Joe's can be touristy, but it's a tradition. Their loaded fries are so, so good. They also make a mean mojito.

For dessert, try Mattheesen's for scooped ice cream and Kohr is great for soft serve.

My parents (and me on occasion) have been going to the Keys for 20+ years, so please feel free to memail me if you want more suggestions, or more details, etc.
posted by PearlRose at 9:27 AM on February 14, 2014

Giving a second for Blue Heaven! Very Key West vibe and terrific food. My dinners there have always been a highlight of my visits to the area.
posted by cat_link at 10:53 AM on February 14, 2014

My parents used to vacation quite a bit in the Keys before my brother and I were born, and their favorite spot to eat there was the Half Shell Raw Bar. They took my brother and I along once, but we were both too young to remember much about it (other than eating way too much amazing seafood on a daily basis). But we did check out the Half Shell Raw Bar, and I remember eating fried conch fritters there and absolutely loving them. May be worth a look!
posted by kryptondog at 12:12 PM on February 14, 2014

Seconding El Siboney.
posted by garethspor at 4:56 PM on February 14, 2014

Best Key Lime Pie can be found at the Key Lime Pie Factory Here is a google maps link. We had our honeymoon in Key West and tried pies at every restaurant we went to and KLPF had the best, hands down.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 5:21 PM on February 14, 2014

Blue Heaven!
posted by The Toad at 6:20 AM on February 15, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks everybody -- looks like Blue Heaven is the grand prize winner, but these all sound good!
posted by JanetLand at 9:20 AM on February 16, 2014