14 Best Restaurants in The Florida Keys, Florida

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.

Atop the famed Square Grouper restaurant is a secret spot that locals love and smart travelers seek out for its tapas and well-stocked bar. Sit at a high-top table or on a sofa, and savor made-from-scratch small plates you won't soon forget, like salted caramel puffs or chicken lollipops. My New Joint is a blissful marriage of creative cuisine, funky lighting, and good music.

The aroma of rich, roasting coffee beans arrests you at the door of "the Southernmost Coffee Roaster in America." Buy beans by the pound or coffee by the cup, along with sandwiches and sweets. Locals swear it's the best coffee in the Keys and beyond. But there's a whole lot more than just damn good coffee: check out the gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian specialty foods, as well as the assortment of wine and craft beers.

If you're looking for comfort food—like melt-in-your-mouth key lime biscuits the size of a salad plate or old-fashioned hot cakes with sausage or bacon—try this refreshing throwback for a hearty breakfast. At lunch, Harriette's shines in the burger department, and all the soups—from garlic tomato to chili—are homemade.

If you must have your cheeseburger in paradise, it may as well be here. The first of Buffett's line of chain eateries, it belongs in Key West more than anywhere else, but, quite frankly, it's more about the name, music, and attitude (and margaritas) than the food. The menu has a Cajun-Caribbean flair, and live bands pack the place come dinner and into the wee hours.

This family-owned restaurant in a Victorian-style home tucked into the trees is worth seeking out. Seven varieties of Benedict, including conch, are brunch favorites, while lunch and dinner menus highlight local seafood like lionfish (when available) and yellowtail snapper. Interesting fact: the restaurant's "loo" was voted "best of" for local restaurants. The veranda is ideal for winter dining, but indoors the seating is tighter.

This waterfront café serves locally sourced seafood, soups, and salads in a casual setting—specifically, the back of Key Largo Fisheries. Order at the counter, find a picnic table on the covered patio, and watch the boats come in as your food is prepared. A source for fresh seafood including lobster, stone crabs and shrimp, this eatery has been a favorite in the area since 1972. 

While local anglers gather here for breakfast, lunch and dinner bring a mix of islanders and visitors for straightforward food and front-row seats to the sunset. Live music seven nights a week ensures a lively nighttime scene, and the menu staves off inebriation with burgers, barbecued baby back ribs, and Parmesan-crusted snapper. Key lime pie comes frozen with mango sauce. Service can be less than stellar and the gathering at sunset is always crowded.

This honky-tonk has been around since 1936, delighting the inveterate locals and the intrepid vacationers who come for the excellent pizza, cold beer, and interesting companionship. The decor, such as it is, amounts to the autographed dollar bills that cover every inch of the place. The full menu printed on place mats includes a tasty conch chowder, a half-pound fried-grouper sandwich, spaghetti and meatballs, and seafood baskets. The lighting is poor, the furnishings are rough, and the music is oldies. This former brothel and bait shop is just before the No Name Key Bridge in the midst of a residential neighborhood. It's a bit hard to find, but worth the trouble if you want a singular Keys experience.

Named for the award-winning jam-maker and pastry chef Sarabeth Levine, this locally owned restaurant serves all-day breakfast, best enjoyed in the picket-fenced front yard of a circa-1870 synagogue. Lemon ricotta pancakes, pumpkin waffles, and homemade jams make the meal. Lunch offerings range from a griddled smoked mozzarella sandwich to a poached salmon Cobb salad. Start dinner with the signature velvety cream of tomato soup or the roasted red beets and Gorgonzola salad.

This elegant, fine-dining restaurant in Hawks Cay Resort serves steaks and seafood. Chefs work with local farmers and fishermen to find what’s fresh and in season, then create a menu that will wow your palate (and your wallet). Don’t miss the short-rib onion soup with smoked provolone and Gruyère.

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.

There's a strong hint of the Old Keys at this oceanside marina restaurant, where local fishermen stop for breakfast before heading out to catch the big one, and everyone shows up on Sunday for the barbecue from 4 to 9. "On the backside of paradise," as the sign says, its tiki structures overlook quiet mangroves at an RV park marina. Locals usually outnumber tourists. The all-day menu spans an ambitious array of sandwiches, tacos, and seafood.

With only nine tables and a counter inside, this place is always full. The kitchen whips up daily lunch specials like seafood platters or pulled pork with hand-cut fries, but the all-day breakfast is the main draw. You can get the usual breakfast plates, but most newcomers opt for oddities like the lobster omelet, alligator tail and eggs, or grits and "grunts" (that's fish, to the rest of us).