Key West, Florida Offers a Variety of Dining Adventures

I recently enjoyed a fantastic vacation in Key West, Florida. Not only does Key West have fantastic weather, water sports, and bars, it has a wonderful variety of restaurants. Casual, gourmet, or something in between, Key West has something to satisfy your taste buds.

One of the first restaurants we visited was the Duval Beach Club. The Duval Beach Club is a laid back restaurant/bar and beach club on the Atlantic Ocean in Key West, Florida. You can pay just $5 to rent a beach chair for the day on a white sand beach. The bar is just steps away, and the servers service the beach area. They serve great appetizers, such as coconut shrimp. I tasted this, and it was great. The shrimp were huge and fresh. My fiancée had the pork sandwich, and it was also delicious. They feature happy hour food and drink specials every day. This place is laid back and a lot of fun.

For a more formal night out by Key West standards, check out Duffy's Steak and Lobster House. Duffy's Steak and Lobster House is located on Truman Avenue in Key West, Florida. It is a nice steak and lobster restaurant. A few blocks off of Duval, it is quieter and relaxing. We feasted on alligator bites and lobster. The service was very good and the food was excellent. All meals also come with tasty homemade bread. This restaurant has been around for many years and seems to be a favorite of the locals. Duffy's also featured a full bar. We went to the restaurant later in the evening and had no problem getting served very quickly. It was conveniently located across the street from our hotel, Key Lime Inn, as well as the Chelsea House and the Conch Inn.

If you are looking for a quick dessert, try the Blonde Giraffe. The Blonde Giraffe is a chain of stores in Key West which feature award winning key lime pie. They also have a few other desserts and gifts. I tried the Key Lime Pie with meringue. While it was good because it was sour and tangy, like I like, it had a soggy crust. It may have just been an older piece. I didn't feel it was as good as Willie T's key lime pie. The store is easy to stop in and grab just one slice or a whole pie and will satisfy your key lime cravings.

If a fantastic happy hour is your idea of a great restaurant experience, check out Alonzo's Oyster Bar. Alonzo's Oyster Bar is located right on the water in the wharf in Key West. You can sit outside, munch on appetizers, and rest your eyes on gorgeous ships. We checked out Alonzo's for happy hour and were not disappointed. They had excellent half price appetizers. We had the peel and eat shrimp, conch chowder, and calamari. Everything was fantastic. The food is super fresh and delicious. The drinks were not bad either! Check out Alonzo's to satisfy your seafood cravings.

Another delicious part of Key West cuisine is the Cuban food. We visited El Meson De Pepe. We chose this restaurant for our last meal in Key West and we were not disappointed. It is located off of the busy Duval Street, so took just a bit of searching to find. It had a lovely outdoor eating area, with a stone wall built around the property and a fountain in the middle. Wild cats roamed the area and climbed on the wall, but did not bother you at the tables. We started with some Cuban nachos...plantains covered with shredded beef, cheese, and vegetables. We each had a meal of pork, ground beef, shredded beef, rice, and beans. It was delicious and so filling! The restaurant also had great indoor dining with a market inside. I would definitely recommend this restaurant; everything on the menu looked delicious!

Whether you choose seafood or Cuban, casual or sophisticated, the restaurants in Key West Florida will not leave you hungry.