Sun, surf, seafood and so much more. Writer Chelle Koster Walton helps Real Food Travelers narrow down some of the many choices for where to stay and eat in Key West, Florida.

Save this article to Pinterest to help you plan your visit to the best places to stay and eat in Key West, Florida. Photos courtesy of Chelle Koster Walton. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

Hungry for more? Read Chelle’s article about what to eat in DeLand, Florida.

5 of the Best Places to Stay and Eat in Key West

A whole heap of folks head to Key West for the partying. Me? I’m making a list of where I’m going to eat weeks before I book a room. But when I do book that room, I make sure it’s at a resort or hotel where food cred matters as much as thread count.

Because for me, good eats are the true barometer of a lodging property’s worth. My five picks below boast restaurants so above that old “hotel food” bias, they draw in-the-know foodies who live in Key West or are staying elsewhere and looking for a true taste of the island. And since we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, hotel cuisine adds the bonus of amazing food to wake up to.

OCEAN KEY RESORT & SPA: SHINY REDO, CULINARY DRAMA

Recently reopened to debut its stunningly remastered lobby, landmark Ocean Key Resort has elevated its award-winning standing as a waterfront Old Town icon. The renovation brought a new welcoming space, where two things grabbed my immediate attention: the new Sweet Bird Bar spilling out on a balcony, and the view from said balcony overlooking the resort’s harbor.

The bar takes its name from a Tennessee Williams play Sweet Bird of Youth. Williams lived and wrote in Key West 1941 to 1983, and Ocean Key Resort kindly gives guests a sense of place with various references to the iconic playwright. At the bar, for instance, drinks too are infused with literary references, like The Rose Tattoo and – my top recommend – Stairs to the Roof, a pretty little vodka blend of the pineapple and guava persuasion.

Named for a Tennessee Williams play, the Stairs to the Roof cocktail takes tropical a few flights up.

The resort’s flagship restaurant, Hot Tin Roof, of course alludes to one of Williams’ most famous works. Like it, the works of Executive Chef Scott Meurer, too, deserve standing ovation. He’s a wizard at boosting Key West’s famously seafood- and Caribbean-inspired cuisine with dishes like the completely exquisite tuna tacos, blackened shrimp mac & cheese, whole crispy yellowtail snapper, plantain-crusted swordfish with tequila poblano sauce, and Cuban bread pudding with white chocolate and dulce de leche.

Hot Tin Roof’s outdoor seating provides the perfect way to start the day with breakfast overlooking Mallory Square – the town’s pier famous for its nightly Sunset Celebration, a famous ritual of street performers and wild revelry. My breakfast picks, both locally inspired: Poached Huevos with guajillo-spiced tomato sauce, pinto beans, lime crema, and crisp tortillas; and Toasted Coconut-Key Lime Breakfast Bread with key lime curd and whipped vanilla bean mascarpone.

For lunch and to witness Sunset Celebration from a perched perspective, hit Sunset Pier – an alfresco venue and well-loved waterfront tradition. The grouper ceviche or tostones make great cocktail nibbles. A selection of salads, burgers, and sandwiches offer more substantial fare.

Ocean Key Resort’s Sunset Pier – Old Town’s best vantage for toasting day’s end. Credit Ocean Key Resort & Spa.

MARQUESA HOTEL: GRANDE DAME ELEGANCE, NOLA SIDETRIP

Like so many of Key West’s one-of-a-kind accommodations, the collection of charming cottages known as Marquesa grew out of historic homes built at the turn-of-the-century in the Victorian gingerbread style that defines Key West architecture. Here dwells the pinnacle of Key West lodging, defined by a sense of privileged, sequestered escape among two richly landscaped pools, rock waterfalls, and peaceful gardens.

The Marquesa sequesters guests from the raucousness Key West can become. Credit Marquesa Hotel.

As lofty in reputation and style, Café Marquesa creates an atmosphere of white linen, delightful sensations, and comfort in one historic structure. Exactingly crafted dishes showcase the island’s briny treasures with New Orleans-style wizardry: highly hailed creations like silky she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, blackened triple tail, and Louisiana crawfish tails with Creole cream.

The she-crab soup, a signature specialty at Marquesa Café.

Of course, there are house-made beignets for dessert. And, of course, key lime pie. Both equally telling of Southern sweetness. But if you’re truly looking for over-the-top indulgence, try the Ménage à Trois – seared foie gras, beignets, and sauternes.

Sumptuous breakfasting is a signature Key West pastime, and Marquesa looms among the most iconic a.m. dining spots. Those blissful beignets with lime curd are back, plus blueberry cornmeal pancakes and avocado toast that earn raves.

Breakfast at Marquesa Café. Credit: Marquesa Hotel.

SUNSET KEY COTTAGES: GREAT ESCAPE, COASTAL CUES 

Any time of day is a good time to set out for a magic-carpet ride to Sunset Key Cottages – a 27-acre private island and 8-minute cruise aboard the Lil Princess from sibling property Opal Key Resort & Marina.

I prefer to make the glam escape midday when cruise ship passengers often clog Old Town streets and a totally civilized, truly magic-carpet for the tastebuds, luncheon experience awaits. Reserve boat transportation and a table with a view of the beach ahead of your outing. It may be considered Key West’s top luxury resort and its restaurant, Latitudes, an overachiever in the awards department, but elegance is casual here, especially at lunchtime.

The kitchen puts inimitable spins on all things Keys-y. Take the Cracked Conch Ceviche, for instance. Locally caught pink shrimp appear in a tempura appetizer and crispy quesadilla. Another star of the local seafood roll call, yellowtail snapper comes pan-seared with roasted tomato caper butter.

The Lil Princess shuttle operates 6:30am-10:30pm daily, making breakfast and dinner doable for non-guests, too. Just be warned – for a sunset-timeframe table, book as far in advance as possible, especially during the winter season. You may think mingling among the sunset throngs in Mallory Square is a Key West highlight. On my KW bucket-list, leisurely WATCHING Sunset Celebration from afar is all that.

At breakfast, I love Latitudes’ menus of Toasts and Benedicts, specifically the Genovese Toast – truffle burrata, soft-scrambled eggs, pesto aioli, prosciutto, shaved truffle, tomato, and fried basil on grilled sourdough bread; and the Sunrise Benedict with capicola ham, marinated tomato, and pesto hollandaise.

Breakfast on the beach at Latitudes on Sunset Key. Credit Sunset Key Cottages.

My dream dinner at Latitudes starts with Maine Lobster & Jumbo Lump Crab Cake served with whiskey corn sauce, and a cucumber basil cooler cocktail. It peaks with shrimp carbonara on tagliatelle pasta, and slides into homerun bliss with the Coconut Sensation –coconut mousse with yuzu curd, macerated strawberries, and lychee pearls served over key lime madeleines.

EDEN HOUSE HOTEL: HIDDEN SECRETS 

I like to think of Azur Restaurant as my little secret. Especially come breakfast. While others may be queued for lobster benedict at the legendary Blue Heaven, I’m sneaking into this former gas station tucked aside Eden House – a purely Keys haven, elegant in its own unpretentious way.

Azur, for me, is clearly the selling point.

Here’s where I reveal my obsession for key lime pie. I’ve often been known to eat it for breakfast in the privacy of my own home, where I’ve had a couple of key lime trees through the years. Azur, is the first restaurant, however, I’ve found that indulges my secret quirk.

It cleverly disguises it as French toast – making it at least SOUND like breakfast food. It’s actually two slices of pie (graham cracker crust and all) wedged between four slices of egg-dipped and sautéed Texas toast and topped with wild-berry compote. There ought to be a “Life Is Good” T-shirt for that.

French Toast with Key Lime Pie – it’s what’s for breakfast at Azur.

Azur puts its own crafty fingerprints on more than French toast. The Azur Benedict, for instance, involves house-cured fennel salmon, shallots, creme fraiche, capers, and tobiko hollandaise. Its version of hash is my second favorite breakfast dish at Azur and typically holds me over for an entire day: slow-braised beef rib, Yukon gold potatoes, poached eggs, and black truffle hollandaise.

The creative tweaks continue throughout the day. There’s harissa-mint aioli with the salt-cod croquettes, rosemary-infused honey with the goat cheese salad, and cured tomato and kalamata olives with the rosemary and garlic stuffed branzino.

Hungry for more? Here’s the Tommy Bahama recipe for Key Lime Pie.

THE PERRY HOTEL & MARINA: NAUTICALLY INSPIRED, NICELY PLATED 

As a relatively new hotel in a new building, opened 2017, The Perry stands out on this list. It also stands apart physically – removed from Key West’s Old Town, the next island up, just across the bridge on Stock Island. Known for its shrimp and seafood docks working waterfront, Stock Island immediately puts a notch in The Perry culinary belt. The hotel’s address? Shrimp Road.

Marina-warehouse chic in design, The Perry has a salty edge with a smooth finish. Food and beverage rates as high priority starting with flagship Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen & Bar.

In season, October 15 through May 15, order stone crab, a Stock Island delicacy typically served cold with mustard sauce. Don’t let the price tag dissuade you. I repeat: order the stone crab.

My other picks from the dinner menu: she-crab soup with a blue crab sherry fritter, Asian pork belly burger with kimchi and guava BBQ, and shrimp linguine with blue crab and citrus cream. And now that I’ve ‘fessed up to my key lime addiction, I want both the key lime pie with passionfruit sauce (I do love my key lime pie with pucker) and the key lime bread pudding with coconut gelato and crème anglaise.

That bread pudding shows up, too, on the weekend brunch menu. During the week, Matt’s breakfast consists of traditional menu items, along with a few fun surprises like Huevos Rancheros Tostada and Smoked Salmon Frittata.

Marina-side Salty Oyster Bar & Grill serves up what the name predicts. Besides raw and fried oysters, its menu gives hungry boaters and pool-goers their way: smoked wahoo fish dip, smashed burger, conch fritters, lobster roll, and the like.

Hungry for more? Make this Florida Orange Bread Pudding recipe.

For more information about visiting Key West, check out this website.

-Story and photos by Chelle Koster Walton

Use our affiliate link for your favorite booking tool to help you plan your visit to Key West, Florida.

Please note: As is common practice in our industry, portions of Chelle’s visit were hosted to facilitate being able to write about the destination. However, as is always our policy, this does not influence a writer’s reporting which is always honest and true and for the service of our readers. In addition, this article contains links to Amazon.com. RealFoodTraveler.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn a small amount of advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com while providing convenience for the reader. This in no way affects the prices of any products you may purchase in conjunction with this link. Also, this site uses an affiliate tool provided by the third-party provider Stay22. If you use certain affiliate links to make a booking or take advantage of an offer, the site may receive an affiliate commission from this third-party provider. To determine whether you have used any of the affiliate solutions, the third-party provider will use cookies to attribute commission. These cookies will be removed as soon as they have served this purpose.