Clawless Caribbean spiny lobster, all tail meat, split and grilled or steamed with butter. Season opens on 6 August and Key West throws a festival at it later that month.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Spiny lobster carries no claws, so the eating is entirely in the tail, and the Keys fishery works traps rather than pots. Florida sets the regular season from 6 August to 31 March, with a two-day sport season on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July that fills the Keys with boats. Key West Lobsterfest has marked the opening each August since the 1990s, reaching its 28th edition in 2026, with a lobster boil and a street fair across the lower blocks of Duval. Restaurant menus mark the same calendar: order it in autumn, not in June.
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Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Cook the tails shell side down the whole time. The shell shields the meat, and turning them onto the cut face dries the tail out in under a minute.
A&B Lobster House has served surf and turf above Key West's harbour since 1947, with martinis, yacht views and the Berlin's speakeasy tucked behind it.
OrderWhole Maine lobster with a classic martini
TipAsk for a balcony table over the marina; Berlin's cocktail bar behind the building serves the same A&B menu.
Conch Republic Seafood Company fills the old Singleton fish house on Key West's seaport with peel-and-eat pink shrimp, conch chowder and a long raw bar.
OrderPeel-and-eat Key West pink shrimp
TipThe original Singleton ice-plant floor and sign are still in place; sit at the harbour rail for the shrimp-dock view.
Eaton Street Seafood Market sells the Key West catch two ways: over ice from the 1877 storefront case, or cooked into lobster rolls for the patio tables.
TipPick a fish from the market case and they will cook it on the spot; stone crab season runs mid-October to May.
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