The mile-long bar crawl from the Gulf to the Atlantic, with conch fritter windows, key lime pie shops and open-air saloons pouring until 04:00.
Nine One Five serves an eclectic fusion menu from the porch of an 1850s Victorian on upper Duval in Key West, backed by a deep wine list and late seatings.
Signature: Bacon-wrapped dates, Cedar plank salmon
Order: Bacon-wrapped dates from the porch menu
Tip: Ask for a veranda table at sunset; the upstairs Point Five bar pours the same wine list without the wait downstairs.
Banana Cafe griddles sweet and savoury crepes at the quiet end of Duval Street, Key West's French breakfast porch from 07:30 through dinner service.
Signature: Croque monsieur, Strawberry cheesecake crepe
Order: The strawberry cheesecake crepe with a mimosa
Tip: Upper Duval stays quieter than the bar blocks; the porch tables catch the morning shade before the day heats up.
Mangoes runs a family-owned Caribbean kitchen and brick patio at Duval and Angela in Key West, serving local seafood and homemade key lime pie till late.
Signature: Shrimp scampi, Key lime pie
Order: Shrimp scampi over angel hair with toasted focaccia
Tip: The patio is prime Duval people-watching; happy hour from 16:00 to 18:00 softens the mid-Duval prices.
Kaya Island Eats crosses Caribbean jerk with Pacific poke on Duval Street in Key West, chef Scott's Hawaii training behind the tuna nachos and rasta pasta.
Signature: Jamaican jerk chicken, Ahi poke nachos
Order: Ahi poke nachos, then the jerk chicken
Tip: The kitchen also runs a hook-and-cook service, so charter anglers can bring in the day's catch for dinner.
Nine One Five serves its fusion tasting plates from an 1850s Victorian porch on upper Duval, one of Key West's most polished dinner-and-wine evenings.
Order: The bacon-wrapped dates and cedar plank salmon
Tip: The house dates to around 1850 and the porch seats go first; the upstairs lounge takes walk-ins with the full menu.
DJ's Clam Shack butters warm lobster rolls from a Duval Street counter in Key West, a Diners Drive-Ins and Dives stop with steamed clams and fritters.
Signature: Maine lobster roll, Conch fritters
Order: The warm buttered Maine lobster roll
Tip: Seating is a handful of sidewalk stools, so time it outside the Duval Street lunch rush.
Old Town Mexican Cafe stocks over 200 tequilas and mezcals behind a Duval Street porch in Key West, backing carne adobada and fajitas with $4 taco Tuesdays.
Signature: Carne adobada, Salsa verde burrito
Order: Carne adobada with a flight from the tequila wall
Tip: Taco Tuesday runs all day and happy hour halves the appetisers from 16:00; the tequila wall is the reason to sit at the bar.
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Signature: Conch fritters, Cracked conch
Order: Cracked conch with the key lime aioli
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
Willie T's papers its Duval Street porch in signed dollar bills and pours mojitos over live music from 11:00 to 01:30, with a full Key West seafood menu.
Signature: Mojitos, Fresh seafood plates
Order: A fresh-mint mojito and whatever fish is on the board
Tip: Add your own signed dollar to the tens of thousands on the walls; the kitchen serves lunch through late night.
La Grignote bakes croissants and plates croque madames from scratch on upper Duval, the French counter Key West queues at for benedicts and quiche.
Signature drink: Espresso with an almond croissant
Order: Croque madame and an almond croissant
Tip: The kitchen closes at 15:00 and the pastry case sells down by late morning, so treat it as a breakfast stop.
Mattheessen's has poured copper-kettle fudge onto a 500-pound marble slab since 1993, baking face-sized cookies for the Duval Street crowds in Key West.
Order: A warm chocolate chip cookie and a square of slab fudge
Tip: It stays open to midnight, which makes it the sweet stop on the way home; the Cuban coffee ice cream is the sleeper.
Worth the queue: Face-sized chocolate chip cookie
La Grignote bakes croissants and plates croque madames from scratch on upper Duval, the French counter Key West queues at for benedicts and quiche.
Order: Almond croissant before the case empties
Tip: The kitchen closes at 15:00 and the pastry case sells down by late morning, so treat it as a breakfast stop.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Grand Vin pours wines by the glass on the porch of an upper Duval conch house, Key West's long-running bottle shop and wine bar rolled into one room.
Wine focus: Old and New World bottles by the glass on a Duval porch
Food: Cheese plates and charcuterie
Tip: Take the porch rail seats for sunset people-watching; the retail shelves mean you can carry the bottle you liked home.
Vinos on Duval pairs a world-spanning wine list with big charcuterie boards mid-Duval in Key West, a calm porch between the street's louder bars.
Wine focus: World-spanning list with homemade sangria and spritzers
Food: Cheese boards, charcuterie and light fare
Tip: The homemade sangria changes daily and the boards are enormous; it is pet-friendly and takes no reservations.
Sloppy Joe's opened with Prohibition's end in 1933 and has held Duval and Greene since 1937, a National Register Key West saloon with all-day live music.
Signature drink: Sloppy Rita
Food: Sloppy Joe sandwiches, wings and bar snacks
Tip: The operator dates the bar to 1933 and this corner to 1937; July's Hemingway Look-Alike Contest is the rowdiest week to visit.
Captain Tony's Saloon drinks inside an 1851 icehouse on Greene Street, the Key West bar that claims Hemingway's patronage and a tree through the roof.
Signature drink: Pirate's Punch under the hanging tree
Food: No kitchen; drinks only
Tip: The operator says the building was an icehouse and morgue and that Hemingway drank here; both bars on this block claim him, so enjoy the argument.
Hog's Breath Saloon works an open-air corner near Mallory Square, the Key West room of a saloon brand founded in Florida in 1976, with all-day bands.
Signature drink: Hog Snort
Food: Raw bar, fish tacos and hog legs
Order: Fish tacos and a Hog Snort during the afternoon set
Tip: Live music runs from 13:00 to close most days; the raw bar side is quieter than the stage side if you want to talk.
The Rum Bar pours one of Key West's deepest rum lists on the Speakeasy Inn porch, an upper Duval house whose basement once hid Prohibition bottles.
Signature drink: Rum flight from a list in the hundreds
Food: Drinks only; restaurants within a block
Tip: Ask the bartender to build a three-pour flight by island; the porch rockers are the best seats on upper Duval.
Tiki House shakes zombies and mai tais with fresh fruit on lower Duval in Key West, the island's dedicated tiki room from the Horseplay bar family.
Signature drink: Zombie with fresh pineapple
Food: Drinks only
Tip: Happy hour runs 12:00 to 15:00 before the street gets loud; the rum build quality beats the location's spring-break stereotype.
The Smallest Bar squeezes a full Key West cocktail list into 72 square feet on lower Duval, claiming the title of the tiniest bar in the United States.
Signature drink: Key Lime Pie shot off the shotski
Food: Drinks only
Tip: The operator claims 72 square feet and America's smallest-bar title; the Key Lime Pie shot is the thing to order at the ledge.
The Chart Room hides inside the Pier House Resort at mile zero of Duval, the wood-panelled Key West bar once frequented by Jimmy Buffett and Mel Fisher.
Signature drink: A cold beer amid the room's stacked memorabilia
Food: Complimentary bar snacks
Tip: The keywesttourist guide notes Buffett and treasure hunter Mel Fisher drank here; the room seats barely a dozen, so go at 17:00 sharp.
Irish Kevin's has run singalong sets on lower Duval since July 1998, a Key West show bar pouring Irish beer with a kitchen that serves until 23:00.
Signature drink: Irish beers with singalong sets
Food: Burgers, wings and pulled pork sliders until 23:00
Tip: Entertainers work the crowd hard, so sit back from the stage if you would rather not be part of the act.
Willie T's papers its Duval Street porch in signed dollar bills and pours mojitos over live music from 11:00 to 01:30, with a full Key West seafood menu.
Signature drink: Fresh-mint mojito
Food: Full seafood and burger menu, late-night service
Order: A fresh-mint mojito and whatever fish is on the board
Tip: Add your own signed dollar to the tens of thousands on the walls; the kitchen serves lunch through late night.
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Try: Cracked conch with key lime aioli
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
DJ's Clam Shack butters warm lobster rolls from a Duval Street counter in Key West, a Diners Drive-Ins and Dives stop with steamed clams and fritters.
Try: Warm buttered Maine lobster roll
Tip: Seating is a handful of sidewalk stools, so time it outside the Duval Street lunch rush.
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Try: Conch fritters
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
La Grignote plates Key West's French brunch on upper Duval: benedicts, Belgian waffles and croque madames from a scratch bakery open 07:00 to 15:00.
Order: Croque madame with an almond croissant to finish
Tip: The kitchen closes at 15:00 and the pastry case sells down by late morning, so treat it as a breakfast stop.
Banana Cafe griddles sweet and savoury crepes at the quiet end of Duval Street, Key West's French breakfast porch from 07:30 through dinner service.
Order: The strawberry cheesecake crepe with a mimosa
Tip: Upper Duval stays quieter than the bar blocks; the porch tables catch the morning shade before the day heats up.
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Try: Cracked conch with key lime aioli
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
Willie T's keeps a real kitchen running for Key West's late crowd, serving seafood and burgers under the dollar bills while the band plays on Duval.
Try: Late-night seafood and burgers
Tip: Add your own signed dollar to the tens of thousands on the walls; the kitchen serves lunch through late night.
Sloppy Joe's opened with Prohibition's end in 1933 and has held Duval and Greene since 1937, a National Register Key West saloon with all-day live music.
Tip: The operator dates the bar to 1933 and this corner to 1937; July's Hemingway Look-Alike Contest is the rowdiest week to visit.
Hog's Breath Saloon works an open-air corner near Mallory Square, the Key West room of a saloon brand founded in Florida in 1976, with all-day bands.
Tip: Live music runs from 13:00 to close most days; the raw bar side is quieter than the stage side if you want to talk.
Irish Kevin's has run singalong sets on lower Duval since July 1998, a Key West show bar pouring Irish beer with a kitchen that serves until 23:00.
Tip: Entertainers work the crowd hard, so sit back from the stage if you would rather not be part of the act.
The Rum Bar pours one of Key West's deepest rum lists on the Speakeasy Inn porch, an upper Duval house whose basement once hid Prohibition bottles.
Tip: Ask the bartender to build a three-pour flight by island; the porch rockers are the best seats on upper Duval.
801 Bourbon Bar anchors upper Duval as Key West's best-known drag room, with the 801 Girls performing nightly above a bar that pours until 04:00.
Tip: The downstairs bar is the walk-in room and the cabaret upstairs is the show; go late, because the bar runs to 04:00 every night.
Aqua runs Key West's drag programme across a Duval Street complex of bars that includes the Birdcage Cabaret, the Back Bar and 22&Co under one roof.
Tip: The complex is several rooms rather than one bar, so check which room the night's show is in before you queue at the front door.
Captain Tony's Saloon drinks inside an 1851 icehouse on Greene Street, the Key West bar that claims Hemingway's patronage and a tree through the roof.
Tip: The operator says the building was an icehouse and morgue and that Hemingway drank here; both bars on this block claim him, so enjoy the argument.
The Chart Room hides inside the Pier House Resort at mile zero of Duval, the wood-panelled Key West bar once frequented by Jimmy Buffett and Mel Fisher.
Tip: The keywesttourist guide notes Buffett and treasure hunter Mel Fisher drank here; the room seats barely a dozen, so go at 17:00 sharp.
The Smallest Bar squeezes a full Key West cocktail list into 72 square feet on lower Duval, claiming the title of the tiniest bar in the United States.
Tip: The operator claims 72 square feet and America's smallest-bar title; the Key Lime Pie shot is the thing to order at the ledge.
Tiki House shakes zombies and mai tais with fresh fruit on lower Duval in Key West, the island's dedicated tiki room from the Horseplay bar family.
Tip: Happy hour runs 12:00 to 15:00 before the street gets loud; the rum build quality beats the location's spring-break stereotype.