Florida spiny lobster is a signature dish of United States; we have verified places to eat it in Key West. Clawless Caribbean spiny lobster, all tail meat, split and grilled or steamed with butter. Start with where to eat Florida spiny lobster in Key West.
Florida spiny lobster · Key West
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.
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.
Where to eat in Key West:
- A&B Lobster House
- Conch Republic Seafood Company
- Eaton Street Seafood Market
Where to eat Florida spiny lobster in Key West: the editor picks