Eat well in Key West without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Key West for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Sandy's Cafe is Key West's cheapest good lunch, a laundromat window on White Street pressing Cuban mixes and pouring con leche from 05:00 every day.
Try: Cuban mix and cafe con leche
Tip: Order at the window, eat on the stools facing the street; the buchi shot is the fastest caffeine on the island.
5 Brothers Grocery feeds Old Town Key West on corner-store prices, pressing Cuban mixes and frying bollos at Southard and Grinnell since 1978.
Try: Cuban mix, con leche and bollos
Tip: The Bench Crew of regulars holds court outside each morning; come before the 06:30 rush clears the pastry case.
El Siboney plates Key West's biggest-value Cuban dinners on Catherine Street, roast pork with rice and beans at prices locals still recognise.
Try: Roast pork, rice and beans
Tip: The Paella Valenciana needs at least an hour's notice, so call ahead if you want it; everything else moves fast.
Frita's Cuban Burger Cafe keeps a Key West lunch under $15 with Havana-style fritas, tacos and yuca fries on a bright patio just off Southard Street.
Try: Traditional frita
Tip: Owner Marcia Weaver built the recipe on trips to Cuba; the churros and Cuban coffee finish the meal properly.
Mo's Restaurant serves Key West's most generous plates for the money, Haitian oxtail and Creole shrimp portions that outlast most Duval lunch bills.
Try: Oxtail or goat stew with rice
Tip: It sits by Bayview Park away from the Duval crowds and closes Sundays; carryout runs until 21:30 on open days.
Garbo's Grill turns a beer-garden food truck into Key West's best cheap dinner, Korean BBQ tacos and burritos eaten at Hank's picnic tables.
Try: Korean BBQ tacos
Tip: Order at the truck window and grab a beer from Hank's bar behind you; the picnic tables share the same yard.
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.
Fisherman's Cafe keeps seaport breakfasts and fish sandwiches at deckhand prices on Elizabeth Street, the low-stress counter near Key West's marina.
Try: Fish sandwich
Tip: Seating is a few sidewalk tables on Elizabeth Street; it closes at 17:00, so treat it as a breakfast and lunch stop.
Mr Z's feeds Key West on slice-shop prices, cheesesteaks on Amoroso rolls and New York pies from a Southard Street counter that outlasts the bars.
Try: Cheesesteak or pizza slice
Tip: Weekend hours stretch to 04:00, which is why every bartender on Duval will point you here after last call.
Kennedy Cafe cooks to midnight in New Town and delivers until 23:30, the late Mediterranean kitchen that feeds Key West's hospitality shift workers.
Try: Falafel on Uzbek pita
Tip: It is a locals' strip-mall room away from Old Town, and one of the few island kitchens open past 23:00.
Mam's Best Food fills pitas with made-to-order falafel and shawarma under a Petronia Street tent, honest Israeli plates at Key West's kindest prices.
Try: Falafel in pita
Tip: It closes for Shabbat every Saturday and queues build in Jewish holiday weeks; the falafel and shawarma are made to order.
Cuban Coffee Queen pairs pressed sandwiches with dollar-scale Cuban coffee at its Key West Bight window, breakfast and lunch for pocket change.
Try: Pressed Cuban sandwich and con leche
Tip: Five windows now operate across Key West, including a roastery at 6 Key Lime Square; the Margaret Street original keeps the mural queue.