29 cheap eats places in Key West, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Key West: the places editors actually return to. All Key West food.
The Green Parrot ★ 4.8
old-town · 601 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040
The Green Parrot has poured at Whitehead and Southard since 1890 by its own count, Key West's open-shuttered dive with free popcorn and nightly bands.
Tip: There is no kitchen, only free popcorn, and outside food is welcome; soundchecks around 17:30 are a show in themselves.
5 Brothers Grocery & Sandwich Shop ★ 4.7
old-town · 930 Southard Street, Key West, FL 33040
5 Brothers Grocery has pressed Cuban mixes and poured con leche at Southard and Grinnell in Key West since 1978, a family corner store with a bench crew.
Tip: The Bench Crew of regulars holds court outside each morning; come before the 06:30 rush clears the pastry case.
5 Brothers Grocery & Sandwich Shop ★ 4.7
old-town · 930 Southard Street, Key West, FL 33040
5 Brothers Grocery has pressed Cuban mixes and poured con leche at Southard and Grinnell in Key West since 1978, a family corner store with a bench crew.
Tip: The Bench Crew of regulars holds court outside each morning; come before the 06:30 rush clears the pastry case.
5 Brothers Grocery & Sandwich Shop ★ 4.7
old-town · 930 Southard Street, Key West, FL 33040
5 Brothers Grocery feeds Old Town Key West on corner-store prices, pressing Cuban mixes and frying bollos at Southard and Grinnell since 1978.
Tip: The Bench Crew of regulars holds court outside each morning; come before the 06:30 rush clears the pastry case.
Sandy's Cafe ★ 4.6
white-street · 1026 White St, Key West, FL 33040
Sandy's Cafe is the laundromat lunch counter of Key West, pressing Cuban mixes and pouring con leche at a White Street walk-up window from 05:00 daily.
Tip: Order at the window, eat on the stools facing the street; the buchi shot is the fastest caffeine on the island.
Cuban Coffee Queen ★ 4.6
historic-seaport · 284 Margaret Street, Key West, FL 33040
Cuban Coffee Queen pulls con leches at a muralled walk-up window by the Key West Bight, the waterfront original of the island's Cuban coffee mini-chain.
Tip: Five windows now operate across Key West, including a roastery at 6 Key Lime Square; the Margaret Street original keeps the mural queue.
Sandy's Cafe ★ 4.6
white-street · 1026 White St, Key West, FL 33040
Sandy's Cafe is the laundromat lunch counter of Key West, pressing Cuban mixes and pouring con leche at a White Street walk-up window from 05:00 daily.
Tip: Order at the window, eat on the stools facing the street; the buchi shot is the fastest caffeine on the island.
Sandy's Cafe ★ 4.6
white-street · 1026 White St, Key West, FL 33040
Sandy's Cafe is the laundromat lunch counter of Key West, pressing Cuban mixes and pouring con leche at a White Street walk-up window from 05:00 daily.
Tip: Order at the window, eat on the stools facing the street; the buchi shot is the fastest caffeine on the island.
Cuban Coffee Queen ★ 4.6
historic-seaport · 284 Margaret Street, Key West, FL 33040
Cuban Coffee Queen pulls con leches at a muralled walk-up window by the Key West Bight, the waterfront original of the island's Cuban coffee mini-chain.
Tip: Five windows now operate across Key West, including a roastery at 6 Key Lime Square; the Margaret Street original keeps the mural queue.
Sandy's Cafe ★ 4.6
white-street · 1026 White St, Key West, FL 33040
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.
Tip: Order at the window, eat on the stools facing the street; the buchi shot is the fastest caffeine on the island.
Cuban Coffee Queen ★ 4.6
historic-seaport · 284 Margaret Street, Key West, FL 33040
Cuban Coffee Queen pairs pressed sandwiches with dollar-scale Cuban coffee at its Key West Bight window, breakfast and lunch for pocket change.
Tip: Five windows now operate across Key West, including a roastery at 6 Key Lime Square; the Margaret Street original keeps the mural queue.
El Siboney Restaurant ★ 4.5
white-street · 900 Catherine Street, Key West, FL 33040
El Siboney is Key West's bilingual Cuban dining room on Catherine Street, ladling roast pork, rice and beans at prices the neighbourhood can still afford.
Tip: The Paella Valenciana needs at least an hour's notice, so call ahead if you want it; everything else moves fast.
El Siboney Restaurant ★ 4.5
white-street · 900 Catherine Street, Key West, FL 33040
El Siboney plates Key West's biggest-value Cuban dinners on Catherine Street, roast pork with rice and beans at prices locals still recognise.
Tip: The Paella Valenciana needs at least an hour's notice, so call ahead if you want it; everything else moves fast.
Fisherman's Cafe ★ 4.4
historic-seaport · 205 Elizabeth Street, Key West, FL 33040
Fisherman's Cafe works a small counter by Key West's Historic Seaport, stacking fish sandwiches with papaya and mango slaw for boat crews and walkers.
Tip: Seating is a few sidewalk tables on Elizabeth Street; it closes at 17:00, so treat it as a breakfast and lunch stop.
Baby's Coffee ★ 4.4
lower-keys · 3180 US Highway 1, Key West, FL 33040
Baby's Coffee has roasted 100% Arabica beans since 1991 and works from mile marker 15, the road-trip espresso stop on a Key West run up the Overseas Highway.
Tip: Look for the painted eye on the building at mile marker 15, about 20 minutes from Old Town; parking is easy.
Baby's Coffee ★ 4.4
lower-keys · 3180 US Highway 1, Key West, FL 33040
Baby's Coffee has roasted 100% Arabica beans since 1991 and works from mile marker 15, the road-trip espresso stop on a Key West run up the Overseas Highway.
Tip: Look for the painted eye on the building at mile marker 15, about 20 minutes from Old Town; parking is easy.
Fisherman's Cafe ★ 4.4
historic-seaport · 205 Elizabeth Street, Key West, FL 33040
Fisherman's Cafe works a small counter by Key West's Historic Seaport, stacking fish sandwiches with papaya and mango slaw for boat crews and walkers.
Tip: Seating is a few sidewalk tables on Elizabeth Street; it closes at 17:00, so treat it as a breakfast and lunch stop.
Fisherman's Cafe ★ 4.4
historic-seaport · 205 Elizabeth Street, Key West, FL 33040
Fisherman's Cafe works a small counter by Key West's Historic Seaport, stacking fish sandwiches with papaya and mango slaw for boat crews and walkers.
Tip: Seating is a few sidewalk tables on Elizabeth Street; it closes at 17:00, so treat it as a breakfast and lunch stop.
Baby's Coffee ★ 4.4
lower-keys · 3180 US Highway 1, Key West, FL 33040
Baby's Coffee has roasted 100% Arabica beans since 1991 and works from mile marker 15, the road-trip espresso stop on a Key West run up the Overseas Highway.
Tip: Look for the painted eye on the building at mile marker 15, about 20 minutes from Old Town; parking is easy.
Fisherman's Cafe ★ 4.4
historic-seaport · 205 Elizabeth Street, Key West, FL 33040
Fisherman's Cafe keeps seaport breakfasts and fish sandwiches at deckhand prices on Elizabeth Street, the low-stress counter near Key West's marina.
Tip: Seating is a few sidewalk tables on Elizabeth Street; it closes at 17:00, so treat it as a breakfast and lunch stop.
Cuban Coffee Queen Roasters ★ 4.3
old-town · 6 Key Lime Square, Key West, FL 33040
Cuban Coffee Queen Roasters supplies the beans behind Key West's favourite con leche windows from a courtyard roastery off Southard at Key Lime Square.
Tip: This is the quietest window of the five to actually sit with a colada; bags of Si Mi Amor espresso go home well.
Captain Tony's Saloon ★ 4.3
duval-street · 428 Greene St, Key West, FL 33040
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 Conch Shack ★ 4.2
duval-street · 118 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
The Conch Shack ★ 4.2
duval-street · 118 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
The Conch Shack ★ 4.2
duval-street · 118 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
The Conch Shack ★ 4.2
duval-street · 118 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040
The Conch Shack fries conch fritters towards midnight at weekends, a sidewalk window on lower Duval Street feeding Key West drinkers between bars.
Tip: There is no dining room, just the sidewalk ledge; weekend hours stretch towards midnight for the bar crowd.
Mr Z's ★ 4.1
old-town · 501 Southard St, Key West, FL 33040
Mr Z's has griddled Amoroso-roll cheesesteaks and pizza on Southard Street in Key West since 2002, the counter the bars empty into after closing time.
Tip: Weekend hours stretch to 04:00, which is why every bartender on Duval will point you here after last call.
Mr Z's ★ 4.1
old-town · 501 Southard St, Key West, FL 33040
Mr Z's is where Key West's bar crowd lands after last call, griddling cheesesteaks on Amoroso rolls until 04:00 on Southard Street weekends.
Tip: Weekend hours stretch to 04:00, which is why every bartender on Duval will point you here after last call.
Mr Z's ★ 4.1
old-town · 501 Southard St, Key West, FL 33040
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.
Tip: Weekend hours stretch to 04:00, which is why every bartender on Duval will point you here after last call.