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.
3 editor picks for Florida spiny lobster in Key West, ranked by editorial score. All Key West signature dishes · Florida spiny lobster across every city.
A&B Lobster House ★ 4.4
historic-seaport · 700 Front Street, Key West, FL 33040
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.
Eaton Street Seafood Market ★ 4.4
historic-seaport · 801 Eaton Street, Key West, FL 33040
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.
Conch Republic Seafood Company ★ 4.1
historic-seaport · 631 Greene Street, Key West, FL 33040
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.