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 Florida spiny lobster in Key West

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Make it at home

Serves 430 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 spiny lobster tails, about 300g each
  • 120g unsalted butter
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 key limes, juiced, plus wedges to serve
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Split each tail lengthways through the shell with a heavy knife, working from the open end down.
  2. Melt the butter with the garlic, paprika and lime juice, then season.
  3. Heat a grill or barbecue to high.
  4. Brush the cut faces with the garlic butter and lay the tails shell down over the heat.
  5. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, basting twice, until the meat is opaque and pulls away from the shell.
  6. Finish with parsley and serve with lime wedges and the remaining butter for dipping.

Editor tip. Cook the tails shell side down the whole time. The shell shields the meat, and turning them onto the cut face dries the tail out in under a minute.

Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy.