Skippers Dockside — Restaurant in Key Largo

Started Strong, Ended Disappointing...

My girlfriend and I visited Skipper’s Dockside three times during a weeklong diving trip in Key Largo — mostly because it was within walking distance of our hotel and close to the dive boats at Rainbow Reef. Our first two visits were great, but unfortunately, the final visit left us pretty disappointed. (This would have been a five star review if not for the last visit)

Visit 1 – Sunday Night Dinner: We stopped in on our first night in town and had a fantastic meal. I ordered the peel-and-eat shrimp, and my girlfriend had the fish tacos — both were excellent. The bartender was amazing — friendly, attentive, and super creative with the cocktails - even commenting that they had a "full fresh fruit bar" so she liked to experiment. For dessert, we shared a massive slice of key lime pie piled high with meringue. It was a bit too big to finish, but really tasty. Great atmosphere and a relaxing way to kick off our trip. The live music was also great but ended shortly after we arrived (more on that below).

Visit 2 – Monday Lunch Between Dives: We came back for lunch between dives since it’s just a short walk from the dock. No drinks this time because we were diving, but the Arnold Palmers with sweet tea were refreshing and perfect for a hot day. I had the coconut shrimp, which was crispy and flavorful, and my girlfriend ordered the fish tacos again — just as good as the first time. Service was friendly and efficient, and the laid-back vibe made it a great midday stop. We especially appreciated the bartenders willingness to get us in and out quickly after we told her we had another dive in less than an hour.

Visit 3 – Final Day, Disappointing Dinner: After trying a few other restaurants in town that didn’t impress us, we returned to Skipper’s hoping for a consistent meal. Unfortunately, this visit was nothing like the first two. The bartender was young and completely disengaged — more focused on texting than serving. Our server was flippant and downright rude, especially when my girlfriend ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. What she got instead tasted like watered-down sweet tea with a splash of vodka — weak, flavorless, and not at all what was expected. I also got a drink with a cucumber but it was terrible as well - perhaps the younger bartenders need more training (or they need to care?)

She ordered the lobster roll, which came out cold — not necessarily bad, but the menu didn’t mention it would be served chilled, so it was off-putting and not what we expected. I ordered the mahi, which was cooked well and tasted great, but the portion was tiny for the price and left me starving.

To top it off, the so-called “live music” was an Indian guy awkwardly singing foreign-sounding renditions of rock classics. It wasn’t terrible, but definitely not what you expect when you hear "live music" at a beachside spot.

Overall: We really wanted to love Skipper’s Dockside — and for the first half of our trip, we did. The food was solid, the drinks were creative, and the vibe was on point. But the lack of consistency in service and food quality on our last visit really soured the experience.

Would we go back? Maybe — but only during lunch or early dinner when the A-team seems to be working. Otherwise, it might not be...

Pretty mixed feelings about this place as the atmosphere is awesome with being right by the water and the excellent live music. Unfortunately, we left feeling like we didn’t get our money’s worth. The calimari was terribly salty. I ordered the Alfredo and it wasn’t very good. The sauce was gritty because the cheese they put in it is over cooked. It honestly didn’t have a very good flavor. The lime flavor overpowers the sauce and the diced peppers they put in it are thrown in raw and not even cooked/sautéed beforehand.. not very appetizing. I initially ordered the special which was supposed to be crab encrusted grouper. I was excited to try that, but the waitress came back and told me they were out of the special and nobody told her. No biggie, it just shows they are lacking communication. My wife tried the fish of the day, which was good. However, for what she paid, the piece of fish was about 5 or 6 ounces at the most. Kind of a tiny portion for “market price” fish which wasn’t anything spectacular. Her green beans were basically like chewing on rubber. The cilantro rice and slaw were actually pretty good. The issues I had with my daughters meal were what really frustrated me. She’s ten, and one of her favorite things is steak, so I thought oh cool, they have a churasco steak. I noticed it came with chimichurri topping, which I knew she wouldn’t like because she’s a picky eater. So I asked for that on the side, thinking I might try it. When they brought out the steak it had the green sauce all over it. Once again, no biggie. I just let the runner know it was supposed to be on the side. He apologized and said he would get another steak right away. Cool, no problem. He actually brought another steak out pretty quickly. This one had what looked like red bell peppers on top. He goes, here’s that steak, sorry about that.. unless you don’t want the red peppers on top.. and the way he said it was on the rude side. Thinking they were just bell pepper garnish, I responded it’s fine, I can take them off. What I didn’t realize, was that they were actually pretty spicy. So I took them off, but when she went to take a bite, she goes dad that’s too spicy.. because the juice from, what I then realized was actually pickled spicy peppers, was still on the steak. If I would have realized they were spicy when he brought it out, I probably would have responded something sarcastic like “oh no, it’s fine, she loves hot red peppers”. I mean come on man, really? She did end up liking the steak, after I cut about a third of it off that had the spicy pickled pepper juice on it. So yeah, overall it definitely wasn’t the best food experience. To top it off, we ended up sitting there for about 15 minutes waiting for our server to bring the check after we had received to go boxes.. and we were one of three tables left in the restaurant at that point. No exaggeration. If it came to choosing again, I wouldn’t be back. And I really can’t recommend it either. That’s just my experience. To...

Skippers Dockside was my family's regular dine-in or out option for seafood in the Keys until our last meal a week ago. The service was good, and the staff was kind. This review is solely about the food served to us that evening. The quality was lower than acceptable (two members of our party got sick), and the modifications made to the menu items were a steep drop off from their usual fare. Our server shared with us that there had been a change in the kitchen a few weeks before and that the menu items had changed. Although I will detail each change below, the summarized review would be as follows: until the menu items are changed back to how they used to be, my family and I will not dine with Skippers, nor recommend them to guests, friends, or visitors of the Keys. I would like to be able to change this review someday.

The fried calamari used to be served with a sweet chili and pepper sauce, which was still available by request. The dish as it was served recently is calamari and mayonnaise. The dish is now bland, and the 'mustard seed aioli' alone heightens the fishy aspects of calamari. Bring back the sweet pepper sauce as a pairing to the dish.

The standard coleslaw used to be a mango and pickled veggie combination that was sweet, light, and fruity, pairing fantastically with the fried food palate of many of their other dishes. The coleslaw is currently a bitter citrus mix. Aside from the underuse of mayonnaise, it is overwhelmed by aromatic spices and provides no accompaniment to the entrees it is served with.

The beer-battered fish used to be a thick mahi filet with a well-balanced batter. The batter was under-salted and the oil used to fry the entree left it bitter and dry. A bad combination of batter mix and dirty oil.

The kid's grilled mahi filet was blackened and overcooked, and while I enjoy Jamaican-inspired cooking, the overuse of spices in the manner experienced caused my son to vomit later that evening. The dish was specifically ordered grilled, and not blackened. I give full credit to the server for correctly taking the order.

The burger was undercooked. The adult fish entree filets were thin and overcooked.

Skippers still has a great atmosphere, great staff, and used to be a great reflection of what a Keys restaurant should be. I am not a foodie, or critic of any kind, but I am passionate about quality food. If the Skippers management does make the change back, I would happily change...