Bob's On Margaret — Restaurant in Key West

Hurray!!! We have a new gem of a neighborhood restaurant in Old Town Key West! My wife and I have been waiting anxiously for the old Michael’s transformation to Bob’s On Margaret and it was well worth the wait. FOOD & WINE: For wine lovers, the wine selection is probably the best high end wine menu I have seen in a restaurant for a very long time. As a suggestion, I’m really hoping as volume increases they offer some of their premium wines by the glass because their bottle selection is really that good. Their by the glass offerings were likewise excellent, but when the bottle offerings are that good one is tempted to go for the whole bottle for sure. As for the food, Chef Rodrigo Alvarez served up one of the best tasting meals we have enjoyed in a very long time. My wife and I shared a bottle of high end sparkling Rose. To start, the Sesame Salmon Quinoa Horseradish crème fraiche was perfection. My wife ordered the fish special featuring a very large thickly cut swordfish that was so perfectly cooked, moist, almond encrusted, and surrounded by spinach rice with roasted shallots that paired perfectly with the fish. It was superb! I ordered the Duck Breast Confit that was absolutely perfectly cooked and it was paired with a unique but surprisingly mixture of green lentils, caramelized pears and mustard crème. Again, A+ all the way around for Chef Rodrigo! Some reviewers mention the cost but we all know Key West is a very expensive and I put this fine dining experience in the category of: You get what you pay for, and in this case, the food quality and presentation is well worth the high cost. SERVICE: We sat at the bar for dinner, so I cannot comment on the table service or inside sitting area. However, please remember that this is Key West, and if possible, most customers prefer to sit outside; and the focus on outside seating reflects this reality. As for service, we were warmly greeted by the host, felt greatly appreciated, well taken care of by the wait staff, bartenders and even the chef came out himself to make sure we enjoyed the meal. Chef Rodrigo is a class act and greeting the guests was certainly appreciated by all. So, for what we experienced, an A+ for service by all. ATMOSPHERE: The famed outside bar of Michael’s is still the highlight of this restaurant, an L shaped bar that turns into a bit of a social scene for sure; a bit like the island itself, a mixture of friendly people, some locals, some tourists, all having a great time. It was definitely Key West, fun, not stuffy, not pretentious, yet still high end, definitely a modern Art Deco decor, which fits because the building itself is not a historic property either. We found the overall scene to be very enjoyable, social but yet still had a relaxed environment to enjoy the delicious food and wine. What else can you ask for from a Key West eatory. A+ for...

So, we, too, have been waiting for this place to open. Went for our anniversary dinner, something different. Well, at first, I loved the outside. Nice tables, nice atmosphere outside, glad to see the bar open again and looks great.

Drink menu, wine selection is very nice. I'm glad to see some nice bottles we enjoy on the menu. Drinks were also varied and looked good. We had a version of the spritz, it was very good. We ordered two appetizers, which were the escargot and the aranchini. Both had great flavors, Aranchini was cooked perfectly, crispy, and the pickled onions were a nice touch, had soft rice inside, and a hint goat cheese. I was surprised with the amount of escargot, tasted great. Wonderful cream sauce with the toast. Very nicely done.

Dinner was good, too. the short rib was tender and moist, and the polenta was soft and tasted good. The mushrooms were okay, not my favorite because, for my taste, just a little too soft. Spinach risotto was the highlight of the meal. Was spectacular.

We did not get dessert. We were too full.

Now, the not my favorite part.

Inside, where to start. Let me first say I know how hard it is to open a restaurant, I know firsthand how challenging opening a business in Key West is. So congrats to the owners on doing an amazing job and having an amazing chef and to me serving some undeniably fantastic food. The inside of the restaurant was not my favorite at all. Outside looks great, inside. Ugh. 2 giant fans that are way too large for the space, we were subjected to European dance music when we first sat down, and it was way too loud. Had to sit next to my wife so we could talk. Not across from her. I would have left just from that, but I didn't want to try and go somewhere else. Being the town was very busy, and I am glad I didn't cause the food here is worth it. As we were sitting, the music was changed and lowered, which changed the whole ambiance of the inside. I guess my peve would be that there is not alot of character for this amazing space, mirrors on one wall, no pics, no style at all, great if I was in a big city. Which were are not. So when dining in a neighborhood restaurant, I would like to have some character. Mirrors, LED lights, and European dance music were very off-putting for the amount of class and potential this restaurant has. The wone list, great, the food, amazing, service was good also, just the inside wasn't what I expected from and nice neighborhood restaurant.

Highly recommend this place, sit outside, and enjoy what is probably the best bars...

Tonight was my first time at Bob's. First, I'm not sure if a sever in training was serving us or one of the owners. If he's in training tell the table. The service was mediocre at best. And there was only about 8 people in the entire place.

The food:

For the appetizer we had hummus and artichoke. It was nice. 4 pieces on the order.

Two of us had the beet salad. It had beets, it had radicchio and onions. It had no dressing. The radicchio is incredibly bitter. It needed a dressing to help with the bitterness and complement the beets.

One of us had the grilled peach Buratta salad. That was a home run.

For the meals:

The pork chop - the chop itself was cooked perfectly. The mashed potatoes were good, the sauce was so salty that it completely stole the show from the pork chop. Also, the green beans were undercooked.

The short ribs were tender and acceptable.

The scallops and shrimp were not as good as I had hoped for. The shrimp had tails on, if I'm paying $50 for a dish I expect to do no work to prep it for consumption. The shrimp were over cooked making them tough. The scallops were done nicely, however they had little flavor or seasoning. The cauliflower pancetta mash was good; however, it wasn't quite the right pairing for this dish. It was like mashed potatoes with shrimp. How often do you eat seafood with mashed taters?

For the money there are many better choices in Key West...