Cafe Sole — Restaurant in Key West

So I had been told this place was amazing, and really wanted to love it. Everything in me was hoping this was going to be a 5 star review, and I would if not for the poor hygiene, and the subpar service. 50% of the food was amazing, like 5/5 amazing. However, their entrees were 3/5. Add that to the other problems and I have to give it a 2/5.

On Hygiene: It's a pandemic. Here in the Keys, people aren't exactly taking it as seriously as they maybe should and that's fine: those are people out on the streets. However, nearly all restaurants we have been to have had staff fully masked, staff not touching their face, and staff washing their hands. I can get past staff maybe not wearing a mask at all points (like when not around customers), but these people only occasionally were wearing masks. I watched a waiter cough in his hand then touch food and a glass without washing his hands. I also frequently saw others wash their hands then proceed to touch their face! Just after washing their hands! How do you not rewash your hands! Also when this particular server did wash their hands, they didn't use soap! A little gross to me. I feel like covid has made us all a little more self aware. I guess some people might still be caught up in themselves and not care about transmitting their body funk to others. I still ate because it wasn't my food, but still a little grossed out.

On food: Food was okay. I've had way better. The salad was trying to hard to be something. It wasn't and was overall mediocre. It wasn't bad but wasn't "amazing". We had an appetizer as well. That was good. It was some type of cheese, I believe. The fish was good, but nothing special and the sides were just okay. The plating of the entrée was also unimpressive vs the other plates. The hogfish was good, but I've had better, for a cheaper price. The yellowtail had bones and scales on it still, which it shouldn't for this caliber of a restaurant. Filet means filet. The desert was amazing, and lifts allows me to give it an additional star from what I would give it. Come here alone for the pie and the brûlée.

On Service: The service was 2 out of 5. Our waiter obviously ignored us when we only got one glass of wine and not a bottle. We spent a decent amount of cash, but obviously not enough to get timely service. Another couple had another waiter, showed up later than us, got nearly identical food as us, and left before us. It was clear our waiter did not care. Like he was courteous, respectful, but overall was more attentive where he knew he would be potentially getting a better tip. That's a no no, or at least don't be soooo obvious. I won't give his name because I hope maybe this will inspire some change at this establishment, because it could do so much better and it really could...

We came here for a Valentine’s dinner and upon arriving, we advised the gentleman at the host stand that we had reservations, when he couldn’t find them, we checked our cell phone app to learn that we inadvertently made reservations at the wrong “Café Sole” as the one we selected was in Jupiter, FL, not Key West… Oops! They were packed and had a long line waiting as well, so we thought we were out of luck, then he suggested it would be an hour wait, but he could fit us in, which we would willingly accept. Or, he said we could sit at their bar! Yes, they have a very small, two-person bar, but it was beautiful, quaint and perfect for our V-Day dinner!

From the moment we sat down, all the staff who engaged us were very friendly and helpful! They have a very nice winelist, so we selected a nice bottle and then I noticed they were pouring a lot of Caymus and when I asked, I learned that it was only $25/glass, so I opted for one of those too!

We started our dinner with the stone crab claws, which are a fair deal at $50 for 2 medium size claws. The meat was buttery and tasty! I got a bowl of their gazpacho, which was very enjoyable and slightly on the chunky side, but I enjoyed the texture. Their bread and spread for the bread was very nice and that spread is like a bold, herbed garlic with EVOO – really tasty. The gazpacho also has a heavy presence of garlic, again something I enjoyed. The wife got their beet salad and she loved every bite of it!

For our entrées, we both got fish; I got the Grouper and she got the Hog Fish and both were prepared perfectly! The lima beans and mashed potatoes that came with both dishes were very flavorful! These entrées were huge, I had a tough time finishing mine, which is probably the first time I’ve not eaten all my fish!

Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience and an excellent dinner… Highly recommend stopping in, but make...

We are in KW to celebrate my wife’s 50th birthday and some friends recommended we do it at Cafe Sole, knowing what goodies we are and how my wife loves French food.

In short, it was okay, but way over-priced and a little crowded given the covid restrictions that “should” be in place.

The restaurant was swamped with at least 6 tables all seated within 15 minutes of one another (and we later overheard the waiter say one of their chefs called out sick?!)

My wife and I both had the house special of hogfish snapper. The fish was delightful! But it was luke warm and the accompanying sides were ice cold. I had a decision to make: to eat my fish double-time before it was cold or send it back. Since we knew the kitchen wasn’t keeping up, I decided to just eat and enjoy the fish. And it was very good, a nice solid piece of all white meat, perfectly fried and tasty!

By the the time the waiter circled back, I was done and it was too late to offer “new/reheated” sides. At like $38 a plate this should never even be an issue.

My son had lamb chops and loved them. The other son, had shrimp scampi. The shrimp were larger and very flavorful but the scampi sauce was just butter... no real substance or flavor at all. He’s not picky, so he enjoyed it, even though, again it was luke warm.

The highlight dish was my French onion soup - very very flavorful and rich, full of sherry!

The key lime pie was more creamy than limey but good. Although we ordered two slices and 4 spoons so we could all try it. The waiter said, “Of course, we wouldn’t serve it any other way!” then he failed to bring us 4 spoons and we had to ask again...

Finally, the menu lists Key Lime Pie dessert for $7 and they charged me $8 each. These may sound like petty grievances but this was almost a $300 meal for 2 adults and 2 kids, which only included 2 glasses of wine.

It’s just not worth the money - or it wasn’t...