Dante's Key West Pool Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Key West

I would love to rate the food but the bartender refused to place my order. The manager of the place walked around the pool and straightened pool chairs and looked my way several times while I was laying by the pool. I sat there over 20 min and realized I would not get service so I approached the pool bar. I had to work pretty hard to get her attention because she was on her cell phone. When I asked if there was service for the pool she said no because she is leaving and couldn’t leave the bar. I asked if she saw me there for nearly half an hour and did she think she should send the guy that was working around the pool to see if I needed something? Her reply was no because he is not a server he is a manager! When a person is in a leadership role they should be capable of scanning a room and jumping in where needed. It’s not busy I fact I Stand out like a sore thumb as I am the only pool guest. . I asked if I could order a beer and she told me the best thing to do would be to go over to the other bar because she is closing. I begged to order a beer as I was in my bathing suit and didn’t want to walk into the restaurant. So she served me a beer. However, there was 10 min for credit card. So I had to purchase two beers. Not a problem I asked if I could get an ice bucket. Then the lurking manager comes on the scene very authoritative and says I can not have an ice bucket. I asked the bar tender if she could hold one of the beers in the cooler for me. She refused because she was leaving. Then I watched her breakdown her bar for 30 minutes. This is very disappointing since I have very fond memories of Dante‘s poolside, ordering a shrimp basket and having drinks not having to leave my beach chair. I lived here years and I was quite regular at this place. I can say that it has changed immensely. I’m sure it’s still the same delicious food That comes out of the prime restaurant upstairs. Too bad I can’t give a rating on that today because I wasn’t even offered to order anything. Whoever is really in charge of this place needs to get rid of your unfriendly manager and unfriendly bartender. I will finish my second beer that is now hot and go elsewhere to get something to eat. There’s many restaurants in Key West that are five stars. People aren’t gonna put up with this...

I don’t write reviews because I can usually just brush off negative experiences but I do feel like people should know about this establishment/staff. My mom, her two friends, my four month old daughter, and myself decided to hang out at Dante’s to grab some food and drinks by the pool. My mom and I started a tab that was combined with our friends and after we ate/drank her and I left to go check out some local shops while our friends stayed behind because they wanted to stay and hang out but after the shops we planned on coming back getting some more food/drinks and hopping back in the pool. Apparently, while we had been gone there was an altercation between our two friends and the waitress/bouncer. My mom and I just happened to walk back in when they had threatened to call the cops on her friends because they refused to give the waitress a tip that they manually factored into the bill, when the menu clearly said they only factored a tip into the bill if your party had six/eight or more. More specifically, we walked in when her two friends had already been kicked out/threatened and the bouncer came up to my mom, myself, and my four month old baby who was strapped to my chest in a very intimidating manner and asked if we planned on paying the bill (kind of suggesting that we are scumbags trying to skip out on them). Yet, in all reality we are peaceful/loving/generous/vegetarians. My mom and I, already very confused by what happened, had a dumbfounded look on our faces confused as to why he would suggest that we wouldn’t pay it. I then decided that I would find the waitress and apologize for what happened (even though I wasn’t there and I had absolutely no idea what happened) and I was very surprised to realize she really didn’t want to hear it and had a sort of eff off attitude. I felt very disrespected for no reason and pretty intimidated while I was standing there with my baby completely in the dark about the situation but still trying to be a good person and apologize. I don’t recommend going there. I don’t think the bouncer/management tried to explain to us what happened or reason with us. I feel as though they felt it was a better idea to attack and disrespect us when we did absolutely nothing wrong. I don’t...

It's July in Key West, which means its hot, like hot hot. We stayed on Duval so we walked everywhere in the sun, yikes. My daughter is the one who discovered Dante's and suggested we go there and enjoy the pool. Upon walking in to Dante's, it immediately felt like a oasis in the middle of all the surrounding concrete and buildings. There is no cover charge or entry fee to visit Dante's. All you need to do is just enjoy some libations munchies from the bar area. The pool is filled with crystal clear water and is so inviting, and there are cascading waterfalls flowing over a series of cliffs right into the pool, creating a tropical backdrop. The entire oasis is surrounded by Tiki bars, chaise lounges, and lounge dining with umbrellas overhead to keep you cool while eating and drinking. The moment we sat, a very friendly server came over and took our drink orders, there were so many to choose from.

The drinks and eats: We went for Key West Lemonade(vodka & pink lemonade) and the Poolside Daydream(mango, coconut, pineapple, guava, rums, mixed with tropical fruit juices). Both of the drinks were delicious and refreshing, but the Poolside Daydream, really hit the spot (several times, lol). For the eats, we had hot pretzel bites, super nachos, and the chicken tenders. Your typical bar fare, but very good and satisfying. We stayed for a few hours, enjoying the pool, floating games, having some drink and eats, and just chilling and relaxing at the oasis we...