Red Shoe Island Bistro — Restaurant in Key West

This is a hidden gem, and honestly our favorite restaurant in Key West. A small and intimate restaurant that cares more about the food, atmosphere and experience than turning and burning tables.

From the moment the restaurant opened, the owner and staff were inviting us to experience their love of the food and the carefully curated atmosphere of the restaurant. The decor was a reflection of the thought and care that went into providing a great experience. The smaller footprint made for an intimate space that invited conversation.

We had a chance to speak with the owner, who gushed about his excitement for bringing music and food together, two things that add spice and excitement to life. The staff, likewise, were attentive but not intrusive, and had a pleasantness and spark to them, reinforcing that this restaurant wants to share itself with the world

The lobster role profiteroles were soft and flaky with excellent lobster and dill flavors, and made for an almost an aperitif like appetizer before the main attractions.

The seared scallops with key lime ginger sauce were cooked to perfection, with the sauce adding a light citrus flavor to the dish. But by far, the most surprising part was the spinach and feta torte, which paired well with the scallops, providing an unexpected richness of flavor. Even the walnuts, which you would expect to be out of place with the other elements of the dish, added to the overall flavor in a pleasant manner.

The 'catch of the day', a blackened grouper that day, was cooked excellently, and was flaky and glistening. The sherry lobster sauce was a flavor rich addition to the Grouper and Key West Pink Shrimp. By far the most surprising flavor, however, was the carrot puree. What was expected to be an element that faded to the background instead turned out to be one that was surprisingly complex, adding to the dish in a significant and pleasant way.

The biggest surprise of the night was the Lavender Cheesecake. What one would expect to be a largely herbal hit to the palette was instead a finishing enhancement to what was a creamy, rich and slightly sweet dessert, making for a delightful and surprising end to the experience.

Atmosphere - 10

Food -...

Excellent service, food and ambiance at this small island bistro. John, the amiable owner, along with Jordan our server made us feel welcome to “his house” for the evening.

Housed in a former billiards hall the original wooden floors combined with John’s eclectic taste for David Bowie music and art scattered around the restaurant make for a relaxing effective combo. Table spacing and seating was ample and the noise level made it easy to have a conversation. Nice table linens, silverware, and stemware.

Reservations are needed here but the bar has 5 open seats for the lucky few who can claim them.

There’s a good selection of beer and wines and we started off the a Pinot gris and Chardonnay which came with a nice pour.

The menu has good and unique choices but not an endless list like some places. For starters we split the baked Key West shrimp with lobster. Four nicely sized pieces with a killer sauce that was excellent.

For the main course, my wife got the beef stroganoff and I the yellowtail snapper (their signature dish). My wife thought the beef stroganoff was really good (it’s one of our all-time favorite dishes) and so did I. I think I ate half of it. The yellowtail snapper was a nice filet and perfectly cooked. I’m not sure what the sauce was, but it didn’t hide the flavor of the fish. It accented it. For someone who was born in Florida and grew up eating snapper my whole life this was some of the best I ever had.

We split the Key lime pie for dessert. The waiter said the recipe for the pie was the original Key lime pie recipe. Can’t argue with that. It was pretty darn good.

Can’t say enough about Jordan our waiter. He was amiable, responsive, and pleasant. I also think I saw John, the owner, stop by every table in the restaurant during our meal. It’s obvious he takes great pride in his restaurant and it shows across-the-board.

We’ll be back. I just hope we can get a...

Came to the Red Shoe for our main dinner of the Key West trip, the one we were most looking forward to. And it was really Good. Like all restaurants in town, it was very walkable to get there. Inside, it was dark, the majority of the light provided was the candlelight from the tables. Very nice, intimate ambiance.

Service was very nice. We had a nice gentleman, catered to our every need, knew the specials and the catch of the day off the top of his head, and the drinks kept coming all night long. No issues there.

Now for the food.

We started off with the Lobster Roll Profiteroles (Classic lobster roll filling inside delicate house made profiteroles). These were Very fun. Creamy, large chunks of lobster, peppered with fresh herbs, and the roll of this lobster roll were these cute little choux buns. Pick them up, pop them in your mouth, they're delicious. Best part of the whole meal for me.

My main entree was the Yellowtail Snapper (Sauteed tender filet with a lemon and parsley sauce, risotto topped with parmesan, and sautéed asparagus. Our signature dish). Flakey, glistening, perfectly cooked for how thin of a filet it was. A bright lemony sauce adorned it. Perfectly cooked, cheesy risotto paired well with it. And a classic asparagus side, only three stalks, but they were nice.

I also got to try the Seared Scallops (Wild caught cold water scallops with a key lime ginger sauce with roasted walnuts. Service with a baked ricotta and feta spinach torte with pine nuts). This was nice. The scallops were seared and cooked well, the walnuts were an interesting touch. The blob of various cheeses in the middle were reminiscent of a spanakopita. A very interesting dish.

We ended with some sort of floral cheesecake. I can't remember exactly what it was, I can't find the menu online, but it was a nice floral cheesecake, a sweeter, heavier cream on top, and a lovely way to end a...