Southernmost Beach Café — Restaurant in Key West

There really isn't a whole lot of positive I can say about this establishment. So, let's break this down along Google's particulars in reverse order:

ATMOSPHERE: Abysmal. I'm a native Floridian - born and raised in Tampa; so believe me when I say I understand the problems of beachside dining and some invasive locals who call themselves rats with wings (pigeons). That being said, this restaurant does very very little to deter it. More than once during our meal, we had to shoo a pigeon away from a plate of food - that's not only unsanitary, but it's just an unpleasant thing to deal with. If the restaurant had done more to insulate itself from the outside, it could have avoided the constant issues of pigeons interrupting the already poor dining experience.

The STENCH - oh, the stench - I have never had such a stomach-turning experience at a beach-side café than this one. All I could smell during my meal was the rotting decay of a metric ton of sea-grass along the coastline wafting through the open walls of the establishment - which has NO enclosed, air conditioned seating at all; or at least had none when we asked the hostess. While this place cannot defeat the laws of nature and the natural circumstances of a beach-front restaurant in the Florida Keys (therefore subject to space constraints), there is an unfortunate reality that it was a major detriment to the experience and thus works against it as a rating.

SERVICE: The service here was okay. The hostess was a little difficult to communicate with, but the waitress Tatiana was very helpful despite the stench, the abysmal menu, and the even more abysmal environs.

FOOD: I am of two minds here. On the one hand - what we ordered was pretty delicious. Coconut shrimp with a very pleasant tasting chili sauce; nachos that, despite some rather rank looking black bean salsa, was otherwise fairly delicious, and some proper, fat chicken wings that were, actually, fairly above average.

However. Here's where we come into the crux of the matter - all three of these things are APPETIZERS. The fact that my bill came out to over $70 after wards for just appetizers? That took forever to come out? Abysmal. Absolutely abysmal.

To say nothing of the rest of their menu - expensive, very little proper meal options other than a smorgasbord of booze (which, as a teetotaller means little to me).

I will not be visiting this establishment again should I ever darken the shores of Key West, and I would genuinely recommend you give this place a VERY WIDE...

Group of 5 adults, wanted drinks from the bar - the bar area only had those high seats, that I cannot sit at being handicapped, so we asked to sit at the restaurant area - which was NOT busy at the time we were there (two other groups were there, less than 5 people each). There were two servers in the area, however neither came to the table so we had to flag one down. We got Patrick. I asked him if the frozen strawberry daiquiri was in fact frozen because at a different place, I received a melted drink & he snappily said, "Well it is hot". Wow - hot in Florida during the summer? If your business cannot get a frozen drink from the blender to the customer without it being turned to liquid - then your menu shouldn't say you have frozen drinks. We ordered our drinks, when he came back with the drinks - he wanted to take a food order but he was told we'll just be having drinks. He said the restaurant area was for food orders & it was pointed out to him that I'm handicapped & couldn't sit at the bar area (which wasn't a big space either) plus we asked the hostess if we could sit there & she said yes. Patrick's attitude was that we had inconvenienced him so greatly, he hastily gathered up the silverware & made the comment along the lines, I'm not quoting verbatim, "What a waste of time..." along with some other colorful commentary. I guess maybe he thought I was deaf. Some of the drinks we ordered cost more than the meals - & we do tip well - for good service. The place wasn't busy - so I don't understand why Patrick acted so put out. Let's face it, as a server you're in the "service industry" - add to that the fact that you're in a tourist area - I would feel a better attitude would be the norm. Due to his poor attitude, we finished that round & left. I am basing this review on the very poor customer service. We did not have the food, so I can't rate it on that. It seems based on other people's reviews it is a mixed bag whether it's good or bad. Maybe Patrick was having a bad day, but I have been in the customer service industry - & you need to leave that...

Recently had a 30th birthday dinner here, and the experience far exceeded my expectations!!

We were booking for a large table of 16 people. The booking experience itself was very stressful which is the only reason for giving this review 4 stars. I called twice and spoke to 2 different hosts about the reservation, both times they assured me that they had our reservation down however I never received a text confirmation from their booking system Open Table (which they told me they sent to my cell phone #) which made me very nervous when trying to coordinate dinner for such a large group. I even showed up at the restaurant the morning of our reservation and the hostess was not helpful at all in confirming that we had a reservation for that evening. Understandably so, I was concerned about showing up with 16 guests and the restaurant having no idea about our table which just added stress to my trip to the keys.

However, when we arrived for our reservation our table was ready on time. They did not have the correct guest count when we arrived but they did quickly add another table to accommodate 16 people. We had brought mahi mahi from a fishing charter that day, and the chefs preparation went far beyond my expectations!!! They served the fish family style with STUNNING presentation, prepared 3 ways (seared, blacked and macadamia crusted) and brought a multitude of sides for everyone to share. Our service was impeccable and they did accommodate 8 separate checks (one per couple) for such a large party which I know is difficult to do. I would hands down recommend anyone to dine at the southernmost beach cafe, especially if you are looking to go somewhere with a “cook your catch” option. I would absolutely go back the next time we are in...