Old Key Lime House — Restaurant in Lantana

I had heard a lot about the Old Key Lime House's popularity, so I finally decided to visit on Thursday, October 24th. Unfortunately, the experience did not live up to the hype and fell short in many areas, from the atmosphere and service to the food quality.

The visit began with mandatory valet parking. Although the service was free, there was an expectation to tip, which made it feel more like a hassle than a convenience. The restaurant itself showed its age, and the facilities could benefit from renovations. The men’s bathroom, in particular, was off-putting, with only one dirty sink and an overall lack of cleanliness, which left a negative first impression.

Service was one of the most frustrating aspects. After being seated, it took over 10 minutes for anyone to bring us water. The first server who approached informed us that he wouldn’t be our waiter because he was about to go home, yet he continued to serve tables near us for the rest of the evening, which seemed dismissive and unprofessional. My friend and I are young and visibly LGBTQ+, and we couldn't help but feel overlooked and possibly targeted due to our appearance. It took even longer for someone else to come by and take our drink order. When our new server eventually arrived, it was clear she was overwhelmed and inattentive, rarely checking on us throughout the meal. While I work as a server myself and understand the challenges of the job, the level of service we experienced was unacceptable. Despite these issues, I left a tip of over 20% because she seemed overworked, but it did not excuse the lack of attention we received.

The food was the most disappointing part of the evening. I started with a key lime martini, which was flavorful but not cold enough. We ordered a variety of dishes, but none met expectations. The lobster bisque lacked lobster pieces and was served in a wide, shallow bowl that made it impossible to dip the crackers properly. It was bland and lacked depth of flavor. The clam chowder was similarly disappointing, tasting watered-down and lacking any richness. The crab and spinach dip tasted overwhelmingly of spinach, with no discernible crab, and was served with a few small pieces of pita bread. When we requested additional chips, we were charged extra, even though the original portion was minimal. The fish and chips were the worst dish we tried—the fish was served as a single, large, unappetizing clump with a soft batter instead of the expected crispy texture. The fries were passable, but the inadequate amount of tartar sauce made the dish less enjoyable.

To end the meal, we ordered the restaurant’s signature key lime pie, hoping for at least one memorable dish. While it was decent, it didn’t stand out or live up to the restaurant's reputation. Throughout the meal, our server did not check in until we were almost done, and no effort was made to address our dissatisfaction. Watching the original server, who claimed he was leaving, continue to serve nearby tables left us feeling treated differently, possibly due to our age or appearance.

Overall, while the Old Key Lime House has some redeeming qualities, such as the tasty and reasonably priced drinks and a lively atmosphere with live music, these positives did not outweigh the negatives. The outdated facilities, subpar food, and inattentive service make it difficult to recommend the restaurant for anything other than a quick drink and live entertainment. For a place with such a strong reputation, it needs significant improvements in food quality, staff training, and facility maintenance to meet the expectations set by its popularity. Until then, it's not a place I would suggest for a full...

This was the worst dining experience Ive ever had in a hot minute, and its disappointing as my sister who lives in the area has never had an issue, but she said she normally sits at the bar.

For one, we watched other parties be seated and served before us, 15+ minutes we sat without anyone acknowledging us, we had to hunt someone down to take our drinks.

We moved tables because a party that had a table in the shade literally finished up their food and left in the time that we were still waiting for service. During our switch, we saw another party be seated in our previous table and be waited on right away, which led us to believe this was rooted in bias, as we were the only black people in that section.

The drinks took a while and were wrong when they did finally arrive, and as this went on we watched other people be seated, and get their drinks promptly.

We placed our food orders and that also took a long time. When it finally arrived, the lobster bisque, crab and shrimp spinach dip, and the crabcakes were amazing.

My order, the fish and chips, the fish was not edible. The inside was gummy, mushy and the batter was obviously over fried in too hot of oil. I had one small piece and could not eat anymore, as it was inedible. My sister ate some of the fries but the fish was clearly untouched outside of the first bite.

Had we been waited on, we would have been able to tell someone right away, but we were not checked on again until everyone else had basically finished eating. So when our waiter Tina did come by, we told her and we asked for it to be taken off. She was very apologetic and said she would take care of it.

A manager, Brittany, comes by and asks what the issue is and when we explain she is very crass, and clearly did not want to hear about our experience at all. She said that the meal was mostly eaten, so she would not take it off, and any attempts we made to share our experience were met with an “uhuh, yep”.

They gave us a slice of pie, so I guess that compensates the horrible service and inedible fish.

You don’t want to fully comp the meal for us, okay, charge us for a side of fries instead since those were the only things eaten. It was like they felt we were trying to pull one over on them as if we were not actively praising all the other dishes and were going to pay for them. Someone trying to get one over on you isnt going to sing praises for anything.

All in all, its sad that its 2025 and people of color are still given subpar service and then WE are treated badly for addressing it, like we are just irritable or looking for trouble for no reason.

We tipped Tina as it was not her fault they over-sat her section and that it was packed, and because we did not want to contribute to the obviously held belief at this establishment that black people dont tip.

Not being acknowledged at all for how long we had been sitting, but a white party is seated in the same spot and got immediate service, that says it all.

Thanks to Tina and another waitress whose name I didnt catch but was who helped us move tables and took our drink order, they actually tried to make it right.

To the management, you clearly need more training in customer service and...

We visited the restaurant (Old Key Lime House) on Sunday, August 11, with a party of 15 to celebrate three birthdays (Mine was one of them). My wife organized the gathering and even baked a cake for the occasion. Unfortunately, our experience was marred by a series of issues. Upon arrival, the hostess, a very tall blonde, was exceedingly rude to my wife, to the point of bringing her to tears, simply because she wouldn’t allow us to bring the cake. Additionally, the Happy Birthday balloons my wife brought were also not permitted. Despite the negative start, we chose to stay due to the size of our group and made the best of the situation, even though the restaurant's policies felt excessively strict and dictatorial to say the least. Moreover, we were disappointed when the restaurant refused to seat us all at one table, instead arranging a round table for 10 and a separate table for 5. My wife and I ended up at the smaller table. We felt very alienated from the rest of the group. We ordered the shrimp basket, which was listed on the menu for $18. When it arrived, we found only six small, overcooked shrimp. Despite this, we decided to not make a seen about the food and tried to focus on enjoying our time together instead. When we got home and reviewed our bill, we noticed discrepancies. According to the menu, the shrimp basket should have been $18, the hamburger $17, and the mozzarella sticks $12. However, we were charged $19 for the shrimp basket, $12.50 for the mozzarella sticks, and $19 for the hamburger—a total overcharge of $3.50. While $3.50 is not going to brake the bank is just a matter of principle, honesty, integrity.... Then I called one of my friends and verified this with them and asked them if they still had their receipts. They did and checked and found they had similar issues on his bill. They were overcharged in the same fashion. This raises the question of whether overcharging customers in small, nearly imperceptible amounts is a common practice at this restaurant. If such overcharges occur regularly, they could represent a significant source of extra revenue for both the staff and management. When multiplied by the thousands of patrons who visit the restaurant each week, the financial impact could be substantial. Moreover, Old Key Lime House enforces a mandatory 20% gratuity on every bill, leaving customers no option to tip based on their level of satisfaction. This practice is especially concerning for those who may not notice the pre-added tip and inadvertently leave an additional amount. Given our experience, we have decided to remove Old Key Lime House from our list of preferred dining spots. I strongly recommend that future diners carefully review their bills before making a payment. We found the staff to be rude, unaccommodating, and the business practices...