Cracked Conch Cafe — Restaurant in Marathon

RJ's parents used to like it here years ago, so we wanted to try it. It has been here for something like 40 years and you can tell, it's still the same decor. When we first arrived, the host seemed bothered to seat us but he perked up later. We asked to sit out back on the patio,and there is an odd water feature in the middle of the floor. The location is not fancy and is badly in need of updates, but we were hoping for some good food. Our server was friendly and chatted with us for a while. She recommended the special to me which was dolphin or grouper with a kiwi sauce. This intrigued me because I never realized kiwi could be cooked. We both wanted grouper which was $10 more. We started with barbecue shrimp which sounded different, and the shrimp were large and delicious with barbecue sauce, cheese and rice. The dinners came with soup and salad, so he got the conch chowder and I got the salad. He said his chowder was fantastic, and my salad was a basic iceberg salad. However, when the main attraction arrived, I was blown away! The kiwi sauce was outrageous, so terrific. If only it had rice, or the server had suggested I get rice as a side instead of vegetables. The vegetables were tasty but the kiwi sauce desperately needed a side of rice! RJ enjoyed his grouper and shrimp combo which was cooked perfectly. We ended with key lime pie which was icebox and not our favorite but it was decent. The food is definitely better than the location, but the prices are no different than the nicer restaurants. I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. Not every place can have a view, and we go to plenty of places that don't. But if you are in paradise do you want to stare at a shabby kitchen from 1979 with a metal piece propped up against a wall, and a dirty old fountain in the middle of the floor covered in 40-year-old tile while eating a $41 entree?? At least do some basic updates, it doesn't have...

This quaint location serves breakfast all day, 7 days a week. They have a back side tropical patio that is perfect for those breakfasts with the pup. However, beware! You won't find any signs up and you'll stand there like an idiot till a customer tells you its seat yourself. That's the reason for the loss of 1 star as we waited and were passed by 2 servers before we were told by a customer.

We ordered coffee and mimosas for the adults. The coffee was very smooth and delicious. The mimosas come out with the OJ in the glass and a split bottle of Zonin on the side. So technically, you can just drink the prosecco without the troublesome orange juice! Love this.

Conch Benedict: Comes with 2 large pieces of conch on top of an english muffin and topped with hollandaise. It was delicious and tender. The breading was light enough to still allow for the flavor to come through. I'd have liked the spicy hollandaise from the New Orleans bene on it though! Just to give it some complexity.

New Orleans Benedict: This was my favorite! You get 6 oysters fried to perfection in top of a tomato and egg and topped with hollandaise. The hollandaise on this was spicy and delicious. My husband and split both benes and this was my favorite. The oysters were fresh and exploded in your mouth.

Overall, this was a great breakfast stop. They offered our pup a biscuit and a bowl of water as well! Being a conch house, the ways they prepare conch are exstensive. You MUST try it in some form if you come! Our waitress, Sheila, amazing, very attentive and checked back often. Give her a raise! The servers could use some...

Our first trip to The Keys and Marathon was amazing! Our first, and only trip to the Cracked Conch had mixed reviews. We visited based off referrals. We had a party of 7 ages 10 to 75. The waitress, (possibly the owner?) was very short, not helpful at all, refused to answer any questions and kept telling us to just read the menu. We've never been to the area, have no idea what's good, or what stuff may taste like, and she was not interested at all in helping. Because of this some at our table only ordered the $4 BLT (I ordered it, not because of this, and it was delicious!). We ordered a basket of fries, delicious! One ordered pancakes, delicious! Another ordered Pasta with freshly grilled vegetables, delicious! We didn't order some of signature items because the waitress was rude. About halfway through our meal, other larger tables left and our waitress was a lot more helpful, friendly, and even visited with us for a bit. I personally thought it was a good experience, with awesome food, and I would have gone back! Our party collectively however, deemed it: The Salty Crab (waitress) at the Crusty Conch... and to my dismay, we didn't return the rest of the trip. For service the first half of the meal, I'd not even give them a star. For service the second half of the meal, I'd give our Salty Crab 5 stars. She was a little rough around the edges and took a bit to warm up, but a genuine soul. For the food, an absolute 5 stars. ...