This place is a hidden Gem. I only say hidden because we missed it until the last day. This place was just an incredible surprise. The decor, the people (Gabby - you are a total pro), the cocktails and of course the food are absolutely worth the time and the money. I will make a trip back to Marathon just to eat there again. read more

Butterfly Café - Snapper and Reese's Cheese cake! - Seafood Near Me - Marathon, Florida

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Exquisite ambience with a taste of elegance. The water is quite tasty. Mmm... read more

delicious food, creative drinks, key lime pie is unique & tasty. the interior and the grounds are beautiful. great upscale date night spot. read more

Butterfly Café - Mahi Mahi - Seafood Near Me - Marathon, Florida

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Very tasteful atmosphere. Great for special occasions. Snapper was excellent. Bread and dessert also very good. Pricy, but you get what you pay for. Service also excellent. read more

Had dinner with my family there tonight. My daughter orders a filet medium comes out way over well done, I order a ribeye medium comes out way over done, my wife orders snapper very fishy. Both my wife and daughter have been sick all night. Potatoes on all dishes are like crappy box potatoes and vegetables are just so so, no flavor. $240.33, terrible meal, good ish service but not up to par with a place that bills itself as like they do, but they automatically add 18% gratuity. Over all skip this place, go almost anywhere else including McDonald's you'll be much happier. read more

It seems near impossible to secure reservations here. After calling the phone number multiple times, both before operating hours and during operating hours, it would always go to voicemail where it would invite you to leave a message regarding your reservation request and noted that the host would call shortly after 5 pm. Despite leaving two messages and attempting to call multiple times to speak to a human being, I never received a call back. When we arrived shortly after they opened at 6 pm to see if our reservation had been confirmed, the hostess--after flipping through several pages of disorganized notes--stated she did not get our message and they could not seat us until 8 pm. We instead went to the Lighthouse Grill down the street where the staff and atmosphere were more friendly and laid back. read more

I am so very sad to report that my meal was the worst prepared I have ever had there. I ordered the grouper as usual. It was overcooked. The potatoes were cold. I might have to find a new high-end restaurant to enjoy. I have had exquisite meals in the past. Not tonight. read more

My wife and I ate here twice during our week long stay in Marathon. Excellent food and service! The drink menu had a great variety and the sea scallops were to die for! The Goat cheese was also amazing. Definitely recommended for a higher end place and perfect for a date night! read more

Great service Beautiful and clean atmosphere Food was tasty from Appetizers to dessert I would definitely coming back to this place again! read more

This was an absolutely delicious place to have dinner. My husband n I Did not stay there , which I am sorry we didn't. The hotel is named Tranquility resort. So pretty. Getting back to the food, so delicious ! We shared a cheese board , which was nicely presented. They gave you so much , 4 people could share. My husband had conch chowder, which he loved. Our Main meal, which both of us ordered, scallops w risotto. Absolutely delicious ! We recommend this totally. read more

Really beautiful atmosphere and great selection of food. Had the Mahi-Mahi sandwich, really fantastic flavor with the curly fries that compliment each other well. read more

Atmosphere is relaxing, but sophisticated. The dining room is beautifully done, with high ceilings. The porch is where we had our relaxing dinner. I had a scallops risotto dish with a pepper cream sauce. It. Was. Delicious. The flavors paired well, also incorporating an asparagus in, which lightened up the starch of the risotto. I would get this dish again. The waitress had a calm demeanor and was knowledgeable about both the food and the wine-pairings. read more

Butterfly Café - Scallop risotto in a pepper cream sauce. - Seafood Near Me - Marathon, Florida

My husband and I went to Butterfly Cafe because its cuisine and ambiance seemed more appealing than the other waterfront restaurants in Marathon. The service was excellent but the food was very mediocre. We don't mind paying a high price for the entrees but our fish dishes (grouper and yellow tail snapper) were nothing to write home about. My yellow tail snapper was so salty that I ended up just eating the mashed potatoes. i hope my comments are taken into consideration because the restaurant has a lot to offer in terms of the ambiance and the staff's professionalism. read more

Wonderful restaurant at a splendid resort! The wait staff is attentive and the food is fantastic. Don't miss the local fresh fish and the key lime pie for dessert. We will be back for sure!! read more

It was my first time ever in the Keys and my boyfriend and I opted out of going to Key West because of the bad weather forecast. I love everything about Marathon! On our last night here, we wanted to go somewhere special, somewhere with great seafood. My goodness we went to the right place!! Butterfly Cafe is basically tucked in a cute little resort, but they welcome everybody, so you don't have to stay at the resort to dine here. For the appetizer we got this amazing tuna tataki dish. For the main entree we went with the coconut shrimp and Mahi Mahi. Just a warning, don't be surprised if you burn a hole through your wallet :) read more

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The crab cakes(2) we ordered were about the size of a hush puppy! In fact there was corn in it...just like a hush puppy. We also ordered the coconut shrimp which were small as well. All the food had to have been frozen/not fresh at all. Extremely disappointing. 2 years ago we ate here and it was worth the price. They're serving crap for a pretty penny now. Don't know what happened maybe they lost their chef. read more

Stayed at tranquility bay last week and was very nice and the staff there is nice. The beach bartender mason took great care of us and told us to go to keys fisheries for stone crabs and steak and lobster for good serice from bob. Most bartender s are mean to us tourist s but mason was nice to us. Nice matters. Go browns read more

The grouper was fantastic, as well as the pomodoro. Our server was awesome, and from Ohio! It's a little pricey, but the food is stellar. I would highly recommend this place. It's secluded, quaint, and delicious. A must visit when in Marathon. read more

Butterfly Café - Seafood Near Me - Marathon, Florida

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Food was great. Service was just as good or maybe even better!! The kids loved their food and my steak was cooked to perfection. They had a surprisingly decent wine selection for a small restaurant. The desserts we tried were all amazing. The kids are asking to go back to try the other cheesecakes we didn't order. So far this is the top of our list for marathon restaurants. read more

Okay, so yes this place is pricier than other restaurants nearby, BUT let me tell you.... It's so worth it! The place is super cute and the food was on point. We ordered the mahi sandwich and Panko crusted grouper. Both were phenomenal!! Our servers name was Cheril & she was very sweet. Tip- 18% gratuity charge is included in the bill. read more

We had dinner here our last night in Marathon. It's a small but beautiful restaurant. You'll most likely need a reservation as there are only about 20 tables and many are filled with guests of Tranquility Bay. The food was outstanding as was the service and atmosphere. My one complaint is that they add automatic gratuity to all parties of 18% and 20% to those of 6 or more. I think that's insulting and classless to automatically add gratuity. If service is great, we always tip 20%+ and we believe a tip is an incentive for the waitstaff to give great service, not a given. When you add it automatically there is no incentive for the waitstaff. Also, in our case, they missed out on a bigger tip because of the greedy policy of the restaurant. read more

Have eaten at Butterfly Cafe twice. My recent experience was just as excellent as the first. Since it had been 4 years since we had been in Marathon, I think that speaks for consistency. This visit all three of us chose a fish dish and expressed openly how delicious our meals were prepared. I had their "famous" Panko crusted Grouper. I'm a native Floridian and believe me, I have eaten my fair share of grouper dishes at some of the finest restaurants. This dish is top top drawer. Perfectly prepared with all the right balances of favors. The wine list is adequate but not deep. The atmosphere is lovely with a Key West Style wrap around veranda for outdoor seating. Service was excellent. They seem to handle large parties quite well. I observed them serving a party of 12. Their dishes all arrived at the same time and the staff did not appear to be overwhelmed at any time. I highly recommend this restaurant if someone is looking for a nice dinner out where the other patrons are dressed nicely (no flip flops and t shirts which is the norm in the Keys) and are interested in an upscale, tropical dining experience. read more

A lovely restaurant located at the Tranquility Bay Resort. You walk into a large room with a vaulted ceiling, exposed wood beams and beautiful hardwood floors. It's definitely one of the higher end restaurants in the area but it does not feel stuffy. Our server, Cheryl was very friendly and accommodating. She brought us a basket of their delicious bread served warm, which we couldn't help but devour! We each got a margarita which was made fresh (no sour mix) and very tasty. For an entree, I ordered the scallops with risotto (a must try) and my husband got a special which was baked grouper, scallops and shrimp in a garlic butter sauce served with asparagus and mashed potatoes. The seafood in both dishes was super fresh and cooked to perfection....they were out of this world! We would have ordered a dessert but we were stuffed after dinner. I have to say it wasn't exactly cheap but it was well worth it! We will most definitely return to Butterfly Cafe when we come back to the Keys. read more

Wow - this is an elegant place is the perma-casual Keys scene. Very cool decor - check out how they made the ceiling fans :) Food was really amazing - never had better snapper in my life. And the smoked fish appetizer was heavenly. Not sure why this isn't $$$$ - I think it's in that category but also feel that it is totally worth it. $15 martinis - but made perfectly. A real treat if you'd like to dress up in an elegant atmosphere. read more

3.75 stars... Despite its name, It's a restaurant, not a cafe. Food: Quite refined. Terrific creamy scallop risotto. Succelent and generous portion of pork chop. Atmosphere: Upscale beach cottage. Service: Very mixed. Friendly, but missed the mark on a few occassions - despite being more staff than diners, there was a verrry slow start...the they sent us back to our rooms to get ID for wine (we're 30ish). In summary, I suspect this is one of the most civilized dining experiences in this mixy part of the Keys. Worth a go. read more

We were looking for a nice white table cloth restaurant and so happy that we found the Butterfly Cafe! The atmosphere, service and food were on point. Located in a white cracker style building, the restaurant was intimate and had great views from almost every table. We were happy to hear Cheryl's recommendations (our server) since there were so many options on the menu. I'm not a huge fish fan but was won over by the grouper. My date had the fillet, which was cooked perfectly. Two entrees, two glasses of wine, tax and tip (18%) added up to around $100. We will be back the next time we visit. read more

Elegant dining, great food, great extras. Wait staff was pleasant. The bread I thought was really good and they give you a lot - no skimping on the bread which is nice. The table was really high class with all the extras - china, nice silverware, folded napkins, nice glasses, candle, etc. It was really good. Food was fresh caught and you can taste it. I liked the shrimp pimadora and my wife liked the grouper meal with potatoes. We walked away with a $150 bill, however. It was probably one of the most expensive restaurants I have ever been to. Even the Melting Pot was cheaper, which is a hard statement to make. Excellent choice if you have the money to blow. read more

Best restaurant in Marathon! Friendly staff, clean facility and wonderful food. We stayed in Marathon for a week and ate at all the "fine dining" establishments. Only one was truly fine and that's the Butterfuly Cafe! read more

Great waitstaff, very nice setting, inside or out. Food was superb and the drinks were yummy. Would highly recommend.

Scallops with risotto were delicious. The other food was average and service was ok. Outdoor patio is nice. Won't return as there are other restaurants with more standout dishes and better service. read more

Best fine dining between Miami and Key West. Excellent atmosphere. Truly an intimate, beautiful place. Great service. Very very good food. As far as the Keys go, this is "Woohoo! As good as it gets!" Highly recommended. read more

This place was amazing!! My brother found it using Trip Advisor, and I can definitely see why it received 4.5 stars from 552 reviews! It is part of a hotel and apparently always very busy at dinner, so definitely make a reservation beforehand. My future sister-in-law and I have eyes bigger than our stomach, so we decided to have a three course meal and share everything. To begin with, we ordered some crab cakes, which were absolutely delicious. They had a really nice sauce that came with it. Next, we had a sandwich (I think it was jerk chicken or some type of fish), which was surprisingly very flavorful and came with fries. This was a couple months ago so now I'm forgetting what the rest of my family ordered, but they were pretty satisfied. For dessert we got one of their chocolate cakes, and even though we were already super full from the meal, it was too good to resist. Our server was extremely nice and attentive, and kept checking in on us. This place was definitely pricier than other restaurants in the area, but the future sister-in-law and I personally enjoyed the dining experience (not too sure about the others). During daylight I feel like it would be really nice to sit on the patio, but we got there after dark and there are ugly plastic covers around the patio so the ambiance wasn't very nice where we were sitting-- the interior and I think other parts of the patio are very cute though. read more

This place was fabulous! It definitely stands out from all the other restaurants I have found in the Keys, most of which are small mom and pop shops in small island-style buildings. If you are looking for a classier affair this is the only place I have found so far. The food was delicious, the service was excellent and the ambiance was perfect. It felt like a southern plantation fine dining experience. Will definitely return! read more

Butterfly Café - Outdoor seating at the restaurant. So peaceful and intimate! - Seafood Near Me - Marathon, Florida

Stunning in ambiance and quality of food! I had the Mahi Mahi, and my husband had the yellow tail special. Both of our entrees were equally as wonderful, and the desssert was out of this world. A new take on Key Lime Pie that you will not soon forget. The only slight negative was there was an automatic 18% gratuity added, which our server informed us about at the end. I understand this policy for large parties, but for a table for two? We would have preferred giving her the 18% for outstanding service, rather than have it mandated. Despite this, we would highly recommend this wonderful restaurant. read more

Butterfly Café - Award winning deconstructed Key Lime... to die for! - Seafood Near Me - Marathon, Florida

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I'll start this review with the fact that my wife and I, as well as many friends each visit to Marathon, have been to this restaurant multiple times since our first visit to marathon 4 years ago. Tonight we came with two friends and had a much different experience than in the past. We were the one of the first seatings of the night and my wife and one of our friends ordered for a lemon-Drop Martini, but were surprised when the waiter returned to the table and informed us that they only had enough Vodka for one. Really, first seating of the night, on a Friday night, and no Vodka to make a fairly common drink.. ok. Then we ordered shrimp cocktail, and again the waiter came back and said they were out of shrimp. Out of shrimp? At the first seating on Friday night??? Ok. We'll, we had dinner, it was ok... not spectacular, good at best. It was our friends birthday and my wife had a special cake made for her and delivered it to the hostess, prior to the dinner, with instructions to put our candles on the cake and bring the whole cake, with candles on it, to the table for desert. The cake was custom made and expensive, and one of those you have to see to appreciate. Just prior to serving the cake the staff called my wife to the back where they told her they had cut the cake prior to serving it to us. Needless to say my wife was upset. They brought the slices out and put them in front of the four of us. I then got involved. I asked the waiter to at least put a candle in the birthday girls slice. He took her slice back and then returned with the uncut half of the cake, with four candles and the cake ornaments on top. He then lit the candles, but the candles were too close to the ornaments and the ornaments caught fire... ok, getting to be a little too much, but still laughable. After we were done with dinner, and asked for our check, the waiter apologized profusely and told us he had taken 20% off the bill, but also told us that he had added an 18% gratuity. I told him it was not necessary to take anything off the price. But the more I thought of having the nerve to add an 18% gratuity, the angrier I got. I then felt I need o get involved and walked up to the front and asked to speak to the manager. When she arrived I told her that it was pretty amazing that after all that had gone wrong that they would add an 18% gratuity. I told her that I would have tipped 20%, only because I felt sorry for the waiter, but after all of that, they found it necessary to add an 18% gratuity??? She said that she was sorry, and that it was company policy. Complete indifference. I got upset, and told her that pretty much it appeared that the real problem was the leadership, and of course had some choice words. She told me that they make mistakes. I told her that they pretty much screwed up everything. She then told me I didn't have to come back. That really upset me, and I could see the real problem was her, the manager. She told me to leave, and I told her no... I was waiting for my wife and friends to come out. She then told me she would call the Sheriff. My friends and wife came out and then we left. This is a relatively high end restaurant and you would expect much better than this, and especially understanding and compassion, none of which was displayed by this manager. Bottom line, food was ok to good, price is high, but they don't appreciate your business, and could care less if you have a nice experience. Take your good money to another restaurant, because this manager could care less if you have a nice experience or not. read more

A+--everything was wonderful. Food was fantastic, atmosphere was beautiful and service was impeccable. We stopped in hoping to get a reservation--and were given a 6P table. Our server was fantastic, friendly, helpful, paced the meal perfectly. Food was top notch. We shared crab cakes and Caesar salad, husband got the Grouper, I got the Filet Mignon--everything was delicious and beautifully presented. Ended the meal with the TDF cake--and it was, as advertised, "To Die For." Can't wait to visit again! read more

Beautiful setting. Starters The crab cakes and butterfly salad were reasonably good . The Napoleon tuna is a really nicely put together dish with complimentary ingredients and tastes great. Entrees The rib eye on the bone was disappointing and really expensive. Dry (ordered medium) and lacking the right flavor. The chef used an anise based finish (Pernod?) that was not a good marriage. Such a strong taste should appear on the menu when describing the dish. The scallop risotto... nice scallops but the rice part was .... a bit dry, not quite there. The snapper was very good. Reasonably priced wine that was also good. The service is not professional particularly from the more senior staff- hostess etc. Our waitress was new on the job and tried very hard. She did very well considering. The price hits around $100 per person.... not value for money so cannot recommend. read more

We were staying at the resort & ate at the cafe for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised about the service and the food. Randi, our waitress was awesome. We had crab cakes to start. They were not fishy at all. The slaw was good too. My husband had the scallops with risotto & I had spinach salad with chicken. Both were good. We finished with a piece of key lime pie. I would highly recommend & would return in a heartbeat. read more

My FIL, husband and I made a reservation for 7pm on a Saturday night. So glad we did! There were two large parties that also had reservations (10 and 18 top). Our waitress was good up until the large parties were seated. Order the Mahi Mahi when you go it's amazing and the key lime pie was not the best. Seemed frozen and didn't thaw all the way. With all that said I would go back again but maybe order another glass of wine instead of ordering the key lime pie. read more

We were in Marathon for a family vacation the week after the Fourth of July. After a week of making meals at our rental house we were more than ready to go out to dinner for our last night. After perusing Yelp and Tripadvisor reviews, we came across Butterfly Cafe. We had 7 adults and 2 young children. Our experience was fabulous and everyone thought the food was fantastic. We had the crabcakes, yellowfin tuna, jerk chicken, pork chops, scallops and filet mignon. All were fabulous and everyone kept commenting how delicious their food was. After dinner we took our drinks down to the beach to enjoyed the sunset. All in all it was a great experience and our waitress was very attentive. She was engaging with the children and it was the perfect way to end our vacation. Thank you Yelp for coming through again! read more