Food was good and fresh. Ate the tune poke bowl and the ceviche…read more Wasn't a fan of the ceviche, was a bit spicy and made in some sort of Jamaicans rule recipe. The tuna poke made up for it though. Tune was very fresh.

EASILY some of the BEST food I've ever had in my life -- no exaggeration…read more We went all in: shrimp tacos, chicken tacos, carne tacos, the shrimp po' boy, and the fried pork... and EVERY. SINGLE. THING. was unreal. Like, not one weak item on the table. But let me be clear -- that shrimp po' boy??? ABSOLUTELY STOLE THE SHOW. I'd go back for that alone. The whole place has that perfect outdoor Keys vibe -- laid back, great energy, just straight-up good times. And the service?? Top tier. Olivia and Mikey were on point the entire time -- super friendly, nailed the order, and made the experience even better. Huge respect to the kitchen too -- Marcus and Chapel are putting out some seriously special food. You can TASTE the effort and care in every bite. This place isn't just good... it's the kind of spot you think about after you leave. A spot you talk about until you go back. We'll 1000% be back. Probably way too soon

our bartender, Mallory, was amazing. care of accommodating…read more we loved the restaurant! great wings!

Herbie's Bar & Chowder House in Marathon has been operating under that name since 1963, with roots…read moregoing back to the 1940s as Maggie's Chowder House and later Fishnet's. It's legitimately one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in the Florida Keys, which gives it a lot of built-in credibility before you even sit down. Walking up to it, you feel that history. The exterior, the gravel lot, the signage--it's pure roadside Keys. Inside, it leans into that "local bar meets tourist stop" vibe: long wooden bar, TVs, stickers everywhere, taps lined up. Then you open the menu and it pivots in every direction--New England chowder house, BBQ joint, burger shack, seafood spot. It's not clear what it wants to be, and that lack of focus carries straight through to the food. We started with both chowders. The clam chowder looks right at first glance, but the texture tells you everything--thick, almost gluey, clearly roux-heavy. The flavor leans aggressively fatty, closer to margarine than butter, with very little clam presence. No briny backbone, no pepper, no lift. We ended up dumping in black pepper and hot sauce just to make it remotely acceptable--but even then, that heavy fat note kept pushing through. Nothing about it reads as New England. The conch chowder fares a bit better. You can actually see a decent amount of conch, and there's a peppery edge that helps. But the broth is thin and lacks the chunky, stewed tomato depth you expect from a proper Keys-style conch chowder. After having it done right earlier at Key Largo Fisheries, the difference was obvious. Then there are the Texas Twinkies--and the photo really says it all. On paper, this should work: jalapeños wrapped in bacon, stuffed with brisket, pulled pork, cheeses, and sauce. In execution, it's just too much. Too much cream cheese, too many competing sauces, meats chopped into a soft, indistinct filling. It collapses into a heavy, muddy bite that feels more overwhelming than satisfying. Looking back at the menu, the simpler move--burger, ribs, even wings--probably would have been the right call. Instead, we ordered straight into the identity crisis. And that theory held up. We went back and grabbed a burger later--cooked a proper medium rare, with well-done, crispy fries--and it was easily the best thing we had from them. I wanted to like Herbie's. There's history, personality, and clearly a loyal following. But between the confused concept and uneven execution, the move here is simple: stick to the basics.

This fun restaurant had live music when we went, and it was packed. The service was friendly, but…read morethe food was a little slow. They had the best fried conch of the several places where I tried it while on this trip. It was not chewy at all.

Five stars for Brutus!…read more Ambiance: The vibe and decor is beautiful! Tropical island feels! Everything is super clean and the space is bright ! Large outdoor terrace completely shaded and large trees near by for a wonderful breeze! Service: our waitress was super friendly and very fast and accommodating. She made a lot of suggestions about the menu which we appreciated. Food: what I loved the most is that everything was super fresh. We had the fish ceviche. So good!! Good portion as well. Also had the yellowtail sandwich - very fresh! Ordered the taco salad with filet mignon on top! Very good! Steak was cooked perfectly as ordered. Brutus serves breakfast daily and they have Sunday brunch! Love those options! Definitely coming back often! A gem in our neighborhood!

We were able to get seated right away for a party of 6 at peak dinner time…read more Our server was a fun guy. Very care free. Loved that he called us teams instead of couples. I ordered the seafood gumbo and bacon wrapped scallops. My husband had the two lobster tails sparky's style. (Market price was $46) He enjoyed the lobster tails. The gumbo was good especially with the crusty bread that came with it. The scallops had perfect crunchy bacon on it and the sauce that was over the rice with them was delicious. My friends all enjoyed their food as well. I also tried the coconut tree leches cake which wasn't as good as I had hoped. It wasnThe only issue we would say we had was with the flies that swarmed our table as soon as the food was carried out. It was crazy. Our server did a great job trying to help us with the flies. He even sprayed near our table. We were seated outside towards the back by the parking lot but still had some water views.

This was our very favorite restaurant during our week in the Keys. Palm-thatch roof over the…read morerestaurant is really cool. Outside seating area offers great views, but we took an inside table and the vibe was still awesome. Live music was great. Our server Zach was on the mark; checked on us frequently and took care of any requests quickly, and a very friendly dude. We tried: Sparky's Sunset and Coconut Margarita - both very good. Tuna tartare - the sesame sauce wasn't my favorite, but the tuna was fresh and tender. Coconut Shrimp - HUGE shrimp, nice toasty coconut crust, and the sweet chili sauce was a great compliment. 1/2 lb Peel and Eat Shrimp - these were served with butter, cocktail sauce, lemon, and a little cup of add-it-if-you-want cajun seasoning. I tried them all and loved the options. Bacon-wrapped Scallops - these were fantastic!! Super crunchy bacon on the outside, perfectly cooked scallops on the inside. Buffalo Chicken Wings - these had really good flavor, but the skins were a bit tough. Sparky's will be our very first stop on our next stay in the Keys.

Outstanding Key Lime Pie Wondering people working here on a…read moreFriday night, every seat taken and I'm at the bar waiting on an order of Key Lime Pie To Go. 25 minutes later they made my dream come true with a whole pie wrapped & real whipped cream in its own container to go. People applauded, customers & staff alike. I'd put in the wait time and a good tip. Yum Yum I'll be back when it's not Friday.

We stopped here for lunch with friends bc another place we were going to didn't have a spot to park…read moreand boy was it lucky for us. We were seated right away outside on the patio. My friends loved watching the iguanas roam around outside in the parking area while we waited in our food. I ordered the poke nachos and they were amazing. The flavors were great together and the presentation was upscale. Only thing I would have done to improve them was to add a bit more poke itself on them. Otherwise 10 out of 10. My husband order the conch fritters. They were good. They were served with several options for dipping sauce. Although they also touted the best key lime pie in the keys we didn't get it. Maybe next time. This is a place I would stop back at just for the poke nachos. As an army mom I also loved that they were a veteran owned restaurant.

Fun place to celebrate big events! Low-key atmosphere. We had a party of 10 for a birthday. They…read morehad plenty of space out back near the water on picnic tables. We attended on a Thursday evening. The indoor restaurant was crowded and had live music. The service was great. They brought out a huge team to sing happy birthday with a key lime pie slice for the bday boy. The food was good. Deep fried green beans and crab cakes were excellent! The sushi was top-notch. Soy paper available. The BBQ and salads were good. I would have appreciated more sauce and dressing though. Note: if you sit out by the water, you will get carried off by the insects!! The waitress did provide bug spray which was very generous, but we were still chewed. The indoor seating had lots of fans too. I'm thankful for the parking attendant. The lot is very tight, and hard to get into from right off the bridge. Overall, great memory!!

Went here with a group of friends. Six of us in total. Got seated right away. Nice tiki outdoor…read morevibe going on. We were seated at a picnic table with a fan which makes the heat bearable in late July. Our waitress came to take our orders right away as we were on the edge of happy hour ending to see if we wanted drinks or food from the specials. I thought that was good of her since often restaurants shut that down early. There is a LOT on the menu. With a name like Porky's we should've all just stuck with the pork. We placed our order. Various food around the table. Lots of tacos. Some grouper, Mahi Mahi, snapper and fried lobster. Some ordered pulled pork plates and I got the lobster bisque and pulled pork tater tot nachos. The pulled pork was good. There didn't seem to be a lot of fish in the tacos. The bisque tasted like Campbell's tomato soup with some lobster added. I wasn't a fan. It was all sadly underwhelming UNTIL the dessert menu rolled out. My husband wanted to try the deep fried key lime pie with raspberry reduction sauce and it was AMAZING!! Made the whole dinner worth it. We would come back just for that. So if you're coming here don't skip the dessert.

We came here for a late dinner and to hopefully catch the sunset. We timed it fairly spot on. They…read moresaid it would be about a 20-25 minute wait but it actually took less than 15 minutes. We got seated inside just as the sun was starting to set. Sadly all the guests that had finished eating right before us decided to walk over to the dock outside the restaurant which just so happened to be the exact viewing location for the sunset so we didn't get any really good photos of it bc there were so many people over there videoing it and taking photos. It was still nice scenery while we waited for our food though. I ordered ceviche to start us off as our appetizer and it was really good. My dinner was a pasta dish with shrimp and scallops. The sauce was supposed to be a white cream sauce but it was really runny. Even adding extra Parmesan cheese to it didn't help thicken it. It tasted ok. Not my best pick. I had a choice of soup or salad with it. I chose their she crab soup and I'm glad I did. It was great. Almost reminded me of homemade chicken and dumplings soup just with crab. I really liked it. I should have stopped with that and the ceviche. My husband got a grouper fish sandwich. He thought it was good but the prices were a bit high for what it was. His fish sandwich was $29. Although good, not worth $29. My pasta definitely not worth the $31. May be a bit of a tourist trap but the food was decent.

A local favorite! They have the outdoor and indoor seating. Outdoor seating by the water has large…read morefans and sunshades as needed. For the July heat, our elderly did okay. We were a bit sweaty in the evening. Outside is dog-friendly and they provide water dishes. Hey, Snowflakes, if you're bringing your naughty kids down who decide NOT to obey the don't feed the bird signs (includes fish), do us a favor and use your offspring as bait. I know that asks a lot since you'd have to put your phone down and address your screaming brat. But seriously, the staff here are too professional to police your ignorance. The service and food were both fantastic! While they focus on seafood, there is something for everyone on the menu, even your picky eaters. Fresh and very flavorful!! The fish dip, lobster/steak, chicken, key lime pie, and cheesecake are all highly recommended. Restrooms have AC and are clean (with mouthwash). Note you need to go up a flight of brick stairs to access it. May want to call for accessibility options if needed. There is also extensive parking to the left AAs you drive in. Most go to the right, by the entrance. Great views and atmosphere!

We had heard about this spot for a while so we made our way down for dinner last night…read more This sushi was incredible, and the surf and turf was some of the best we've had in recent memory. Our waiter Fabio was great at pointing out the most popular dishes, and helped us choose the right dish for us. It was very kind, and even though he was busy, he always made the time to stop by our table to see if we needed anything. If you're in the marathon area, this place is worth a look. Make sure to ask for Fabio, or Denzel!

We visited several restaurants while we were in the Keys, and this ended up being our favorite…read moreoverall. It wasn't the best meal we've ever had, but it was definitely the best food we had during our trip. Our favorites were the conch fritters, which were delicious, and the Angus cheeseburger, which was honestly the best thing we ordered. The mussels were also excellent and full of flavor. The shrimp ceviche was decent, but it could have used a little more seasoning, citrus, or zest. It felt a bit dry and didn't have the bright, fresh flavor I was expecting. The seafood platter was the biggest disappointment, especially considering the price. The mahi was under seasoned, and the texture wasn't enjoyable. The crab cakes had a fishy taste, and while the scallops were just okay, the shrimp was actually very good. The sweet potato side was delicious, but overall the platter didn't feel like a good value for what was served. Overall, despite a few misses, this was still the best dining experience we had in the Keys. The service was good, and there were enough standout dishes that we'd come back. I'd recommend sticking with the conch fritters, mussels, Angus cheeseburger, and shrimp.