I had a friend who was disappointed in the Florida Keys. He thought the drive down the Overseas Highway passed too many tacky commercial establishments spoiling the natural beauty.
I understand. The Keys are an acquired taste, like beer.
Fortunately (or not), I’ve acquired a taste for both, and one of the things I love about the Keys is where authentic tackiness meets postcard views. And that is at the Florida Keys tiki bar.
Elsewhere, tiki bars hearken back to the 1950s romanticized view of Polynesian culture — carved wooden masks, hula-girl lamps, that sort of thing.
In the Keys, it’s more of a chickee-bar or cabana-bar culture and it’s all about being outdoors and overlooking the water, particularly at sunset.
Florida Keys tiki bars are some of the best places to eat fresh fish and fried anything. They are usually family friendly, because kids at an outdoor table can wiggle and make noise. And they are the epitome of the Keys attitude — sit back, relax, be entertained by fish snapping up breadcrumbs or the passing clouds.
If a Keys vacation were a college major, Tiki Bar 101 would be a required course.
Here are a few classic Florida Keys tiki bars that will help fulfill your requirements:
Key Largo: Skippers Dockside
Located two blocks off the Overseas Highway at MM100, Skippers has a chickee building on an elevated deck with a postcard-like view of a broad canal.
While you sip your rum drink or craft beer, you watch fishing charters and diving boats come and go. If you’re really lucky, you might see the African Queen, the actual boat from the 1951 Humphrey Bogart movie, steam by and toot its iconic horn. It’s moored a few boats down the canal from Skippers and you can stroll down the seawall and see it after you eat.
And do eat. We had outstanding fish tacos and a yellowtail snapper sandwich. We’d love to come back and try the fish dip and conch fritters, which get good reviews.
In addition to the expansive area under the tiki building there are comfy chairs around sandpits and a large air-conditioned indoor area.
Happy hours are 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays with $2.50 domestic beer, $5 wine and appetizers from $4 to $8.
Skippers Dockside, 528 Caribbean Drive, Key Largo
Islamorada: The Lorelei
For years, the big mermaid sign on US 1 at Mile Marker 82 in Islamorada, has said: Relax, you’re finally in the Keys. When people say “Florida Keys tiki bar,” lots of them are talking about Lorelei.
Beyond the parking lots, Lorelei’s decks, chickee huts, palm trees and sandy waterfront create an expansive and outstanding place to watch the sunset. Lorelei’s is situated on a lovely mangrove-rimmed bay that is pretty to gaze upon any time of day.
On a hot but breezy summer day, it was easy to get a table at water’s edge and watch the fish battling over bread crusts kids threw in the water as skinny needle fish darted by. An excellent fish dip and a draft of Key West Sunset Ale completed the experience.
Lorelei’s tiki bar is located in a marina that contains an item that belongs in the Florida Funky Hall of Fame — a pink limousine converted into a boat, the famous Nautilimo. It’s parked next door to a mock pirate ship.
Lorelei’s is jammed at sunset in season, but off season, I felt like I had discovered the place. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Happy hour is 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays with $1.25 draft domestic beer, $2.25 draft craft beers and a variety of frozen drinks. (A favorite is the $8 Key Lime Colada.) There is live music booked for most sunsets.
Lorelei Cabana Bar and Restaurant, MM 82, Bayside, Islamorada
Marathon: Chiki Tiki Bar and Grille
Unlike Lorelei’s, you have to know about Burdines to go there. To find it, you turn east on 15th Street in Marathon, wind past an old trailer park and stacks of lobster traps, and arrive in a large working marina in a protected harbor.
The Chiki Tiki is up a flight of stairs, giving you an excellent vantage point and a superior breeze. Around you are fishing boats, yachts and beat-up live-aboards. In the distance is the broken drawbridge to Boot Key. Across the water, Boot Key is all undeveloped mangroves, populated by the occasional wading bird.
On one visit, just before the start of lobster season, we watched as boat after boat stacked high with lobster traps headed out to sea — a happy sign that this paradise isn’t only about tourism.
Keys restaurants can be expensive, but Burdines is popular for its moderate prices and casual atmosphere — the view and wall-to-wall license plates comprise the decor. Hamburgers are $9; most sandwiches are under $15. Our fresh dolphin sandwich and Fresh Cut Fries were excellent as was the bacon-wrapped barbecue shrimp.
Burdines serves wine and canned or bottled beer only with a large selection of craft beers. Be aware: They call themselves a “bar,” but no liquor is served.
Chiki Tiki Bar and Grille at Burdines Waterfront, 1200 Oceanview Ave., end of 15th Street. Reviews on TripAdvisor.
Key Largo: Alabama Jacks
Card Sound Road is a toll-road through the mangrove swamps where Miami-Dade County meets Monroe County. It’s a wild and remote location in the middle of crocodile habitat, 15 minutes north of Key Largo.
Alabama Jacks is a popular place to stop on a drive down to the Keys to help acquire that laid-back attitude. It’s also a destination for motorcyclists, who stop for conch fritters, sweet potato fries and live country music and dancing on weekends.
Alabama Jacks, 58000 Card Sound Road, Key Largo. Read more about Alabama Jacks.
Marathon: Sunset Grille & Raw Bar
Many Florida Keys tiki bars have great sunset views, but it’s hard to beat what you get at Sunset Grille: a wide expanse of water and the sun going down behind the elegant and iconic Seven Mile Bridge.
With its outstanding location, the Sunset Grille can’t help being a touristy stop. The afternoon we were there, everybody was taking pictures and there’s a wall of souvenir T-shirts for sale. But it offers good sandwiches, a beautiful setting and the essential Floriday Keys tiki bar experience. And at lunch, at least, prices are reasonable.
Sunset Grille gets and handles crowds. There’s a big bar and restaurant under a tall chickee structure with great views. A few steps below, there’s a pool with a bar and more seating overlooking the water and bridge.
Sunset Grille is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The lunch menu is moderately priced. (Sandwiches starting at $13 and there’s a wide choice in the $13 to $18 range.) Dinner is pricier with fresh seafood entries from $20 to $30.
The Sunset Grille gives tourists the whole tropical fantasy drink experience with special $19.95 drinks for two, such as the Titanic, which comes in a 48-ounce fish bowl, and mojitos and other frosty tropical choices in souvenir mugs.
Reviews are positive on Trip Advisor and a little more critical on Yelp, where some dismiss it as touristy with so-so food.
My take: You can’t beat the location and view. Enjoy breakfast or lunch, bring the kids for a swim or come for happy hour (3 to 6 p.m.) when there is $2.50 domestic beers, several rum drinks for $6-$7 and good deals on appetizers. This isn’t where to expect your four-star fine dining experience.
Sunset Grille, MM 47.7 Knights Key Blvd., Marathon.
Key West: Hogfish Bar & Grill
This hard-to-find Key West tiki bar is a favorite with locals, both for its funky, friendly vibe and its fresh, reasonably priced seafood.
With a waterfront setting, a big chickee hut and open-air dining, Hogfish is casual and unpretentious; a t-shirt and flip-flops place with seating at long picnic tables. Those sitting dockside get a kick out of feeding the fish. (This is the best use of shrimp tails you’ll ever find.) On weekends, there is live music (and it can get loud.)
Hogfish is famous for two specialties – fresh Key West pink shrimp and a sandwich called the Killer. Neither disappointed. It also offers a good variety of craft beers.
Hogfish Bar & Grill, 6810 Front St., Stock Island. Read more about Hogfish Bar & Grill.
Five more favorites in Florida Keys tiki bars
We’re always finding new favorites to add to our list. A few of these were suggested by readers, which we added after we had a chance to try them out.
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Gilbert’s Tiki Bar, Key Largo (MM107.9 Bayside) — If you are anxious to get into the Keys, it is likely you have breezed right past this Keys institution. Are you missing anything? You betcha. This large palm-roofed tiki bar rocks, especially on weekends as boaters making passage via Jewfish Creek pause for libation. Endlessly entertaining, this crossroads is tucked under the Jewfish Creek Bridge, linking the mainland to Key Largo. Gilbert’s is a comfortable hotel and resort too.
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Island Fish Company Tiki Bar, Marathon (MM 54 Bayside) — Longest tiki bar in the Florida Keys, this party haven rests on a spit of sand that pokes out into the bay. Often packed to the palm fronds yet spacious and airy, this saloon keeps buzzing all day long on weekends. The heliport next door provides continuous entertainment. Smack dab on the Overseas Highway, you can’t miss it on the bay side as you enter Marathon from the north.
Dockside Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, 35 Sombrero Blvd, Marathon, FL 33050. (The turn off the Overseas High is at MM 50) — Proudly calling itself a dive bar, this waterfront spot is known for having live music nightly. Every seat has a view of Boot Key Harbor, where sailboats are moored and their owners sometimes visit the bar by kayak. The food is good standard Keys fare — mahi sandwich, BBQ pulled pork, crab cake sandwich, tacos, burgers and the like.
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Geiger Key Smokehouse and Tiki Bar, 10 miles outside Key West, (MM 10.5 Bayside at the Geiger Key Marina). You’d never know this cool little tiki bar even existed until you get off the Overseas Highway on Big Coppitt Key at the Circle K (MM 10.5) and wander 1.3 miles south on Boca Chica Road to Geiger Road. I’ve never had a better version of shrimp and grits, because these were delicious Key West pinks. We loved the laid-back tiki-bar atmosphere with waterfront views that hearken to the Keys “the way they used to be.”
After dinner, we took a walk nearby on the closed roadway that runs between the beach and the US Naval Station runway at Geiger Key/Boca Chica Beach. It’s a lovely off-the-beaten track place. Note: A little hand-made sign notes this is a clothing optional beach. When we walked at sunset, there were few people there, all of them clothed.
Did we miss your favorite Florida Keys tiki bar?
Of course, we haven’t visited every tiki bar in the Keys: Thanks goodness, there are places still to be discovered. Did I miss your favorite spot? If so, please leave a comment below.
Resources for planning a Florida Keys vacation:
- Mile marker guide with dozens of stops to help make the most of your drive south.
- Florida Keys wildlife: Places to see animals
- 12 great kayak outings in the Keys
- Top 10 pit stops on Overseas Highway
- Best beaches in the Florida Keys
- Bicycling the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail
Special places to discover in the Florida Keys
- The Old Seven Mile Bridge and Pigeon Key
- Islamorada emerging as hub with museum, breweries
- No Name Pub worth finding on Big Pine Key
- Indian Key: Kayak into history
- Bahia Honda State Park: Good beaches & a great bridge
- Seeing Key deer
- Historic Key West Seaport
- Historic Key West Cemetery is full of stories
- Fort Zachary Taylor, best beach in Key West
- Feed the tarpon at Robbie’s Marina
- Sea Turtle Hospital in Marathon
Camping and lodging
- Best tent camping in the Keys
- Long Key State Park: Less camping but beautiful spot
- Camping in Middle Keys: Curry Hammock State Park
- Camping near Key West
- Camping at the Dry Tortugas
The author, Bonnie Gross, travels with her husband David Blasco, discovering off-the-beaten path places to hike, kayak, bike, swim and explore. Florida Rambler was founded in 2010 by Bonnie and fellow journalist Bob Rountree, two long-time Florida residents who have spent decades exploring the Florida outdoors. Their articles have been published in the Sun Sentinel, the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel, The Guardian and Visit Florida.
Joseph Hastings
Thursday 1st of August 2024
Sugarloaf Tiki has been closed for a few years.
Bob Rountree
Friday 2nd of August 2024
Thanks for the heads up. We thought it had been restored after the hurricane, but it appears to still be "temporarily" closed.
Mark Kissel
Saturday 6th of August 2022
Oceanview Inn and Sports Pub. Nice indoor bar and restaurant, and outdoor tiki bar, with a pool with a waterfall, seats around a fire pit, and boat dock, if you come by water. Good food, decent drink prices, live music. The owner, Gary Dunn, was a defensive lineman and two time Super Bowl Champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some cool football memorabilia too, making it a must stop for any Steelers fan! There are also a few nice rooms there with private terraces, too.
GBram
Tuesday 7th of June 2022
Tiki House @ Duval and Greene, duh
Alan B Christianson
Thursday 2nd of June 2022
Your friend who didn't like the tacky vibe obviously was not there in the '60s and 70's. I am glad those embellishments are still in place. The Keys are unique, keep it that way. It's like stepping back in time. I love the place.
Dennis
Friday 27th of May 2022
You missed one of my favorite Tikis in Marathon. Try Dockside on Sombrero Blvd. it is over the water with a view of Boot Key Harbor. With a dinghy dock and at the center of a live aboard marina, you are also going to meet some of the locals. Dockside also has live music every night.
Bob Rountree
Friday 27th of May 2022
Hi Dennis... I have visited Dockside on several occasions and love the atmosphere. Real Keysy. :-)