Local Area Restaurants

When you are on-site at the WSP, please visit our onsite caterer "Micki's Kitchen" for meals, coffee and deserts. They appreciate your business!

Here are some suggestions for local area dining when you are "out and about" the Winter Star Party. We are always looking for recommendations on places to eat. Especially in Key West! Send your "Dining Experiences" to the webmaster email address at the bottom of this web page.

"MM" = "Mile Marker"; Key West is MM 0, Key Largo is approx. MM 100, WSP Site is MM 34.5

• ANNETTE'S FLORIDA KEYS LOBSTER HOUSE (Verified Open in 2010) (Download Menu)

Phone: (305) 743-5516
MM 48 3660 Overseas Highway
Marathon ,  FL  33050

Located on the right hand side of US-1 at MM 48 as you are heading to Key West. Great Steaks and Seafood! Don't leave without trying something from the desert menu too!

 

• 7 Mile Grill (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 743-4481
MM 47 1240 Overseas Highway
Marathon ,  FL  33050

Located on the left hand side of US-1 about a mile after you cross over the 7-Mile bridge. Good place to eat breakfast if you are on your way to some daytime activity away from the WSP.

• Keys Fisheries Market & Marina (Verified Open in 2010)
  

Phone: (305) 743-4353
MM 48 3502 Gulfview Ave
Marathon ,  FL  33050

They also have a restaurant situated on a marina, great views while you eat! Home of the "Lobster Reuben" sandwich. See the menu above for more tasty items! The Restaurant is located to the north of "The Stuffed Pig" (below) on the water.

• Lazy Days South in Marathon (Newly opened in 2010)
  

Phone: (305) 289-0839
Marathon Marina on 11th Street Ocean
Marathon ,  FL  33050

They also have a restaurant in Islamorada (Lazy Days North)!

• STUFFED PIG (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 743-4059
MM 48 3520 Overseas Highway
Marathon ,  FL  33050

Located on the left hand side of US-1 in Marathon at MM 48 as you are heading to Miami. Good place to eat breakfast. But, this place is popular and you might wait for a table!

• BOONDOCKS GRILLE & DRAFTHOUSE (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 872-4094
Email: info@boondocks.us.com
27205 U.S. Highway 1 (Mile Marker 27.5)
Ramrod Key ,  FL  33042

Check out their web site for more details. On the right hand side of US-1 on Ramrod Key as you are heading south to Key West.

• ROB'S ISLAND GRILL (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 872-3022
MM 31.2
Big Pine Key ,  FL  33043

Located on the right hand side of US-1 as you are driving into Big Pine (first restaurant you will see on the right hand side heading towards Key West!). If you are looking for a casual Sports Bar atmosphere, this is it! Everything on the menu is good! But, the Ribs are worth the wait! They start serving from the dinner menu at 6pm, so don't get there too early!

• PARROTDISE WATERFRONT BAR & GRILL (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 872-9989
Email: parrotdisewaterfront@yahoo.com
183 Barry Avenue
Little Torch Key ,  FL  33043

Good food, great views! Check out their web site for more details.

• Big Pine Coffee Shop (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 872-2790
MM 30
Big Pine ,  FL  33043

Oh, you want breakfast with your coffee? This is the place to get it too! Good breakfast menu. Located on the right hand side of US-1 at the end of Big Pine Key as you are headed south to Key West.

• No Name Pub (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 872-9155
Watson Blvd. (Located on "No Name Key", on the north side of Big Pine Key)
Big Pine Key,  FL  33043

Renowned for the Pizza and Beer, you will dine in a small dining area next to the bar. The walls and ceiling of this establishment are covered in $1 bills (it is estimated that there is over $250,000 in defaced $1 bills attached to the ceiling and walls). This is a place that only the locals know about. You will not see a big tourist crowd here at all. But, you can expect to wait for a table if you eat late.

• The Island Fish Co. - Restaurant & Tiki Bar (Verified Open in 2010)

Phone: (305) 743-4191
12648 Overseas Highway (MM 54)
Marathon,  FL  33050

Sunsets, Florida Bay views and great food can be found all in one place in the heart of the Florida Keys at Mile Marker 54 Bayside, Marathon. The Island Fish Co. invites you to sit back and relax while enjoying locally inspired dishes, fresh seafood and cool tiki favorites that will quench your thirst.

Our spectacular sunset views and tropical waters will make your lunch, dinner, drinks and desserts that much more pleasurable.

 

Local Area Travel

Big Pine Key (the next island to the west of the WSP site), is the home of the "National Key Deer Refuge", administered by the US Fish And Wildlife Service. Key Deer (the smallest of 28 subspecies of Virginia white-tailed deer) are an endangered species and are only found in the Florida Keys at Big Pine Key and some surrounding islands. Because several Key Deer are killed by moving vehicles every year (due to illegal roadside feeding, they are encouraged to forage beside busy roads), Speed Limits on US-1 through Big Pine Key are STRICTLY ENFORCED by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and The Florida Highway Patrol. The daytime speed limit is 45 mph and the nighttime speed limit is 35 mph (the speed limit signs are actually designed to "black out" the 45 mph daytime speed limit at night). The speed limit also includes the bridge you cross from the WSP to get onto Big Pine Key (it doesn't pick up to 55 mph until you are off the bridge heading east). Most drivers on US-1 make the mistake of exceeding the speed limit once they are on the bridge headed eastbound from Big Pine Key and that is why we see countless incidents of flashing blue lights all week long during the WSP to the west of the site! You have been warned!

Most of US-1, outside of the incorporated areas, has a 45 to 55 mph speed limit and most of the road is a 2 lane road. It is not uncommon for accidents to hold up traffic for hours in both directions, so be patient. A first time visitor to the Florida Keys will be tempted to drive like they do back home, passing up cars at every opportunity, exceeding the speed limit. If you want to get into the Florida Keys mood, roll down the windows, shut off the A/C, drive the speed limit, and enjoy the fantastic scenic view! The drive down US-1, also called the "Overseas Highway", is one of the most scenic you will ever experience in your life. In other words, don't get in a hurry to be someplace and just relax. You are in "The Conch Republic", and "Margaritaville" is on the horizon!

 

Road Construction in the Florida Keys

Updated: January 29, 2012 5:23 PM

There are numerous road widening and storm damage repair projects on-going in the Keys along US-1. Bridge inspection and repair work in the Keys is an everyday fact of life for Keys travelers.

Get Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) construction updates (includes the Florida Keys) at the following link - District 6 Roadwork Updates

Florida - Statewide road construction projects - http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/constmap/constmap.htm

Have fun while at the Winter Star Party and Arrive Alive!