Food tours are the best way to immerse yourself in a new city. We recently got the chance to enjoy the incredible Southernmost Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour with Key West Food Tours. Here’s a little bit about our experience.
We lucked out with Chris as our tour guide. He’s a CIA-trained chef and is an absolute wealth of information on general culinary history and food origins. He grew up in the Keys, so he knows the area well, and his in-depth knowledge of the Keys culture makes him a knockout food tour guide. He was at the ready all afternoon with dozens of interesting facts and food lore. I don’t think we could have had a better tour leader.
Southernmost Food Tours is all about supporting small, local restaurants. They like to include places that serve authentic food with Florida roots. We tasted our way through a three-hour food and culture tour with stops at many outstanding restaurants.
Thanks to Key West Food Tours for hosting me. All opinions are my own.
El Siboney
Our first stop was El Siboney Restaurant. Named for an indigenous tribe of Cuba, this Cuban cafe with a cult following has been in this residential neighborhood for 50 years. They were grandfathered into the new zoning laws that don’t allow commercial businesses in this area anymore.
As a lover of Cuban cuisine, I was stoked to try the food I’d read so much about. The succulent pork, pickled onions, rice, sweet plantains, and Cuban bread were delicious. I discovered what makes Cuban bread so good—it’s made with lard. Who knew?
The homemade hot sauces on the table are worth a try and make the pork delectable. I especially liked the vinegary pepper sauce. My delicious cafe con leche was expertly prepared and simply a great cup of coffee. With exquisite food and drink like this, El Siboney has been named Key West’s best Cuban restaurant every year since 1993.
The Speakeasy Inn and Rum Bar
After seeing photos of my friend enjoying a Painkiller cocktail, The Speakeasy Inn & The Rum Bar was on my radar. I planned to stop in as soon as we landed in Key West. I was thrilled to find out the Rum Bar was one of our food tour stops.
We gathered on the large porch out front and sipped our Rum Runners. This concoction of White Rum, Plantation Dark Rum, banana, blackberry, grenadine and orange juice, pineapple, and sour mix has got to be one of the most popular drinks in the Keys, and the Rum Bar makes a good one. With 450 different types of rum on the menu, there’s sure to be at least one for you. Get one of the rum flights to try five different rums to see what you like.
The Speakeasy has a fascinating storied past that sheds light on how things used to be in the Keys. The Inn was once the home of Raul Vaquez, an employee at the nearby Gato cigar factory, although his true passion was rum-running between Key West and Cuba. Talk about fascinating history. Old Key West has many tales to tell. Go to the Rum Bar to get a flavor of it all.
Mangoes
Mangoes is a good spot for a good time. This restaurant and bar is known for their happy hour as well as their fresh seafood. At happy hour, you’ll find great mango-based drinks, including their mango mules and mango margaritas, plus a good selection of local beers, all at discounted prices. The huge outdoor patio is perfect for enjoying the Key West weather.
We were lucky enough to sample the conch fritters and conch chowder. I could make a meal out of nothing but Mangoes’ conch fritters. These little bundles of deep-fried deliciousness, served with a side of aioli, are pure heaven. The flavorful Manhattan-style conch chowder is full of bacon, potatoes, onion, and carrots, along with plenty of conch, and it is super flavorful.
Mangoes offers a full menu of freshly made dishes with flavors of Cuba, the Bahamas, and West Indies, all with a local Key West twist.
Kaya Island Eats
The star of the show for many on our tour, Kaya Island Eats, is a combo restaurant and bar owned by Scott Taylor, a chef from Hawaii who used to be at the famed Blue Heaven. The eclectic menu here showcases his love for Hawaiian and Caribbean fusion cuisine.
But it’s also more than that. The food is so creative that it’s tough to put a name on it. The menu features Polynesian-inspired dishes with coconut, macadamia nuts, pineapple, and guava, as well as Jamaican and Cuban-inspired creations, along with lots of fresh fish.
The reggae fish served over coconut saffron rice with goat cheese and pineapple mango salsa was fresh, light, and super special. I can see why Kaya is a favorite stop for locals and tourists alike. New flavor combos are what it’s all about. Creative chefs like Chef Tayor make eating fun.
Cuban Coffee Queen
At this outdoor coffee spot, we were brought boxed slices of key lime pie, along with freshly brewed coffee. Cuban Coffee Queen roasts the beans on the premises, so it’s bound to be one of the freshest cups you’ll find. Maybe that’s why, according to our guide, this is one of the preferred spots around town for local coffee.
I would’ve had the Cuban Coffee Mocha if I hadn’t just downed some coffee. For chocolate lovers who want the good stuff without overindulging, the perfect option seems like cafe con leche with Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
Food tours are my favorite way to get to know the food, culture, and history of a city. Key West Food Tours does a great job selecting local restaurants to explore along with mixing things up with a few cultural stops along the way. If you’re looking to eat great food and learn about Key West from locals, give this food tour a try.