This waterfront Key West restaurant was named one of the most beautiful in the U.S.
Key West has one of the most beautiful restaurants in the country — at least, according to Trips to Discover.
The travel website recently released its 15 Most Beautiful Restaurants in the U.S. list and oceanfront spot Louie’s Backyard in Key West made the list.
If you have been to Louie’s Backyard — and just about everybody has — then you know the view is what makes Louie’s beautiful. The restaurant, which also has indoor seating, is famous for its Afterdeck, which tourists pack at sunset with a drink in one hand and a cellphone in the other.
Office manager Marco Petkovic, who has worked there since 2016, says Louie’s draws its share of locals, too, though they tend to come for lunch, not dinner, and aren’t looking to take the perfect sunset shot.
The restaurant, which opened in 1971 with seating for 12, was originally the Victorian home of one Louie Signorelli. A renovation in 1983 by new owners Phil and Pat Tenney earned it a spot in the National Register of Historic Places.
The menu, overseen by Chef Doug Shook, highlights Caribbean-inspired fare, much of it seafood (you can also find a beef filet, lamb and pork chops). There are small plates for lunch and dinner, and you can eat indoors or out on the Afterdeck.
The upstairs Café at Louie’s Backyard serves up wines by the glass and tapas-style plates like fried artichokes and lemon; truffle fries with smoked gouda fonduta, grilled octopus with smoked paprika and bourbon BBQ bacon-wrapped, crab-stuffed shrimp.
Trips to Discover writer K.C. Dermody writes that “the food as spectacular as the ocean view,” going on to praise the weekend brunch “with everything from coconut-lime eclairs to Key West pink shrimp Benedict.”
She also writes that the restaurant was made famous in the Jimmy Buffett song “Trying to Reason With the Hurricane Season,” which is not true (the lyric is “I stumbled next door to the bar,” not “I stumbled over to Louie’s Backyard.” YouTube is wrong sometimes.) Also, Mr. Buffett spells his name with two ts. We’re Floridians. We are required by law to point this out.
In any case, only two other Florida restaurants made the list, neither in Miami: Bayfront Bistro in Fort Myers and and Cap’s on the Water in St. Augustine.
Louie’s Backyard
Where: 700 Waddell Ave., Key West
Hours: Lunch 11:30-2:30 daily; 6-9:30 p.m. daily; Afterdeck Bar hours 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.; The Café at Louie’s Backyard is open 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and does not take reservations.
Reservations: 305-294-1061