Key West restaurant smackdown: Here’s the voters’ choice for No. 1 restaurant

We asked you to help us find the best restaurant in Key West — a big ask in a small town brimming with top-notch dining options.

You answered in droves.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help us narrow this down. El Siboney and Off the Hook got more than 20k votes each in the Final 4 with fans voting aggressively. But the Top 2 was a nailbiter.

With 53 percent of the votes (47,523), El Siboney has taken the title over Off the Hook, with 42,327.

El Siboney is a Key West classic that opened in 1984. This Cuban restaurant has two locations — one in Old Town and the newer place on Stock Island. Known for its roast pork, “El Siboney steak,” and Cuban mix, it’s a regular favorite for locals, too.

Second place Off the Hook is located by the historic seaport and has daily dinner specials along with its coconut shrimp, lobster and shrimp mac and cheese and pizzas. The menu has a couple items for your dog, including a “bacon ice cube bone.”

So there you have it, Key West. Thanks to everyone who voted in our low stakes poll.

Just remember, this was a just-for-fun readers poll. People could vote as many times as they wanted, but robots couldn’t (though they tried). The grand prize is nothing but bragging rights, which is not really a bad prize at all.

This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 6:00 AM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.