On our latest trip we headed to the southernmost point in search of the best vegan restaurants in Key West, Florida. Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or someone who just loves good food, these are our picks for the best food and top restaurants in Key West.
Years ago we fell in love one particular Cuban Cafe in Key West that we’ll rave over in a bit. One of the best places to see a sunset in Key West called Sunset Pier has a view of an infamous nearby island that has a restaurant on the far side! ? Sunset Key is home to Latitudes Key West that you travel to by ferry for dinner with a view.
Grab your notes and allow your mouth to water.
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First up, what we consider the best Cuban Cafe in Key West.
Ana’s Cuban Cafe, Key West
1330 Simonton St, Key West, FL 33040 | 531 Greene St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options | www.anascafecubanofl.com
This cute little restaurant lies just down the street from the Key West’s Southernmost Point Buoy. It feels fitting having a nice Cuban cafe near the “90 miles to Cuba” marker. Ha!
It’s normally hard to find vegan Cuban food to enjoy because it’s usually meat heavy, but at Ana’s we love their delicious smoothies in multiple combinations, a fresh coconut water, and home fries with homemade hot sauce.
The real treat is their strong and sweet Cuban coffee.
Ana’s Cafe serves up several styles of Cuban coffee including two milk-free versions:
- Buchi – 1 oz. Cuban espresso coffee (thimble for one)
- Colada – 4 oz. Cuban espresso coffee (meant to be shared)
We love splitting a Colada using the tiny thimbles they give you to share. They brew it up strong, espresso-style with a lot of sugar that makes a delicious head of foam. It’s an incredible caffeine boost that doubles as a dessert.
Speaking of dessert, the smoothies are out of this world! Mix and match your favorite fruits to create a masterpiece for your tastebuds. Choices include: watermelon, pineapple, papaya, banana, strawberry, mango, coconut, pina colada, key lime, and mamey.
Favorite fruit smoothie mix: COCONUT + MAMEY
Year after year they remember us every time we visit! They have two locations, but we recommend their main location because it’s more authentic. If it’s late, their main location is probably closed so you can always try their second location since it stays open later.
The Cafe, Key West
509 Southard Street, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options | www.thecafekw.com
This chill cafe boasts a large selection of tasty creations to enjoy from lunch to dinner. Pop in for a quick appetizer, enjoy a robust meal, or indulge in their sweet desserts. They also serve a nice selection of beer, wine, and homemade kombucha! They also feature unique local art hanging on their walls for your viewing pleasure.
For dinner we really enjoyed their Veggie Burger, Butternut Squash Curry, and Thai Curry with Flat Noodles. For breakfast the Tofu Scramble with shitake mushrooms and breakfast potatoes along with their Tofu “Eggs” Benedict was excellent.
If you want a little slice of heaven, try their desserts! We relished every bite of vegan key lime pie, coconut cake, and carrot cake. Yum! ?
Date & Thyme Cafe
829 Fleming St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Restaurant | www.dateandthyme.com
Years ago we found the Date & Thyme Cafe and have loved their food ever since. Every time we visit, they’ve either updated their look or added even more delicious dishes to enjoy on their menu. Featuring an outdoor seating area under umbrellas and among their tiny garden, your taste buds and the rest of your senses will be pleasantly surprised.
On this trip we loved the Coconut Thai Curry and Island Burrito (Black Bean Burger in a wrap) with spicy vegan mayo.
Sugar Apple Cafe
917 Simonton St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Cafe, Grocery, and Juice Bar | www.sugarapplekeywest.com
This cute cafe is completely vegan and while the inside is small, the menu is big on flavor and variety. It’s part cafe, part juice bar, and part health food store. Their menu features smoothies, juices, salads, a wide variety of sandwiches, and even some entrees.
We still have dreams about their Tempeh Reuban on rye with organic sauerkraut and thousand island dressing. You’ll have a tough time deciding between a “BLT”, grilled tofu, veggie burger, hot dog, and any number of other mouth-water creations served fresh.
Bad Boy Burrito
1128 Simonton St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options | www.badboyburritokeywest.com
Just a few blocks off the Southernmost Point, we sat out front of this burrito restaurant and enjoyed the Caribbean music immersing us in paradise. Around the side of the restaurant is the popular BottleCap Lounge & Blue Room Comedy Club.
Boasting the “baddest” burrito in town, Bad Boy Burrito lives up to their name with spicy flavor. Choose from one of three veggie options: zucchini & squash, mixed mushrooms, or organic tofu either “naked” in a bowl or rolled in their “phattie” tortilla. Add some of their homemade salsa from mild to habenero and then finish it off with a mix of toppings for a robust meal to keep you going.
We enjoyed the tofu burrito with cabbage, radish, and jalapenos. OH YEAH.
Blue Heaven
729 Thomas St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options | www.blueheavenkw.com
This restaurant seems to be a favorite and a long-time curiosity for tourists. Relax under a canopy of trees while drinking and dining at ground level or up on their second floor and look around at the oddities displayed here and there. We even made a friend with a local cat.
Vegan and vegetarian options are plenty with a vegetable plate including brown rice, black beans, grilled plantains, and fresh vegetables. Also listed on the menu was a vegetable stir fry, carrot and curry soup, vegetarian black bean soup (hold the sour cream and cheese) and herbed red potatoes, but options could vary depending on the time of year.
Since we had seen an enticing dessert with the Blue Heaven name listed at their sister restaurant, we decided to head for the real thing and tried the vegan passion fruit cheesecake that we weren’t crazy about. Maybe it was the cashew consistency making it a little too soft for our liking, but the ambiance and petting the cat was fun. 🙂
Salute! On the Beach
1000 Atlantic Blvd, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options | www.saluteonthebeach.com
Imagine an Italian restaurant on the beach combined with a Caribbean influence and you’d get Salute. For vegans and vegetarians there’s not a ton to choose from but you will find salads, bread, and hummus for lunch. Dinner offers a more robust vegetable plate with potatoes, brussel sprouts, beans and tofu. On the plus side, being the sister restaurant of Blue Heaven, we also spotted a vegan cheesecake on the menu!
But we didn’t necessarily come for the food alone. The view of the beach and the ambiance of being outside is where it’s at. We grabbed a craft beer and a mojito and were relaxing with ocean views with cock-a-doodle-doos from chickens playing.
Latitudes Key West
Sunset Key (boat ride included, reservation only) | Vegan Options | www.sunsetkeycottages.com/key-west-restaurants/latitudes/
If you want an incredible view, creative dishes, and the unique experience of taking a ferry to dine at a classy restaurant, then we think Latitudes is one of the best restaurants in Key West.
But before you consider hopping on the ferry to Latitudes, you need to get a reservation to get over to Sunset Key since they check your tickets at the dock. Once onboard the ferry, you’ll get some great views of Key West and the giant cruise ships if they’re docked. Cruising around to the far side of Sunset Key, you’ll dock, enter Latitudes restaurant, and be greeted to your table. It’s well worth getting a table outside by the water for tropical views to enjoy a drink or two.
Being mainly a seafood restaurant, vegan options at Latitudes Key West are limited but when we dined, the Vegetable Banh Mi was excellent. It consisted of pickled mushrooms, cucumbers, carrots, watermelon radish, cilantro, and a toasted baguette. Since this is an upscale restaurant, don’t be afraid to ask the chefs to prepare something special that’s vegan. They’ll most likely be delighted to the creative challenge.
El Meson de Pepe Cuban Restaurant
410 Wall St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options and Salsa Dancing! | www.elmesondepepe.com
This unique Cuban restaurant is super popular for it’s nightly salsa dancing, mojitos, and lies near the best place to watch a sunset in Key West – Mallory Square. With Cuban food, it’s normally tough to find vegan options, but there are a few things on the menu that are worth a look to give you dancing energy.
You can easily piece together a meal consisting of fried green or sweet plantains (tostones o platanos maduros), plantain chips (mariquitas) with pico de gallo salsa, fresh avocado slices (aquacate), salads (hold the cheese), boiled or fried yucca (yuca hervida o frita), completed with rice and beans (completa), and possibly ask about their Cuban black bean soup (potage de frijoles negros).
Fausto’s Food Palace
522 Fleming St, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options, Grocery Store | www.faustos.com
We hadn’t planned to go to a grocery store in Key West with all of the great restaurants and cafes around, but we when we came across this convenient little market we had to buy some staples. Bread, hummus, and other sandwich ingredients got us through our typical snacking day.
Food Trucks in Key West, FL
We visited Key West during Fantasy Fest so being a special event, food trucks swarmed in for the crowds. There are permanent food trucks in Key West that might have vegan options, but during special events is when you’ll see more vegan and vegetarian food trucks.
Taco Grilla
1970 N Roosevelt Blvd, Key West, FL 33040 | Vegan Options | www.tacogrilla.com
We didn’t get a chance to visit this popular food truck, but have it on our list for next time. Featuring house made seitan, they offer fresh bowls, burritos, tacos, and salads with colorful ingredients, flavorful sauces, along with rice and beans. One dessert menu item that pops out immediately is their plant-based “Coco Loco” made with coconut milk, bananas, chocolate syrup topped with coconut whipped cream. Wow!
Reggae Beets
Vegan options – www.reggaebeets.com
While not a year-round local, this jammin Jamaican food truck was prominently parked in the middle of the street one night during Fantasy Fest. They boasted a large vegan menu including alfredo, gyros, and features jackfruit in their tacos and bowls. We thoroughly enjoyed a jackfruit bowl with rice and black beans.
I’m sure there are many more food trucks in Key West at different times of the year depending on the event.
Plan Your Own Food Tour in Key West
Travel and food are the perfect marriage. When we find food we love at a destination, it makes us feel more immersed in the place. Rather than opening our wallets for expensive souvenirs, we love experiencing food that we’ll never forget. Sure, we’re budget-minded and often go grocery shopping while traveling, but we make sure to splurge on exquisite flavors and unique experiences that we wouldn’t be able to get back home.
If you come to Key West, there are many more restaurants to enjoy than the ones on our list here. I’m sure there’s hidden gems that we either overlooked or didn’t know about. If only we had more time! After a trip like this, we’ll be dreaming about coming back. At the very least, we’ll be looking around for a local Cuban cafe to enjoy a nice colada.
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