Chef Michael's in Islamorada did NOT come to play! The hogfish was beyond fresh, perfectly cooked, and most importantly, NOT dry (because nobody has time for dry fish). The mango sauce was amazing, and it came with coconut rice. Now, I don't even like coconut... but apparently Chef Michael's has the power to change minds because I cleaned my plate! The escargot also had a unique twist with a special buttery concoction that was absolutely delicious. Basically, if butter makes everything better, they clearly understood the assignment. My husband had the lamb lollipops, which were a special, served with fried spinach. Fried spinach?! I had never heard of it, but now I'm wondering why this hasn't been in my life sooner. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. If you're in Islamorada, do yourself a favor and go hungry. You're going to need the room! read more

Chef Michael's was excellent!. First time dining here with friends and their family. The service was great from start to finish. Staff were very attentive to all our orders and request. All the dish were delicious and pack with amazing flavors. Fish was super fresh. Definitely try the "hogfish" and "lion-fish" . Great place! Oh and the "white rice" is crazy good! read more

If you're in Islamorada, Chef Michael's needs to be on your list. Fresh local seafood, elevated dining and great service. We started with a shrimp and lobster ceviche served in a half coconut and a wahoo and tuna special. Both were exceptional. For my entree I had a fish trio special featuring blackened mahi with crawfish creole cream, pistachio crusted hog fish with mango sauce, and grilled swordfish with herbs. Finished with a six layer carrot cake that was absolutely worth it. read more

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After coming to this area five times within the last two years we finally made reservations and ate here. Last time we were in the area we tried walking up and were told it would be over an hour wait so we left. We ordered a trio fish dish that was a special and the seafood pasta. The trio fish was good, tasted fresh and had good flavor. The seafood pasta was just alright nothing bad and nothing special. Both were around $50 a plate and not really worth the price. For dessert we ordered the Carmel cheesecake and bread pudding which were good but won't blow your socks off. Overall, not for our tastebuds but it might be for yours. read more

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Still one of my favorite restaurants of all time. Wife and I just went back to Islamorada for a little R&R. Reserved a table at Chef Michael's on a Friday evening after a nice drink and sunset at Pierre's. Kim was our server. Attentive, recommended some great wine. Went with a Sav Blanc from NZ. Started out with their famous Wedge Salad. For entrees the Wife and I both had hog fish / mine was with Pontchartrain and the wife had the Ambassador. Then for dessert we had their Salted Carmel Cheesecake Brûlée. Wow! Hands down some of the best food there is. read more

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Chef Michael is our go to caterer. He is an amazing chef. He's done a wedding dinner for 160 people. Prime rib was amazing. We've used him for charcuterie cups and a particular salad that my family, especially my daughter, loves. His food has been a part of every major event , weddings, baby showers, birthday parties...for the last 5 years. I wouldn't use anyone else. read more

We're back, and you did it again! Thank you for creating the most delicious seafood pasta! read more

Chef Michael's - Seafood pasta - Seafood Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

Chef Michael's is always a hit and never a miss! Excellent service from professional servers that love their profession. Each server is unique and demonstrates great knowledge of each dish which helps making a selection easier. The food is just exquisite. My favorite and go to dish is the Pontchartrain preparation which is extremely flavorful and perfection. The steaks and lamb chops are delectable. Let's talk desserts: OH MY... The cinnamon roll bread pudding is to die for! Must try! read more

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Best restaurant in Islamorada. Everything was 10/10. Best conch chowder in the keys, amazing fish. Top notch service. Small restaurant so get a reservation, but still a keys vibe. Not cheap, but you know what you're getting into. read more

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Finally had a chance to experience Chef Michael's. We had a really enjoyable dinner. We took our own catch of Mutton Snapper and they charged us $27.00 per person to cook our catch. It was more or less 50% of the cost of a dish as the average dish is $48.00. The restaurant is has a nice vibe with an upscale keys vibe. Reservations are highly recommended especially on the weekends. The bread was super fresh. We had the tuna appetizer and small fried Lion fish which was excellent as well. Our fish was delicious cooked in two ways. Portchartrain and Abassador. Both were amazing! Highly recommend those two. The coconut rice and vegetables were amazing! The service was great too. They also had good kids menu with chicken, steak & pasta. They had etch & sketch for the kids to used at dinner which allowed them to stay entertained for a bit. Really enjoyed the experience. read more

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We celebrated our anniversary at Chef Michael's and couldn't have picked a better place. The food was outstanding, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere made the evening feel really special. Everything from start to finish was wonderful and made for a memorable anniversary dinner. We'll definitely be back the next time we're in Islamorada! read more

This establishment was recommended to us by someone in our hotel jacuzzi. She said several people told her about it! The hotel provides a shuttle so that was easy too. Made a reservation. The food was delicious. The service was great! The environment was peaceful. It's a place that you can go dressed nice or business casual. The server recommended fish that is good (different fish options than we were used to). All in all, I would recommend this place over and over to people who are in the area! I just wish we ordered a dessert. Later at the hotel, one of the employees said it's known for their desserts too! So if you're reading this, save some room for a dessert. :) The only thing is that they knew it was a very big special occasion, but they didn't recognize it in anyways, so that was the only disappointment and everything was so great it is hardly worth mentioning. read more

Chef Michael's - Flash Fried Lion Fish - Seafood Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

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Changed chefs? Inconsistent is how I would describe our dinner tonight. While the NY strip steak $75 was delicious and perfectly cooked, the Hog fish Francaise with crab cake was lacking. The consistency of the crab cake was off putting; like ground up imitation crab and lack of brightness from lemon was a fail. Conch chowder flavor was good but lacked actual pieces of conch. The conch and shrimp fritters were also delicious but we had issues with the temperature on a kids 8ounce steak $25 it was way over cooked. The reorder of another NY strip steak after waiting 25 minutes was under done. Unfortunately this was birthday boys meal and he left disappointed. Gone are the beautiful orchids and replaced with plastic ones. read more

Came here because of Yelp reviews and were glad we did! Nice restaurant with very fresh fish! We try not to eat bread but it came with their herb olive oil that was delicious! And then of course with escargot there's more chance to eat bread. We got the wahoo tataki as an app, trilogy fish (subbing another fish for mahi because we'd already had mahi that day), and the Juliette triple tail. So got to try five fishes in one meal! Service was also great. Highly recommend! read more

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Food was magnificent. Well served delicious I would highly recommend Nice quiet place to enjoy some good food read more

Our server Erik was spot on. We both had the Hogfish served 2 different ways. Both delish. We started with escargot that was prepared very different also delish. And we ended with key lime pie. It's always a good experience at Chef Michael. read more

Hogfish was good but service was mediocre. Server didn't confirm order so we ended up getting twice as much food and then she only checked on the table once and never asked for wine refills and we never got water refills either. We ordered dessert to go and the server didn't include plastic forks either. If you're charging a premium price, you should also offer premium service. read more

Excellent food and service! I had the lobster and it was prepared perfectly. It was served with a key lime butter, amazing. My partner had the hogfish blackened with the creole prep. Extremely flavorful. This restaurant is small and we would recommend making a reservation. Also, beer and wine only. Not a problem for us as the wine selection was great. read more

Chef Michael's - Local lobster with key lime butter - Seafood Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

Finer dinning in middle Keys, servers and atmosphere on key. Lion fish is a novel appetizer and main course on menu, cooked and safe to experience, I ate that ! Beer and wine,missed a martini. Very nice. Great date night or celebration location. read more

The good: *The greeting we received upon arrival; a lovely little lady welcomed us in. *Adriatic Swordfish. This was tender and flavorful. The bad: *General ambiance. The restaurant felt joyless, dark, and stuffy. *Duck. This was tough and as dry as a a popcorn fart. It was as though it had been microwaved until near explosion. The dish was dated and generally uninspired, with some white rice and random vegetables on the side. For the price, we expected far more. read more

Chef Michael's is one of the few true fine dining experiences in Islamorada. There are two things that are certain when you visit Chef Michael's. You will have an incredible dining experience... and you certainly will pay a pretty penny for that experience. For appetizers I got the lamb lollipops (chops) and the Baby Iceberg salad. The salad was fantastic, however I was not impressed with the lamb. It tasted ok, and was cooked to the requested temperature, but lacked any real seasoning. It was too charred on the outside given the lack of seasoning to balance it out. For entrees I had the "Juliette" prepared Hogfish and the Fried Lionfish. Both were served with coconut rice and vegetables. Both dishes were fantastic! I have always wanted to try Lionfish, and it was fried to perfection with a very light breading. The "Juliette" preparation of the hogfish was fantastic as well with it being a creamy white wine sauce with shrimp and scallops on top. Even though I loved the taste of the Lionfish, I likely would not get it again as it is an exceptionally boney fish, and those bones are so small and prevalent around the meat, that they were hard to avoid. Still a delicious dish. The ambiance was fantastic with the dining room dimly lit and quiet, and a small bar area. It is the perfect setting for a date night or special occasion. I was very impressed with the staff as well. Everyone was friendly and our waitress was very knowledgeable both of the menu and wine pairings. Definitely a dining experience that lived up to and in some areas exceeded my expectations! read more

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Food, service, ambiance were all perfect! Fresh fish was delicious. Bonus gluten free key lime pie. Highly recommend! read more

I can't say enough about the incredible experience this restaurant offers everytime! It's quite interesting to watch everyone working like a well oiled machine. The food is amazing, blows my mind with every visit. I without a doubt think this is the best restaurant in the Keys. Highly recommend, you will not be disappointed!! read more

We love duck and enjoy the many ways it is served. Chef Michael presents a crispy skinned treat with a mango and mandarin orange sauce. We wanted a classier place after enough of the repetitive fried everything waterfront scene. We were not disappointed. Top it off with the kind attentiveness and friendliness of wait person Shelly, and we were off to bed as happy campers. read more

Chef Michael's never disappoints! We dine here just about every time we visit Islamorada. Quiet, cute with great service and delicious food every time! The ceviche is a must! While we don't normally get dessert our group shared the carrot cake, key lime pie and salted Carmel cheesecake .. all were delicious! read more

We had an amazing dinner at the bar with Liz. Even though we called last minute the warm and friendly staff worked hard to accommodate us as we were celebrating a birthday. The food was nothing short of delicious, the ambiance was classy and comfortable featuring elegant tables and beautiful artwork. We enjoyed the hogfish, seafood pasta and tuna tataki- so fresh and delicious! Save room for dessert! Carrot cake was fantastic... great wine list... can't say enough good things. Can't wait to go back!! read more

What a nice place in the keys. Elegant, yet still the keys! Our server was spectacular and the food was amazing. The wine was also amazing and better with desert! read more

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Superior restaurant with daily menu of fresh catch of the day. Will sure to repeat next time with phone in hand for photos . read more

Chef Michael's is the place to go if you want to try hogfish for the first time!!! They offered several preparations of it- my trio dish (3 different fish, 3 different ways, a "special" for the night), came with the "mixed nuts" hogfish. It was crusted with pistachio, cashews, and macadamia nuts and served with a mango sauce. The "crust" was crispy, and the fish was flaky and juicy. Really light fish, I enjoyed the taste and the texture of the crust worked well with it. The coconut rice was cooked perfectly, and was well-seasoned; paired well with the main dish. Service here was 10/10, the waiter was both friendly and helpful. The inside of the restaurant is small, warm, and cozy. I would definitely return to Chef Michael's- they know how to cook fish!! Fun experience. Make a reservation!! read more

What an amazing place! I love that this restaurant was not too big or too small. I would definetly recommend a reservation to come in. We sat at the bar, which gave more of a "chill" vibe for me. The bartender was super sweet. Spoke with us most is the time but was not over bearing. They do not serve liquor which I was surprised about, but they have a amazing selection of wine and bubbles. We had a bottle of rose which was great. We had two appetizers, I honestly can't remember which one was the second one because the ceviche was so amazing! Normally ceviche can be...very acidic. This was super light and refreshing. I ate the seafood pasta, which came with so much protein. Sometimes when you order something like this, it only comes with like 2 shrimps and 1 scallop, but this was not like that. Was def the best pasta I've had in a while. My husband had the seafood trilogy which was also amazing. This is a "fancy" place, but it's the keys, so you can come on down in your flip flops and shorts it seems. I liked that. Can't wait to come back! read more

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Best seafood restaurant in Islamorada. Offer things besides seafood which are also first class.. steak/duck/lamb. Service is outstanding. Tough to get last minute reservations or walk in. Small and popular. Wine list just ok.. no liquor just beer and wine. read more

From a greeting at the door being brought to our table chef Michaels is an amazing place. Everything is fresh locally sourced prepared to order. I ordered at the wahoo. My wife had the duck Everything was paired perfect prepared perfectly. read more

Chef Michael's - My wife had a duck. It was absolutely amazing when she was 90% finished her meal. She offered me a piece and it was still warm. - Seafood Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

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Chef Michael's holds a special place in my heart. My (at the time) boyfriend brought me for dinner (for what I thought was an early birthday celebration), but was actually the night he proposed! He made early dinner reservations for 5:00 PM so we could watch the sunset after (and proposal). We were promptly seated upon arrival and received excellent service throughout the meal. Their special of the day was a Lion fish appetizer, which was exquisite! Seriously one of the best tasting fish I've ever had. For entrees, I ordered the Yellowtail "juliette style" with shrimp, scallops, chardonnay butter and toasted almonds. The flavors were light and complemented each other very well. He ordered the Hogfish "ambassador style" with crabmeat, shiitake mushrooms, capers and key lime butter. It had a rich umami flavor. For dessert we had pumpkin pie bread pudding served with ice cream, which was to-die-for! I'm a sucker for anything pumpkin pie and anything bread pudding so I loved the combination! read more

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A great place to get a great dinner. The fish is locally caught and fresh (mahi, wahoo & triple tail). The black bean soup is the best I have ever had. read more

Great experience at Chef Michael's. Most people will order the other hogfish dishes but the scallops, shrimp, pasta dish was the best thing on the menu IMO. Apps were fantastic. Mahi tuna in some type of teriyaki sauce w chips. The lamb pops were perfect for a group of four. Highly recommend. read more

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We've stopped coming here. It used to be an anniversary tradition. The last two years after asking to sit on a quiet side they placed us next to a 12 top one year and a 20 top last time. It was so loud we left and anniversary night was ruined... again. This is a place that's better in memory than in person. If you want a place to go where you're having a $$$$ meal in a sports bar this is your place. This really makes me sad. We made such great memories there over the years. :'( read more

Super friendly service. Nice inside place to sit that has a roomy feel to it. For dinner on a Tuesday night I was looking for a simple dish not feeling that hungry. The Grouper -- Simply Grilled, Sautéed, Fried or Blackened, and in this case, blackened was the perfect fit for my needs, and I was very happy with it. Though I debated upon writing this as to give it four or five stars, I ended up going full out with the five. Why? Well, not being from the area I made this choice on one factor - choice. Though I settled for the grouper for my catch of the day not wanting to venture too far on my last night in the Keys, I was amazed as to how many fish choices I was presented with. No, I'm not in New Jersey anymore. Few were familiar options for me and next time I will start to figure out what I am missing! read more

Chef Michael's - Seafood Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

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Wow, what an experience! We were in town as plans changed last minute & this restaurant was across the street a little way down. We felt underdressed- sorry to the team working tonight- and were treated very well anyway. Great service, remarkable food! We'd never had hogfish before. It's a new favorite. Beautiful interior, exterior & artwork. A real gem of a seafood place. read more

I really enjoyed this place. The food was fantastic. My wife had the Hogfish and I the Yellowtail Snapper. Both were delicious! We finished it off with the salted caramel cheesecake. Excellent! read more

Not sure why people consider this fine dining or high-end, the food was good quality but also the seafood is fresh literally everywhere in the Keys?When we first showed up, the host(s) were kind but really just opened to the door and pointed at the table we had reserved--not a huge deal but it's white tablecloth, expensive dinner so was expecting a bit more. We were immediately served water and bread and our actual server was super attentive and made fantastic recommendations on the dishes and how to eat the dishes themselves (@ lion fish). We got the lion fish as an appetizer which was fried whole, flaky and crispy. Wouldn't get again but cool for the novelty of it as we had never had it before. We also got a cup of conch chowder and it was wonderful, a bit of heat and very flavorful. For dinner we got the trilogy and the grouper juliette. Grouper juliette was a knockout the fish was so fresh it was almost sweet and the sauce was delicious. Trilogy was cool because we could try multiple fish styles but swordfish Adriatic was underwhelming. Key lime pie was like a key lime cheesecake (very good) and crème brûlée tasted like it had almost a rum-bitter aftertaste. Overall, good service and good food but a tad overpriced and wouldn't come back. read more

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