Great ambiance. Great drinks. We all had a bucket of dockside punch, and a variety of tacos. Sketchy clientele. Would def go back, but the regulars were super chatty and we wanted to just talk amongst ourselves. read more

Thank god Devin took care of us because our server Antoinette didn't give a shit about us. We were delivered a 1/2 salad and a sandwich with no plantains or sweet potato fries. Devin made sure we had a full salad in a few moments but the plantains weren't delivered until I went to the kitchen & asked Antoinette again for them. The sweet potato fries were delivered sooner but not with our meals. Antoinette was absent our entire meal. I hate not tipping 20+% but she didn't deserve it. read more

A must stop for anyone passing through marathon! Feel the keys in food, drink and hospitality. ! read more

Dockside Tropical Cafe - Grouper sandwich with sweet potato fries - Caribbean Near Me - Marathon, Florida

Great atmosphere!!!! This place is great to sit by the water order drinks and have good conversation. Though the drinks are a hit or miss. My party ordered 4 drinks and only 2 where up to par. The others had no alcohol whatsoever. We waited about 30 mintues for an order of fries. I only went for drinks an appetizers. Overall good experience would come back again. read more

Dockside Tropical Cafe - Having drinks by the ocean. - Caribbean Near Me - Marathon, Florida

The hog handles were excellent! Bushwacker drink wad on point! Cute atmosphere with great service!

staying at hawks cay resort and went here for lunch after a day at Sombrero beach! We sat at the bar and the bartender and locals were very friendly! We tried the local dockside beer and ordered the jerk chicken tacos, jerk chicken sandwich and chimichangas. The jerk chicken tacos were very good! i ordered a side house salad and the waiter even brought me the house coconut vinegarette to try which was very good! Definitely will be back next time we are in the keys! A great place to hang out! We also saw a manatee while we were there hanging out by the dock! read more

Dockside Tropical Cafe - Manatee visiting off the dock! - Caribbean Near Me - Marathon, Florida

Went for drinks and music. Nice little tucked away place and perfect Keys Vibe. Very courteous and attentive waiter. Did not try the food.

Nachos not edible. Beer was warm and mixed drink tasted weird. On the plus side music was decent and the breeze by the water great.

Stopped at the adjoining marina on our way to Key West. What a find! Food was great! Everything we tried was excellent and service was always fast and friendly. Try the hog handles. Like a rib but the sauce was finger licking good. Burgers were huge. Drink specials, lots of imported beer choices. Don't miss this one. read more

We waited for 15 minutes for a waitress/ waiter that never came (or came back after asking her) when we moved to the bar the bartender completely ignored my request for a menu (12 inches from her face).the "live entertainment" made me wonder when the band was coming on. Don't bother. read more

Casual beach bar with cool vibe and excellent food. The pork shank is amazing. Kids loved the chips and root beer ! read more

Dockside Tropical Cafe - Lazy afternoon - Caribbean Near Me - Marathon, Florida

Poor service, mediocre food, overpriced food and drinks. View is nice. Ordered a mahi sandwich..Came on untoasted soggy Cuban bread. Missing tartar sauce. Not worth the $$$ or the time. read more

Dockside has a unique atmosphere being right on a dock. Main issue...a big one: roaches crawling up from under the dock. Several at a time. One crawled up my friend's leg as we tried to eat! Dirty fries were good...but how dirty were they in retrospect? The service was lousy (how long does it take to bring a cocktail when there are only a handful of people in the entire restaurant? Answer: 5 to 10 minutes). read more

This is exactly what I was hoping for when I came to the Keys. Great little place right on the water with a bar, small kitchen area, and a stage. The live music was nice, not too loud. It was nice to watch boats come and go, right by the dining area. I ordered the jerk chicken sandwich and onion rings. The chicken was spicy and seasoned perfectly. The onion rings were very fresh and hot. I was very impressed with the flavor of the food. The only minus for the evening - they were out of bacon. Our server was friendly and pretty attentive to our needs. There's a nice breeze off the water to keep the temperature comfortable. I would definitely return! read more

Give yourself plenty of time. The food is great, environment is super chill. But, it took over two hours to eat here. 7 adults and two kids. Just a heads up. Friendly staff though. read more

Quintessential local flavor. Great value in happy hour and hog stick was awesome! They welcome dogs! Bar tender and wait staff and manager were very friendly. read more

This place KNOCKS it out of the park on anything and everything jerked!!! The hog handles and chicken are THE best ever!! Service..... Spectacular !!!! read more

Love this place on the water. The service was great! We ordered the fish tacos. Best I ever had I think! Will be back.

Probably the worst service I've ever received. We gave them a second chance and went back for carry out food. Waited over an hour for 4 cheeseburgers. The owner was extremely rude and the order was wrong. Multiple tables were complaining while we were waiting and two tables even canceled their orders because they waited so long for their food. The place was not busy enough to be so overwhelmed. Don't bother going here!!!! read more

Good service, reasonable food, though inconsistent between ingredients on description and actual. Eg Carribean nachos meant to have cheese, tomato, scallions, olives, Jalapeños. Had pineapple and green bell peppers, no jalapeños. Still nice, though wife has reaction to fresh pineapple... Live music was entertaining, though the answer to "we can't stay, the live music is just too loud" when they're the only patrons is not "yes,it is" and then do nothing. Turned a potential 200$ check into 40 - sorry. read more

The only good thing about this place is that it is on the water. The food was really bad - sweet potato fries were cold and tasted soggy and "blackened fish" was not blackened, just poorly fried. Tartar sauce was horrible - I never thought that it could taste bad, but this place is an example. read more

A random Wednesday night, in town to chill, and found this place on Yelp. Music from a guy with a guitar, warm FL Keys breeze, cold drinks, and possibly the best blackened grouper I've ever had. Definitely a dockside bar atmosphere, which was perfect tonight. read more

Would love to say how amazing my experience was,but that just wasn't the case. Adam(the bartender ) I believe his name was, obviously wished he was somewhere else. Let him know it was my birthday and he mumbled something as he walked away. It was honestly a lol moment. When I asked if everything was ok,he said I don't have time for this. Shocking to say the least. Sad,because the overall vibe was great,with a live band and the ocean breeze. read more

Once again the service was awful. There were about 10 customers in the place. We waited for ten minutes our waitress and gave up and left. It is an terrible shame because I really like the atmosphere. read more

Overall a great time. The waiter seemed a little stressed, think she might have been the only one. The food was excellent, the hog handles and coconut shrimp were very good, I highly recommend. I ordered a mojito and it wasn't that great but I may be picky, the signature punch drink that my wife ordered was very good though. I would come back for sure, great atmosphere. read more

I was very disappointed with the service this one night we waited an 1 1/2 hr for our meal and when we asked when it will be ready she couldn't tell us everyone in the place were all shocked how long it was taking the kitchen to put out food. Tables seated after us had there food and we were told they didn't have food that need a lot of work to prepare it (we ordered sandwiches)...Needless to say we paid for are drinks and left.. I will not order food if they are busy...Will eat before going. Wait staff are not very friendly. Music is good! read more

Excellent service, surprisingly good beer selection, and blackened fish tacos were awesome! Candace behind the bar is the best!

Music was great (Eric Stone), food was terrible, service was mediocre. Kitchen needs to change the fish frying oil! Coconut shrimp tasted burnt. Fish tacos were inedible. read more

We unexpectedly arrived for Karaoke night, but it did not start until after we had already ordered drinks so we were stuck. It was bad. Some of the worst sounds I have heard in quite a while. The service was very slow. We had to repeatedly flag down the waitress even though the place was not even half full. We ended up serving ourselves drinks from the bar. The "grilled" tropical Mahi had a can of pineapple chunks dumped on it and grilled was a loose term. It was not deep fried but definitely was not grilled. read more

I had a great time at Dockside Tropical Cafe! The food was great, the drinks were strong and the music was awesome. What a cool spot to hang out and enjoy the Keys life. Watch the sunset and listen to the best music around. The owner is a musician so the sound system is top of the line and he brings in bands from all over the country for a little Keys getaway. Enjoy you wont be disappointed. read more

It's rare that you get Great Music, Great Scenery, and Great Fresh Made food in one location. This place has it all. Did I mention Cold beer and Specialty drinks. Dockside is one of my favorite all time places. I feel so at home when I'm there. I can't wait to get back. read more

Everyone said the hog handles were great and they didn't lie! Could be a meal in itself but have to enjoy one of their cold cocktails as well. Low key and price not bad either. read more

Showed up at 1:45 left at 3:30 and never got my meal. I finally asked for my check so I could leave and pay for the few things that I did receive. They tried to charge me for food I hadn't even gotten. They were "nice" enough to take 10% off my bill for the inconvenience of wasting my entire afternoon. They told me this was due to the fact that they were understaffed and crowded, there were four other tables at the time. All of which were severed before us. read more

We pulled into the dock yesterday and looked for restaurants in the vicinity. Since Dockside Tropical was a mere stones throw away we decided to give it a shot. We split an order of the jerk chicken wings that came with a generous portion of fryer grease in the bottom of the serving basket. Flavor was okay but felt a bit under on doneness. We both ordered the burger, one not asked what temperature they would like it, with cheese and mine which I requested it cooked medium with goat cheese and jalepenos. Mine came out of a charred well done burger which I sent back and they promptly made another. The second was done over medium but better than the first so acceptable enough. 10 hours later and I have experienced the worst food poising in my life. It was so bad it inspired me to write this review. If I weren't young and in good health this food could have killed someone. This is a popular marina location for 50+ year old people that travel south for the winter. I caution anyone that attends this establishment to my experience. read more

We stopped at the Dockside when we were cruising in the 90's and were pleasantly surprised to find the place transformed. This completely renovated restaurant and bar is owned and operated by TropRock singer and songwriter Eric Stone along with his wife Kim Hess-Stone. Now with a great stage featuring talented musicians it is the new Hot Spot of Marathon! Because this place is truly Dockside, you can tie up your boat and step right onto the deck of the restaurant. The variety burgers, meets any size appetite, one quarter pound, one half pound or the three quarter pound big enough to share. Only top quality beef is used. The beer is always very cold right from the special taps they use. While the burgers are excellent you can also order one of their delicious salads. The standard Keys fair of Coconut Shrimp, Conch Fritters and Cracked Conch are always fresh, don't forget the Key Lime Pie. We found the local boat crowd there, enjoying Happy Hour and a good meal sharing true Sea Stories. We were extremely pleased with the food and service. We enjoyed a number of meals during our week stay in Marathon. The Coconut Telegraph tells us, this is a must stop while traveling the Keys! read more

Best draft beer and live music! Our waiter was awesome and the entire vibe is upbeat, such a great time. I suggest the blacked grouper, their sweet potato fries were amazing as well. This place is great! read more

Last night at Dockside was great. My wife and I shared the fried conch and it was fabulous, best EVER. My wife had the shrimp tacos which she loved and I had the 1/2 pound burger, also great. Eric Stone, owner, was playing with the band for a while, then other band guys including a WWII vet playing jazz trumpet dropped in and played too. Erin, our waitress, was excellent. All in all it was really wonderful. read more

Some of the best food we ate in the keys. The dirty chips were delicious. Blackened fish street tacos were very good as well. The Eric Stone Band was great. Be warned Thursday is karaoke night. read more

Based on previous reviews we were very excited to give this a try. However, our experience was not as positive. Many of the items on the menu were no longer being offered or they simply ran out. We had a group of 7 and only 5 of us were served our meal. We were finished completely by the time the other two meals (jerk chicken) arrived. Although they looked good, they were completely frozen in the middle! The one redeeming factor of the visit was out waitress, Sara. She was very nice and understanding. Hopefully this was an off night for them, otherwise I would never recommend this to anyone. read more

Friday evening we went to Dockside to listen to Sam Rainwater, Mike Miller, Rob Mehl, & Eric Stone. The music was good and I enjoyed the troprock music very much. While I was there, I ordered "The Whole Nine Yards". That included the hog handles, jerked chicken wings, coconut shrimp, & fries. This was excellent. This would be a great appetizer to share. Also a nice beer selection. Went back to Dockside on Saturday night to watch the Eric Stone Band. They put on a nice show with a little country, troprock, and rock. While there, this time I had the Caribbean nachos with jerked chicken. Once again the food was excellent. I would recommend Dockside as a stop as you vacation in the Keys. read more