Don't go for food if hungry, foods oily and doesn't taste good! Can go for Ambiance and drinks

Procrastination confession: I have been coming here for a long time, every few weeks when I'm home in S. FL, and never got around to posting a review. Daytime, nighttime, both provide a good venue. I struggled with my rating (3.5?) so let me list the pros and cons and you can decide from there. PROS: *Great marina view. Watch the charters and water birds on the canal. *There is a nice inside restaurant and bar area but why sit there unless it's raining? It's rarely busy inside. *A tiki hut bar outside shades you from the sun, a patio deck table provides sun if you're looking to catch some rays. *There's a cute sandpit area with Adirondack chairs but I've never spent time over there. *Good drink selections at reasonable prices. *I've probably tried every menu item. Great fish dishes with delightful sides. (Nice mango slaw!) If you're here to eat, they are on the mark with fish. Calamari, fish dip, Mahi sandwich, all great. Also pulled pork is good. *A few big screen TVs in the rafters of the bar to watch sports! *I'd say it's kid (and pet!) friendly; my kids are grown so it's an observation only. *Clean bathrooms, always an important indicator to me...they used to have thick soft paper towels in the bathrooms, a very nice touch, but they've replaced them with cheap paper ones over the last year. CONS: * It's waterfront but only a canal...neither Oceanside view nor Bayside view. *The tempting condo pool next door is not open to restaurant patrons. *The live music is never good, it's mediocre one-man karaoke in most cases. Loud recorded background with a live voice over. I'd prefer they replace the "Karaoke Joes" with a good recorded Music Service for Business. One singer often spends the night joking with the bar staff over the mike instead of singing. Very annoying and makes one feel uncomfortable. Not sure which is worse...he needs to just close his mouth and go home. His best song is a chorus of Happy Birthday. *The staff seems to have a worse than "keys usual" turnover. Many times I see a bartender once, maybe twice, then never again. Very few familiar faces. I like to know my bartenders and I tip accordingly. *The staff for the most part is indifferent and not friendly except perhaps amongst themselves. My impression is they're unhappy with the job. *The rest of the menu is yin yang. Either it's great or horrible. Since this is my con list... -The nachos: Don't! I've tried them on a few occasions hoping they'll get better, but they're simply unfit for human consumption. Burnt chips or cold melted cheese or lacking in content; you name it I've seen it. Inconsistency is consistent with this dish. I do like the fresh jalapeños though (a pro). -The bread pudding: microwaved into concrete every time I tried it. I sent it back for a do-over the three times I ordered it (I rarely order something with the same issue more than twice but I love bread pudding!). *Check your credit card bill. I had an incorrect post to mine which AMEX handled for me so now I monitor it a few days after I go. So I'm on the fence whether this is a 3 or 4 star place. For now they get a three and I'll bump it to a four if things get better. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

The worst customer service. Do not order carryout. You have to pick up your food from the bartenders. There were two bartenders on a Saturday evening serving the entire bar and making drinks for those seated at tables. When I asked another server if she could help me she mumbled something and walked away. When I finally got the bartenders attention he gave me the receipt to sign and walked away to make another drink and left me waiting even longer. I don't care how good the food is they won't get any more of my money. Really need to have better processes in place. I ordered from Pilot, walked in, was greeted by a nice hostess who kindly and quickly retrieved my order. Really not that hard. read more

We are local and have seen the signs for Skippers for a few weeks. Finally took out of town friends today. LOVED it! I had the black bean burger. Wonderful. One friend had the shrimp po'boy. He was in heaven. My husband had blackened mahi. He said it was "faaaabulous!" Our server, Olga, was attentive, cheerful and knowledgeable. The restaurant is on the marina/canal behind the Holiday Inn and requires some searching to find but has an open air deck with bar-worth the hunt! Pelicans all over the place. We will definitely be back again. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

Great place buried right in the heart of Key Largo. We were excited to give this place a try with all of the great reviews we saw, but our overall experience was medoicure at best. GREAT views but food was lacking and the service was horrific. We caught black fin tuna & snapper earlier in the day that we brought to have cooked. Although their menu says bring your catch and they'll cook it, they were NOT happy about it. We requested that the chef please remove the 3 small pieces of skin left on the filets so we didn't end up eating it by accident and they refused to do so and said the chef will not do that. It took literally forever for our food to arrive and our waitress, went completely rogue and never came to check on us at any point. I would NOT suggest this place to anyone traveling to Key Largo. The only good thing was their key lime colada ! read more

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Great spot to have a few drinks and hang out. Live music, great food and drinks. Would recommend!

Great little family restaurant on water. The food is 5 stars. Had the best tuna tartare ever, the ceviche was awesome, can't say enough about their fish sandwich and best of all the coconut pudding with tres leche ice cream! Over all awesome! read more

Beware of their fish! I ate the coconut snapper last night and ended up with food poisoning. It was horrible and ruined my whole night. They must not be handling their fish correctly. read more

I'm a local in Key Largo and work in the tourism/hospitality industry. Been living and working here for 4 years. I used to like Skippers but have seen it in steady decline for a long time. Three nights ago had the worst dinner in the keys since i have been here. I ordered the Triple Tail which is a marvelous fish. The portion was miniscule 6 oz. When I asked about it I was told that was their standard portion size. It was served soggy and very fishy in taste instead of light and flakey. The cilantro rice that was served with it was crunchy. Only thing edible was the cole slaw. I will no longer recommend this establishment to my clientele. Very disappointed. read more

Dropped in for a quick bit after a long day of scuba diving. It was a gorgeous night to sit out on the patio and enjoy. I tried several local beers and went with the tuna tartar w/shrimp. The dish was delicious. Service was friendly at the bar. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

Started with a Shipwrecked CoronaRita....best I have ever tasted and that includes Longhorn Steakhouse!Outstanding Fish Taco's, very light! Listening to nice relaxing music while enjoying enjoying dinner with the family. End the dinner with Key Lime Pie and Signature Bread Pudding...loved it! This is a must experience when visiting Key Largo; the relaxing scenery and excellent service will make you evening! read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

On the pricey side but still really nice. Great atmosphere by the water. You can sit by the docks. Nice music .

I am so disappointed with this restaurant. We've tried so many times after my last review in 2019 to give it a chance but nonetheless time after time more disappointment. Whole fried fish don't count on it because they run out. Coconut snapper don't count on it because they are out. Filet mignon on the menu comes with mash potato and asparagus. They run out of mash potatoes bring you fries and no explanation. Today I made sure to ask about the mash but they bring me lumpy mash with sauteed cabbage on top. Not a good look or taste. We ordered onion soup for four two came in their little bowls completely covered in cheese. The others came in salad bowls with floating cheese on the top. Presentation was awful. There was not one thing that we ordered that we can say that was good. I am super disappointed. We always come here because it is close and convenient but I am pretty sure this is the last time we come here. I have never been to a place that says they ran out of something unless it is a special plate. This place was empty inside and not a lot of people outside either. Pretty sad for a place that has so much potential. Good food and service is so important. Hopefully the managers or owners see this post and make a change because we are not the only family saying the same thing. Good Luck to you. read more

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Stopped in as we arrived to the Keys for our two week vacation. We thoroughly enjoyed the live music and cool breeze. The food varied from "wow!" to "just okay." The ceviche was bland and the tuna tartare was overwhelmed with a load of guacamole (what they called "avocado salad") but the calamari was the best I've ever had, the conch stew was fabulous (although the portion was smaller than expected) and the burger with bacon jam was tasty. We would definitely go back! read more

Skipper's Dockside - Tuna tartare - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

Disclaimer: This review is based purely on the poor customer service we received. On Monday, we walked over to Skipper's from our condo for lunch. We told the hostess we had 4 adults and two babies (our husbands carried the babies over in their car seats). The hostess told us it would be 45 minutes because they had just sat a few large parties inside. There were dozens of open tables at the outside bar and I asked if we could just grab a table and order some drinks from the bar until the kitchen could handle us. She said no and that management wasn't allowing them to sit anyone right now. She said if we wanted we could grab drinks at the bar and go sit in the sand pit area on the side of the restaurant. I'm not sure if she was oblivious to the fact that it was drizzling and we were standing in front of her with two babies, but that wasn't going to work. I was disappointed in how we were treated because I love Skipper's and wanted to take our visiting family there for lunch. Because we weren't welcomed or accommodated we decided to leave. We were all shocked the way they basically turned our business away. We would have spent well over $150 between drinks and eventually lunch. We were going to try and go back yesterday but ended up going to Sharkeys right down the street who welcomed us and our two strollers (on their second floor balcony) with amazing service! read more

Three words- order the tacos! We had the blackened mahi mahi tacos and they were amazing. There was also live music when we were here. Tip- you can bring your fresh catch and they'll cook it for you. Downside- they allow smoking at the bar. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Outside dinning area - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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I have to say that the food was very good! My daughter ordered cheese pizza and it was phenomenal!!!!! It was big and delish! We ordered the Calamari as an appetizer that was also the best iv ever had! Big plus is that they are pet friendly so my pup was able to join us. read more

Skipper's Dockside - This Tuna Tartare was so delicious! It is very filling. Underneath the tuna is avocado. - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

SKIP IT. The purpose of this review is to tell all interested about the worst restaurant experience of my life. (1) The Waiter Lies and the Naive Manager Treats Customers Poorly. My family and friends went fishing in Key Largo. To be clear - We aren't poor people desperate to save every penny, and this story isn't about the money. While Skipper's prices are undoubtedly excessive, we had just paid over $1500 for fishing, so the cost of dinner really wasn't meaningful to us. As a result, we decided to stop by Skipper's to have them cook some blackfin tuna for a quick dinner. Skipper's charges ~$14.00 per person when they cook fish for you. Teasingly, I handed the waiter a bag of tuna and said "That should be just enough tuna for one person." We laughed together when he told me he would have to let the cook decide how much to charge. Ultimately, he came back and told me that the restaurant would have to charge us for three people given the amount of tuna in the bag. I said "no problem at all" - and we waited for the tuna to arrive cooked. The waiter brought the tuna to the table. We asked the waiter for extra plates so that I could let my 8 year old and 10 year old have a taste of the fish. One of our friends (who hates fish) also tried it. Needless to say, the fish wasn't a big hit with this group, so just three of us ate it. My kids nibbled on some rice while we ate the fish. When the check arrived, we noticed that Skipper's had charged us with fish for FIVE people despite the clear position of the waiter that we would only be charged for THREE people. (I remind you - that $28 isn't going to break this group and that this is really about the principal and the way we were treated.) The waiter told us that the manager had "monitored the situation" and decided to charge us for five people. Naturally, we asked to speak to the manager. The manager arrived at our table. In sum, he told us that the waiter made it clear with us that we would be charged for more than 3 people. He indicated he was giving us "a break" by not charging us for all 6 of us. We explained what really happened and made it clear that the waiter told us we would only be charged for three people and never told us anything about being charged for more than three - even when we asked for more plates so my kids could taste the food. The manager reduced the price so that Skipper's charged us for four - which was still more than we were told. He made some excuses about how he loses money when a six-top is taken up with only three people eating. This was nonsensical given that a party of two was sitting at the six-top to my right. I wonder how much he charged them? For what it's worth, not a soul was sitting at any of the other six-tops. He suggested that WE were the ones being untruthful and refused to listen to us. We finally told him to do what he had to do, and that's exactly what he did. We ended up paying the extra ~$14 for the fourth person. (2) The Aftermath Now I admit that the fish was cooked properly. The sides were fine, and the frozen drinks were good. But that said, I found the behavior of the employees to be despicable. The lying waiter seemed not to understand what he had done. The rude and naive manager needs to take a class or two at charm school and is not likely to rise much higher in the Skipper's organization if he continues to treat customers like this. Regardless of whatever response Skipper's may or may not post to this review, I will (1) NEVER go to Skipper's again and (2) more importantly, tell everyone I know - whether they plan to go to Key Largo or not - to stay far away from Skipper's. Good luck, Skipper's Dockside. If a hurricane returns to the Keys, I can only hope it misses the entire city except for this restaurant. Horrible experience. If I could give this place less than one star, I would do so. read more

Great view and service excellent if you seat at the bar area... table not so much, sometimes they take forever. A little rush to close if you go at night time, hostess will gives you lots of buts so staff can leave early read more

It was a cool evening and they refused to turn the fans off on the beams in the bar area. I asked for a manager and was told by the bartender that they were busy in the kitchen because it was backed up!! It's a Sunday and the restaurant is not that crowded. They would not get me a manager to speak with and other bar customers left because the fans made it too cold!! I guess they don't want a busy bar!! read more

Killer colada and atmosphere was great! Live music on the weekend. The fish and chips was phenomenal, highly recommend!! read more

Skipper's Dockside - Bar area - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

Honestly it's Christmas and the server was incredibly rude and did not care. He didn't ask us if we wanted water or a drink. He threw coasters at us and said the menu was online to my parents who are senior citizens. What? Honestly the service was dismal today. We were looking forward to trying something new but we will not be back to this place! I only saw one server and we were there for 15-20 mins and no water no drink order. Nothing. Pathetic. Merry Christmas read more

Food was good but the server came twice and never showed back up had to ask for our ticket

Stopped on the way to Key West late at night. Chill atmosphere and the burger was worth every $.

Found the restaurant through a suggestion online. We were in on Friday January 14th on the back deck around noon. And I wish I could remember our servers name because he was the best service I have had in eons!! Very friendly with fantastic customer service. The food was excellent and the view cannot be beat! read more

We visit here often. I would say it is a very nice atmosphere and the waitress and/ or waiters have always been very kind. They have band that make it very tropical and keysie. HOWEVER, the reason I am giving them 3 stars is the menu. The menu is not that robust for a lack of a better word. The cocktail list is not great either. read more

The worst service in the keys, got up charged with out being told and the food was cold and salty. Try other places close by. This place is not worth it! read more

Our first dinner out in Key Largo. We 3 shared the conch fritters and found them to be a bit "doughy" and not conch tasting. My husband had a Shrimp Po boy that was "ok", my daughter had the Coconut shrimp that were "ok" and I had the coconut snapper with Caribbean rice. All three were fine, but nothing exciting. The service was very nice, and the location was very nice. Unfortunately, they were out of Key Lime Pie which was unfortunate bc we are on a quest to try the Conch Fritters & Key Lime Pie everywhere! Stay tuned, we have another 10 weeks of places to try! read more

Came here with my husband, daughter, and parent-in laws during the Covid pandemic. We live in Miami but decided to take a drive to Key Largo for a change of scenery and looked at restaurants that offered dining in. We arrived and decided to do outdoor seating since the view was beautiful and there was a nice breeze. We were greeted and directed to our table right away. Place seemed busy and that is usually a good sign. For appetizers we ordered the Crispy Calamari and the Conch Fritters. The Fritters were amazing, not overcooked and soft. The Calamari were also very good, they weren't excessively breaded. We then went onto ordering our main entrees. For our daughter we ordered the cheeseburger sliders and fries which she said were very good. Some other options for kids ranged from Pasta, to Nuggets, and Pizza. I ordered the Whole Fried Snapper which was soooooo good. It was incredibly fresh and huge! I only ate about half for dinner and took the rest home. This was served with Yuca fries and broccoli. My husband and his mother ordered the Shrimp Po'Boy which they said was good, it came with fries and a side of their cole slaw. Lastly my father in law ordered the fish tacos which he said were very good as well and came with fries and a side of cole slaw. Can't comment on dessert because we didn't order any but the options seemed very yummy. Overall, we loved the place. We would definitely come back if in the area. The view was beautiful and the staff was attentive. read more

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I have no idea where to start. It was an unfortunate evening. We got there for my sister in laws wedding dinner after we flew into Miami and drove to Key Largo to eat at Skipper's. But let me say. Do not come here it is not friendly for tourist. We ordered many drinks and entrees but after 50 minutes we got cold food and said we would get a discount for the inconvenience and we got a "5%" discount on a $250 meal. I am a bartender and waiter and hate to complain but the manger Tony was rude and has no place nor experience being in that position. Tony made the experience 100% worse, please choose otherwise if visiting for vacation. He talked down to me and my party and acted as if this should be expected for a party of 12 during a "holiday weekend". I believe nobody should ever be spoken to in this manner much less in the food industry where customer's always come first! Such a disappointment:( read more

We sat outside at the bar and had very personable Amber.. She grew up in Key Largo , so has tons of info on the area. Happy hour domestic beers are just $2.50. read more

Very good atmosphere, nice food and must try chocalate cake My wife had the fried Crab cake and tail lobster and loved it. Mi son fish and chips which was good. Appetizers were very good and so was the service Had a good relaxed time read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

Beautiful place and everything we had was delicious. We had the beef sliders and the pan seared crab cake for appetizers and then the lobster, fish and chips and a burger and they were all really great. Finally a flourless chocolate cake for dessert which was probably one of the best I've ever had. Very good service by our waiter. Great time having a couple of Coronas right by the docks. I absolutely recommend it. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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In my opinion the food was just ok. We tried the flatbread,l and nachos. I wanted to love it but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

This review is only for location and outdoor bar. Didn't eat, but it was better than most of its competitors for cleanliness and friendliness, with pretty view of the waterway and boats. Walking distance to Marriott Courtyard and Holiday Inn. Outdoor games fun for groups. Live entertainment offer. read more

We ate at Skippers 4 times on an 8 night visit to Key Largo. We kept going back because it is excellent. It's really casual like everything else in the area, but they serve top-quality food and all of the servers were friendly, knowledgeable and professional. The place is fairly new and beautiful. You can see that they put a lot of thought (and money) into designing and building it. It's in a lovely setting in a marina. We ordered fish specials, a burger, ceviche, salads and more. Everything was great. Even the sides, like the french fries and coleslaw were a little special. They put extra thought into every detail. I've posted a photo of the snapper entree. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Snapper entree. It looks good & it IS good! - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

Excellent mahi mahi dinner meal and nice outdoor seating ambiance over the water/dock area. Jerk wings app were also delicious! Great homemade key lime pie as well. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Seats dockside - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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Amazing location.. walked over from our Hotel.. Holiday Inn Key Largo.. Love this place!! Always great food & great staff. Enjoy!! We did!!

Don't waste your time eating here! We decided to eat here the last night of our honeymoon in Key Largo and it was AWFUL. Awful service, HORRIBLE waitress, and the food tasted like gas station seafood. I was very shocked based upon the other reviews that were on their page and the many sites that recommended this place, but I would never recommend anyone eat here. I had the captains platter which came with beer battered fish, shrimp and conch fritters. The fries were cold and stale, the fish was dry and the batter on both my fish and shrimp tasted burnt. Before my meal arrived, we ordered calamari and it was not what we expected. We even asked the waitress prior to how it was and she said "excellent" but failed to inform us that theirs is sold differently. My wife's food was horrible as well. She ordered chicken and pasta and the chicken was dry. The only thing saving this review is the wings that I ordered after not liking my food and the view/Ambiance. I was very disappointed in this restaurant and by the discussions of those around us they were too. Perhaps it was a bad night, but I don't think I'll ever visit here again. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Atmosphere - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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So, first, let me start by saying they refused to sit our party of 11 together.... not because they were packed (the whole inside of the restaurant was empty), but because they didn't want to move tables. Huge disappointment ... we could not even sit with our party. Next, the hostess and management were rude.... lastly, my son ordered Buffalo wings and they brought them out as honey bar-b-que. We let the waitress know and she took them back and came back 5 mins later with Buffalo wings.... but they actually just decided to pour Buffalo sauce all over the honey bar-b-que. That was disappointing. The only two good things were the calamari and our waitress was great. No desire to go back after the way they treated us. read more