Once upon a time, there was a cool, off Overseas Highway dockside joint called Skipper's Dockside, that had a killer bar, and legendary conch fritters, with a giant replica shark hanging outside. Then Eris, the Greek goddess of disaster, and discord, cast a curse upon this place, and gave it third rate bartenders, a train wreck kitchen, disinterested wait staff, and near conch-free conch fritters so heavy fishermen could buy 'em for game fish sinkers. Marketing tip: change the name of the French Onion soup to Cuyahoga River soup. With virtually no onion in it, and a pile of red grease from the unskimmed broth, light up the grease before you serve it, and it could burn almost as long as Ohio's infamous River fire did. They dropped the appetizer and soup without setups (napkin and silverware). Five minutes of trying to get both bartenders attention, literally waving our hands over our heads, because you aren't allowed to use signal flares in a thatched hut tiki bar. The waiters, standing around the bar, when not at their tables. found our blind spot at the back of the rectangular bar amusing. One of them finally went and got our setups, and reminded my red-tipped cane bartenders that they were dropping the ball. The Mai Tai was truly the worst that I've ever had. More mangled margarita than tiki treat. Bartender boi even forgot to put the rum floater on it. I was sitting at the bar. Ringside seat. Watched him do it. Tried to get his attention as he dropped and moved on, but it took close to ten minutes. Then he said it just disappeared into the drink. Probably because he used sour mix instead of pineapple juice. Graduated Phi Beta Krappa from Bucky's Bartender school, it would seem. Nearly 20 minutes after the lousy appetizers dropped our next appetizer peel and eat shrimp and the main, catch of the day, did not arrive. Lacking a MOST WANTED poster, to find our food, and watching people seated after us eating, or finishing, we asked for our check, and left. Cross off another third-rate restaurant in the Keys. Only a few hundred left to go. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ read more

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This review is based on the following three items I ordered at this fine establishment: The Key Lime Pie, The Conch Fritters, and a Raspberry Daiquiri. I am awarding five stars of excellence. Please check out the picture of the Key Lime Pie I added to this review. If you order one item while visiting Key Largo, it is this Key Lime Pie. For what it's worth, their servers were incredibly friendly. The outdoor seating is very pleasant on the marina. read more

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My family and I decided to drive down to Key Largo since it is a beautiful day for MLK. We wanted to go to another restaurant, but that opened at 4pm. We decided on Skippers. We were waiting for about five minutes to be seated by the hostess. At least two different people came to tell us that the hostess will be right with us. A gentleman came and advised us that we could sit in a high top or wait for a table that they are cleaning. We decided to wait for that table since it was near the water and in the sun. A bigger party came behind us. The gentleman said I can actually sit you down here by the water. We agreed but it turned out he sat the bigger party in the table we were waiting for. After several minutes of waiting, we had to flag a waitress that wasn't sure if she was serving our table. Okay.. she was kind of enough to take our food order. She didn't get any drink orders. Then as she was taking our order, another waitress comes with water filled with ice. Ugh. We didn't even order water with ice. I wanted to order a drink but considering how poor the service has been, I decided not to. The first waitress that came to take our food order said she was going to be our waitress because her waitress was really busy. Our food arrived and looked good. The food wasn't bad. It was decent. Overall we had a nice time but they do need to work on their service and attentiveness. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Grilled shrimp tacos with side of fries - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

We enjoyed this stop on the way to Marathon. We are Keys regulars as we live in S Florida. Weve eaten at so many good joints but never this one. Food was good. Service was mediocre. The bar is spacious with a decent view (boats and condo buildings). We did enjoy the food. They have a nice menu. Fish dip is some of the best I've had. My son got pork nachos and they had a very nice flavor. I was boring and got Cesar salad...skip that. Overall we will be back but hopeful for more attentive service. read more

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

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Nice view but little else. Choose this restaurant because it was convenient to our hotel. The place was cute enough but filthy when we were sat. After a full days travel we decided to over look that, big mistake! We ordered calamari it was cut thick and way over cooked - it was like beef jerky! We had one shrimp po' boy again overcooked, greasy and old grease was used. Barely touched it. Had the veggie wrap with shrimp - it came out no shrimp which btw was an $18 up charge to add shrimp! They took it back and threw four grilled shrimp on the plate - not sure how we were supposed to fit it back into the wrap. The drinks were okay but at $14 each putting it in a glass would have been a nice touch instead of solo cups. Lunch for 2 was nearly $100 and we left 3/4 of the food because it was inedible. No one even asked if everything was alright! Skip on Skippers definitely not worth the $$ read more

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

Beautiful spot waterside for a meal or drinks. We ordered a frozen raspberry daiquiri which was very refreshing and good. Not sure I tasted the alcohol, though, so it was not very strong. 4 stars for this drink. My husband ordered the nachos entree and I ordered the blackened mahi sandwich with mango slaw. My husband was a bit disappointed with his nachos. He said the black olives (which he normally loves tasted "off" so he did not eat more than 1). He also said the pork was dry and wish he had chosen the chicken instead. He also was very disappointed that they use cheese sauce instead of real cheese. 3 stars for this item and he would not order again. My mahi sandwich was fantastic. Moist and flavorful with a tasty sauce on it. The coconut roll it was on was amazing. Very light hint of coconut taste and this bread is supposed to be healthier for you than others. The mango slaw was also great - light and flavorful. 5 stars for this meal choice. Overall a solid 4 stars for this restaurant and we would return next time we visit the Keys. read more

Excellent dockside lunch, unbeatable views and nice breeze. Fish was outstanding. Excellent service read more

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I had a little bit of time between catching a boat ride and took a short walk down the dock to this lovely restaurant. I enjoyed a nice drink, meal, and dessert along the water. Absolute perfection--especially the drink! read more

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Service was amazing. We had a seafood combo plate and everything was amazing! Loved the Key lime pie here !!

Tje food was good, not great or exceptional but good. We were there with another couple and our food arrived 15 min. before their food did. it would be nice if everyone's food arrived at the same time. The service is very very slow, no one is in a hurry. that includes the bar, when I saw someone wait over 10 minutes before they were even acknowledge. it was NOT busy. There is no hustle with any of the server. very unorganized. read more

Amazing service, awesome food. Ambiance is relaxing and laid back. Waitress was Evy. She's wonderful. Helpful, sweet, nice and always checking on your table. read more

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

Went in on a Sunday night in February with my husband. Live music on the patio/deck, which was nice. Only waited about 10minutes for a table outside. Food came out quickly. Ordered crab cake to share, I ordered the grilled avocado salad with blackened Mahi mahi, he ordered fish and chips. Both entrees were tasty. We were traveling, but if we came back to the Keys I would go here again. read more

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Great little place. The outdoor seating was awesome, live music, big TVs to watch the games. The food was great. We had fish tacos, poke bowl and club. Staff was nice and friendly. Over all a really great experience. read more

Skippers is OK, yes it has a beautiful outdoor area, nice smooth live music on the Sunday night we went, nothing wrong with the service and food and prices are ok. It is located right between a Holiday Inn and a Courtyard, again nothing wrong with that, but it's a convenient tourist restaurant, not a local hangout. Go and enjoy yourselves, it's fine. read more

Great location, food was good. I hade the Mahi sandwich and my wife had the sliders. The view of the marina was nice and the wait staff was attentive. They are getting two stars because we were overwhelmed by the fly infestation. It took all of the positives that this place has, and ruined the experience for us. My wife had to leave the table in order to eat. The waitress said she had mentioned this to management and they have yet to do anything. Until they find a way to solve the outdoor dining problems, I would only recommend indoor seating We still had an hour before we left on a boat ride, and would have stayed, but couldn't take it any longer. read more

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Food & Service was excellent. Loved eating dockside. Did not like getting a beer in a small plastic cup at a nice restaurant.

We ate outside on the waterfront patio. I had the fried breaded Mahi Mahi tacos for $16, which were excellent and I'd get them again. My friends both had the blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich with fries as their side for $21 (kinda steep). Cole slaw was their other option offered. One of my friends was initially going to get the Mahi Mahi platter but balked at the $38 price. I think that's extremely steep even if it just came out of the water. I also had a Lime colada which was good but basically tasted like a Pina colada with lotsa lime. The ladies bathroom was clean. They have 3 or 4 TVs outside in the large patio bar area but they aren't very big so it would be hard to call it a great sports bar, but they will allow you to keep up on the score of a game you're watching. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Drink and dock area - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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Location, at the dock, allows wonderful views and ambience. The servers, Shanda especially, were kind and courteous. I ordered a patty (burger) with fries and slaw. The burger was fine & cooked as asked. The fries arrived cold. I asked for new fries. When they came out it was as off they had been re fried.. dry chewy and terrible.. two tiny glasses of wine along with the burger was a $60 lunch for one. I will not be back.. read more

Do not get the fish sandwich, worst I have ever had the coconut roll was not eatable. Better hamburger at Wendy's. The Tocos were not very good. We wanted 45 minutes for our food and it was cold when we finally got it. (They were not busy). We paid $65 for 4 cocktails and could barely taste the alcohol. Very expensive, save your money and find another place to eat. read more

Although it says 11:00 they are closed by 10. We got there at 9:45 and the kitchen was already closed. The bar is ope but not the restaurant. read more

Someone else mentioned the Watermelon caprise salad so I ordered it bc I like sald and it's a little different. The salad was huge and delicious ---except for the sad, flavorless watermelon. They would have been better to leave it off!i also had fish tacos- they were ok and my husband had the grouper sand which--- the fish was fine, not really blackened, and as always, way too Much bun. By the time we left the place was busy! They have an awesome outside dining, with music, but it was too cool For us to sit outside- how sad is that??? read more

We arrived at around 2:15 or 2:30 for lunch & there was a 30 minute wait, which wasn't too bad considering how many people were there. The patio is nice & pretty large. Tables weren't spaced 6 ft apart but they weren't right on top of each other either. We started with thr calamari and both hubs & I ordered mahi sandwiches. The fish was fresh and tasty. The bread was good too. Our server was very sweet but not very attentive. We would have stayed for drinks but since she left us unattended for so long just decided to wrap up & head out. The patio is dog friendly. read more

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

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This place is the perfect vibe for a keys trip! No reservation and we were seated right away. They have live music and outdoor dining on the water. It is also dog friendly. The back part has yard games too if you want to hang out with some drinks. The calamari was delicious. The conch chowder not so much. Tasted very salty as if from a can. The snapper was good though! And of course you can never go wrong with a key lime pie. read more

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Huge restaurant out on the water. Was expecting a little bit of a better view but it's in a small cove next to hotels/apartments. It is really nice on the inside and outside. Was expecting there to be a huge crowd for a Saturday night but overall it wasn't packed. We tried the crab dip and for $22 it was eh. Nothing super special. The kids had the kids pasta and they were HUGE portions. The husband and I shared the seafood platter - the batter was good but it was THICKKKK. The shrimp was the best part. The fish was so so - cooked to much so it wasn't very firm and was falling apart. The conch fritters were okay. Not the best. The mango slaw was fantastic! Very flavorful and a good sized portion. Overall I'd rate our meal a 3 for the price to actual flavor and taste of everything. read more

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Pretty laid back place, but after all we're in the Florida keys so everything is pretty laid back. The service is adequate and our server was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu. The food is mainly fresh seafood. We came here cause is very accessible from the hotel we were staying at. read more

Just dropped in for dessert. They only have four offerings and they were out of one of them. We went with the Keylime pie and Blondie with ice cream. The presentation of the Keylime pie was outstanding, however, the pie fell to average on taste. My guess is because it was not super fresh: the crust was a bit saturated with butter, the meringue had separated from the top of the pie, and the lime garnish was sickly and brownish. My wife enjoyed the Blondie. Even though it was mid-afternoon, this place was very busy and service was a bit slow. read more

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Horrible service we sat inside party of 4 and to get water refills was over an hour we ate and waited and waited......servers are outside and forget customers inside. Food was cold and tasteless!! Conch fritters only tasty food we had read more

Nice large venue right on the water with cute beach atmosphere. Abe to sit outside right over the water and had wonderful service. Enjoyed conch soup, fresh snapper fish above this amazing jamaican rice, and a seafood platter (shrimp, fish, conch etc). Really enjoyed this place as the quality of food, atmosphere, and presentation was amazing. recommend! read more

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

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Atomosphere - Awesome Service - Supberb Food- Fantastic A great find! Hope to come back. Ordered: Key Lime Fettucine, Veggie wrap added chicken, BLT Club, and grilled Avocado Salad with Blackened Chicken. DE lish! Sat on patio- great breeze, nice music. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Charred Avocado Salad with Blacken Chicken - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

We picked Dockside because it was one of the few options in Key Largo with good vegetarian options. We were seated near the bar overlooking the water after only about a 10 minute wait, even though we did not have reservations. Our server was prompt and attentive. All of the staff wore their masks correctly. My Mahi-Mahi fish and chips featured a large piece of fish that had been cooked perfectly. It was not over-battered, and it allowed the fish's flavor to shine through. There were plenty of steak fries to accompany it, and a little cup of tartar sauce. The side of mango slaw served on the side was a unique twist, and I felt like it was executed well and was not just a gimmick. My wife's mushroom flatbread had a cream sauce base and was topped with fresh arugula and a balsamic reduction drizzle. The bread was thin and crispy, but not burnt. For dessert we felt compelled to order the Key Lime pie, mostly out of touristic obligation. It was good, although the quantity of whipped merangue topping was excessive. Overall, this was a good experience, especially since it had been a disappointing day otherwise. For a restaurant that seemed geared towards tourists, the prices were very reasonable. The service was better than most of the other places that we have been in South Florida. Though the view is just of some docks, it is nice to sit over the water while enjoying a meal. I would eat here again for a relaxing casual dinner on vacation. read more

Skipper's Dockside - Mahi fish and chips - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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Our first stop, heading to Marathon from MIA. Their Smoked Fish Dip was so good we ordered a second one! Our waiter was very friendly.

Skippers is a really nice little Key Largo logo tiki bar/restaurant. The seafood was nice and fresh. The service was very good, Nisha was very attentive to our needs. The fish taco appetizer was just the perfect size for lunch and the group entrée was super tasty. Just a little expensive overall good experience definitely would recommend going by when you're in Key Largo. I really would give it like 3.8 stars not quite for maybe needs a little bit of tiki bar, music or something. Other than that the place was nice food was good. read more

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

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This place is absolutely fantastic, Everything we ordered for dinner was perfect!! We had their calamari for an appetizer, and this is hands-down one of the best I've had in my life, even though I am from the San Francisco Bay area. The shrimp linguine and the flatbread were bomb and the Keylime pie is totally worth the hype. Our server Shamira, was super sweet and attentive and provided good insights about the food choices.This place has a nice outdoor seating arrangement with live music. We had a live saxophone entertainer that was great and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as we sat out and watched the sunset from the dock. A perfect place to enjoy a nice evening Key Largo style. read more

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After years of eating here every trip to Key Largo we had our last meal there. Two dry pieces of Red Snapper that could not have been more than 8oz combined for $78 for my wife and I. Such a shame as we have referred so many to this place over the years. Very sad. read more

I love dining on the dock. Blackberry margarita is recommended for drinks. It taste like a refresher!!! Calamari came with big chunk of squid, not small ring. Sweet and lightly spiced flavored. Lobster Mac and Cheese is on point for flavoring. Not only do you get the lobster on display, there were lobster meat within the Mac and cheese. The bacon added read more

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

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Awesome food, service and atmosphere, one of the best fish sandwiches I've ever had. Our server was very attentive and great attitude.

The coconut shrimp and fried calamari are an excellent choice for starters. The flavors are on point! The service was great and our server was very friendly and attentive. Considering we were a party of nine, the service was quick. The ambiance was relaxing and perfect for an afternoon out with family. read more

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

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The location is nice. The Caribbean wrap was very tasty and the Smashburger was just OK. The fries could be better. Very attentive and friendly server. Great live music at night! read more

Skipper's Dockside - View from our table... - Seafood Near Me - Key Largo, Florida

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Overall a very great restaurant! Chose this place because of the view, upon arriving it was nice to see that almost all outdoor seating had views of the water. We started out with drinks, they had a huge selection of specialty drinks for $10 each. I tried both the blackberry margarita and the jalapeño margarita and they were both delicious. For appetizers we ordered the conch fritters and calamari. The conch fritters were something I've never tried before, but they were fried perfectly and very flavorful. The sauce that came with them complemented the flavors well. The calamari was good, but definitely different than traditional calamari. It was served in a sweet chili sauce - it was definitely good, just not what I expected. It was also very light, it wasn't covered in too much fried batter which was nice. For my meal I ordered the mahi sandwich. It was pretty good, I just found it to be a little bland. The fries were perfectly cooked and had a perfect amount of seasoning. My friend ordered the veggie wrap, which she enjoyed but found it to be mostly spinach and wished for a better variety in the wrap. The service was also very good, our waitress was super attentive and checked on us often. Prices were reasonable compared to other waterfront dining in the area. Definitely will go back if I'm in the area! read more

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Nice location food was good. Seemed as if everyone was ready for the tourist season to be over. Very pleasant waiter.