Dining Gluten-Free on Key West & Sugarloaf Key
My boyfriend and I spent the past week vacationing on Sugarloaf Key, near Key West, Florida. It was my first time visiting the Florida Keys and the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was the perfect January getaway! We rented a house at Sea Vista Estate, on Sugarloaf Key, so we cooked a lot of our own food. We were also able to find some incredibly accommodating restaurants on both Keys. We had no problem eating gluten-free, paleo, and low carb while vacationing.
Roof Top Cafe
My boyfriend and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary by having dinner at Roof Top Cafe. It’s located in downtown Key West, near Mallory Square. Roof Top Cafe has a unique atmosphere with trees growing around the outside deck overlooking the streets of Key West. The menu had “GF” marked on items that could be made gluten-free and our waitress was knowledgable about which foods contained gluten. We started with the Roof Top Sunset Salad, we asked for no cheese, and the pork belly appetizer. I can’t resist pork belly when it is on the menu! We also ordered the Grilled Mahi Mahi and the Flame Grilled Filet. This was my favorite restaurant we ate at on our trip. I enjoyed each course and loved the atmosphere of the restaurant.
Pork belly appetizer from Roof Top Cafe
Turtle Kraals
Turtle Kraals is an open air restaurant located by the harbor in downtown Key West. The menu on Turtle Kraals website has items labeled gluten-free, but the menu in the restaurant is not marked. Our waitress brought us a sheet of paper indicating what is gluten-free on the menu, however I recommend double checking with the waitress and the chef for everything you order. I asked the waitress about the sweet potato fries, since they were on the gluten-free menu and they ended up not being gluten-free. Our waitress was super helpful though and checked with the chef on everything to ensure our meal was gluten-free. We started with the Key West ceviche, which was so good. For my main course I ordered the Mahi Mahi with seasonal vegetables. I love ordering the fresh catch of the day whenever possible.
Square Grouper Bar & Grill
Square Grouper Bar & Grill is on Sugarloaf Key, about a half an hour from downtown Key West. The owners of the house we rented recommended this restaurant, it is their favorite restaurant in the area. Square Grouper offers a separate gluten-free menu, and our waiter was able to tell us about a few things on the regular menu that can be made gluten free. We started with the warm goat cheese with dates and cracked pepper. For our main course we both got the grouper with mashed sweet potato with maple syrup (very sweet) and green beans. Overall, everything was delicious and the portions were huge.
Grouper with mashed sweet potato and green beans from Square Grouper
Tropical green smoothie from Date and Thyme
Date and Thyme
Date and Thyme is a small organic cafe and store located in downtown Key West. We weren’t very hungry when we stopped by on our last day so we didn’t try any of the food, but they do offer many gluten-free items on their menu. We couldn’t resist trying one of their smoothies though. We ordered the tropical green smoothie, which was very refreshing. The store is also filled with organic and gluten-free items. We picked up a few treats for our plane ride home. We bought some Bulletproof bars to try, which was exciting because I had never seen them sold anywhere else before. I definitely recommend stopping by here if you are in Key West!
Publix
Publix is where we did our grocery shopping while we were in Key West. I was extremely impressed by the gluten-free and organic foods offered. We were able to stock up on kombucha, pasture raised eggs, and organic vegetables for our stay. We were also able to get some coconut milk ice cream for a treat one night. They even stocked Canyon gluten-free bread. The Key West Publix is definitely a great place to stock up on gluten-free and paleo foods.
Fresh Eggs given to us by the owner of Sea Vista Estate
Sea Vista Estate
Our house at Sea Vista Estate was right on the water, so we were able to catch some of our own food for the week. My boyfriend and his father caught lobster off of the dock a few times. We grilled the fresh caught lobster in butter and it was the best I’ve ever had! Also, the owner of the estate dropped off some fresh chicken and duck eggs one day. I loved eating the fresh eggs for breakfast. There were many fruit trees around the estate. We had fresh coconuts, bananas, and key limes throughout the week!
Lobster!
Fresh caught lobster tails grilled in butter!
For anyone interested in non-food photos of Key West and Sugarloaf Key, I have included some from my trip below. Enjoy!
