Posts tagged "Seafood"

Schooner Wharf Bar

202 William Street – Ph: (305) 292-3302 – www.schoonerwharf.com

So far this is my all-time favorite bar on the island. Schooner Wharf is the first place we stumbled upon on our very first visit to Key West years ago, and it remained the first stop on all subsequent visits.

It sits right on the marina and is full of a wonderfully eclectic hodge-podge of detritus no doubt scavanged from many a tall ship or reeled in on the end of a fishing line.

It’s a great place to go have a couple of cold beers while waiting for a sunset cruise (and of course after the sunset cruise), do some tourist (or local) watching, and listen to some of the ever-present live entertainment.

I haven’t been to anywhere near even a quarter of the bars in KW yet, so I can’t say for certain, but my guess is this is one of the true local hangouts, and if you want to get a real taste of what life is like in KW, you absolutely must come here and strike up aconversation with one of the old salty dogs sitting around the bar. Locals might look scary sometimes, but my experience has been they’re mostly pretty harmless.

The staff is friendly and quick, and the food is not too shabby. I absolutely LOVE the clam chowder here. Clam chowder is one of those things I order everywhere I go to see who has the best. I can say with certainty that Schooner Wharf has the lead where the chowder is concerned. I don’t know if they make it from scratch or buy it straight from the devil himself, but I wish I could buy it in bulk from them.

Personally Oysters are something I’ve yet to gain an appreciation for, but Christina loves them, as do some of my other friends we’ve brought here. The verdict is super-yummy.

The only issue I’ve ever had with the food has been the last couple times I’ve visited. The fried shrimp was overcooked. I ordered them again the second visit to see if it had been an anomaly the first time, because usually the food is so good. I still believe it was probably a case of someone falling asleep at the fryer, and will give it another shot next time around to decide for good. Barring that small gripe, everything else we’ve had here has been fantastic. Schooner Wharf  is after all a bar, and not a fine dining establishment, so judging by that standard, I’d say the food is better than average.

There is an upstairs ‘poop deck’ that gives a better view of the marina, this is by far my favorite hangout at Schooner Wharf… unless it’s raining. The live music in the courtyard on the ground floor can get a little loud for me sometimes. Of course a trip to the bathroom from here requires a walk down some stairs, so plan accordingly…. nothing more embarrassing than tumbling down some stairs in front of a group of people eating. Trust me.

Speaking of bathrooms. I hear the Women’s restroom isn’t bad (Can’t say for myself), and while I guess the mens room isn’t as bad as many I’ve seen, the journey to reach it is an interesting one.

Also, no visit would be complete without a trip to Frank Everhart’s Magic Bar in the back corner of the ground floor. Frank is a true sleight of hand aficionado.  He’s a very entertaining guy, I highly recommend you spend some time at his bar. He gets there around 9:00 nightly.

Schooner Wharf has a webcam that looks out over the courtyard toward the stage. We spent many an evening in Orlando watching this while we were trying to dream up ways to move to Key West. It was like a little bit of heaven right there in our living room. Check it out, you’ll probably see me sitting at the bar quaffing draft Key West Ale!

Cheers!
Mike