Antonia's restaurant in Key West

Antonia's restaurant on Duval Street has been open for over 30 years and I've been eating here for years.   I can happily report that this place is getting better and better - it's certainly a contender for best restaurant this year in my 'restaurant awards'!

Antonia's established in 1979 has been going for (now over) 30 years as this bottle of olive oil attests.

I like Antonia's for a few reasons:

The menu is excellent.  They keep on my favorites - the souffle to start is divine and then the fillet in mushroom sauce.

They are friendly and efficient.  We had a table at 7.30.  We were early but still seated in about 10 seconds!

The owner was present and acting as a great host.  It's obvious that this place had loads of locals in - a good sign.  It was also 100% full so booking is important.  Even though it was full the service was at all times prompt and good - this is amazing achievement!

The the food tastes excellent.

Antonia's menu

The window seat at Antonia's.  Only good looking people get put here!

One slight moan is that this place is so efficient that we were eaten and out within 1 hour!  This is quick!  The starter arrived only just after the bread.  They could do with slowing the service down a bit.

Antonia's steak knife - the heaviest I've ever used!

All this comes at a price and this is a premium restaurant - $127 for 2 (including service at 18%) with just a glass of wine each and no dessert and no coffee.

But it's worth it!