Historic working waterfront fish house dock in Key Largo at golden hour with a weathered fishing boat, ice chests and crates on wooden piers, and palms and mangroves along a calm turquoise bayside basin
The Keys Journal · Luxury Lifestyle Spotlight

Luxury Lifestyle Spotlight: Key Largo Fisheries Backyard Cafe in Key Largo

Key Largo waterfront dining at its most genuine: a family-owned fish house, seafood market, and marina anchoring the bayside lifestyle since 1972.

September 7, 2026 By Steve Conley Category: Luxury Lifestyle Spotlight

In Key Largo, where bayside canals open onto the protected waters of the Upper Keys, the working waterfront has shaped island life for generations, and Key Largo Fisheries has been part of that story since 1972. This family-owned fish house, fresh seafood market, marina, and waterfront cafe on Ocean Bay Drive sits near mile marker 100, a short ride south of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, and it anchors the island's waterfront dining scene. For luxury buyers exploring Key Largo real estate, it offers a true window into the water-centered way of life that the island's deep-water canal homes are built around.

Business Information

Business Name Key Largo Fisheries Backyard Cafe
Business Category Seafood Market / Waterfront Cafe / Marina
Community Key Largo
Address 1313 Ocean Bay Dr, Key Largo, FL 33037
Google Rating 4.4 stars (1,463 reviews)
Hours Cafe: Mon-Sat 11 AM to 7 PM, Sun 11 AM to 6 PM. Market: Mon-Thu 9 AM to 7 PM, Fri-Sat 8 AM to 7 PM, Sun 9 AM to 4 PM.
Phone (305) 451-3784

Why Key Largo Fisheries Backyard Cafe Stands Out in Key Largo

Key Largo Fisheries stands out because it brings the entire catch-to-table story to a single bayside dock: a commercial fish house, a fresh seafood market, a working marina, and an open-air waterfront cafe all under one family-owned operation. That combination, built over more than fifty years, has earned it a 4.4-star rating from more than 1,400 Google reviews and made it one of the most recognizable addresses on the Key Largo waterfront.

For waterfront homeowners and second-home buyers, the practical appeal is considerable. The market sells the same yellowtail snapper, mahi, grouper, stone crab claws, and Florida spiny lobster that the family's wholesale arm supplies to restaurants, which means a dinner party on a canal-side lanai can begin with fish that came off a boat that morning. And for Key Largo waterfront dining at its most genuine, the Backyard Cafe serves the daily catch on a breezy open-air deck beside the water, a place where neighbors, visiting boaters, and newcomers all find common ground.

Living the Key Largo Lifestyle

For anyone considering a waterfront home in Key Largo, this is the texture of everyday life: a morning run across the reef line, an afternoon pull up to the fish house dock, and stone crab on the porch as the sun goes down. The marina shelters a protected bayside basin where boats of every size come and go, a constant reminder that the water here is not scenery but infrastructure for a way of living. It is the kind of rhythm explored in our guide to canal living in Key Largo and the broader boating and fishing lifestyle of the Upper Keys.

Businesses like this one are why the Key Largo lifestyle feels authentic rather than manufactured. They keep the island grounded in its fishing heritage while serving the people who live here year-round, the second-home owners who visit on weekends, and the travelers fortunate enough to discover them. For anyone exploring deep-water canal properties, having a trusted seafood market and marina within minutes of home is one of those quiet advantages that make the Keys unlike any other waterfront market. Discover more places to gather in our guide to Upper Keys waterfront dining and explore luxury waterfront living in Key Largo.

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Steve Conley, Principal of Conley Sales Group at COMPASS

Steve Conley

Principal, Conley Sales Group at COMPASS. Licensed Sales Associate, Contractor, and Home Inspector. Over 30 years and $1.4 billion in career sales serving the Florida Keys.

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Sunset over open water in the Florida Keys

Explore Luxury Living in the Florida Keys with Steve Conley

The Florida Keys lifestyle is about more than finding the right property. It is about finding the community, waterfront access, local experiences, and way of life that fit you.

Whether you are searching for a luxury waterfront home, considering a second home, selling a distinctive Florida Keys property, or exploring which island community is right for you, I am here to help. As a local Compass REALTOR, I provide luxury real estate guidance, neighborhood expertise, and local market insight throughout the Florida Keys.