Square Grouper Bar & Grill

Ate lunch there today with friends, the snapper was amazing and the guys loved the meatloaf. I also ate dinner there, had an amazing summer salad and my husband had a burger. Both great. We also watched a waiter return monies to a customer who had dropped a roll of cash under the table. Good food +good ethics =5 star rating

Excellent craft beer selection. Very cool atmosphere. Had a top 5 best ribeye steak there recently. Prepare for a wait but you can hang out upstairs at the «my new joint».

Spend some vacation time in the Keys and dined here one evening. Really enjoyed the food and the service, and the décor. Staff was friendly and efficient. I’m from the midwest, where we obviously lack fresh seafood for the most part, and this place delivered the goods in that department. The smoked mahi dip was great, as were the shrimp cakes. Depending on where you’re staying in the keys, your dining options could be limited, but this place will treat you right.

My girlfriend and I spent a night down in the Keys, and decided to check this place out. It was a great decision. We had a short wait, but they have a waiting area that is like a living room where you can order drinks and apps. We had some yellowfin tuna and avocado egg rolls and baked goat cheese as apps. The eggs rolls were different, but worth a try. The goat cheese dish was nice mix of sweet and savory. The main dishes, however, are where it is really at. My girlfriend had the jasmine rice bowl with shrimp which she enjoyed. I had the toasted almond encrusted grouper. It was absolutely fantastic, and quite a large portion. I would rate this as one of the best fish dishes I have ever had, and I come form coastal New England. Well done Square Grouper, well done.

We are in the Keys often & we’re thrilled they began opening for lunch! The menu is varied & all meals are served fresh in addition to the daily specials. I’ve never had a bad meal or so-​so meal. Always great! The small plates are delicious… Stuffed tater tots?!! A must have.
I’m not a big dessert eater but their salted Carmel ice cream is heaven. Bartenders will remember you & your glass will be cold and full. The perfect spot!

Best meal yet in the Keys! We started with edamame (perfectly seasoned) & buffalo shrimp (my taste buds were so happy)…kicking mule cocktail, spicy with a sugar cane stick… main courses were truly mouthwatering, fresh grouper tacos, my girl and I shared the house smoked chicken with nectarine & plum aoili flatbread (OMG!), my teenage son even ordered a salad (summer salad with strawberries and marcona almonds), great choice! And I got thirsty along the way and tried the truth serum cocktail (refreshing on a hot humid day)…Happy happy happy experience. Our server was about the sweetest girl on the planet which topped off the experience… nabbed a bumper sticker on the way out just for fun… thank you Square Grouper for a truly enjoyable experience!!!

Simple clean grouper sandwich. Very very good!
Plan to come back next year and enjoy another grouper sandwich.
The restaurant was very well-​managed. And very clean.

Square Grouper was recommended to us by friends who have come here regularly for years. The food here is better than any of the meals I had in Key West and, among the seafood meals I’ve had in the past month, this is the best. The décor is modern-​ish inside and accented by references to the smuggling trade. Outside it looks like any other roadside stop. The service is snappy due to its constant flow of business. We arrived for lunch just before noon on a Wednesday and by the time we finished eating, people were waiting for tables. Be prepared to wait if your meal is primetime.
For FOOD, we ordered grouper with rice, blackened fish tacos, a flash fried conch starter and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. The grouper with rice (recommended) was a hit. The fish is served over rice and has a delicious sauce that is laced with corn. Not something I would think to order but you will be rewarded if you order it.
The conch was also a hit. This is served flash fried and drizzled with wasabi and swimming in a sweet sauce. The tacos were a safe and small order and, while they were good, I would aim for a house specialty (like the grouper a la rice). In the category of «little things» done well, the Cole slaw here is extremely good. Probably the best I’ve had in the recent past.
We stepped into the pineapple upside down cake as both a change of pace and because it’s not something we see often. The cake is yellow and light. The pineapple is fresh, not over-​cooked and soaked in sweetness. One the side is fresh ice cream and whipped cream. It’s plenty big enough to share.
When I return to Key West, I will come here again.

Very good! We had multiple small plates. The buffalo shrimp was fabulous. The tater tots and French fries were great. Tuna was very good. I recommend at lest one key lime martini before dinner!

This is my second time at Square Grouper and once again I was not disappointed. Everything on their menu is delicious…
This is a definite stop on your way to or from Key West!!!

We stop here on our way back from key west. We had a early lunch so not many people were there by the time we left the restaurant was packed. The catch of the day was hogfish which I have been dying to try. We order an stater of the poutine which was great (fries cheese and gravy what could be wrong). I had the hogfish tacos and my husband had the hogfish sandwich everything was amazing the fish was perfect the service was great we will definitely be coming back.

It took us forever to order because we couldn’t decide on what to get. Everything sounded so good, and, according to reviews, is.
Pros
Tuna avocado egg rolls-​fantastic. I ordered this based on other reviews. I wouldn’t otherwise have ordered it because it sounds weird to me, like the avocado would be gross in it. Au contraire, it ended up being one of the most delicious things I have ever had.
Spaghetti squash with goat cheese and seared scallops-​best meal I’ve ever had. I’m not normally a fan of spaghetti squash but I saw someone eating this and it looked and smelled so good. Zero regrets.
Shrimp cakes with wild rice-​best meal my sister has ever had. I liked it, but I liked the spaghetti squash better.
The bread-​pretzel rolls and dried cranberry rolls served warm with butter that’s not too cold to spread whattt amazing.
Key lime martinis-​made with gin-​delish.
Cons
We were told there would be a 30 minute wait so we went to the bar. I got a text message after sitting down saying that we could go upstairs for drinks and apps. Why couldn’t the hostess tell us this??? It was too late by then, we’d already ordered drinks. We also asked about the live music upstairs and neither the hostess nor the waitress could tell us. I’m under the impression that they’re the same place, I guess the communication isn’t the greatest. This is the reason for the 1 star deduction.
If I lived close and could afford it, I’d eat here every night.

i loved it. I had the seared tuna with miso reduction and it’s one of the best things I have ever had. Every single dish I saw coming out of the kitchen looked delicious and the waitress was super nice.

The best!
My boyfriend Nick and I usually try and go down to Sugarloaf Key two or three times a year since his uncle Larry and Aunt Janie come for three months after the New Year every year.
This is definitely by far one of the best restaurants in the Florida Keys. It has a funny story behind it and they also have a new bar upstairs called «My Other Joint» which I still would like to try. It’s always pretty packed and I’m not sure if they accept reservations. Everything on their menu is delicious and they have gluten free items as well which makes me happy.
The grouper stew is a MUST get — especially your first time going. We usually try and order extra to go, so that way we have even more! They only serve it for dinner though just an FYI. The sesame encrusted Tuna Loin is sooooo good as well, comes with a really nice Asian slaw — very light and delicious. Dumplings are fantastic for an appetizer, and so it the burrata salad. I think minus the grouper stew the next best dish is the spaghetti squash with goat cheese. I usually get it with scallops and it is simply to die for.
Even if you are passing by to get to Key West — it is worth stopping for. This place is fantastic, I wish they were up here in Boca Raton. Can’t wait to get back there sometime in March.

We were told about this place by a local and we decided to give it a try. The Unilocal reviews were great, so that helped.
When we got there around noon time on a Monday afternoon, the dining room was full (20 min wait), so we sat at the bar with a bunch of other people. The waitress/​bartender was nice, smiley and efficient ! She was so nice.
I ordered a Square grouper sandwich and my BF got a cheeseburger. Mine was nice, flaky and well done. The chips were homemade. The cheeseburger was a bit dry (My BF ordered medium and it was more like well done… a bit dry). The fries were nice and crispy.
Great selection of fresh fish, land critter and desserts. A great spot near MM 24.

We did take out at Square Grouper tonight. The food is amazing. I ordered the Grouper. It is the best grouper I have ever gotten. The only complaint is I ordered conch chowder and received conch strips. I didn’t even see that on the menu. I liked at the receipt and all it said on the receipt was conch. Would have gotten the 4^th star if my
Order was correct.

Came down to the Sea Base to teach training course. Square Grouper was a mile away and looked pretty cool from the outside.
First night, friend and I hung out at the bar in first floor. Great and cute women behind the bar. Extremely funny and was a nice night. Just ordered a few drinks.
The following night we came back with more friends to the upside called the SQ GR2. The place looked so new, clean, cosy, and really cool. We just ordered snacks and drinks. I ordered this pretzel with Jalapeño cheese dip. WOW, it was soooo good.
Service for both nights were great.

I give them 5 stars for the appetizers and vibe (cool little place — both upstairs and down). Upstairs, we had the buffalo chicken lolly pops and peppers; downstairs, fish dip, lobster dip special and conch — all pretty tasty. The entrees and service was where it fell to a 4 for me. First, we got the almond grouper. They put a herb in it that was off putting (we think it was thyme– it ruined the whole dish). Second, the server was not attentive. He was very knowledgable and absolutely loved his job, but he was too slow and after waiting an hour for dinner, we needed him to move a little faster. Overall, I’d go here again but I may just stick with small bites in their upper bar.

This place is delicious. The high ratings in Unilocal live up to all the hype. Even though I didn’t get a seafood dish, we did try the flash fried conch which was terrific. The dish wasn’t oily it heavy. Perfect for sharing as a kickoff to the meal.
I was surprised that the daily blue plate special came with a beer all for only $ 10. Almost unheard of in today’s restaurant pricing. What’s surprising is that even though they’re known for seafood, they can also do non-​seafood well as evidenced by my meatloaf and mashed potatoes plate. It comes with a cranberry and raisin roll which complimented the salty/​savory taste of the meatloaf.

Das Square Grouper ist schon lange kein Geheimtipp mehr. Hier kommen Einheimische, wie auch Touristen sehr gerne hin. Zum Abend ist regelmäßig mit Wartezeit zu rechnen, die kann man aber gut an der Bar oder im hinteren Bereich, einer Art Lounge verbringen.
Das Seafood zeichnet sich durch hervorragende Qualität aus. Sehr zu empfehlen sind die Coconut Shrimps, die auf der Karte unter small plates zu finde sind. Auch wenn der Restaurantbereich der Einrichtung nicht mit den gehobenen Ansprüchen der Gerichte mitkommt, kann man den Square Grouper jedem Besucher empfehlen.

This was my second visit to this absolutely perfect restaurant. If you read any negative reviews they certainly don’t speak about the food. The flavors are amazing staff was incredible and overall the experience is hard to match.
Our family is vegetarian and we can easily eat at this seafood heaven without any issue. Many options, excellent appetizers, delicious bread, salad, and pasta dishes. This restaurant is deserving of a solid five star review which I am honored to write. If you decide to skip this restaurant, you will definitely miss out on a great dining experience. I look forward to eating there again soon!
Stop reading this and head over there right now because you’re likely have to wait. Yep, popularity has its drawbacks. They do have a great back waiting room if you’d rather sit on a comfy couch and enjoy a cocktail before dinner, or you can wait outside and take in a famous Florida Keys sunset. Enjoy!