In literature, you are never to judge a book by its cover. In Key West you are never to judge a restaurant by its looks.
Pepe's Cafe and Steak House is one of these restaurants.
Located away from the rowdiness of Duval Street, Pepe's is a favorite of many of the locals.
As you step through the door, don't let the painting of the nude woman above the fireplace cause you to head back out the door, as it did my wife the first time she looked inside. We returned after a local told us Pepe's was an especially great place for breakfast.
But that was going to take some doing, especially after we had eaten some fantastic breakfasts at Camille's on Duval Street. On our last morning in town we
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In literature, you are never to judge a book by its cover. In Key West you are never to judge a restaurant by its looks.
Pepe's Cafe and Steak House is one of these restaurants.
Located away from the rowdiness of Duval Street, Pepe's is a favorite of many of the locals.
As you step through the door, don't let the painting of the nude woman above the fireplace cause you to head back out the door, as it did my wife the first time she looked inside. We returned after a local told us Pepe's was an especially great place for breakfast.
But that was going to take some doing, especially after we had eaten some fantastic breakfasts at Camille's on Duval Street. On our last morning in town we walked the short distance from our bed and breakfast to Pepe's, where we were greeted by a waitress who told us to get a drink at the bar and she would call us when a table came open.
I noticed as we walked through the restaurant that every table and booth was taken, as were the tables on the outside patio area. Although it was barely 9 a.m., some patrons were already imbibing on their favorite morning spirits, but the bartender was more than happy to pour us a steaming cup of coffee. A short time later we were shown to a booth in the main inside dining area and given a menu to study while the waitress went to get some coffee to refill our cups.
While the menu offers a large assortment of breakfast items, including a build your own omelet with a choice of cheeses, meats and veggies, we opted for the day's special - a shrimp omelet.
Reading the history of Pepe's on the menu, I found it has been in business since 1909 and bills itself as "A Fairly Good Place for Quite a Long While."
I also found that Pepe's also serves lunch and dinner and a special barbecue dinner on Sunday's.
It is also well known for its oysters, and hosts an annual shucking contest in May. While waiting for our order, we overheard a waitress tell a customer, "We're not a fast food restaurant," when he asked about his order.
Even if it takes a little extra time, the wait is well worth it - especially if you ordered the shrimp omelet. I had also asked for an order of grits on the side and was quite surprised at the size of the bowl when the waitress brought it out.
The shrimp omelete consisted of jack cheese, fresh asparagus, red bell pepper, portabello mushrooms, onions and six jumbo shrimp and was absolutely delicious.
Our only regret was that we were leaving and could not come back for lunch and dinner. But there is always another time.
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