Until this dinner, we haven’t been overly impressed with the food in Key West.  I think Michael and I both came down with the expectation of finding lots of restaurants with fabulous food.  We have eaten good food here but we have spent a fair amount of money in some places and didn’t think the quality of the food justified the high price.  Santiago’s Bodega, a tapas style restaurant, exceeded all our expectations and can be rated a solid 10.

Santiago’s Bodega is off the main drag, on Petronia Street, just past Mr. Chapman’s house.  We had reservations for 9:30 PM because we were dining after our full moon sunset cruise.  The restaurant was still hopping.  As we were shown to our table, I could see great meals being delivered left and right.  We had a lovely table in the corner so it was quite intimate and we could still see the bustle of the rest of the restaurant.  Michael ordered a lovely bottle of wine and it was fairly priced for a change.  Wine in Key West restaurants generally is very expensive.  I know you will always pay more but often it’s 4 times what you could buy on your own which means you are paying $80 for a $20 bottle of wine!

Alan, our server, was personable and guided us through the extensive menu. We decide on 6 dishes to share – Beef Tenderloin, mini rack of Lamb (encrusted with mustard, thyme and pecans), Shrimp and Chorizo, Spanakopita (Spinach, Feta and onion in Phyllo), a Scallop special and beef short ribs with a cherry hoisin glaze.  EVERYTHING was wonderful and we had a hard time deciding what we liked best. Michael voted for the short ribs, I honestly couldn’t decide, I could just narrow it down to 4 items. I love that problem.  Lighting in the restaurant was fairly dark so Michael was not able to snap any pictures of the food but, believe me, the plates looked as good as they tasted.

I’d love to go back to this restaurant again before we leave and the big question will be – should we try the other mouth watering items on the menu or enjoy the great dished we have already tasted?  We’ll have to see ……  I’m sure the short ribs at least, as we both loved them.