101691 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo, FL 33037

Key Largo, an island right off the coast of Florida, is home to not just simply beaches and palm trees, but is also home to a wide variety of cultured, hearty recipes. On my family’s vacation along the Florida Keys, one of our stops happened to be Hobo’s Cafe. Despite the disheartening name, Hobo’s Cafe is a lovely local spectacle conquering the vast tropics of the southern East Coast. Full of a variety of oceanic plates and diversity, it is perfect for seafood lovers of any kind.

It caught me off guard to read that all of the seafood that is served is fresh. Fresh, and the fish are caught around the Florida peninsula and islands. Whether the dish is fried, blackened, deep fried, or grilled, the main course is guaranteed to be as fresh and can be, never have to seen a freezer. Now, there are many places that claim to serve fresh food, but not all deliver to that account. Hobo’s Cafe delivers to that standard. Their website offers clear insight on the food that they serve and the origins of their menu items, and all of the marine organisms are caught in the wild and served with never meeting a freezer.

It was a rather bright day when we all walked in. Realizing that an outdoor option was available, inside a vat of greenery and stone decor, it was sad to hear that we would have to wait a long time for that to be available. It was nice to see that the inside was just as pretty. The wooden interior with blue colored walls surrounds the eater in an ocean like complex. The rainbow multi-color scheme for the fish framed over the windows brightens up in contrast with the cerulean and teal walls. My favorite painting is one with a man in a boat whale watching, and its a pretty incredible sight. It matches well with the boat oars, as the umber tables, chairs, and window borders mimic each other win color. If you get bored, there is a TV screen of sports and one of news above the bar, as well as an ocean documentary across from it.

From the delighted smile of the young waitress, I got a great sense that the food was going to be terrific. Of course, I am that pesky customer that has to ask if the seafood is fresh, and she was very helpful to inform me that all is that way, and even where specifically the fish came from. I would be a fool to then not order seafood. Only available on the lunch menu, I chose the Ahi Tuna Wrap with a seaweed salad, wasabi dressing with teriyaki sauce on the side, as well as a nice appetizer of waffle fries. The yellow fin tuna is caught with a hook and line in Key Largo, ensuring a refined and tasteful bite.

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I have made Ahi Tuna steaks at home, but this was the real deal. The margin between frozen and fresh fish is like Gigli and The Godfather — it’s on such a different level that there can be no comparison. The tuna cooked rare allows for the meaty, unagi texture to seep into the taste buds. I did not want to swallow it; the taste was so addicting that any second it left, I craved to have more. The seaweed salad was refreshing, and its salty and fibery texture complimented the meaty and soft tuna, exposing the cultural roots of a hinted Asian cuisine. The added wasabi dressing spiced up the dish, and dipped in the sweet teriyaki sauce orchestrated a symphony in my mouth. The waffle fries, yet absolutely perfect in crunch, were hardly even considered, as most of my attention was toward the tuna.

The meal was one of the best I have ever had, a perfect score in my book. All of the meals that day were fantastic to everyone’s standard. It was great to finally have a chance to taste purely fresh and locally caught seafood, and the difference between that and what I get back in the Saratoga region in New York is astonishing. Hobo’s cafe is a local spot, hidden from tourists, but holds the cultural significance of the people in the island of Key Largo. I highly recommend this restaurant over anyplace else in Key Largo, not just from my opinion, but also from the island residents.

Price: $$

Service: 9/10

Setting: 8/10

Food: 9/10