The Flaming Buoy Filet Co

I’ve been going here for years and always enjoy myself. The food is perfect and the wait staff is friendly and attentive.

So glad I found this little gem on our first trip to Key West! My wife and I hope to be back many times. The food was over the top in creativity and taste; matched only by the service (Alberto), the quiet ambience, and the charm of co-​owner Fred. My wife had the filet migon cooked exactly to her liking. I had the Caprese Salad, heirloom cherry tomatoes with cherry sized mozzarella balls and a tasty blood orange balsamic vinaigrette. My entrée consisted of a «trio» of Lobster Thermidor, grilled Mahi, and Red Curry Key West «pink» shrimp. We were both so full that, sadly, we had to skip dessert. We ate dinner in three restaurants over our three night stay in Key West. Both of the other restaurants served local seafood, among other fare, and were exquisite. The Flaming Buoy Filet Co.; however, clearly outpaced the other restaurants. Difficult to believe but all true. This restaurant is easily 5-​Star experience on about 3-​Star price. Thanks for a lovely evening, and we wish you all the best until we see you again — and we will!

Fantastic food! We shared the triple entrée of captures salad, marinated shrimp and lobster Mac n cheese and loved it all. The lobster Thermidor was exceptional and my husband loved his scallops with bacon. Accompaniments were excellent too.

This is a gem in Key West. The Food was terrific only surpassed by the service. Mikah was a pleasure. A must for our next trip.

What a gem! A cute place, tucked into a neighborhood of Key West — how refreshing! The food was divine — Lobster Thermidor paired with bacon wrapped scallops («Surf and Surf»). Be sure the try to lobster mac & cheese. At one point, I overheard the owner come out and apologize to a table nearby because their food was taking a little time — class act. Plus, two thumbs up for my waiter, Brian. He was so fun and friendly — it really made the experience top notch. I’ll be back when I am in town again!

We’ve always wanted to try this restaurant. It is situated in a residential neighborhood so parking was a bit of an adventure. This place is pretty compact but you’re not sitting on your neighbor’s lap. We had the appetizer sampler. The mac & cheese was everything people said it was, a great combination of cheeses. They also offered the entrée trio which was a combination of everything I wanted to try on the menu. A decent wine selection and friendly attentive service. We were feeling so satisfied at the end of our meal I forgot to use my restaurant cards and being the cheapskate that I am that’s saying something!

Hands down the best dinner we had while in Key West and we had some pretty amazing meals here. The vibe of this restaurant was perfect — dimly lit, great music and awesome staff. Alberto took care of our table and he was great! Sat down and shared some stories with us which we loved. One of the owners, Scott, came out to talk and shared some laughs with us as well. It really set the tone for our meal. We had the trio appetizer special — lobster Mac & cheese, key west shrimp and caprese salad and they were all fantastic. My husband had the trio entrée special — lobster Thermidor, key west shrimp and Mahi Mahi and he raved about each one. I had been eating a ton of seafood on the trip so I opted for the filet mignon and it was cooked absolutely perfectly. Definitely would come back here over and over. Our only regret was not finding it sooner in our trip as we are headed home tomorrow. This needs to be a stop for everyone while in Key West, you won’t be disappointed!

We went for late dinner at 8:30pm. It’s a small place with friendly service. Food was good overall but didn’t taste fresh. Maybe because of the late dinner but everything tasted like they had been made hours ago.
We ordered an appetizer for two that came with small portions of the lobster mac and cheese, salad, and grilled shrimp. The mac and cheese was rich. It was good but I didn’t find it rave — worthy like other reviews I read. My dinner was seafood marinara. Husband ordered Mahi Mahi. Pasta had shrimp and hogfish. It was good, portion was big. Mahi Mahi was a little bland.
I suggest eating there early rather than late. I would have liked the food better had they not tasted like they have been sitting around.

Had dinner outside. Husband had black bean soup and fried chicken with waffles. I had key west shrimp and lobster Mac and cheese. All dishes were very good. Nice selection of wines (beer and wine only). Service was good. Would return and recommend to others.

What a wonderful evening! We came here on recommendation from Unilocal and TripAdvisor — it did not disappoint. The food was AMAZING, the setting was lovely, and the people so incredibly welcoming (especially our wonderful waitress and one of the co-​owners **reindeer**). If you’re in Key West this is a must. Many thanks, and we’ll be back for more.

This place was so adorable and comfortable. Mikah was our server and she knew her menu well. I am not a fan of lobster but the Lobster Mac & Cheese was to die for. The cheese in it was so yummy and I practically had to fight my man for the last bite. All the food was presented very nicely and nothing was lacking in flavor. We really wanted to lick the plates but felt that would be inappropriate. Can’t wait to come back and please my palate!

Great food and service! Accommodated our large party last second and was the best food we had during our week stay. Delicious!

This place was my family’s favorite dinner restaurant when we visited. Great ambiance and delicious food!
We came with a 6:30 reservation and got seated outside — unfortunately the only tables they had left were 2 smaller circular tables that were pushed together but it was no big deal. Weather was great and noise level was low.
The appetizer we ordered was the top dish of the night — we had a trio with their infamous lobster Mac and cheese (yum!), grilled pink key west shrimp (yum!), and a caprese salad (yum!). I would really recommend ordering this.
We also ordered:
— surf n surf: lobster + bacon wrapped scallions — very generous amount of lobster cooked to yumminess — scallops cooked very well but I wasn’t blown away
— fresh catch (which was hogfish) with banana salsa — cooked very well and flavored well… my sister ate her whole meal
— seafood marinara — great portions of seafood with pasta in their homemade sauce.
My sister and I really enjoyed the side of savory broccoli cake that came with our meals — it was like a veggie cornbread with a hint of spice (cayenne pepper I believe).
Would definitely come back here again when I have the chance to try and taste more dishes.

The lobster Mac n cheese is what everyone describes it to be.
We didn’t have reservation but were seated in less than 10 min at the wine counter. A few moments later, we were offered a table. Staff are nice and accommodating. The food is made with love!
They make a broccoli cake that’s similar to cornbread which accompanies the Red Thai Curry Shrimp. The broccoli cake is yummy and created the perfect pairing.
One more thing — they have 25% discount for military AND teachers!

A group of us were in town for a few days to celebrate a friends birthday. We had the main birthday dinner here. We called ahead and got a table for our group of over 10. The place is located away from the main duval street area, but it is not a far walk.
The place is cute with a nice modern décor. It actually has a bit of a star wars theme. They were able to handle our group which was nice since dining with a group isn’t always easy.
The food was good. Most of the group had the trio special which had three smaller versions of three seafood dishes (lobster, shrimp and mahi mahi). I opted to be one of the few non-​seafood eaters and had the chicken and waffles.
If you are looking for a good place away from duval with something a little different, check it out.

We had given up on finding really great food in Key West when we happened to see the Flaming Bouy on Keys TV. We made a reservation immediately.
It was ½ price wine bottle night — we splurged on a nice white and ordered the shrimp quesadilla to start, the dinner sampler and lobster mac and cheese. Our server, Cameron, was amazing, food was amazing.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

I really want to give this 4 stars because the group I was with really enjoy the food. I am rating this a 3 based on the food I ordered.
Waiter (Brian) was amazing and very helpful. He was attentive to the group throughout the meal.
Unfortunately, I don’t eat seafood and was pumped about the chicken and waffles on the menu. That particular day the fryer was not operational and I had to choose another meal. I was limited to a couple items once I took out the seafood options and the chicken and waffles. I had the cheese coney. Being from Cincinnati I was really disappointed on their take. Don’t be fooled by the size it is a bit filling for a little dog. The whole dish didn’t have a lot of flavor to it.
The caprese was my other meal option, which was just fine. It is also not a complicated dish.
We were there on Thursday and took advantage of their half price bottles.
I would go back again and hopefully check out the chicken and waffles!

I was excited to dine here from all the Unilocal reviews but overall our meal here was just ok. It’s a cute house off the beaten path– nice interior with just a handful of tables.
We split the lobster mac and cheese and bacon wrapped scallops for an appetizer. We weren’t impressed with either. The pasta was fairly bland– nothing special. Then we split the chicken and waffles. The syrup sauce was great but we needed more of it because the chicken and waffles were too dry and overcooked.
I don’t think this place is worth the hype.

This places ranks in my top 10 restaurants in the US… hands down :) What a hidden gem! With the name «Flaming Buoy», what’s not to love?! Tucked away on Packer Street in a not-​as-​busy part of Old Town Key West, this adorable house-​turned-​restaurant is so eclectic & sure to exceed everyone’s expectations. You wouldn’t think it’s a restaurant since it just blends in with everything else in the neighborhood! I called ahead to reserve a table for my mom & me– highly recommended because they only have ~10 tables inside and ~6 on the wrap around porch. We parked in the residential street parking nearby.
The host was super friendly & our server was so precious. The menu wasn’t large but had many seafood & non-​seafood options. Mom was stuck between the chicken & waffles versus the tropical stir fry, and the server said ‘without a doubt, chicken & waffles’. Totally not your average dish, as the waffles were so dense with cheese & spice, and the chicken was some of the best fried chicken tenders ever… and served with mashed sweet potatoes & broccoli. YUM. I ordered the jalapeño BBQ ribs with Szechuan green beans + mac & cheese, served with a cornbread muffin… the green beans were phenomenal & the mac & cheese was soooo good! The portions were very plentiful– such that we didn’t even look at the dessert menu :) They have an extensive wine list along with several bottled craft beers.
This charming little place has stolen my heart, and it might be the sole reason I come back to Key West in the near future :)

On our last night in Key West we were trying to decide between here or Hot Tin Roof but decided because of the funky website here it would be much more suited for our non touristy tastes.
Made a reservation for 7:45 and good thing we did. This place only seats about 30 people and every table was taken.
They have a great special going to half off bottles of wine with 2 entrees purchased so we opted for the Silverado Sangiovese ($ 41.00-normally $ 82) I love a wine bargain!
Our server gave us the low down on the specials and hovered to the point of annoyance until we decided on the wine and appetizer choice. We opted for the appetizer trio ($ 18.00) which included grilled shrimp with a jalapeño cilantro purée, lobster mac & cheese and a caprese salad with cherry tomatoes and little mozzarella balls. The shrimp was the best part, but the rest was quite good as well.
Before our appetizer arrived our every so hovering waitress asked 3 times if we were ready to order dinner so I gave in and ordered (I always wait as I hate it coming out 5 seconds after my last bite of appetizer)
He ordered the three way, Cincinnati chili over spaghetti with cheese, onions, sour cream and oyster crackers. ($ 18.00) Very good ! Perfectly seasoned too. I had the entrée trio ($ 28.00) which was small servings of lobster thermidor, grilled mahi over mashed potatoes with a lime butter sauce, and shrimp in a thai red curry with vegis. The shrimp was the same as on the appetizer so they were delish… the fish was perfectly cooked and the sauce was delicious (I do hate potatoes with fish thoughp0no texture) but the lobster thermidor was awful. Dry, way too many breadcrumbs, just not good at all.
I will say the entrees were perfectly timed. The kitchen is small so a tad slow which allowed us time to finish our apps and have another glass of wine in between courses.
We perused the dessert menu and opted for 2 glasses of the Fladgate port ($ 12.00 a piece) which was very good. Waitress was much more accommodating at the point and brought us samples of an Argentenian white port which I cant recall the name of but god it was good!
All in all a good experience, the people that work there are super nice, the atmosphere is very casual and comfortable, and the food, although some misses, was mostly delicious.
Total bill was $ 138 including the wine discount.