The Square Grouper Bar and Grill Review

A Late Dinner

After a long drive, we arrived at our cottage in Cudjoe Key. With our late lunch, we decided we would have a late dinner as well. The Square Grouper Bar and Grill was just down the road and had good reviews.

When I called the restaurant, I learned they do not take reservations. I looked online to find they have a waitlist you can join instead of waiting at the restaurant. At the time, the wait was about half an hour. When we were ready for dinner, it had grown to an hour and a half. We were not comfortable with eating in a crowded restaurant, so we decided to get takeout instead.

No one answered the phone when we attempted to call in our order. We figured it was because the restaurant was so busy, which only confirmed our desire to order our food to go. We went to the restaurant, and the parking lot was packed. We finally found a space in the field next door, which they were using for overflow parking. The friendly hostess confirmed our suspicions about why they had not answered the phone when she took our order.

Amazing Food

Thirty minutes later, we were back at our cottage with a gorgeous dinner. We weren’t starving, so we both decided to eat light. We decided to give conch another shot and were happy we did. The Flash Fried Conch with wasabi and ponzu was spectacular. Fried crispy with a tender interior, the conch was not at all rubbery, and a tremendous improvement over what we experienced at lunch. The ponzu and wasabi made a lovely dipping sauce.

For our main course, we each ordered a salad. The Spinach Salad Chris picked was substantial, with hard-boiled egg, bacon, grape tomatoes, fried onions, and blue cheese crumbles. The sherry mustard vinaigrette was tasty. He added seared scallops to the salad. The perfectly cooked large scallops were delectable. Chris put a few pieces of the conch on his salad as well, which he enjoyed.

I had the Cranberry Walnut Salad, a scrumptious concoction of greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, and goat cheese with a fantastic raspberry walnut vinaigrette. It was a great combination of ingredients. The cranberries added a nice tart pop of flavor, and I enjoyed the creaminess of the goat cheese paired with the slight sweetness of the dressing.

Instead of a protein on my salad, I ordered a side of Smoked Gouda & Bacon Mac & Cheese. I loved the smokiness of the creamy cheese with the crunchy bacon pieces. It was a delicious macaroni & cheese.

Even with ordering light, we couldn’t finish our dinner, which also came with two tiny loaves of bread. We were ok with that, eating it the next day for a snack. We will eat at The Square Grouper Bar and Grill again if we find ourselves back in the Keys.

Cost for one appetizer, two salads, one with protein, a side, and an extra sauce $61.28.