Lorelei Restaurant at sunset. It’s built over the water, and the views were breathtaking! The food is reasonably priced and delicious–especially their coconut shrimp and their key lime pie with mango sauce! How many times have you eaten in a restaurant overlooking a parking lot?! Not here! Nearly every table is open air, and the views are picturesque. The ambiance was romantic, and the live music was fun. Check it out. Try it at sunset for a special treat.
The restaurant feeds over 1,500 people throughout a busy day, with live music every night, a massive marina home to hundreds of boats and 33 fishing guides, and an ideal view of the sunset. But most importantly, Lorelei possesses a vibe all its own––a fun-loving fellowship shared by its staff and guests alike that embodies the spirit of the Florida Keys.
“We have fun here,” said John Maloughey, the restaurant’s general manager. “We get good musicians every night and we offer very affordable prices so people want come back.”
Maloughey knows a thing or two about coming back. The Islamorada native has failed at retirement twice, returning several times to manage the restaurant he’s helped operate since 1989. Lorelei is the place the locals go––along with the tourists, of course––so when Maloughey walks along the west-facing deck, he’s stopped by handshakes, smiles and fishing tales from friends.
His down-to-earth nature is commonplace at the restaurant. He sat down at our table to shoot the breeze with my wife and me, sipping on a lemonade while we enjoyed rum runners from the restaurant’s extensive happy hour cocktail list. The gang at Lorelei does more than its fair share for area kids. Each year, they run a huge youth fishing derby and give away tons of prizes. For a full month before the event, Maloughey feeds the fish at 10am every day to help the kids’ success rate for the 10am fishing event.
For adults, Lorelei’s marina hosts over 50 major fishing tournaments every year, with prizes worth tens of thousands of dollars. The restaurant and its fresh seafood, cheap drinks and picture-perfect view of the sunset have a way of bringing out the kid in everyone. Several tables away from us, a group of eight broke out into a round of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” when the professional musicians took a break. Source: Startribune.com
