February 2007

Rating : 8 out of 10

Tariff : afternoon snack

• 4 drinks
• 4 appetizers
• $53

"Hog's breath is better than no breath at all" is their motto. They've been at this Duval Street location since 1988. You can even take a look at the place on on of three web cams! You'll see a mixed crowd of locals, tourists, bikers, and more. It's safe enough to bring the family, but still somewhat colorful, if you know what I mean! They have a raw bar, indoor and outdoor seating, entertainment, and a gift shop where they sell a wide variety of T-shirts with their famous boar head logo and motto.

Food

We tried the Hog's Breath beer, a fairly ordinary lager that is actually brewed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company in PA. I preferred the Hog-a-ritas, which were large top shelf margaritas served in commemorative plastic cups. The Bahamian Conch Chowder was thick and rich stew with discernable pieces of conch (unlike others we'd tried elsewhere in the Keys). The Conch Fritters come in a basket with two dipping sauces. They are hand rolled and nicely fried, with bits of conch and seasonings in what appears to be a flour or cornmeal batter. My only problem with the ones I tasted was that they had tiny bits of something hard in them (shell?), which was a turn off. Fried Shrooms are juicy little whole mushrooms, breaded and fried and served with a dip. Cheese Stix are just your basic breaded, fried mozzarella sticks, but they're very kid friendly ;-)

Service

Our waitress was pleasant and efficient, but I was almost tempted to leave before I ever got to the table. The hostess on duty that day was downright rude. She was nowhere to be seen as our party and some others wandered in to find tables. Hog's Breath has numerous entrances, a courtyard, a bar, and several seating areas so it's not immediately clear where to wait as it is in a normal restaurant set up. Once we realized that all the tables had signs requiring patrons to find the hostess to be seated, we started to look around for the right spot/person. After a minute or two this girl appears and begins waving her arms, pointing to her sign, and basically deriding us, the customers, for not finding her--service with an attitude!

Hog's Breath Saloon
400 Front Street
(Front & Duval)
Key West, FL
305-292-2032