Marina Jack Restaurants
The Three Marina Restaurants
Approaching by water to the fuel docks you can see the Marina Jack building with its three restaurants. Each has its own bar and table seating, and each has a different menu.
The Marina Jack Dining Room is upstairs (there’s an elevator) and dishes start at $30. The table service is “perfect” we’re told, as are the views out the tall windows. Dinner is 5:00 – 9:00 daily. Lunch, 11:00am – 2:00pm daily, offers salads ($14–$19), soup ($6/9), sandwiches ($17–$26 for Grouper), and panini sandwiches and sizzling fajitas ($20–$24). Look here for their current menus.
The intimate private bar upstairs has no view, and is usually empty. You can sit and chat with the busy bartenders serving the restaurant. They appreciate the company (and tips) and will make you their best exotic drinks, and you can snack on appetizers. Ask for an Old Fashioned made with Papa’s Pilar
rum and dirty cherries.
For the rest of us, dine below at the lively outdoor Blue Sunshine Patio and Grill. It’s reasonably priced but gets loud with live music six evenings a week, except Monday.
Finally, there’s my favorite bar/restaurant, the Deep Six Lounge and Piano Bar. It’s indoors with a slightly
more expensive (but more varied) menu than the Patio Grill. But, it’s way less expensive than the upstairs Dining Room.
Listen to Rock Lee at the piano at 5:00 PM nightly (except for Mondays) at the Deep Six Lounge, where he’s played for 30+ years. He’s good friends with us marina folks, and you’ll find “locals” sitting around his piano chatting. Find out what it’s like to live in a marina, just ask us.
TIP: Ask Rock what he is drinking. He’s an expert on good whiskeys, and he introduced this writer to an Old Fashioned made with Papa’s Pilar rum, which is distilled in Key West under license to Ernest Hemingway’s (Papa) family trust.
Listen to Rock Lee at the piano at 5:00 PM nightly (except for Mondays) at the Deep Six Lounge, where he’s played for 30+ years. He’s good friends with us marina folks, and you’ll find “locals” sitting around his piano chatting. Find out what it’s like to live in a marina, just ask us.
TIP: Ask Rock what he is drinking. He’s an expert on good whiskeys, and he introduced this writer to an Old Fashioned made with Papa’s Pilar rum, which is distilled in Key West under license to Ernest Hemingway’s (Papa) family trust.
The Pilar was Hemingway’s famous fishing boat, now located in Cuba.
You can park anywhere free up to four hours except for any spots with traffic cones which indicate valet parking only.
It’s a short walk anywhere.
Come early for lunch or dinner and can find a spot right on the main pier, just feet from the restaurants and docks. Our Honda Fit maneuvers easily among the Rolls Royces, electric BMWs, Ferraris, etc. you’ll see on the quay. Who knew Bentley made an SUV?
The Tiki Bar in Bayside Park
We can’t forget about O’Leary’s Tiki Bar which is considered part of Marina Jack, but it is located about
I’ve scootered from my boat down the esplanade to the tiki bar many times for lunch or sunset drinks, and they also serve a hearty breakfast with indoor counter and table service available. You’ll meet people from everywhere,
so relax and chill out a bit.
Marina Jack Dinner Cruise
Then, there’s the Dinner Cruise aboard the Marina Jack II, which offers either a sunset 3-course dinner cruise buffet for $81 for adults and $53 for children (as of 01/2025) which includes the tip. Consider the 1.5 hour narrated sightseeing lunch-time buffet ($57 and $40). The upper deck can be reserved for private functions, like a wedding.
LeBarge Tropical Cruise
A little (OK, a lot) less classy it the LeBarge Tropical Cruise docked right in Marina Jack near the Bay Front Park.
Photo from LeBarge website
The sunset cruise features Jimmy Buffett-style live music. Of course they have a full bar and snack menu. We’ve watched and waived to the happy people onboard as they cruise by our boat for years.
Unless otherwise noted, the above images are from the Marina Jack website or its associated businesses.
Unless otherwise noted, the above images are from the Marina Jack website or its associated businesses.
