Tony’s Seafood Cafe


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Tony’s Cafe among the best places to eat in Cedar Key

Rated by many as the Best seafood place in Cedar Key, Tony’s was on our list to try out. Located on the corner of the main intersection in downtown Cedar Key (Highway 24 and 2nd street), it is easy to find. There’s a handy municipal parking lot across the street that we use often when we are in town.

Main Street Cedar Key Florida
Cedar Key downtown “Main Street” intersection

They are best known for their World Championship Clam Chowder but they get kudos for other seafood dishes as well. Due to their prime location and good food ratings online, they are quite popular and often crowded; the crowd partially due to the small size of their dining areas. To accommodate more diners there is very little space between tables and some of the tables are quite tiny. We were there in mid-afternoon which shouldn’t have been that crowded and we were lucky to score a tiny table for two in the rear dining room.

Rating Tony’s Seafood Restaurant

Tony's famous Clam Chowder

We ordered a bowl of the famous Clam Chowder, a side salad, hush puppies to snack on, and our favorite brew when in Florida – Yuengling Lager. The Clam Chowder was outstanding, thick and tasty. It was so good we ordered a three pack of their canned Clam Chowder to take home with us. Probably the only downside we see with the Chowder is, upon reading the label on the canned version, the high sodium content. I personally didn’t experience a taste of high salt, but apparently it is there part of the World Class recipe. So for us enjoying the chowder will be a very occasional special treat.

The medium-sized side salad was also outstanding. Several different fresh greens, plus cucumbers, mild onions, sweet pepper, tomatoes, and olives. For its size, one of the best I’ve ever had – just the right mix of ingredients. And unlike the Clam Chowder, comes with a heart-healthy designation.

The hush puppies were large and not overly fried and a generous serving. A nice compliment to chowder and salad.

Tony's Seafood Outdoor Patio
Tony’s attractive outdoor patio
needs to be expanded.

Service was friendly and professional. It was a bit slow getting our order, but they were really busy – jam packed in fact. So be prepared to wait for a table and some delay in service of your main meal. On their website, Tony’s has this advice: “Try to visit us between 11am – 1pm, or 3-4pm to avoid the rush.”

We give Tony’s 4.5 Stars for the excellent food. They need more space so your dining experience isn’t so crowded. But I can see it would be hard to give up their prime location and the building itself has lots of history. You feel like it has been there forever. There is small outdoor patio in the back for outside dining and they need to expand it as there looks to be room in the lot behind it.

Tony's Seafood Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Tony’s Seafood Restaurant Website.

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