Deuce’s Off The Hook Grill, Key West

Clams scampi at Off the Hook
Clams scampi at Off the Hook

Deuce’s Off the Hook is a newcomer on the Key West dining scene and is already making a big splash. Housed in a tiny space on Simonton Street, Off the Hook seats a mere 22 people, 16 at tables and another half dozen at the bar. Although we had ordered food for delivery a few times, this week was the first time we managed to get over there for dinner, and it won’t be the last.

The menu is a bit all of over the place, with things like chicken wings (and a choice of several sauces) and a couple different burgers (including a

Not so crispy, but still good, golden tile fish.
Not so crispy, but still good, golden tile fish.

delicious French onion option). But there are a number of fresh seafood and fish choices as well. Perhaps one of the most remarkable things is that everything is homemade, including the salad dressings.

The tuna poke, made with cucumber, avocado and macadamia nuts in a soy glaze, is fresh and flavorful. If I wasn’t trying desperately to avoid soy, I would eat it all the time. The menu has a load of delicious sounding choices (gnocchi lobster mac and cheese, fresh grouper and a steak, which the person next to us was eating and it looked quite good). But the special board is the home of even more fresh seafood choices. Try the clams in a scampi broth (yum!) or shrimp, or any of the fresh fish choices.

For our main courses, FKGuy had the sesame seared ahi tuna, served over avocado with wasabi mashed potatoes that are more delicious than they sound, and ponzu sauce. The tuna was served rare and was delicious. Really, they seem to do magical things here with a standard piece of tuna.

Seared, delicious tuna.
Seared, delicious tuna.

I ordered a special, the “crispy golden tile fish with a sweet shallot white wine sauce“. With that build up, I expected a golden fried piece of fish. Instead, I got a pan fried piece of fish, which was probably a bit better for me, but certainly not what I envisioned. The sauce was pretty nondescript. Ont he good side, the fish was perfectly cooked, and one of my side dishes was sweet potato tater tots. While it was not the best dish I have had, it was good (I gave it a 7.5 out of 10), and I will be back sampling more of the menu.

As of now, they are without a liquor license, so you can BYO. Once they get the license, in the next couple of weeks, they will still allow corkage at a to-be-determined price. Meanwhile, there are 6 tables, so you should certainly make a reservation. Off the Hook is located at 728 Simonton Street, and is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.