Keylime Bistro Boca Grande & The Loose Caboose Ice Cream Shoppe

Visited here during our stay at the Gasparilla Inn and Club.. Friendly and Fun staff, great food and selection of drinks, Relaxing and peaceful atmosphere.. I believe the best place in town to drink and enjoy the moment outside hotel facilities.

The grouper sandwich must be locally sourced because I could have gone out and caught the fish, cleaned it, cooked it, and put it on a bun as quickly as I got mine here. And the piece of fish was tiny. And the cole slaw had an off taste. Possibly going bad.

Was visiting from Sarasota FL. Noticed the “Loose Caboose” is now Key Lime Bistro. We were met by a smiling and pleasant server named Brittany! The service was friendly with a lot of great info about the menu. The food was excellent and the crafted tropical drinks were outstanding. Loved it so much we went back the next day for breakfast. Highly recommend breakfast as well. The prices were fair and very reasonable. It was one of our favorite stops during the trip!! A “must try” on a try to Boca Grande!!

Key Lime Bistro is a great place for their service and atmosphere. Our waitress was attentive, professional, cordial, and polite. Their prices were reasonable. I was not fully happy with their fried grouper. Very little fish with too much breading and salty seasoning. When I did get a thicker piece of fish it was great with their dipping sauce but still overpowered by saltiness. Their fries were excellent and their award winning Key Lime Pie was amazing. I would definitely stop by again to try something else on their menu.

Great lunch place in downtown Boca Grande. An old train station turned into a restaurant, if you look closely you can even see the old train tracks outside. We got their signature fried grouper fingers that came with fries and fruit salad, which tasted amazing. Calamari was also delicious. There was even live music when we arrived and the staff was very friendly. Service could have been faster but overall good experience. Would highly recommend it.

Such a cool place with history. Was the old train station. Our waitress was fantastic, and knowledgeable of the history surrounding the train station.

Keylime Bistro Boca Grande is the perfect spot for brunch in downtown. The service was excellent and our food was good. I look forward to visiting again, thanks Keylime!

Lunch stop in Boca Grande so stopped fpr afternoon brunch at Keylime. Food was great with a big shout out for the service. Waitress was efficient and speedy. Patio was a wonderful site to have an enjoyable outside meal.

Brittany did an amazing job - Although the grouper was a tad bit salty- the salad was very big - took home for later - key lime reminded me a lot like cheesecake * thanks again

Our second time eating here and we enjoyed a quick lunch at the Keylime Bistro, at the end of August, on our way to the nearby beaches. It was a hot and muggy day so we sat outside enjoying the small breeze while under market umbrellas. Our food was pretty average. Certainly not as good as the location. He ordered the BLT at $12 and it came loaded with crispy bacon but was missing tomatoes. Maybe they were out or maybe they forgot to add them? I ordered the spinach salad with grilled red peppers at $9.00 but I could tell the peppers came out of a jar. All in all, we would go back again for the ambiance and location. Their prices were more than reasonable.

My friend wanted to go to Boca grande to look around and since I've never been here, I found a place to eat. This location was very clean. Odd that the bathroom is outside and around the corner but that's beside the point. The service was phenomenal was very helpful in us choosing what we were going to order. If I had one complaint it would be that his reference for size for the nachos was estimated. These nachos were huge for an appetizer for two people and we ordered small. I got the fish sandwich, which was absolutely delicious and my friend got a chicken club, which was also very good. According to him I would gladly come back here and eat again.

Nice outdoor seating area under umbrellas. Started off with a key lime margarita so delicious! I had the grouper basket it was just okay, my partner had the BLT fries are sold separately. I would say the food was average. Our server Brittney was amazing, friendly and cheerful offering excellent service. The restroom was dirty, smelly and honestly would not return just cause the restrooms were so bad, the main reason for the lower stars

Good food, Great atmosphere. I miss the music. Bring it back if possible:) Servers are attentive and nice!

I went to this Bistro two days in a row and the service the first day was unmatched! The second day we got soggy food, half melted cheese (for a grilled cheese) and the other plate just didn't taste the same. The difference was the staff... the first day our waiter was very polite and informative, she was right on the money! The second day we had a different waiter and the cook was also different and it showed. The service was terrible and the cook didn't make matters any better!!! Our food waited under the warmer for a while about 10min (hence the soggy bread) but it failed to melt the grill cheese... When you have staff that doesn't care about their work it makes the experience worst. Unsure if I would go back or not but we'll leave it to chance.

One of the few places we could find open on the island for dinner and they had plenty of outdoor seating with live music. We were greeted instantly and told to pick any table we wanted. There were probably only 5 other tables occupied so the service was fine since it was open. The dishes were honestly better than we expected. The salad was very basic but I really enjoyed my fish with veggies and rice. The veggies were over salted but not a huge deal. The fish was cooked nicely and the fruit salad on top was delicious. Overall, nothing special but better than we expected.

Nice place to grab a bite. We hit the beach early and after catching some rays on the sand we decided to go and do brunch or breakfast as it was. Breakfast served between 8am - 2pm, and lunch begins at 11am. I didn't get past the lunch menu as we ordered some drinks, 10:30am aaah who's judging. Food came out in no time and it was hot and tasty. Place is dog friendly as most of Gasparilla island is. Would definitely come back for lunch.

Absolutely amazing breakfast!! Had the key lime Benedict! Mimosas and bacon! And check out this key lime pie?

Great food and good service, the food took a lil longer but it's okay because they were somewhat busy during the time I was there. I ate the grouper sandwich and the key lime aioli was 10/10 amazing!! It's a bit higher priced but comparable to the other places nearby. Would definitely go back.

35 minutes to get a cocktail! Food came first. First question we asked was for the cocktail menu. The waitress told us they were in the back looking for someone's dentures. This is a 2 rating because the fish taco's were pretty good. Kudos to the chef. Worst waitress I've ever had. Proceed with caution! Now I know why we never dined here before!

While it's a quaint outdoor dining setting there were a couple of things that were not great. The first issue was the bathrooms. The Keylime is one of many businesses (shops and others) sharing a single use men's and single use ladies room. The bathrooms were disgusting! Toilet in men's room was filthy, there was no soap, just an overall gross vibe - the kind of place you don't want to do your business. My wife had the same experience with the ladies room. So, setting aside that horror, the rest of our experience was ok. The servers were clearly super busy and it seemed that they might have been short staffed. Our server did a good job, but little things like having our food come out and not having forks, napkins, etc. was a little inconvenient although he did get us what we needed reasonably quickly. Now, on to the food. It was really tasty. I had their burger and it was cooked just as I had asked (medium well) and very flavorful. My wife had their crab cakes and she enjoyed them as well although they came out 2 crab cakes on one long ciabatta. A little odd but she did enjoy it, although her cutting the bun/roll in half with a plastic fork was fun to watch! There aren't many things as inexcusable as a filthy bathroom and during peak meal hours I think they are busier than the staff can readily handle, but the food was very good and the servers were doing their best to keep up.

Nice place to eat outside. Nice music outside. Friendly staff. As a plant based person, one of the salads was enough for me. The bread for the ahi tuna sandwich was very good. Reasonable and glad it was open at 3:00 on a Sunday as we were just passing by. Large bowl of soup- didn't expect that. But my boyfriend said not much lobster in it.

For starters, I am rating the beverages, food, ambiance, and service. Beverages: Nice selection of draft beers, had a blueprint toasted Lager, which was fresh and delicious. My family enjoyed their watermelon margaritas which were excellent. Food: I had the grouper sandwich and had the grouper grilled. It was huge, easily enough to split between two. There were fried options for grouper as well both came their own aioli sauce, very yummy. The burger was supposed to be medium but came out more well done, but the quality of the ground beef made the burger delicious so it did not impact the flavor. It was juicy and tender. Ambiance: Dog friendly outdoor seating with plenty of shade and our server Kayleigh offered water immediately for our puppy, very cool. The building is what looks like the old rail station converted into a several small commercial properties under one roof. It is also near the beach. This may account for the restrooms being in a disarray. (Hard to knock the restaurant for dirty restrooms when they are shared or even invaded by beach goers.) Service: As mentioned above Kayleigh was attentive professional and accommodating. I commend the management for hiring talent like hers, as she took our order and served us, she engaged in lovely conversation, offering us insights to Boca Grande all the while assisting several other tables. Amazing youthful dedication and work ethic rarely seen!

Excellent bartender, Brittany. Good food, great drinks and an amazing key lime pie.

Absolutely horrible Go back to the loose caboose menu !!!! PLEASE BREAKFAST quiche- hard as a rock was not fresh ... and sooo tiny!! For the price

The restaurant before new ownership was great. Came a year ago and had to wait 45minutes to pay the bill after finishing food. Had to go up to the counter twice to ask to pay. Tried again today and service was still slow even thought the place was half empty. Burger was under cooked. Cesar was the equivalent of hospital food. Fries were average at best. Ambiance is fine

Awful...we love Key Lime Bistro on Captiva Island and drove from Fort Myers (1 hour drive) expecting the same great food, service and pie. What a HUGE disappointment on all counts. The food was absolutely horrible, the pie was not the same and they only had one piece that tasted days old! If this restaurant is owned by the Captiva folks, you need to visit. Please reopen on Captiva soon with your good chef and wonderful pie! Chicken Voodoo was not edible due to salt content -- wondering if the cook dumped the bottle in. Other food was ehhh.

The server was excellent and attentive. The drinks were strong and delicious. The food, especially the red snapper taco lunch special were stellar! I highly recommend. I was with a group of 6 and everyone enjoyed their meal & drinks.

I picked this place because my husband is a train fanatic. Unfortunately he wasn't with me, but I went with a friend and we had a fantastic experience. The restaurant is in an old train depot, so the building is architecturally interesting. Of course there is a ton of train memorabilia in the walls to look at. Happy to say that the service and food were equally good. Sue, our server, was delightful: Personable and attentive. My friend ordered the grouper fingers, lightly fried with fries. She said they were fresh and tasty. My Boca Grande wrap was yummy: grouper, black beans, yellow rice , arugula and tarter sauce in a tortilla . It was served with chips which I took home, along with at least half of my wrap because it was so filling, but it reheated well the following day. Desserts sounded delicious but we had no room. They reportedly gave really good ice cream; next time! I will definitely be back with my husband !

Hands down worst dining experience in Florida! Waited for 25 minutes, never brought waters or acknowledged our party of six. The hostess came over after 15 minutes to ask if we had seen the waiter, she said she would check- still nothing. Unacceptable to not even bring waters!

Very nice outdoor seating so you can enjoy the view Indoor seating available too. The menu has a nice menu selection as well as daily specials.

Good burger , except asked for medium and got well done. Hot long French fries, great Funky Monkey IPA and hood service. Would recommend

Ambiance good. Wait staff friendly and efficient. Food was nicely presented and tasty. Key lime pie out of this world!

Get the grouper sandwich, skip the fries, and definitely don't order a drink. Take the sandwich and run. If you order a drink, expect it to be colored water.

We have been long time visitors to this location. For many years when it was the Loose Caboose we would all meet at noontime for conch fritters and margaritas, and grouper sandwich. They were excellent products and service was good. This was our first visit since the hurricane. We viewed a change of ownership and a new name as a good thing. We made our traditional stop after a morning of shopping. To start things off no conch fritters, too bad but hey, that's a product decision that I assume needed to be made. Next the margaritas, tasted like a glass of water with a couple of lemons squeezed in. No discernable taste of tequila or make your taste buds jump for joy mixer. The most flavorful part was the salt. I spoke with the waitress asking if they could have missed the tequila. I remarked that 5 out of 5 margarita drinkers at the table made the same taste observation. The response was a resounding NO with an aboutface and walk away. Amaizing lack of interest in 5 out 6 bad drinks at 1 table. The grouper sandwich, blackened, was awsome. Really good and the only thing raising my rating to a 2

Great location, great music, great service. Food no so good compared to the prior Loose Caboose. The grouper fingers were awful. Burger was a C+ at best. Fries were average. Disappointed the new owners don't pride themselves on the food they serve.

While spending a nice Saturday in Boca Grande we decided on having lunch here. We had a very enjoyable time sitting along the street watching all the people and golf carts scurrying about. Our lunch was very good. My wife had a great BLT and I had the Boca Wrap. We would definitely come back for dinner.

Great food, great service! If you have been awaiting the reopen of the original location and have been debating on coming to this location, debate no more! And Gasparilla Island also has great beach parking and there were plenty of open spots. Highly recommend!

Disgusting food, horrible service. A straight up waste of time and money. It took half an hour to be assigned a server and hour for our food to come out. When it came out I was actually sad. Just go to the grocery store this place is nasty. There was hair in my food and the crab cakes were still frozen in the center!!!!

Great Food, lovely people. The omelette is superb, the coffee is fresh and flavorful. The breakfast potatoes are golden cubes reminiscent of a time gone by. Cool T-shirts for sale as well!

It is clear the owners don't care about service here. I'm guessing they're hoping people just keep coming Bc there's limited options on the island. But, wow, this place is bad. It's seat yourself, which is crazy with how many tables they have. The servers have no idea when or where their tables are. They don't come back for an hour to take order. My husband has been waiting 40 mins to pay, and we've noticed at least 10-15 other people bring their bills up trying to pay them. It may have been better if the food was good. Chicken tenders are supposedly breaded, but it slips right off. It is filled with fatty meat. They also charge close to $20 a plate, which is normal for island food. But served from a freezer and with plastic utensils? That's a ripoff. We couldn't get drink refills.

Ok food is ok and the live music was good. The service, wells that's different story. Horrible!! Workers on their phones and you will have to get up and get your own refills or additional drinks. So disappointing.

Quite possibly the worst plate of nachos that I have ever had Chips were soggy. Cheese was out of a jar Served cold. Hope other foods are not this bad Music was very good. Service ok Would not give a good review.

Did take out for four entrees and salads. All very good. A little pricy but most on island are high Would recommend! Grouper picatta and shrimp Scampi. Very tasty.

Food was great, customer service was atrocious. If you're willing to deal with rude service and nasty attitudes, go for it. It genuinely felt like the employees hated their lives and didn't want to be there and they were taking it out on the customers. if you're gonna get food just get the grouper fingers cause they are truly one of a kind and worth the price

We love coming here. Fun energy here. The live music is always nice, too. Pleasant wait-staff. GREAT food. Always worth it for us.

My boyfriend & I put off coming to this place for a bit after it opened. It hadn't had been open for very long and we were hearing from some other guests that this place wasn't worth it and that service was terrible. Well, we finally said what the heck and decided to have brunch there today. Well, glad we did because the experience was nothing but pleasant. There was mo wait, so we sat down almost immediately. I ordered the corned beef with eggs and my boyfriend ordered the croissant with the Canadian bacon & eggs. The food came out very quickly and our server was super sweet & friendly. Just as we were paying our bill and leaving they started playing live music which started with the song "Groovin on a Sunday afternoon" by the Rascals. We both enjoyed our brunch and had no complaints. We will definitely return being that the Keylime pie has a wonderful reputation and is said to be one of the most tastiest in Florida!

My husband and I stopped in there for lunch. We expected to wait 5-25 min. Per the hostess. No big deal. There were open tables, though. The problem was that we waited another 15 min. to be asked for our drink order, then another 25 minutes to get our drinks. When the food finally came, my husband's burger was well done and dried out. He ordered it medium. My cheese steak barely had any steak on it. We decided to send his back and split my bread and sauce sandwich. We have been to this location many times when it was the Loose Caboose. I'm guessing that since the name change, the ownership did too. Unfortunately the quality has gone down. We will find somewhere else to dine next time.

Made to order Place was slammed and she was back with food in less than ten minutes I had the BLT (tough to mess up), but there was plenty of warm bacon and the lettuce and Tomato were fresh and tasty Same with my Wife's Bean Wrap. Great veggies and the side coleslaw was fresh and light We liked the Pablo Fries too Best part is they have Dr Pepper on tap. That's a Southern Restaurant! We'll miss the Caboose till next time

We have been sitting here for an hour and still don't have out lunch. It is Monday, and some other places are closed, but this is too much.

Best grouper sandwich, staff very nice and owner super on the top of service! I will definitely recommend to anyone!!!

Hey, you can't beat this place especially if you are a in rush. Pick your spot and order as soon as possible. Food is delicious and reasonable. I ordered Grouper for myself and my wife had the Ruben. Very unique building and surroundings. Cheers!

my family and I walked into the resturant and all the servers just stared at us without saying hello, welcome, or anything. we sat down at a table for 20 minutes waiting for someone to greet us or bring us a menu.

Food was too high end for a casual stop after the beach. Decor is key west meets train depot. Clashes. Pick one. It's not the loose caboose so remove their decor. Once Sisters and the other restaurants reopen, they won't be as busy. It's not the right fit.

After waiting 45-50 minutes for meals they still haven't arrived. We asked the server how much longer it would take and she said "were running on island time. There's two cooks so I don't know" and stormed away. I understand that the kitchen was behind but I really wish she was nicer to my family. She could have simply been apologetic and I think we would have stood but we cancelled the order and left.

Stopped in for lunch on a beautiful October day and sat outside enjoying the weather at this small lunch spot right on the corner of the main drag. The menu features a nice variety of sandwiches and salads. Looking for something lighter with a local twist I opted for the crab cake salad. I was a little disappointed in the presentation. This salad consisted of some chopped iceberg lettuce, 3 slices of bland hot-house tomatoes. A handful of red onion circles, a bit of red cabbage and topping things off a large meaty crab cake. The mango citrus dressing was a simple vinaigrette. The crab cake was good but the overall salad was just average. I topped my meal off with a scoop of homemade ice cream (good) loaded with mini M&Ms. Service was prompt and friendly and there were several locals dining here but it wasn't anything special.

Everyone was dissatisfied with their food and the kitchen was very slow. The restaurant was out of fries at the time of our visit. The people in my party had grouper fingers (small with unremarkable breading), a chicken Caesar wrap which was lettuce and chicken with no dressing or other flavoring, tomato Brie wrap (not very good, according to my daughter) and wings and a Cuban wrap, which were just OK. It took 20 minutes from the time we sat down until the waitress took our order and more than 40 minutes after that for the food to arrive. The bill was around $130. We were not going to risk waiting a half hour for ice cream, so we skipped that.

Service issues- waiting 22 minutes to be acknowledged is not acceptable. There was 1 server and she had 1 table of folks when we arrived. We waited 22 minutes before she acknowledged or approached our table. It was on Wednesday morning-We had eaten there everyday that week, only breakfast place open for business, this was not normal. After finally coming to take our order the server became more pleasant when we were careful not to show displeasure for such treatment- just disappointed. The food is good, just be patient.