My wife and I had just come a disappointing wine tasting at a close by wine tasting store so we were ready for something stronger. Â We had already eaten so we were here for rum. Â With over 180 different rums we had a hard time deciding. Â We ordered the rum flight that gives you four different tasting rums. Â You are served the rum straight up in a large shot glass and you are offered what ever way you might want to mix it, coke, ice etc. Â They offer you a pre-selected menu of flights which basically gives you 25% off the normal shot prices or you can select different rums from the "RUM BIBLE" which is very descriptive in the different flavors they have to offer. Â We had a vanilla, coconut, a 14 year old and our favorite, Jumbie. Â Weather you like rum or not this is a place to kill a few hours. From here we went to the Museum which made the museum more fun. LOL
Review Source:Ok, here's the deal, I'm not a big fan of Pat Croce buying up all the properties on Key West but the service and food at Rum Barrel are pretty darn good. We ordered a bunch of appetizers for our meal. Chicken fingers were tender, juicy and crunchy. The buffalo chicken fingers were terrific. The Croce salad was fantastic. The peel and eat shrimp were large and cooked properly but could use a couple more on the plate for the price. And OMG, the Philly cheesesteak egg rolls and its cheesy dipping sauce was absolutely incredible, fn amazing, seriously holy crap kinda good. Â The evening is also better when Chris Rehm is playing his trop rock.
Review Source:Key West is one of those places that attracts people from the Northeast who are fed up with cold winters, traffic, and the overall hustle and bustle of living between Boston-New York-Philadelphia-DC. Â One of those people was Pat Croce, Philly sports icon (for what, I don't know, but Philly people are ALL about him).
So what else would a Philly guy in Key West do but open a Philly sports focused bar? Â And that leads us to the Rum Barrel. Â The location is great- right at the end of the Duval, but a bit away from the chaos. Â The bar itself is huge and makes a perfect setting for catching the game. Â Upstairs there is an awesome rooftop deck, which has live music.
I don't think I would spend an entire night here, but its a cool place to drop in for a few drinks and catch up on some games. Â I'm sure my Philly sports obsessed husband will want to come here again on our next trip, so I'll be sure to try the food on my next visit!
Great spot to watch a game in Key West.
For those who don't know, Pat Croce was the one time president of the 76ers. He has a few establishments in Key West. This one is a Philadelphia-centric sports bar. The bartenders are very friendly and helpful and they make some fine drinks (no surprise, but many are made with Rum).
I had the Island Chicken sandwich there. Pretty good. The chicken was not at all dry, very flavorful. The wings and fries were nothing crazy, but still above average.
There is a roof top section too with live music most nights. Cool place with a pirate-sports theme (odd combo but it works).
Fourth or fifth trip back today, love this place! Gorgeous roof top balcony, perfect place for lunch & people watching, though I hate those wicker chairs that leave a funny pattern on your backside! Â Highly recommend the burgers, also had some of the meatiest, plumpest wings smothered in spicy BBQ....and swore I counted ten on an order of eight. Â Boyfriend had the steak Philly with cheez whiz and deemed it "authentically messy". Â No booze today as we were tooling around on the bikes, but I highly recommend the "302" which is two Bacardi 151 shots in your flavor of choice----good stuff but definitely designate a driver. Today's visit was musically, the highlight of our trip--70's rock n roll B sides, stuff rarely heard....good times! Prices very reasonable for KW.
Review Source:This was our first restaurant to eat in the Keys when we first arrived. We walked all the way up Duval from our hotel on the south end of Duval to find a restaurant that we were interested in eating at. This seemed to appeal most of our relatives. Â I had the jerk chicken on kabobs on yellow rice with broccoli. It was mediocre. My husband had the mahi mahi sandwich and said that the bun tasted weird. However, my relatives enjoyed their meal. I really doubt that I'd come out of my way to eat here as I feel this place is just overhyped with the fact that they do carry 100+ kinds of rum....
Review Source:Rum Barrel is definitely a more classy and refined establishment right here on Duval St, but you will never be able to tell from the name alone.
The establishment is separated into the drinking side, the food side, and the roof patio area, which I only stepped on for a few moment to check it out because it was completely packed; with a great weather night such as this, it's actually not a surprise folks choose to sit up here.
Now I wished I had come for the full drinks and food experience, because while sitting here sitting nursing this shot of rum I look around at other people's plate, and they all looked delicious.
Oh, and that rum bucket? I wish I had someone with me to help me finish it.
Until next time, Rum Barrel. I down this shot of nice rum in your name.
P.S. They have a Rum Bible, be sure to check it out and get yourself educated on how your rum came about. Also it literally covered the offering they have from around the world.
Ahhhh, the Rum Barrel. Â A quiet slice of Philly in the keys....yeah right! Â Who the hell wants anything from Philly imported into the Keys? Â Well, me. Â Maybe. Â A little bit. Â How about the Flyers, Phillies, and the horrible Eagles. Â Yep you can watch them here! Â I'm also sure if you like basketball, you could watch that here to. Â I'd rather watch paint dry, but I'm sure there are 500 million people wearing sweat suits with 76ers logo's that would disagree, but onto the review.....
Pulled pork nachos are really good. Â They have a nice selection of beer and of course rum. Â You can get a cheese steak that claims to be Geno's from Philly. Â I sure am glad its not from Pats because it would suck! Â The Geno's steak comes on an authentic Amaroso roll, and "wit" onions and wiz......dont be a pussy, get it with the wiz as it is best! Â Now, this is a pretty good steak, but it still isn't as good as Joey Vento's in south Philly (rest in peace Joey).
Also tried the crab fries. Â Again, they are good but they are no Chickie and Petes!
I have been here many times over the years. Â Solid bar food and good drink selections. Â I cant remember having anything bad here. Â Its a nice place and they also have a roof top deck that has bands.
Good solid find in KW with a slice of Philly, hold the attitude please! Â Key West prices apply............wow just like Philly again!
Great spot, convenient to (and cheaper than) many of the restaurants along the wharf. Â Been coming here for years primarily for two reasons: pulled pork nachos, and the pool table. Â Two years ago the Rum Barrel got rid of both of these.
But, the pulled pork nachos are back by popular demand! The last time we were there a couple years back we made a big deal about them being gone. Â This trip we called ahead and (on speakerphone) asked the waitress if they had pulled pork nachos on the menu. Â She said yes, and we pointed out that we thought they had gotten rid of them. Â Her verbatim response: "We did, but we brought them back by popular demand." To which cheers and applause erupted on our end of the phone, and she laughed. Â We returned the following night for two orders of said nachos.
The pool table sadly is still gone.
Pat Croce owns this place, and used to have the Pirate museum next door as well before moving it to St. Augustine. He owns the largest collection of pirate artifacts in the world, and is thus well-credentialed to have a place like The Rum Barrel. Â Great spot and will continue to be for years to come.
My husband and I came here last year and I recall everything being great. They had a wonderful band, excellent food and the service was nothing I can remember (which means it was probably not bad or else something would have come to mind).
We returned this past weekend with our family and I was shocked by how awful it was. Particularly because the menu points out that the chef is a CIA grad, so we were expecting excellence.
My mother ordered the Lobster Pot Pie which was so salty she couldn't eat it and had to send it back. My sister ordered the crab cakes which tasted strange and were not crisp at all. The side salad looked like it came from a bag. The presentation overall for all the dishes was not good. The only thing that was really good was the French Fry Appetizer with Old Bay seasoning and cheese sauce. But really how can you ruin fries?
On top of that we had three coupons for the free rum sampler and when they came out there was spilled liquor all over the wooden board they were brought out on, some of the shots were only half full and, 2 shot glasses had cracks in the glass. The server's solution was to bring out plastic shot cups and pour the shots into them. When I told her I wanted a fresh shot (in case there was glass in the drink) I'm pretty sure she just took the shot to the server station and poured it into the plastic cup anyway.
The server barely spoke to us and was pretty much absent during the whole meal. When we saw the 18% gratuity on the bill we understood why. She really should have sent a manager over when she realized we weren't happy but I guess she figured she got her tip already so who cares?
Also I'm not sure if the singer was in some kind of pain, but it was not good at all, especially for Key West. At least the prices weren't bad.
We actually found this place on accident. It is at the very north end of Duval and to the right. Absolutely the best nachos I have ever had. Fresh jalapeños and guacamole!!! Then I had the pulled pork sandwich - Awesome too!! The owner is from Philly so good place to catch your PA sports. The upper deck is outside and has live music. Very cool place!!!
Review Source:We ended up eating here because a lady at one of those tourist booths suggested it and gave us a bunch of coupons for buy one get one free drinks. We are so glad we did!!
This place was delicious. Me and my friend shared the crab cake appetizer, delicious!! I got a French dip and my friend got fish tacos. Both were yummy. The fried calamari was good, it was my first time trying it and I'm suprised I liked it.
We got this huge rum bucket that was like $30 but was so worth it. It was awesome and fruity and really strong. They put 5 straws in it and we had to leave with it because we count even finish it all by the time we were all done eating. We looked pretty funny carrying it around but I didn't care at all!
Awesome awesome awesome, wonderful food, frosty cold drinks. Â Key West is a Las Vegas minus the gambling. Â Fun around every bend, many many bars and restaurants to chose from. Â This one lands at the top of the heap. Â
I ordered a cup of carob and corn chowder to start. Â Having never had this soup before, my palette was clean. Â As the runner sat my soup down our friendly waitress offered that it was her favorite. Â From the first spoonful I was hooked. Â This soup is a wonderful mix of fresh crab, corn and potatoes. Â I slurped down every scrumptious bit of this great soup. Â
I then had another ice cold beer, with frost floating in it. Â My main course arrived, two crab cakes the size of most filet minion steaks. Â A wonderful aroma and taste, accompanied with veggies more than I could eat. Â Delicious food, friendly wait staff!
The Rum Barrel is a perfect place for a wedding reception! I had my wedding reception there on 3/17/12, and Kathleen made sure everything was perfect. She was very hands on and ensured that all our needs were met. The food was amazing, the staff was friendly and helpful, and they really made sure that we had the best night. The private roof was charming and quaint, and it was really the perfect setting for us. It was affordable, and all our guests kept commenting on the quality of the food and service. I highly recommend them for any party or reception in Key West!
Review Source:We went here twice during our stay. A taste of Philly in Key West translates to a great place to watch Philly teams play.
The first time we ate upstairs outside. Waitress was OK.
The second time we ate at the bar downstairs. Bartender was wearing an orange LOVE shirt where the O was a Flyers hockey puck. When asked about the shirt, he had no idea what it meant! Hard to get his attention.
Food was OK. One person was very impressed with the cheesesteak spring rolls.
Great food. Good value for the amount of food. We had the lobster sandwich and a Philly cheese steak with provolone.
  The lobster was nice and crisp complimented by a sweet fruit based topping. The cheese steak was just right, generous portion of cheesy meat and onions on a soft sub roll.
  The sandwiches come with their homemade3 potato chips. Crunchy and salty, more than you can eat.
Had takeout. Super fast delivery. I will eat here again.
This was a solid B in my book!
Good drinks, good bard food, good beer and all the sports-tv-watching you would want. We had the blackened chicken sandwich and the mahi-mahi fish and chips, and we can't complain. Filled ourselves silly and dranksourselves happy. Even the bathroom were clean.
Let me start with the fact that I am a huge Philadelphia sports fan. For those who don't know, this is Pat Croce's Rum Barrel (ex-owner of the Philadelphia 76's). Inside they play Philly sports games (Flyers hockey at the time of the year I'm visiting) and also have a bunch of shirts for the Southernmost club (insert Philly sports team name here). To me, this sounds like home turf in the keys!
However, I have to say that I am very disappointed. I have visited the Rum Barrel twice. The first time was a year ago (April 2010) and the second time would be tonight (March 2011). Different servers. Same results.
Both times my order was incorrect. On multiple items. On my last visit I ordered their "Caipirinha" (one of my fav. drinks). The description sounded fine, but what I got was basically tequilla with some lemons and limes in it. aka - Not a Caipirinha. Their Rum Sampler is great if you can get a free coupon for it. But after my "Caipirinha", I didn't want to touch another alcoholic drink the rest of the night. :(
Their food is decent. Sometimes. It really depends on what you order. Their apps are better than their entrees, and as far as entrees go, stick to the burgers and philly sandwiches. I really enjoy their Nachos, but I hate sour cream. And both times I ordered the nachos (noting that I did not want sour cream on them), I had to send them back because they put sour cream on it.
This makes me believe that the fault is really in their server training. Both times my orders were wrong (this last time I ordered the coconut shrimp and instead got the peel n' eat shrimp).
So, if you're looking for a Philly Sports bar to just get a drink and some apps, it's fine. Otherwise I think you'll be disappointed and I can only hope that their server training gets better.
As for me, I won't be going back.
I don't know who you are, Pat Croce, but you broke my heart.
For a place called "Rum Barrel" and formerly next to a Pirate Museum (that's gone now, but all the ads and literature in the area still list it as being open), there was a serious lack of pirate anything here. If anything, this place feels more like a sports bar.
Drinks were mediocre at best - and overpriced. Service was adequate, but not particularly friendly or helpful.
We had lunch here before we left for Miami. The staff was really funny.. all of which pretty much came over to talk to us and make sure we were doing ok.
My sister tried to order this beer called 'Dirty Hoe' but they were out so she got something else instead. LOL
We didnt order anything too fancy... mostly just regular bar food: Sliders, wings, sandwiches, etc. It was all yummy and priced somewhere around the Jack Flats or Flannigan's range.
I had fun there, it was just the light, enjoyable lunch I needed before the drive back to reality.
Warning: this place is overrated and is one of those places that looks great on the outside and even on the inside, but the food is a different story. I made the mistake of choosing a place randomly since I was hungry and they served what I was looking for which was conch. Since I really liked the conch I had a few days ago for the first time and was really craving it again, I decided to eat there. I really should've asked the yelpers from FL. for more advice and am soo sorry that I didn't!
So we started off with the conch appetizer for $11.00. It was OK, but nothing like the one I reviewed for Key Largo, The Fish House I think it was. OMG, those were beyond amazing! I also got the conch soup in a cup for $5.00. Also, it was just OK. It wasn't as spicy as the menu claimed it was. My husband got the French onion soup for $6.00. For the entree, I got the grilled Mahi Mahi with crab stuffing for $18.00. He also got the portabella mushroom sandwich for $10.00.
As for my entree, I was sadly disappointed once again as the 'stuffing' was on top of the bland Mahi Mahi and there was hardly any crab in the icky stuffing. Mahi Mahi is a delicious fish, but when cooked wrong, it's not. It was still edible though after I scraped off the faux crab stuffing. It came with some mango sauce which was just OK. It came with 'island rice' which was just white rice with some peas and raisins in it, there was nothing exotic about it. What a joke! The zucchini and broccoli that came with it was OK though.
The service was slow which was weird for a weekday. We were the only people there before noon aside from a few locals at the bar so I don't get why it took so long to have our food served to us. Yelpers, avoid this place if what you're looking for is good conch fritters or soup, or any kind of good food at all.
Being the big rum drinkers that we are, we were sucked in. It was pretty quiet that day, but nice. We sat up on the rooftop patio. The grouper ruben, amazing. The Philly Cheese steak (yes, I was hungover), amazing. The drinks.... not so amazing.
Its VERY unlike us to not finish a drink, but these key Lime  rums and soda, not so great.
I. was pleased to find out 2 things.
1They have a RUM BIBLE. Just ask for it. Pretty cool and gives a good history of rum making, and various rums and their origins.
2. they have PUSSERS rum, which is essential in making a PAIN KILLER. But again, drink wasn't that great.
AAARRRGGGHH! What a barrel of monkeys this place is. On the way to Duval with a nice selection of draft beer and spirits. My black and tan was made with Smithwicks which was a bit of a bonus if you ask me. Numerous flat screen TVs for college football but inexplicably the volume was turned up on the Penn St. vs Michigan game while the Miami vs. Clemson game was on as well. I really could care less but it seems that the closer local game would merit dibs on volume selection.
No local brews on tap but a great selection nonetheless. They also had a mysterious display of the good stuff locked up in granddad's curio adjacent to the bar. I wonder when they break into the private stock. Touristy but solid happy hour even on a Saturday.
Time to stumble into the street onto someones unsuspecting Yorkie on our way to the next bar.
Can you say crappy food, crappy service, followed up by the craps?
A tour guide recommended this place for lunch...the next time i go to Key West I'm hunting this old man down and going to poop on his face. Â
We both ordered dishes with shrimp my girlfriend ordered the Shrimp Po Boy Buffalo style, and I ordered the Shrimp 3 way sampler. Â
The PoBoy tasted like a block of salt, the shrimp sampler was about what you get at Bennigan's. Â Our waitress was incomptenet. Â She kept coming and going, spilling stuff on our table, and then going through 10 minute stretches of complete silence. Â
When she came back to refill our drinks she had forgotten that I ordered Diet Coke and my Girlfriend had regular coke. Â We were two of four in the restaurant mind you!
With all of that being said, three hours later prior to a snorkeling trip, I got a most joyous case of the runs.  I did not go on that snorkeling trip, and I know it was  result of the Rum Barrel because we hadn't eaten anything else this wondrous day. Â
Don't get suckered by this place.
Our food and drinks were excellent! Daniel had ribs, and the rack was huge! It was of good quality too, with a lot of meat on the bones; the sauce was also great. I had a taco salad, which was tasty. The drinks are mainly rum-based (following the pirate theme), which I loved. We met one of the bartenders on the street and he was a lot of fun! He did magic tricks for us and told us some places we should check out.
Our waiter had a lot of tables and was running around manically, but he still managed to be friendly and pretty timely too. He made sure we didn't lack for anything.
As a bonus, with your meal you get a coupon for half off of the pirate museum next door, which is good for half an hour after you eat.
I don't know squat about Pat Croce, but I do know that his restaurant makes some damn fine pulled pork nachos. Â I suppose it'd be hard to argue that pulled pork added to anything wouldn't be good, but they also had the right amount of cheese, salsa, sour cream and jalapenos. Â A lot of times nachos have everything piled in one spot and then you're left with a bunch of naked, plain chips. Â Not here. Â They know how to do it up. Â We also tried the black and blue tuna sandwich (so-so) and I had some kind of fish reuben. Â (I think it might have been grouper). Â Loved the idea, but it was missing something. Â Maybe corned beef? Â
Service was slow, but I think maybe our waitress (who was in her 50's) was probably still recovering from her naughty happenings the night before, as is likely the case with everyone there during fantasty fest :)
Great bar to sit in while you wait for a table. Friendly conversation and great bartenders.
Dinner was also tasty. Started with some loaded nachos. Very good. Had a pulled pork sandwich (I know, I know - I'm in Key West I should be eating Seafood). Very good. However, did not enjoy the beans. They had pineapple in them. I hate pineapple!
Expect and enjoy a good vibe.
My friend, Joey, is a big soccer fan, so we stopped in to get a little break from the July sun and catch some World Cup action on big plasma TV's, as Germany (his team) was playing Argentina. Â
This place is owned by entrepreneur, Pat Croce (which meant nothing to them, as they're from Kentucky and now live in the FL Keys). Â This guy opened the first sports medicine center in the US (Philly), and is the ex-owner of the Sixers. Â It's connected to the Pirate Soul Museum (exhibiting authentic pirate artifacts) - which is cool, I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. Â The bar/restaurant was done with the same pirate theme + big plasma TV's for sporting events.
I can't vouch for anything but the beer, the TV's, and the arctic temperature of the bar, which were all up to our standards.
We actually got to meet Pat Croce (Ex-Owner of the Philadelphia 76'ers) when we went to eat there. Â Being in Key West for a bachelor party, we wanted to fill up on good food before the debauchery to follow. Â Key West, the last key in the Florida keys, should have good fish since, hey, it's a freakin' island.
We get there and the ambiance is good. Â Your typical bar/restaurant feel with awesome weather for a Nov. evening. Â We get a bunch of apps and some mixed drinks. Â The drinks were pretty good and the apps were absolutely fantastic. Â The Fish dip and Artichoke dip were perfect and the mozzarella sticks were just right.
With Apps like that, you figure it's just the beginning. Â We all decided to opt for an entree instead of going for more apps. Â BAD IDEA!!!! Â I got The Snapper which came with vegetables and on top of stuffing. Â When the dish came out, I was amazed at the lack of presentation. Â For $16 one would expect some effort taken. Â I then proceed to dig in since the flavor is what matters most. Â WOW!!! Â What horrible flavor. Â The worst part was the disgusting mush they considered stuffing under the fish. Â It tasted like what I would think moldy socks you find in your attic from your grammar school years must taste like. Â A friend of mine, a voracious eater, snuck his fork onto my plate and took some stuffing, he almost spit it out on my plate instead of his. Â The fish was no better. Â Tasteless, bland , unappealing, ....... Â I could go on and on, but won't.
The others got fish tacos that looked more like fish burritos. Â Thee too had no flavor and just put together in a hurry.
I know what your saying. Â "Why only one star if you raved about the apps so much? Â I mean, it's a bar and drinks with good apps sounds like 2 to 3 stars." Â Well the kicker is that when I went to comment to the waiter (after paying) He has the balls to tell me that, please keep in mind that when I ordered he praised my choice, a number people have complained about that dish and that even after numerous complaints about the stuffing being so bad, the cooks refuse to change it. Â Can you believe this? Â I was so pissed I didn't know what to do. Â Why didn't you tell me to pick something else. Â Anyone that knows me, knows that I always ask for the waiter's suggestion.
This meal justified drinking the amount we did that evening. Â Not only to help forget, but to get that horrible taste out of our mouths. Â There goes the "When in Rome" cliche.
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