Where to Eat the Best Key Lime Pie in Florida
Key lime pie is more than just a popular dessert to Floridians — it’s the subject of praise every year at festivals, eating contests and pie-centric shops. Here’s the lowdown on the official pie of Florida, from where it all started to where to go for the best slice.
The origin story of the key lime pie is murky. It’s widely believed that the dessert originated in the Florida Keys, its namesake. However, Stella Parks, author of BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, claims that the first recipe was published in New York in a promotional brochure by US food and drinks company Borden in 1931.
Wherever it originated, some facts are undisputed. The pie has a crumbly, sweet crust made from crushed graham crackers, and a filling made with condensed milk, egg yolks and key lime juice. It may be topped with either whipped cream or a meringue — a point of contention — but with either addition, the resulting pie is tangy, sweet and iconically Floridian.
"Key lime pie is a source of tremendous pride in the Florida Keys,” says David Sloan, co-founder of the Key Lime Festival and author of The Key Lime Pie Cookbook. “One of the world’s most distinctive and flavourful desserts was born on our island chain, and its creation and evolution tell the story of our people, culture, and past. No matter where you eat a slice, every bite tastes like the Florida Keys. Key lime pie has a unique ability to transport you there.”
Sloan vehemently disputes the claim that key lime pie originated in New York. In support of the Keys’ claim, he points to his genealogical research into an ‘Aunt Sally’, who is widely credited with inventing the pie in Key West the 1860s, as well as a 1926 newspaper clipping from the Keys advertising a lime pie.
Here are some of the best shops, bakeries, cafes and restaurants at which to enjoy this tart in Florida, from frozen slices of chocolate-dipped pie in the Keys to takeout lunch bar bites by Miami beach.
1. Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe, Key West
Dressed in lime-green chef’s garb, including a floppy chef’s hat, Kermit Carpenter can be spotted from a mile away. The owner of one of the most famous key lime pie shops in Key West is often seen standing outside his matching lime-green storefront, which displays his famous pies. For over 30 years, he’s sold key lime pies using 100% key lime juice, as well as the chocolate-coated Pie on a Stick, bottles of key lime juice and even key lime pie dog treats.
2. Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory, Tavernier
Bakery, cafe and shop Blond Giraffe was never intended to be a dedicated key lime pie producer. It was only after a devoted customer suggested it enter a key lime contest — which it did and won — that the team realised just how good their recipe was. Now, it sells the most-awarded key lime pie in Florida, as well as around 170 key-lime-pie-related items. From biscuits and candies to a classic slice, there’s something to suit any taste. Its most famous invention is the Pie on a Stick — a frozen slice of key lime pie dipped in semisweet chocolate.
3. Columbia Restaurant, Tampa
Columbia Restaurant is Florida’s oldest restaurant — having been passed down between family members over generations. When the original owners moved to Tampa from Key West, they brought with them a key lime tree and planted it in their backyard. The restaurant may be the largest Cuban-Spanish restaurant in the world, but its owners had a soft spot for the all-American dessert and put it on the menu. Since then, visitors have raved about the century-old recipe enough for it to have a permanent menu spot.
4. Joe’s Stone Crab, Miami
A Miami staple since 1913, Joe Stone’s Crab has always been famous for its namesake dish: chilled stone crab with coleslaw and potatoes. The family business’s other iconic recipe, though, was Joe’s mother’s key lime pie. It quickly became the second signature dish and was featured in Eat at Joe’s: Joe’s Stone Crab Cookbook, which was published in 1993. With only minimal ingredients — just vanilla, egg, lime and condensed milk for the filling — Joe’s Stone Crab’s recipe manages to be sharp, tangy and a Miamian favourite.
5. Blue Heaven, Key West
The key lime pie at Michelin-listed Blue Heaven is one of the most popular in the Keys. It’s topped with a gravity-defying amount of meringue, making for an impressive photo, and the sweetness balances out the sharp lime filling. The courtyard, once frequented by Ernest Hemingway, is now populated by stray cats and chickens that use the picnic tables and lime trees as shade from the sun.
6. Sister Honey’s, Orlando
This Orlando bakery is as homey as it gets. Owner Evette Rahman, daughter of the titular founder, opened the bakery in 2012, and it wasn’t long before the awards started flooding in. She was named the World Food Championships Dessert Champion in 2019, and in 2022, a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Awards in the Outstanding Baker Category. Her classic key lime pie is made from scratch daily using hand-squeezed lime juice.
