Olivia's Cafe at Disney's Old Key West

So what attracted me to Olivia's Cafe, given breakfast really isn’t our sort of thing? The menu was extremely wide ranging, and it even offered starters, and entrees, not something you usually see for the first meal of the day. You could either get fresh strawberries and whipped cream or the Southernmost Point continental, breakfast pastries and fresh fruit, but the item we went for was the Sunrise Platter, made up of tropical fruit, topped with yogurt, honey and toasted coconut. Now given this was billed as a starter, I have to say I was a bit surprised when the platter arrived, as it was massive!

It was made up of two strawberries, two pineapple slices, two pieces of kiwi fruit, three slices each of honeydew melon, and cantaloupe melon, along with what looked like about half a banana, all coated with the toppings as quoted on the menu. I have to say it all tasted superb, and this could easily have been a meal on its own. Sadly, we’d taken the menu at face value, and had also ordered an entrée, so we still had more food to come!

Now under the entrée selection, there were plenty of choices again. My husband opted for the slightly more traditional Olivia’s breakfast, made up of two eggs of any style, breakfast potatoes, and buttermilk biscuits, with the choice of bacon, sausage and ham, which he really enjoyed.

Personally, I had a tough time choosing between the more unusual options. I couldn’t quite bring myself to try the waffles with two eggs (to which you can add bacon, sausage or ham), as to me, you have your waffles with something sweet, not eggs. It was the same story with the buttermilk pancakes and eggs, which also offered the same choices as the waffles. You could even add strawberry or blueberry sauce to either dish.

The Monroe egg white omelet (egg whites with roasted peppers, spinach, mushrooms and goats cheese served with sliced tomatoes and a buttermilk biscuit) intrigued me, as did the Conch Republic omelet, given it contained such delights as shrimp, avocado (two of my favourite foods), pepper Jack cheese with breakfast potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.

My choice really boiled down to the banana bread French toast, topped with Bahamian banana-rum syrup, coconut whipped cream (although obviously I’d have had it without the choice of bacon, sausage or ham), but tempting as that was, it really would have been a sweet overload and so early in the morning, I didn’t think that was a good plan, so I eventually opted for crab cakes eggs benedict, which is made up of two poached eggs and two crab cakes on an English muffin with key lime hollandaise and breakfast potatoes. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with my choice, it tasted just as good as it sounded, and I would happily have that again if we went back.

Other options I couldn’t try, as I don’t eat meat included the poached eggs and hash (poached hash served over sweet potato ham hash topped with key lime hollandaise served with a buttermilk biscuit), the sombrero beach omelet (ham, green peppers, onions, and cheddar topped with sour cream and Pico de Gallo served with breakfast potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit), and the biscuits and gravy with eggs – any style (two buttermilk biscuits topped with sausage gravy, two eggs, with a choice of bacon, sausage or ham).

Old Key West - Olivia

The sunrise platter, fresh tropical fruit topped with yoghurt, honey and toasted coconut.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise came at the end of breakfast, when we got our check. We had the Tables in Wonderland discount card, and with that, everything we’d had only came to $40, which we both thought was excellent value.

It’s probably worth saying here that when we visited, which was on a Tuesday morning, the place was pretty deserted. I probably counted no more than three or four other tables in there, and given we’d made a booking for 8:20 am, it wasn’t exactly that early. It was a shame not to see more people in there, given the high quality of food we sampled, and the friendly, laid back atmosphere, very much in keeping with the feel of Old Key West in its totality. It really is a hidden gem, and much as I’d love to keep it as my little secret, frankly it’s too good not to share…

About the Author: Cheryl is the author of the e-book, PassPorter's Walt Disney World for British Holidaymakers, and is the co-author of PassPorter's Disney Vacation Club Guide: For Members and Members-To-Be. Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to Disney, and they have travelled around the world, taking in a number of Disney cruises, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani in Hawai'i, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland on the way. Click here to view more of Cheryl's articles!