The Caribbean Club Famous from the film Key Largo
“It was a bar like any other, and then it wasn’t” Jimmy Buffett.
The Caribbean Club is most famous as the inspiration and location for the 1948 film Key Largo starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, although the interiors were shot at Warner Brothers studios in Hollywood.
Built in the late 1930’s as a fishing club, it was the last project of the famed automotive and Miami real estate developer Carl Fisher.
The club that has been a fishing camp, casino, hotel and bar was damaged by a mysterious fire in 1955.
Lefty and Ruth Whitehurst bought the bar in 1963 and it’s still run by the family.
Today it’s the oldest bar in the Upper Keys and offers stunning sunset views over the Blackwater Sound, and host’s the absolute best of the Florida Keys musicians, Thursday through Sunday.
There’s a mix of local’s and tourists, featuring a small, often smoky interior and a large outdoor deck with a dock, if you want to arrive by boat, instead of Route 1. The Caribbean Club is a cash only bar.
Who cares if Bogart and Bacall never set foot there, Jimmy Buffett used to play there around 3 am.
David Garland Mar 21, 2026 Key Largo FL Bars History Movies
Mar 21, 2026
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