“It’s been an adjustment,” said one of the fishmongers behind the counter at the new Lombardi’s Seafood location when we asked him about their new digs.
Not surprising. Lombardi’s Seafood was HQ’ed at the corner of Orange Avenue and 17-92 for more than 50 years, so adjusting to the new locale, at 1888 W. Fairbanks Ave., is going to take some time for many, including their customers.
The new spot is bright and airy, with a 50-foot-long seafood case carrying seasonally fresh seafood (currently tons of stone crab, four different varieties of snapper, porgy, mullet, and the pinkest Key West shrimp). Seafood sauces and mixes, local beer, wine and a phalanx of freezers line the other walls.
The biggest change? Lombardi’s expansive lunch menu and 30-seat cafe. The soft-opening menu (to be updated shortly after the staff sees what’s selling), features a Key West grouper Reuben sandwich, lobster mac ‘n’ cheese egg rolls, a Cuban-style snapper sandwich and fried Apalachicola oysters.
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This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2015.