Caribbean Club

Caribbean Club in Key Largo, Florida, is one of the classic old bars of the Upper Florida Keys. Opened in 1938, it sits on the bayside of the Overseas Highway and has the kind of worn, informal atmosphere strongly associated with old Key Largo: a waterfront bar, sunset views, local character and a long connection to Florida Keys film history. The building has changed over time, partly because of fires and rebuilding, but the site remains one of the most recognisable screen-related stops in Key Largo.

Caribbean Club is best known for its connection to “Key Largo” (1948), the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film that helped make the name Key Largo famous around the world. Much of that film was made on Warner Bros. soundstages in California, but exterior material from the Florida Keys helped establish the setting, and Caribbean Club has long been tied to that legacy. Decades later, the bar also appeared in “Bloodline” (2015–2017), where it became part of the darker, more modern screen image of the Florida Keys.

In “Key Largo” (1948), Caribbean Club is connected to the exterior identity of the film’s hotel setting. The story itself takes place mainly at the fictional Hotel Largo, where Frank McCloud arrives during the off-season and becomes trapped with gangsters as a hurricane approaches. The real Caribbean Club helped give the film its Key Largo identity, although the main hotel interiors and much of the drama were created in the studio. This makes the location an important part of the film’s history, but with the important note that visitors should not expect the bar to match the hotel interiors seen on screen.

In “Bloodline” (2015–2017), Caribbean Club is used as one of the local bars frequented by characters including Danny Rayburn and Eric O’Bannon. The bar fits the series’ image of the Keys as beautiful but troubled, where family secrets, crime and local loyalties sit beneath the surface of the tropical setting. Its casual interior, pool tables and waterfront atmosphere make it feel like a genuine local hangout rather than a polished tourist location, which is exactly why it works so well in the series.

---