Culinary influences
Around the world
Orlando’s outlook on cuisine is increasingly international. While all-American burgers and fries are seemingly everywhere, look around and you’ll find authentic foods from every corner of the world, from Cuba to France, Ethiopia to Peru. Tapas (or ‘small plates’) restaurants are highly popular, some featuring the foods of Spain, others mixing and matching global flavors. The Mills 50 district has an enclave of Asian restaurants. All over town, pizza is easy to find, as are Italian staples. Options range from cozy family-owned joints to upscale restaurants serving first-class international dishes.
Fresh seafood
Visit Florida
Down home
With its roots firmly in the South, Orlando has a variety of restaurants serving Southern specialties. Traditional ‘Cracker’ food generally involves fried catfish, alligator, and frogs’ legs. Homier Deep South fare like grits, cornbread, and fried chicken with ‘sweet tea’ can be found in certain casual restaurants. Gussied-up versions often appear in higher-end establishments, where pecan-crusted pork and hand-crafted bourbon cocktails flaunt the area’s Southern roots. While most Southern regions have their own barbecued-meat style, Orlando doesn’t, but many small local chains take the best of styles from around the country. And for dessert, many Orlando restaurants offer personal versions of Key lime pie, a specialty from the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula.
Tropical tastes
The Caribbean influence is unmistakeable too, and you can experience that in two ways: in humble, authentic hideaways frequented by residents, and in lively tourist-oriented restaurants with festive decor, oversized fruity drinks, and upbeat music designed to create a tropical vibe. In the more Americanized places, coconut shrimp is popular as either a starter or main course, mango salsa as a condiment.
The pride of the USA
Ever-popular American steaks and burgers are ubiquitous all around Orlando, in establishments that vary greatly in price and quality. Luckily, Orlando’s chefs have begun getting competitive about their burgers, creating especially juicy and flavorful versions. And with both the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts a stone’s throw away, it’s not surprising that fish and seafood are highly prevalent too, though they’re not necessarily inexpensive. The area has quite a few vegetarian and vegan restaurants too. Most table-service restaurants offer several choices of fresh salads, which come in big portions with protein options including shrimp and chicken.
Creative burgers at Epcot
Walt Disney World Resort
Places to eat
Like any large city, Orlando has its hip dining areas. Mills 50 has a range of walk-in joints specializing in Asian food. Downtown’s Church Street Station has a handful of creative restaurants offering everything from farm-to-table American cuisine to Spanish-style tapas. Thornton Park and College Park, east and west of downtown respectively, both have several contemporary restaurants with an urban bistro atmosphere. Winter Park is a long-established favorite for its upscale, quality restaurants, many with sidewalk seating that offers terrific people-watching. Celebration’s main roads are lined with a variety of family-friendly places. The small, historic outskirt cities of Winter Garden and Sanford are abloom with popular new eateries and craft-beer purveyors. You needn’t travel far from the theme parks and Convention Center, though. Sand Lake Road, Orlando’s ‘Restaurant Row,’ is lined with higher-end chains and several independent restaurants of assorted cuisines.
Chain restaurants
Plenty of chain restaurants offer the familiar to visitors seeking what they already know. Unsurprisingly, they are most prevalent along the main tourist drags such as Highway 192, 535/Apopka-Vineland in Lake Buena Vista, and International Drive. All the usual fast-food suspects are here, as are mid-pricers such as Applebee’s, Outback, and Olive Garden, offering a much wider menu. Stalwarts like International House of Pancakes (IHOP) and Denny’s serve all-day (or all-night) breakfasts. Fast-casual concepts have proliferated of late, inviting guests to stand at a counter while a tailored meal is prepared to order. Chipotle does this with Southwestern fare, Spoleto with pasta, MidiCi with pizza, and Pei Wei with Asian flavors. At the fancier end, Orlando’s tourist strips are home to chains like Eddie V’s, the healthy food-oriented Seasons 52, and, for seafood, Ocean Prime and Oceanaire – plus just about every high-end steakhouse chain in the country.
Buffet restaurants
If you’re looking for a bargain, look no further than one of Orlando’s many buffet restaurants. They range from Chinese smorgasbords to all-you-can-eat steak and salad bars, Indian lunch buffets, and even lobster feasts.
Steakhouses
The sheer number of independent and chain steakhouses makes Orlando a carnivore’s delight. Here, as with seafood, you get what you pay for. Several inexpensive steakhouse chains with big salad bars cater to families on a budget. If you’re a real steak-lover, give them a miss and go for the higher-end, quality restaurants, of which there are several. They offer hand-cut, wet- or dry-aged prime beef, oak-grilled, flame-broiled or otherwise cooked to perfection. Most steakhouses also serve a selection of fine seafood. Bull & Bear in the Waldorf Astoria, and Spencer’s in The Hilton Orlando, are especially good.
Steak and sides
Visit Florida
High-end restaurants
With dozens of upscale restaurants within a 10-mile (16-km) radius of the Orange County Convention Center, diners will find plenty of choices for a memorable meal in Orlando. Several, especially in the tourist corridors, are overseen by internationally acclaimed or celebrity chefs. Among the biggies represented here are Masaharu Morimoto, Melissa Kelly, Art Smith, Rick Bayless, Emeril Lagasse, Tood English, and Norman Van Aken.
Local stars
Look beyond the big-name brands and you’ll find a vibrant community of exceptional restaurants, bistros and gastropubs owned and run by local chefs, many of them recognized by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. Mostly in Orlando and Winter Park, top-quality ingredients, scratch cooking and hand-crafted cocktails are part of the draw.
Food halls
As artisan foodstuffs gain popularity, Orlando’s two food halls have become gathering spots for dining on fresh local foods in a simple space, and sipping smoothies and beers. East End Market in Orlando’s Audubon Park Garden District, and Plant Street Market in Winter Garden, both draw mellow crowds for their variety, rustic charm, and communal outdoor seating.
Craft beer on tap in Winter Garden
Scott Keeler/Visit Florida
Theme park and resort dining
Though the choice of food is wide, the quality varies enormously at Orlando’s theme parks. At the lower end of the scale, the food is often overpriced for what can turn out to be mediocre, mass-produced fare. Go up a notch or two and you can enjoy some excellent meals. It’s tough if you only have a day at a park and want to make the most of the attractions rather than spending time on a sit-down meal. The exception is Epcot’s World Showcase, where some of the quick, lower-priced options are especially interesting.
The parks really excel in themed dining and decor. You can sit beside a coral reef or a shark tank, in an African setting, or even in an Irish pub. In all of the theme-park complexes, you can find restaurants to dine with popular characters for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This is a big hit with families, but should be booked well in advance. The princess character meals at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom, and at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot’s Norway pavilion, are especially popular. At Universal, favorites including The Simpsons enliven meals. The best range of themed restaurants at all price levels can be found in Orlando’s two dining/shopping/entertainment enclaves: Disney Springs and Universal’s CityWalk (for more information, click here).
Several resort restaurants at the upper end rate among the top fine-dining spots in Orlando, including those in the Disney’s Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and BoardWalk Inn.
Drinks
Alcoholic drinks
Orlando has all sorts of interesting places to raise a glass of your favorite tipple, from classy lounges to intimate martini spots to dazzling nightclubs. There are piano bars with dueling pianos and sing-alongs, trendy cigar bars, raucous sports bars, and nightspots offering blues, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll. A number of bars have Happy Hour specials on cocktails and bottled beers.
Restaurants and bars often have extensive wine lists with European as well as New World wines. For wine lovers, Funky Monkey at Pointe Orlando, the Eola Wine Company (downtown), and The Wine Room in Winter Park offer fine wines by the glass.
The popularity of micro-breweries has greatly increased the choice of quality beers. Among your choices are The Bear & Peacock, Crooked Can, and Ocean Sun. Craft cocktails are also big in Orlando. Some of the more serious cocktail bars even display jars of locally grown herbs to show how fresh the ingredients are. The Courtesy Bar, Herman’s Loan Office, and The Bakery Bar are all good bets.
Always take photo identification that gives your birthdate if you want to enjoy an alcoholic drink. You must be 21 years old to drink, and be able to prove it. Even gray-haired pensioners can be ‘carded’ at any time, and no identification means no booze.
Coffee and tea
Orlando is a coffee-savvy city, and visitors need no longer suffer the bland, weak drip-filter brews so prevalent across the country. Here, even hotel breakfast buffets often offer quality brands in different strengths to suit everyone’s tastes. Super-serious coffee shops include Foxtail Coffee, Lineage Coffee Roasting, Axum Coffee, and Downtown Credo.
You can get hot tea at most cafés and restaurants, and green tea and herbal teas are widely available. Iced tea is an American favorite and, like filter coffee, often comes with free refills. It’s often served already sweetened, so if you don’t want the sugar specify unsweetened when ordering.
Food and drink prices
Throughout this book, price guide for a two-course meal for one with an alcoholic drink:
$$$ = $50 and above
$$ = $25–50
$ = $25 and below