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The dining scene in Orlando was at one time epitomized by a plethora of fast-food fare, but there's been such an explosion of artisanal and locally sourced restaurants over the past five years that there are now seven local chefs and nine international celebrity chefs with James Beard Award nominations around the city. Some of t
The dining scene in Orlando was at one time epitomized by a plethora of fast-food fare, but there's been such an explosion of artisanal and locally sourced restaurants over the past five years that there are now seven local chefs and nine international celebrity chefs w
The dining scene in Orlando was at one time epitomized by a plethora of fast-food fare, but there's been such an explosi
The dining scene in Orlando was at one time epitomized by a plethora of fast-food fare, but there's been such an explosion of artisanal and locally sourced restaurants over the past five years that there are now seven local chefs and nine international celebrity chefs with James Beard Award nominations around the city. Some of the best restaurants in town can be found in resort hotels and theme-park complexes such as Disney Springs, but if you have the time, explore the local treasures beyond the resorts.
The signs of Orlando's dining progress is most evident in the last place one would look: Disney's fast-food outlets. Every eatery on Disney property offers a tempting vegetarian option, and kiddie meals come with healthful sides and drinks unless you specifically request otherwise. Chefs at Disney’s table-service restaurants consult face-to-face with guests about food allergies.
Around town, locals flock to the Ravenous Pig, the Rusty Spoon, Artisan's Table, and other gastropubs where the menu changes regularly; Luma on Park, a suave home of thoughtfully created cutting-edge meals; and any number of dining establishments competing to serve the very finest steak. Orlando's culinary blossoming began in 1995, when Disney's signature California Grill debuted, featuring farm-to-table cuisine and wonderful wines by the glass. Soon after, celebrity chefs started opening up shop. And in 2013, Disney completely revamped California Grill so it's a trendsetter once again.
Orlando's destination restaurants can be found in the theme parks, as well as in the outlying towns. Sand Lake Road is now known as Restaurant Row for its eclectic collection of worthwhile tables. Here you'll find fashionable outlets for sushi and seafood, Italian and chops, Hawaiian fusion and upscale Lebanese. Heading into the residential areas, the neighborhoods of Winter Park (actually its own city), Thornton Park, and Downtown Orlando are prime locales for chow. Scattered throughout Central Florida, low-key ethnic restaurants specialize in the fare of Turkey, India, Peru, Thailand, Vietnam—you name it. Prices in these family-owned finds are usually delightfully low.
Boma takes Western-style ingredients and prepares them with an African twist. You walk through an African marketplace–style dining room to help yourself at counters piled high with flavor from an upscale buffet like no other. The dozen or so serving stations have entrées such as roasted pork, Durban-style chicken, spice-crusted beef, and fish served with tamarind and other robust sauces; intriguing salads; and some of the best hummus this side of the Atlantic. Don't pass up the soups (the coconut-curry seafood stew is particularly good). The zebra dome dessert is chocolate mousse covered with white chocolate and striped with dark chocolate. For a more relaxed breakfast experience, book a table for before 9:30 am; Boma gets crowded quickly.
2901 Osceola Pkwy., Walt Disney World, Florida, 32830, USA
A well-polished service team anticipates your every need, providing a truly sophisticated dining experience, one in which children under 10 aren't on the guest list. There's nothing quick about sitting down for a 7- to 10-course dinner in the main dining room, the 10-course dinner in the intimate Queen Victoria's Room, or the over-the-top Chef's Table dinner in the restaurant's kitchen. Ingredients are sourced daily from local and international purveyors and may include Australian Kobe-style beef, white truffles, Alaskan sablefish, or Galilee Osetra caviar from northern Israel. This is Orlando's only restaurant with a AAA 5-Diamond award; it's also one of the few Disney restaurants with a dress code, so pack accordingly! The meal will easily run three hours or more, and the Chef's Table can cost more than $500 per person.
4401 Floridian Way, Walt Disney World, Florida, 32830, USA
The fact that the Disney monorail zooms overhead right through the Contemporary Resort, and that Mickey, Minnie, or Goofy hangs around for breakfast and dinner, would be enough to make it popular, but the food here is surprisingly good. Chef Mickey's is shiny and bright, offering a breakfast and brunch that includes banana bread French toast, potato-cheese casserole, and the "Celebration" Mickey pancake. The family-style dinner doesn't disappoint either with prime rib, roasted salmon, potato gnocchi, and a Mickey Mouse Dome for dessert. A large selection of specialty cocktails is available for the grown-ups.
4600 N. World Dr., Walt Disney World, Florida, 32830, USA
Family-style dinner fare is served here as the restaurant revolves, giving you an ever-changing backstage view of the Living with the Land boat ride. Offering quantity over quality, the restaurant serves all-you-can-eat meals with visits from Chip ’n’ Dale, Pluto, and occasionally Mickey. Typical choices include beef, turkey, and a sustainable fish with trimmings, beer and wine selections, plus kiddie favorites like mac and cheese and oven-roasted chicken drumsticks. Except for the princess meals in Norway, this is the only EPCOT restaurant that has Disney character meet and greets during meals.
World Nature, Walt Disney World, Florida, 32830, USA
At what is, literally, an out-of-this-world restaurant, you board a special elevator to travel 220 miles above the planet to a dining room with panoramas of Earth through viewports that use real-time, above-the-clouds imagery. The prix-fixe menu ($55 at lunch and $79 for dinner) includes a lift-off (read: appetizer) and a star (main) course. Lift-off selections include starry calamari, blue moon cauliflower, and space greens; the star course menu features dishes like X2 Duck with butternut squash flan and slow-rotation short rib with cheddar grits. There are also more than 1,000 different bottles of wine and craft beer.
World Discovery, Walt Disney World, Florida, 32830, USA
This family-style restaurant deep inside the Wilderness Lodge offers character dining with Snow White and Dopey. The prix-fixe menu includes a shared appetizer, a single entrée per person, and then a shared dessert. There's a good northwestern U.S. wine list to choose from as well. The lobby of the hotel is its own entertainment, with giant totem poles and a huge stone fireplace that features rocks from every strata of the Grand Canyon.
901 Timberline Dr., Walt Disney World, Florida, 32830, USA
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