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The gift shop of the Modernism Museum across the street is attached to this tearoom-turned-restaurant, which helps to explain its striking and sublime decor. The menu features dishes from Florida and elsewhere in the South that are made using local ingredients whenever possible; wood oven–fired oysters, slow-cooked octopus with Japanese eggplant, or barbecue lamb shank are just some of the possibilities.
142 E. 4th Ave., Mount Dora, Florida, 32757, USA
Known For
- New interpretations of Florida cuisine
- Locally sourced seafood and chicken
- In-house pastry chef
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Locals like this legendary, uncomplicated, very large, family-run steak house, which delivers carefully prepared food and attentive service in a traditional setting of red leather and dark wood. When your steak arrives—still sizzling on a hot plate—the waiter asks you to cut into it and check that it was cooked as you ordered. Don't let the location in an industrial part of town keep you away. The menu is simple: rib eye, porterhouse, filet mignon. Seafood such as lobster, shrimp, and salmon fill out the surf side of the menu. End your meal with a big slice of the award-winning mandarin orange cake.
729 Lee Rd., Winter Park, Florida, 32810, USA
Known For
- Simple, perfectly executed steaks
- House-made mandarin orange cake
- Extensive wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch
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Celebration's branch of this high-end, family-owned chain might be better than the original in Tampa, which has been operating for more than a century. For your main course, zero in on the paella—either à la Valenciana (with meat and seafood) or campesina ("farmer's" paella with beef, pork, chorizo, and chicken). The best dessert, brazo gitano cien anos (sponge cake with strawberries that is soaked in syrup and Spanish sherry and flambéed table-side), was created for the restaurant chain's 100th anniversary in 2005, and is well worth its price just for the show. Friday and Saturday nights feature a tapas bar and entertainment.
649 Front St., Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- Oldest continuous restaurant chain in Florida
- Upscale Cuban cuisine
- Paella à la Valenciana
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Ethos has been vegan for so long (it opened in 2007) that if feels as if the rest of the culinary world has simply caught up with it. “Chickun” of the plant-based variety substitutes for meat, along with tofu, tempeh, and seitan. The black bean Samson Burger is one of the best veggie burgers in town.
601-B S. New York Ave., Winter Park, Florida, 32789, USA
Known For
- Long dedicated to a meat-free menu
- Plant-based "meats"
- Chickpea bay crab cake substitute
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$$$$ | Central Orlando |
A hip space nestled in a former private house off Colonial Drive, Kaya gives traditional dishes from throughout the 7,000 islands of the Philippines inventive new angles. Though pricey, the "five-wave Sama Sama Tasting Menu" is truly memorable—what should be a standard dish, the yam noodle pancit, becomes extraordinary, and California long-grain sushi rice is transformed into a revelatory fried-garlic-infused plate with locally grown squash, eggplant, and lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms. Indeed, chef Lordfer Lalicon, who honed his craft at the famed Blue Hill at Stone Farms, takes local sourcing very seriously.
618 N. Thornton Ave., Orlando, Florida, 32803, USA
Known For
- Inventive, multicourse meals
- Family-style dishes
- Pancit sotanghon and garlic rice
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch. Closed Sun. and Mon., Make reservations online through website
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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The menus at Kessler restaurants are always special. From waffles served with Grand Marnier syrup for breakfast to extravagant Saturday and Sunday brunch to tenderloin au poivre for dinner, the fare is sophisticated. Craft cocktails and sinful desserts round out the experience.
700 Bloom St., Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- Sophisticated dinner creations
- The famous Kessler calamari
- Generous servings for Bohemian brunch
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At this restaurant, award-winning, James Beard–nominated chef Braden McGlamery emphasizes innovative American dishes. Sophisticated barbecue might find a place on the menu next to Florida redfish as well as some of the best burgers in the area. The bar serves creative cocktails crafted with house-made tinctures, and the Sunday brunch is a must.
640 South Orlando Ave., Maitland, Florida, 32751, USA
Known For
- Seasonal menu
- Sunday brunch
- Creative cocktails
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon. and Tues.
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$$ | Central Orlando |
Trina Gregory-Propst and her team of bakers and cooks make the biggest and most satisfying breakfasts, lunches, and sweet treats in town. Try a from-scratch chicken pot pie, which has the most glorious crust; the mile-high meat loaf sandwich; or the "7th Trimester" of buttermilk garlic biscuit, over-medium egg, and smoked bacon, smothered in five-cheese mac-and-cheese. Look for the "Let us fill your pie hole" mural.
617 Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32803, USA
Known For
- Over-the-top Southern breakfast specials
- Funky Downtown location
- Featured on TV show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed. No dinner
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Tabla's reputation for great Indian food has lasted since 2008. Start with a selection from the enormous range of house-made breads before choosing from the menu of biryanis, curries, tandoor-fired meats, or vegetarian dishes like bhindi masala and sautéed paneer.
216 N. Park Ave., Winter Park, Florida, 32789, USA
Known For
- Food from every territory of India
- Chicken, seafood, lamb, or goat curries
- Wide range of vegetarian dishes
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A large and interesting selection of American dishes is served at breakfast and lunch, as well as, perhaps, an early dinner (as in before 6 pm). Offerings range from burgers and hand-tossed pizza to gator bites and frog legs.
225 Celebration Place, Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- A quick bite before or after theme park visits
- Eclectic American menu
- Lobster Benedict breakfast
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed weekends
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This bright, modern restaurant serves fairly standard sushi rolls and an interesting range of hot dishes. Menu standouts include the bulgogi or shrimp bibimbap rice bowl.
671 Front St., Celebration, Florida, USA
Known For
- Japanese and Korean specialties
- Affordable lunch specials
- Unusual roll combos
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$$$ | College Park |
Armando Martorelli has opened many local restaurants in his career since coming from Italy to Florida, but his namesake eatery is the epitome of his craft. It has a relaxed neighborhood vibe and serves what is perhaps the area's best Neapolitan-style pizza. Other menu highlights include daily fresh-seafood specials, veal saltimbocca, and a signature pollo di Tatiana with vodka cream sauce.
2305 Edgewater Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32804, USA
Known For
- Wood-fired oven pizza and other Neapolitan specialties
- Superb seafood
- Extensive wine and cocktail list with a very popular bar area
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$$ | International Drive |
Open from early breakfast to late dinner in the Hyatt Regency, this slick modern diner is not exactly cheap, but the salads, sandwiches, and griddle foods are tops. The classic B Line Burger is done beautifully. And there are lots of selections you'd never expect to find here, like an appetizer of stuffed avocado and a portobello quesadilla entrée.
9801 International Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Updated diner theme
- Breakfast and late-night specials
- Large dessert menu
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$$$ | Sand Lake Rd. Area |
Exceptional Turkish cuisine served in a relaxing, indoor-outdoor setting is a welcome surprise among the big-budget chains on Sand Lake Road. Servers at this independently owned neighborhood favorite bring to the table piping-hot, oversize lavas (hollow bread) to dip in appetizers such as a hummus, ezme (a zesty, garlicky, chilled chopped salad), and baba ghanoush. Many twosomes make a meal of the bountiful mixed-appetizer platter with a lavas or two. Following are oversize platters of char-grilled whole or filleted sea bass, kebabs, and lamb dishes, each prepared expertly. Light eaters enjoy the boat-shape spinach-and-cheese Turkish pastry. Other locations are in Winter Park, Lake Nona, and Winter Garden.
7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Turkish appetizer plates
- Grilled sea bass
- Chicken and lamb shish kebab
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$$ | Lake Nona |
With nine permanent food and drink vendors, all housed in colorful repurposed shipping containers, Boxi Park is like a big, stationary, food-truck park, just with more alcohol. Three of the venues serve microbrew beers and margaritas or other mixed cocktails to go with the hand-rolled sushi, burgers, chicken sandwiches, tacos, lobster rolls, and more.
6877 Tavistock Lakes Blvd., Orlando, Florida, 32827, USA
Known For
- Everything from lobster rolls to sushi
- Beer and cocktail stations
- Casual, fun outdoor neighborhood setting
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed.
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$$$ | Sand Lake Rd. Area |
This family-owned Lebanese eatery, set in a major upscale strip shopping center that's become part of Restaurant Row, serves Middle Eastern standards like shish kebab, baba ghanoush (an ultrasmoky variety that is the very best in town), and hummus as well as tasty daily specials. One of the most notable regular entrées is the samak harra (sautéed red snapper fillet topped with onions, tomatoes, and cilantro). More formal than the average Orlando-area Middle Eastern restaurant, and featuring a cocktail menu, Cedar's has tables with white-linen tablecloths and diners who tend to wear resort-casual attire. Musicians or belly dancers perform on some Friday and Saturday nights; hookah pipes are popular on the back patio.
7732 W. Sand Lake Rd., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Authentic hummus and falafel
- Kafta kebab
- Rack of lamb
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Operated by a family with Boston roots, this New England–cuisine eatery has a double personality: the interior is a brass, glass, and dark-wood-paneling kind of place, while the outside patio has table seating plus the Paddy O' Bar. The food ranges from landlubber treats like baby back ribs, prime rib, and half-pound burgers (from $8) to exquisite seafood including Ipswich clams, lobster rolls, scrod, and 2-pound lobsters (all flown in from Boston), plus, on occasion, a salute to the Sunshine State with Florida stone crabs in season. Although the place has a polished demeanor, there are plenty of menu choices right out of a working-class Boston bar—meatball hoagies, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and Buffalo-style chicken wings. For dessert there's great—what else?—Boston cream pie.
721 Front St., Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- 99-beer selection
- Fried Boston scrod
- Steak scampi
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Sunday brunch
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$$$$ | Sand Lake Rd. Area |
Business travelers love to spend money at Christini's, one of the city's fanciest places for northern Italian cuisine. A throwback to elegant dining in the 1950s, the menu is filled with high-end versions of familiar dishes like chicken marsala and veal with lemon-wine sauce. You may be so enchanted by the rose each lady receives and the serenade by a roving accordion player that you forget to check the price of the recommended wine, which will cost you.
7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Chris Christini, the charming owner since 1984
- Upscale classic Italian cuisine
- Distinguished wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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You can enjoy outdoor patio dining at this popular seafood shack in Lake Wales, which was visited in 2016 by Emeril Lagasse for his show Emeril's Florida. Fresh shrimp, blue crab, and catfish sourced from Florida fishers are all on the menu in season.
802 Henry St., Lake Wales, Florida, 33853, USA
Known For
- Fresh Florida seafood
- Very casual atmosphere
- Appearance on Emeril's Florida TV show
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
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$$$ | International Drive |
The dining rooms at this Cuban restaurant feel as if they're movie sets of Old Havana, with dramatic touches upstairs and down. Start your meal with a meat-filled arepa rellena corn cake or a platter of two to four empanadas filled with savory ground beef and olives, chicken, cheese, or pork; for the main course, consider the churrasco a la Cubana (grilled skirt steak) with a lemon-onion sauce plus a watercress-mushroom escabeche salad. Go traditional with a pressed Cuban sandwich, which is part of the classic platter featuring black bean soup, salad, and chips, or a good version of the traditional ropa vieja, shredded beef brisket with tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions in a red wine sauce.
9101 International Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Menu via celeb chef Guillermo Pernot
- Extensive rum bar
- Friday and Saturday late nights with salsa dancing
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch. Closed Mon. and Tues.
