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$$$ | |
Celebration's branch of this high-end, family-owned chain might be better than the original in Tampa, which has been operating for more than a century. For your main course, zero in on the paella—either à la Valenciana (with meat and seafood) or campesina ("farmer's" paella with beef, pork, chorizo, and chicken). The best dessert, brazo gitano cien anos (sponge cake with strawberries that is soaked in syrup and Spanish sherry and flambéed table-side), was created for the restaurant chain's 100th anniversary in 2005, and is well worth its price just for the show. Friday and Saturday nights feature a tapas bar and entertainment.
649 Front St., Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- Oldest continuous restaurant chain in Florida
- Upscale Cuban cuisine
- Paella à la Valenciana
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$$$ | |
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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$$$ | |
At this restaurant, award-winning, James Beard–nominated chef Braden McGlamery emphasizes innovative American dishes. Sophisticated barbecue might find a place on the menu next to Florida redfish as well as some of the best burgers in the area. The bar serves creative cocktails crafted with house-made tinctures, and the Sunday brunch is a must.
640 South Orlando Ave., Maitland, Florida, 32751, USA
Known For
- Seasonal menu
- Sunday brunch
- Creative cocktails
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon. and Tues.
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$$$ | |
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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$$$ | |
This bright, modern restaurant serves fairly standard sushi rolls and an interesting range of hot dishes. Menu standouts include the bulgogi or shrimp bibimbap rice bowl.
671 Front St., Celebration, Florida, USA
Known For
- Japanese and Korean specialties
- Affordable lunch specials
- Unusual roll combos
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$$$ | 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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$$$ | Sand Lake Rd. Area |
Exceptional Turkish cuisine served in a relaxing, indoor-outdoor setting is a welcome surprise among the big-budget chains on Sand Lake Road. Servers at this independently owned neighborhood favorite bring to the table piping-hot, oversize lavas (hollow bread) to dip in appetizers such as a hummus, ezme (a zesty, garlicky, chilled chopped salad), and baba ghanoush. Many twosomes make a meal of the bountiful mixed-appetizer platter with a lavas or two. Following are oversize platters of char-grilled whole or filleted sea bass, kebabs, and lamb dishes, each prepared expertly. Light eaters enjoy the boat-shape spinach-and-cheese Turkish pastry. Other locations are in Winter Park, Lake Nona, and Winter Garden.
7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Turkish appetizer plates
- Grilled sea bass
- Chicken and lamb shish kebab
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$$$ | 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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$$$ | |
Operated by a family with Boston roots, this New England–cuisine eatery has a double personality: the interior is a brass, glass, and dark-wood-paneling kind of place, while the outside patio has table seating plus the Paddy O' Bar. The food ranges from landlubber treats like baby back ribs, prime rib, and half-pound burgers (from $8) to exquisite seafood including Ipswich clams, lobster rolls, scrod, and 2-pound lobsters (all flown in from Boston), plus, on occasion, a salute to the Sunshine State with Florida stone crabs in season. Although the place has a polished demeanor, there are plenty of menu choices right out of a working-class Boston bar—meatball hoagies, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and Buffalo-style chicken wings. For dessert there's great—what else?—Boston cream pie.
721 Front St., Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- 99-beer selection
- Fried Boston scrod
- Steak scampi
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Sunday brunch
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$$$ | 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.
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$$$ | Central Orlando |
Talented chefs bring big city sophistication to Downtown Orlando at this casual eatery with a French-American fusion menu and craft cocktails. Everything that can be made in-house—pickles, condiments, bread—is, and although the chicken, steak, and seafood entrées are fantastic, the frites (fries) alone are worth the trip. Coffee and pastries are available in the morning, and a very prolonged happy hour fills afternoons. There's complimentary valet parking in the evening.
390 N Orange Ave., Orlando, Florida, 32801, USA
Known For
- Handcrafted charcuterie and cocktails
- Raw bar with Florida oysters
- Braised short ribs with trumpet mushrooms
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun. Morning hours vary
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$$$ | |
Eleven, highly thought of in an area of town dominated by fast food and golf clubhouse eateries (including the ones at Reunion), features high-class small plates crafted around seafood from Maine and Florida, house-made charcuterie, and shareable dishes. The location high atop the resort affords panoramic views of still-forested Florida and, in the right weather, theme park fireworks 10 miles away.
7593 Gathering Dr., Celebration, Florida, 34747, USA
Known For
- Well-crafted small plates and cocktails
- Wagyu beef and New England mussels
- Views of pristine Florida and theme park fireworks
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Wed. and Fri. (but check). No lunch
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$$$ | Downtown Orlando |
A local favorite since 1947, this down-home steak house serves good cuts of meat, expertly cooked and reasonably priced. Butchery is done on premises, and there are no TVs over the bar to distract from a pleasant conversation over a great steak. The menu is short and to the point, including about a dozen steaks (most of them different sizes of top sirloin strip, filet mignon, or T-bone) and just enough ancillary items to fill a single page. Among the fish selections is the 12-ounce blackened red snapper. The chicken, veal, or eggplant parmigiana topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella is good for nonsteak lovers. With every entrée you receive a salad plus a choice of spaghetti (which isn't particularly noteworthy), baked potato, steak fries, green beans, or broccoli. There's even an old-fashioned early bird special for seniors before 6 pm.
4721 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32803, USA
Known For
- An Orlando classic
- Hand-cut, house-aged steaks
- Seafood and pasta entrées
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch
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$$$ | Downtown Orlando |
A holdover from when neighborhood restaurants were actually in a neighborhood, award-winning Maxine's is casual, hip, local, and friendly. The menu ranges from sophisticated seafood to brisket burgers and Black Angus filet mignon. The wine list is unique and special, and the bar rivals the extended outdoor seating for popularity. There's live music several times a week, an unusual Friday brunch, and special events feature wine dinners and drag cabaret nights.
337 N. Shine, Orlando, Florida, 32803, USA
Known For
- Lively, neighborhood atmosphere
- Outdoor dining
- Seafood dishes from a veteran local chef
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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$$$ | Lake Nona |
Part tavern, part bistro, and part sports bar, Nona Blue has a little something for everyone. Kettle chips smothered in blue cheese or Buffalo chicken wings, check; burgers and salads, check; filet mignon or a 16-ounce, $44 Delmonico rib eye, also (very much) check.
9685 Lake Nona Village Pl., Orlando, Florida, 32827, USA
Known For
- Casual atmosphere with high-end steaks
- Signature burgers
- Bar with craft beers and single-malt whiskeys
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$$$ | International Drive |
At this authentic Spanish restaurant, Iron Chef celeb Roberto Treviño uses unique grills to prepare inventive dishes, including seafood, chicken, lamb, or vegetarian paella. The tapas menu features a great gazpacho soup and fiery patatas bravas (home fries with a spicy tomato sauce). Flamenco dancers visit the dining room hourly at night.
8441 International Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Family-style tapas and entrées
- Several varieties of paella
- Live entertainment
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$$$ | International Drive |
Hampton Social covers many bases with its menu of "coastal inspired food." With options ranging from California-style pizzas and lobster rolls to steak or seafood tacos and crispy calamari, there's likely to be something for everyone in your party. Weekend brunch adds boozy and non-alcoholic bevs, as well as live music.
9101 International Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32819, USA
Known For
- Free parking with $25 purchase
- "Rosé all Day" lounge
- Weekend brunch with live music and kids' choices
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$$$ | |
Using locally sourced ingredients, the chef at this small, independent redbrick eatery on Sanford's main drag creates Southern-fusion dishes. His house-made biscuits and gravy are renowned, the Saturday brunch menu includes a BLT with house-cured bacon and heirloom tomatoes, and dinner choices include pan-seared Florida trout with bacon from Tennessee and the ever-popular shrimp and grits with corn from Zellwood, Florida.
125 W. 1st St., Sanford, Florida, 32771, USA
Known For
- Saturday brunch
- Great Southern-inspired food
- Shrimp and grits
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Wed.
