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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 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.
Few snacks are so popular as to have spawned their own merchandise, but the Pineapple Float at Aloha Isle has done just that. Dole pineapple ice cream on pineapple juice is one of the iconic treats offered at the Magic Kingdom, and it can only be found at Disney or at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii. If pineapples aren't your thing, still line up to try a coconut or raspberry ice cream.
This complex of three restaurants is a haven of authentic Italian served up by two internationally known chefs (though the Disney "story" tells of an immigrant Italian couple who convert the Disney Springs Air Terminal into the eateries). Maria & Enzo's offers fine Italian cuisine in a sophisticated setting; neighboring Pizza Ponte has pizza by the slice, Italian pastries, and belly-filling sandwiches; Enzo's Hideaway, set in a former cast-access tunnel, serves classic dishes seldom seen in Florida, like fried artichokes and house-cured antipasti.
This restaurant has character buffets at all three meals, with an array of Disney princesses, including Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Mary Poppins, and even an occasional cameo appearance by Cinderella. The breakfast menu is American, but lunch and dinner feature an ever-changing assortment of Norwegian specialties. Appetizers usually include herring, goat-milk cheese, lefse bread, and gravlax (cured salmon served with mustard sauce), or fiskepudding (a seafood mousse with herb dressing). For a main course, you might try traditional ground pork and beef kjottkake (dumplings), fillet of salmon, or seared pork tenderloin with apricot glaze. Children will be happy choosing among mac 'n' cheese, corn dog nuggets, or Norwegian meatballs. Aquavit, wine, and specialty drinks are offered. All meals are prix-fixe.
It's hard to miss this funky truck serving vanilla and chocolate ice cream in floats and sundaes.
Looking for a snack on the go? Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies offers milk shakes, smoothies, and floats that are easy to eat while walking.
This eatery re-creates a downtown Los Angeles corner pub, serving California wines and craft beers. Charcuterie boards featuring California cheeses and Bavarian pretzels with fondue are snackable highlights.
This plush, bustling brasserie remains true to the spirit and the vision of Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenôtre, and Roger Vergé, three of France's most famous chefs (Bocuse's son, Jerome, continues to run the restaurant). Classic escargots, a good starter, are prepared in a casserole with garlic butter; you might follow up with salmon marinated in white wine and lemon and served in a champagne sauce or grilled beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce; naturally, ratatouille is available, as is the occasional three-course, prix-fixe meal. Finish with your pick of a Parisian dessert.
Specialty hot dogs such as bacon, macaroni, and cheese or a California BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado) make this a great stop for quick meal. In addition to vanilla and chocolate, shakes can be made with Baileys Irish Cream and Kahlúa liqueur, while the Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade adds Tito's Handmade Vodka.
The whole family will love sharing a funnel cake with strawberry or cookies 'n' cream topping. Root beer floats come traditionally or with Stoli Vanil Vodka.
Carved into the walkway leading to the Wildlife Express train, this four-station food mart offers a selection of shrimp or chicken bowls and salads. Everyone will want their own watermelon lemonade.
Most people stop here on their way into the park—and end up waiting in their first long line of the day. Instead, return to the Main Street Bakery in the afternoon for a coffee and a delicious brownie. In addition to the usual Starbucks offerings, there are specialty cakes that kids will enjoy and giant cinnamon rolls that everyone can split.
The dining room, with Victorian-style columns, high ceilings, and hardwood floors, is not only a great place seafood and steaks, but also to gaze out at the nightly fireworks over the Seven Seas Lagoon (an announcement is made when fireworks commence, and music is piped in). The menu changes regularly, but typical choices are blackened redfish and the surf-and-turf centerpiece—a butter-poached lobster tail and a tender, grilled filet mignon. The name of the place, incidentally, was not coined by Disney Imagineers; it's the name of a river and a small Central Florida town, both of which predate Disney. The bar, one of the more intimate in the resorts, specializes in fine whiskeys and spirits.
Under the leadership of Neapolitan chef Fabrizio Schenardi, Ravello is a chic, modern Italian restaurant. Hand-tossed pizzas emerge from the oven—perhaps finished with house-made ricotta, arugula, and truffle oil; the pastas might be familiar or ambitious, like ravioli made with veal, spinach, and wild mushrooms; and the entrées are simple yet hearty, perhaps a 16-ounce, dry-aged rib eye with Fabrizio's special rub or a swordfish fillet. In the morning, the dining room is fresh and bright, perfect for a buffet or à la carte breakfast. On select mornings, this is also the backdrop for a Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy & Pals character meal. The $46 adult/$24 kid price tag includes a buffet with an omelet station plus a pic of each guest with Goofy.
If you're an Anglophile and you love a beer so thick you could stand a spoon up in your mug, head here—not only to soak up the suds but also to enjoy the British pub culture and feast on the best fish-and-chips in town. Other traditional English fare includes Scotch eggs, shepherd's pie, and, at times, bangers and mash (sausage over mashed potatoes); vegetarians can always find an adapted item, such as a savory hot pot. For dessert, try the sticky toffee pudding. A dinner package is available to enjoy a meal and one of the best fireworks-viewing seats at EPCOT.
If you're looking for a pick-me-up after climbing the entire Swiss Family Treehouse, stop by the Sunshine Tree Terrace for a root beer float. Kids will enjoy fresh orange or strawberry ice cream just as much as vanilla or chocolate. If you're heading to the parade next, grab an order of pot stickers to split as an unusual afternoon treat.
If you liked the Dole Whip pineapple float in the Magic Kingdom, stop here for another, or upgrade to the Pineapple Crisp Sundae.
Under the guidance of James Beard Award–winner and Top Chef master Tony Mantuano, Terralina brings sophistication and southern Italian cuisine to Disney Springs. Meticulously planned to look like a resort in Italy's Lake District, Terralina's open design and wood-fired grills provide a stylish atmosphere and some of the best recipes Mantuano can create, including wood-fired, hand-tossed pizzas along with salads and sandwiches. The antipasti tower is a starting course eye-opener, and steaks and seafood delight.
Loud, mad, bustling, and chaotic, this casual, family-friendly restaurant features authentic, thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in massive ovens named after Italian volcanoes. Toppings include an array of cheeses, spicy Italian sausage, truffle oil, prosciutto—even melon. Particularly good is the seasonal and very authentic carciofi (artichoke) white pizza. The menu also has a large selection of southern Italian favorites; the tortellini is an outstanding pizza alternative. Adults will appreciate the selection of Italian beer, wine, and cocktails. You're very close to neighboring diners here, so make friends.
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck's California-crafted eatery serves a mixture of dishes, from signature wood-fired pizzas to entrées such as mesquite-grilled pork chops, bacon-wrapped meat loaf, roasted sea bass, or chicken Weiner schnitzel. Gooey desserts and craft cocktails complete the cosmopolitan scene.
This two-story, 250-seat restaurant offers everything from noodles, curries, and wok dishes to Korean barbecue, with standout entrées that include seared miso salmon or roasted duck with plum barbecue sauce (an occasional prix-fixe menu is offered as well). The decor is pleasantly faux-Asian, with cracked plaster walls, wood carvings, and tile mosaic tabletops, and the adjacent bar is a surprisingly intimate place to escape from the crowds and grab a drink while the kids are getting wet at Kali River Rapids.
Within this shop, hidden in the back of the Africa section, you'll find enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. A constantly changing selection of candied apples, Mickey-theme cookies, and cupcakes can be found in abundance. Order in advance on the Disney app to avoid long lines.
