Superb dining choices are hallmarks of a great city, and here in Orlando their is many standout eateries offering dishes from around the world, so whether you're looking for authentic ramen dishes, mouthwatering dry-aged steaks, or decadent crab nachos, you'll discover it all and more in Orlando.
Orlando is well known for the best theme parks in the world, and yes, of course we love eating and drinking our way around the world at Epcot... But beyond the bright lights and mouth watering delights of the parks you'll discover a world of wonderful food. In recent years, our foodie scene has exploded. We’ve got fancy eats at high end restaurants and food trucks with authentic Cuban eats, and quite frankly, we love them all.
Here at Gotta Go Orlando we've got you covered on the best places to eat.
Orlando's impressive culinary scene awaits, keep up to date with the freshest Restaurant news and reviews here at Gotta Go Orlando, now go and eat your way around Orlando!
Locals and tourists alike are flocking to O-Town's new food halls, pop-up dinners, food trucks, farm-to-table restaurants, food tours, craft breweries, gastropubs and scratch bakeries, and with so many mouthwatering options, where do you begin? Here, you'll find a small selection of the best places to explore and enjoy Orlando's foodie scene.
Restaurants
For starters, delve into Orlando's neighborhoods, where independent restaurants thrive. From fine dining and hole-in-the-wall hot spots to vegan bakeries and ethnic eateries, you can find every type of cuisine at every price point.
Wine Bar George
Wine Bar George at Disney Springs offers an extensive wine list that features over 140 wines from around the world, all of which are available by the ounce, glass or bottle and when it's time to eat be sure to get the Big Board, a variety of artisan cheeses, meats and accompaniments. We also love the family style platters of skirt steak or the whole-grilled sea bass. Wine Bar George also serves a weekend brunch with items like brioche French toast or a fried chicken biscuit with pimento cheese. And no brunch at this restaurant is complete without a Frozcato made with DOLE Whip Pineapple, moscato, and vodka blended together into a perfectly sweet slushy.
Hunger Street Tacos
Hunger Street Tacos is in Winter Garden. This simple joint crafts dishes such as esquites and refreshing cucumber salads from family recipes, alongside more modern fare like fried avocado tacos and savory mushroom quesadillas. You'll know your at the right location when you see the building with the mural of a little girl surrounded by flowers.
Winter Park Biscuit Company
Plant-based dining is at an all-time high in Orlando and one restaurant not to miss is Winter Park Biscuit Company. Everything on their menu, right down to the sauces, is completely plant-based. The menu is filled with tempting options, but we suggest the truffle butter biscuit, a flaky oat buttermilk biscuit served with a side of truffle butter, or the crispy chik sandwich, a vegan chicken cutlet with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo on a brioche bun. The restaurant is located in the popular East End Market, so you can grab coffee after your meal.
Kabooki Sushi
Kabooki Sushi offers traditional sushi rolls and sashimi, but for an over-the-top culinary adventure, consider the chef-selected multi-course omakase experience. Plus, the house-made desserts, like goat cheese panna cotta and beet cake, served with Thai basil, beet powder, black pepper almonds, olive oil, and beet vinegar, are divine.
Buttermilk Bakery
Located in the Winter Park neighborhood, Buttermilk Bakery has become a breakfast staple in Orlando, enjoy freshly baked croissants, tarts, breads, and more. Then settle on the porch or patio to enjoy the fresh quiche..
The Ravenous Pig
The Ravenous Pig is known for its house-made charcuterie, which guests can see hanging in the fridge while walking to their table. After indulging in cured meats and cheeses, you're going to want to try out the goat cheese tortelini with pork cheeks, then you can end the night next door at the on-site brewery and taproom.
The Monroe
The Monroe Orlando slings twists on comfort food classics such as chicken noodle soup, shake and bake ham chops, and a few variations on fried chicken in a mid-century modern setting. In need of a cold brew and a quick snack? The restaurants has a second life as a coffee shop every day from 8am to 4pm, before switching to dinner service at 5pm. No matter when you choose to go, you're sure to enjoy the laid back vibes.
Domu
One of the most talked about restaurants in Orlando is Domu, here they crafts house-made noodles to serve in almost a dozen different dishes, along with shareable plates like Asian buns. They offer a delightful happy hour features a wasabi and ginger margarita. Domu does not accept reservations and finding a seat inside the tiny restaurant can be challenging, so be sure to arrive early and be willing to wait, especially on weekends.
Sticky Rice Lao Street Food
Sticky Rice Lao Street Food are making traditional grub like chicken laab, lemongrass beef jerky and pork tapioca dumplings accessible to the Florida masses. They also offer sumptuous noodle bowls with a variety of toppings and broths. This small restaurant is on the edge of Orlando's Vietnamese community near downtown.
Knife and Spoon
Knife and Spoon is located at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando by award-winning chef John Tesar. The restaurant is known for its dry-aged steaks, which come in a wide variety of cuts and aging times. Regardless of which main you go with, from 45-day bone-in New York Strip to 240-day bone-in ribeye, order a side of kimchi-creamed spinach too.
Tartini Pizzeria and Spaghtetteria
The signature dish at Tartini Pizzeria and Spaghtetteria – an upscale Italian restaurant with a surprisingly laid back vibe, is pasta alla ruota, which is pasta tossed inside a massive cheese wheel and lit on fire with brandy. The entire dish is made table-side so you can see the pasta and cheese pulls in action. Spectacular and yummy too.
King Bao
King Bao is in the Mills 50 area of Orlando. This foodie hotspot is known for its creative takes on traditional bao buns with delicious menu items like firecracker shrimp bao, Korean beef with fuji-apple-salsa bao and a sweet potato croquette bao. If that's not enough, King Bao is also serving up loaded tots, and fried bao sweets.
Capa
Capa at the Four Seasons Orlando is a beautiful spot for an elegant dinner. The top-floor restaurant boasts floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of Walt Disney World, and a beautiful outdoor space to watch nighttime fireworks shows. Capa's menu is filled with shareable tapas like ham and caramelized onion croquettes and beer brined pork belly. For something more substantial, try the paella with chorizo, which is filled with flavor.
Tiffins
Disney's Animal Kingdom is all about experiencing nature, and the same can be said about the park's signature restaurant, Tiffins. The restaurant is named after the light lunch prepared for working men in India, and is also the name of the containers the meal is traditionally served in. While you won't be eating out of a tiffin, you will be eating dishes inspired by Walt Disney Imagineering's travels to remote areas as they did research for the theme park. The menu at Tiffins rotates regularly, but often you can find charred octopus dishes, a bread service and butter chicken.
Se7en Bites
In the heart of the Milk District you'll find Se7en Bites. The restaurant is a local favorite. Head to the restaurant early and order the vanilla bean bourbon bacon nighttime skypie and the chicken pot pie. Breakfast is served all day, so no matter if you're craving eggs or a Southern take on a Cuban sandwich, it's always available.
Reyes Mezcaleria
At Reyes Mezcaleria the food and drinks are created in traditional ways but with a distinct modern twist. To start, consider getting their queso fundido, which is served with housemade chorizo verde. For something besides tacos, be sure to take a look at the duck enchiladas, which comes with queso fresco, Oaxacan cheese, chile rojo, seared duck breast, radish and escabeche. Reyes Mezcaleria also boasts a happy hour with deals on drinks and snacks.
Luke's Kitchen and Bar
Luke's Kitchen and Bar is all about classic American cuisine that brings a sense of nostalgia while dining. Almost everything on the menu is made in-house and many items like the vegetables and fruits are locally sourced. While the menu does have the typical burgers, steaks and seafood dishes, you'll also find things like cauliflower steaks and red shrimp ceviche. After dinner, stick around for desserts such as strawberry shortcake and root beer floats.
Chroma
Chroma in the Lake Nona neighborhood is well-loved by locals and visitors. The restaurant is known for its take on "garden-to-glass" cocktails, small plates and craft beer in a cozy setting where friends and family can linger and chat the night away. The menu is an eclectic mix, ranging from lobster pad thai to potato gnocchi to sliders.
Prato
Prato is in Orlando's Winter Park neighborhood. Each of the Italian dishes on the menu has a modern twist. For example, the green garlic ravioli comes with melted onions, snap peas, carrots and black rice, and be sure to leave room for the seasonal dessert, which is often just whatever the chef thinks sounds good at the moment.
Todd English's Bluezoo
Todd English's bluezoo is located inside the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, and is a lovely spot for seafood and steaks. The restaurant boasts a wood-fire grill where guests can see dishes being cooked. The highlight of the menu is the bluezoo simply fish, where you get to customize your dish based on your fish and sauce preference. Oh and the crab nachos are piled high with succulent crab, cheese sauce, black beans, pico de gallo, and more.
Orlando Meats
Orlando Meats is part butcher shop and part restaurant located in the trendy Winter Park neighborhood. The restaurant focuses on organic products that are locally sourced. The menu does change frequently depending on availability of ingredients, often times you can find a chicken fried lasagna sandwich, a lamb and falafel gyro or duck sausage chow mein. Also consider their house-made ham that's thinly sliced, or crispy house-made bacon.
Food Trucks, Food Halls And More
If you think outside the confines of a brick-and-mortar restaurant, here in Orlando you will discover a world of choices, so let's start with food trucks, and it's a great place to experience street food as Orlando is fast gaining a reputation as food truck capitol of America with the most food trucks per resident.
Food halls are also multiplying in Central Florida, providing an air-conditioned respite from the blazing sun that offers up a mini-smorgasbord of local food vendors. While East End Market in Audubon Park started the trend about six years ago, new food halls pepper the Orlando area each year. You'll love the charm of Plant Street Market in Winter Garden, which is housed in a beautiful brick building and home to Crooked Can Brewery and nearly two dozen artisan vendors. The cozy, two-story Market on Magnolia (with just three food vendors) makes for a thirst-quenching pitstop when you're downtown, with a full bar featuring 75+ craft beers.
Boxi Park in Lake Nona is an outside venue, but its unique atmosphere (repurposed shipping containers) makes for an Instagrammable fresh-air dinner. Plus we have Henry's Depot in Sanford, Hamlin Market in Southwest Orlando's Lake District, and The Food Factory in the Oviedo on the Park development.
Oh and don't forget Orlando's two dozen or so craft breweries when you're seeking great local food. Many of them feature a full menu, while others serve as weekly destinations for a rotating stream of food trucks. A trip along the Central Florida Ale Trail will take weeks of noshing (and sipping responsibly) in and around Orlando.
Plus, Orlando is often home to pop up restaurants, and here at Gotta Go Orlando Going Out Guide we bring you the latest pop ups straight outta the oven, remember if it's happening in Orlando we've got your back!
Food Tours
Can't decide on just one restaurant? Then you should take a food tour to sample several local restaurants at once, learning a little about the area's history, the local culture, the restaurants and the chefs behind the dishes.
The Central Florida area offers at least half a dozen food tours that allow attendees to taste the town like a VIP.
Sanford Food Tours, for example, takes guests on a one-mile trek around historic Sanford with three tour options. Each four-hour tour stops in five or six local restaurants and/or craft breweries for sumptuous samples.
You can also discover additional food tours in Winter Park, Audubon Park, Winter Garden and Celebration. Most tours range between two and four hours, hit five to seven local spots, and include hearty food samples and adult beverages. Some tours offer a specialized focus, such as brunch, dinner, craft breweries, vegetarian or dessert.
Orlando's burgeoning foodie scene offers culinary experiences you can't find anywhere else so goo ahead and enjoy eating your way around Central Florida! The diet can wait until another week!!
For fresh restaurant news and reviews from throughout Central Florida, here at Gotta Go Orlando Going Out Guide we've got you covered, plus our socials will let you know about pop ups, food truck tours, offers and more!
To add your restaurant, food truck or pop up to Gotta Go Orlando, contact us now!
