UK Date/Time
| Vacation Villa in Tuscan
Ridge
Orlando. Our Eating Places Guide |
Aside from all the normal fast food outlets the Orlando area has literally hundreds of fine restaurants. Which ones do you choose to eat it in?. Now there's a problem. Obviously we haven't been to all of them, but we are trying. These are our opinions of those that we have managed to try out so far.
So what are your choices.
Broadly speaking it goes like this. You have fast food outlets, Burger King,
McDonalds, Wendy's, Pizza outlets, TacoBell and so on. Then you have the
family restaurants like Bob Evans, Waffle House, Denny's, Perkins, Cracker
Barrel and so on. Moving on up price-wise, you have restaurants like a lot of
those listed below, some of which are chains. Then there are the fine dining
establishment at the top end. Throw into this collection the "all you can
eat" buffet restaurants which include Chinese, Italian, Seafood, Steak and can
represent very good value eating.
If I could only visit 4 restaurants it would have to be Thai Thani, Cafe TuTu
Tango,
Pebbles, and Rangetsu. Hmnn, can't have a steak, and I do like the
occasional steak. Ok, make it 5 restaurants and add Key W Kools. Although I have
to say that we've become big fans of Mannys. For great tasting food and value
for money it's hard to beat
If the name is in bold then we will
definitely go there again. If it's not in bold it's not necessarily bad
we simply wouldn't bother to go there when there are places that we prefer.
Don't forget to clip the discount vouchers from the books that are freely available. Most
restaurants have some sort of discount available. Many of the buffet restaurants
have cheap deals for those wanting to eat early, e.g sit down before 6:00 and
the all you can eat buffet is $7.99.
| Restaurant Name | Location | Comments |
| Thai Thani | On International Drive, literally behind Seaworld. Heading east on I4 take exit 71. bear right and travel past Seaworld. When you hit the International Drive traffic lights you'll see the restaurant across the road. | Beautifully decorated Thai restaurant. Large menu. the
service is excellent and the food exquisite. My favourite restaurant so far
and is an absolute must for us. The deep fried ice cream desert is
wonderful. Eaten here many time and have yet to be disappointed by either
the food or the service.
Website |
| Joe's Crab Shack | 192, a little east of the I4 junction, next to the turning to Celebration. | Not surprisingly Crab, prawns and fish feature heavily on this menu. The Clam chowder, and crab stuffed mushrooms (a meal in itself) appetizers were extremely edible. There is also an under $11.99 menu so could be a modestly priced place to eat. If you are a Crab lover you certainly won't be disappointed. |
| Charleys Steak House | 192, a east of the I4 junction, in the same parade as Kobe and Oceans 21 | A large restaurant featuring open pit grilled steaks. Thought we'd give this a try rather than the usual Kools. As expected a very fine 32oz porterhouse steak was presented, although it didn't seem as large as the Kools 32 oz steak. Not that I can eat a full 32oz steak by the way. Great service and an extensive wine list. They do have a wider variety of non-steak items than Kools which is good for those who like my wife don't really like steak that much. |
| Fishbones | Sand Lake Road, couple of hundred yards west of junction with International Drive. i.e turn right at the lights | Not surprisingly a restaurant specialising in Seafood, although there is of course meat (Fish - Bones geddit, groan) on the menu. Had an enjoyable meal but not special enough to entice us to make visit them again. |
| Rangetsu | International Drive, couple of hundred yards before Sand Lake Rd junction | Thoroughly enjoyed the meal we had here. I find even the Chinese restaurants seem to be rather hurried and busy. Not so Rangetsu which was peaceful unhurried affair. Very efficient waiting staff who could offer good advice on the food. We had mouth-watering shrimp tempura for appetizer, followed by a seafood sukiyaki which is a boiling pot of fish soup into which scallops, prawns, mussels, salmon, grouper, noodles and vegetables are added. Absolutely delicious. Thu, Fri, Sat Japanese drummers provide the entertainment. Website |
| Cafe Tu Tu Tango | International Drive, between WonderWorks and Mercado. In front of the Castle hotel | A
wonderfully atmospheric Tapas style restaurant, although the dishes are not
what you would find in a traditional Spanish Tapas bar. Choose 2, or maybe 3
dishes per person from an eclectic mix of options and share the result.
You'll still have room for desert. The Double Chocolate Calzone and Banana
pizza were both extraordinary. For unusual flavours try the
Roasted Pears and Mandarin Pork Potstickers and don't miss the lamb chops. We really like this restaurant and not just for the excellent food. There is activity around you including live artists, a physic, flamenco dancers, and the walls are covered with paintings and artwork for sale. Website |
|
Manny's Chophouse |
Take the 27 south and a couple of traffic lights past Walmarts you'll find Manny's on your right | Good
food, excellent service, very reasonably priced, huge portions as you would
expect of a "standard US restaurant". Great steaks, ribs and lamb chops.
Probably the best buffalo wings we had and endless salad. Always busy which
speaks volumes. Word to the
wise the big beers are BIG, think full sized German stein.
Website |
| Columbia Restaurant | In front of the lake in Celebration Market Square. | Celebration is a rather twee town, so much so that I expected Jim Carey to pop around the corner. Very pleasant location though centered on a lake with nature trail walks. It was facing this lake that we sat at Columbia for a wonderful fresh Paella, preceded by a couple of seafood tapas dishes.. Definitely recommended and a very tranquil place to enjoy an alfresco meal. |
| Pebbles | Buena Vista. Take the Beuna Vista junction off the I4, left at the lights and pass under the I4. After a couple of sets of lights you'll see large Disney World signs on your left, take a right here. |
Excellent choice of Cajun/Caribbean dishes. The appetizers included Conch
Fritters, which were delicious, and the entrees Jambalaya, Gumbo, Pasta,
along with a variety of fish and meat dishes. All in all an excellent meal.
Love the Pesto Encrusted Lamb Rack. |
| Vito's Chophouse | International Drive, between WonderWorks and Mercado. In front of the Castle hotelNext to TuTu Tangos |
Another restaurant that we've been meaning to try for some time. Went here
because on our last night Pebbles was closed and I have to say that I'm glad
it was. Excellent food, and again huge portions. Vito's meatballs are a
sight to behold. Each one would fill an E cup, they nestled on fresh pasta
and were covered with sauce. All for $11.95. The steak was gorgeous being
grilled on an Orange wood pit. wide choice of starters and entrees.
Website |
| Lu Lu's Bait shack | Pointe Orlando, upstairs |
Moderately priced seafood/cajun restaurant. Limited menu, Meal was nice
enough, although not inspiring. |
| Mekong | Take the 192 east from the 27 and Mekong is situated around 1/2 mile on your right, in JJs Plaza, opposite Publix. | A new
restaurant providing Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cuisine. They also
deliver to Tuscan Ridge. The Thai and Chinese menus carry the normal range
of dishes that you would expect. Fine Thai red curry, but Was disappointed with the Thai whole Red Snapper in curry sauce. On the whole the other dishes we tried were very acceptable quality, especially the Vietnamese noodles |
| Mughlai | Take the 192 east from the 27 and Mekong is situated around 1/2 mile on your right, in JJs Plaza, opposite Publix. | A new
Indian restaurant and I have to say the food was excellent. This is now our
favourite Indian and we will no doubt visit this frequently. Being the first
meal we went with our standard judge of quality dishes, that is Chicken
Jalfraizi and Rogon Josh, both of which were extremely tasty and very
reminiscent of a "home curry". The Jhinga Balchoo was a fine starter and we
haven't tasted it's like before. They also deliver takeaway. I would put
this on par with the Sangham and happily eat in either. |
| Kobe | On the 192, a mile or so east of the I4 intersection. In the same centre Oceans 11. There are a couple of others. | Cooked at the table Teppan-yaki style Japanese food. Ok, if a little pricey. I've been to a few of these cooked at the table Japanese restaurants now and they are all pretty similar in that food is chopped up seasoned with soy sauce and cooked in front of you. Interesting to watch the chef waving his knives around, but the resulting food comes out tasting pretty much the same whether it's vegetables, shrimp, or in this case Kobe steak, supposedly the tenderest, tastiest steak there is. There are many places to get better food at a lower cost, but it is entertaining. |
| Houlihan's | On the 192, a couple of miles east of the 27 intersection. | Been
meaning to try this place since it was a shiny new restaurant who's car park
always seemed to be full. Having now done so I think people go there for the
lively bar rather the food. I had what has to be the toughest NY Strip steak
that I have ever been server in the US. Nope save this place for bar
sitting.
Website |
| The Butchers Shop | International Drive, at the northern end of the Mercado. | It
was time for an out and out big piece of steak meal. Although the steak was
pretty good I have to say that you can get as good if not better for
significantly less elsewhere. We both thought the place was pretentious and
vastly overpriced. Needless to say we will not be visiting again. |
| Passage to India | There are a couple of these on the 192. We went to the one near Angels buffet | Made a nice change
and the food was pretty edible. Not as spicy as over here but more tasty. A
relatively expensive meal, probably the most costly that we had. |
| Sangam | Next to the entrance to Polo Park community on the 27 north of Tuscan Ridge. |
If you fancy an Indian then this is a reasonable choice. More English style Indian than American style. They also deliver takaway to Tuscan Ridge. Very much enjoyed a couple of Tandoori Mixed Grills and Bombay Potatoes that we took home after a visit to Cirque du Soliel |
| Grand China Buffet | Next to Bob Evans on J55 of the I4, so only a couple of miles from our home. | Excellent buffet, large selection of surprisingly
good food. Actually better than the Ming Court and far cheaper at $10 per
head. |
| Ming Court | On International Drive opposite WonderWorks | A very presentable looking "authentic"
Chinese
restaurant. We found the food rather bland and came away feeling that it
wasn't worth the cost. |
| Chinese to Go | About 800 yds south of Tuscan Ridge in the Ridgeway Plaza | Great place to grab lunch from. Slightly more expensive then Bamboo Wok but the lunch specials are still a real bargain. Plenty of variety, good sized portions, good tasting food and it is just down the road. |
| Bamboo Wok | Next to Publix on the I27, a couple of miles north of Tuscan Ridge | Another great place to grab lunch from. Their $3.99 lunch specials are a real bargain. Plenty of variety, good sized portions, and good tasting food. |
| Bahama Breeze | Take exit 68 off the I4. At the lights you'll see Bahama Breeze across the road on the left | A different kind of
meal. A lot of fruity" dishes, eg plantain nachos grande (the nachos
are deep fried bananas) as a starter.
Beware of huge portions, the starters would have been enough for us. Often a
long wait for a table so you need to be prepared
to have a pre-dinner drink or three. Although we have recently discovered
that you can phone and get your name added to the list before you leave
home. Website |
| Red Lobster | On the 192, at the Splendid China traffic lights | If you like
seafood and lobster you can do a lot worse than visiting Red Lobster. Nice
selection of seafood dishes, including fresh from the tank lobster. Lobster
"chops" recommended. |
| China 1 | Apparently near Publix in Champions Gate. Not been there, just had takeout delivered. | There is a
restaurant there so I'm told, but they do takeaway and deliver to Tuscan
Ridge as long as you order over $15 worth. Pretty good, and the portions are
huge. |
| Black Angus | On the 192 near Angels buffet. | Acceptable steak
house. Food good enough, but nothing that made it stand out from all the
others. |
| Key W Kools | On the 192, west of the I4 junction | Open firepit cooked steaks the speciality and the
results are excellent. Wasn't impressed with the starters though. The
Porterhouse steak is superb, and huge at 32ozs. certainly one of the
tastiest steaks that I've had in the Orlando area. Sadly though they have
dropped the microbrew beers. |
| Outback | On the I192, west of the I4 junction. Near Splendid China | A chain of restaurants, but this is the only one we have
visited. Australian themed with a varied menu. If you like buffalo wings
you'll just love the Kookaburra wings. Seems to be always busy so a wait is
likely. TIP - if there's a spare table in the bar area you can just grab
it. Still has full service.
Website |
| Grand
China Buffet (a different one) |
On the I192, west of the I4 junction, opposite TGI Friday | All
you can eat Chinese buffet. The food is more than adequate and there's a
reasonable selection of dishes. If you need a standby "ok" restaurant this
can be it. |
| Angels Seafood Buffet | On the I192, Near the Disney Maingate Road junction | Comprehensive all you can eat seafood and other stuff buffet. Good selection though there was queuing at the serving area when we went. Didn't go back a second time mainly because it takes a while to fancy lobster again after you've stuffed yourself once. |
| Boston Lobster Feast | On the 192 west of the I4 junction | Pretty much the same comments as Angels, More food variety and quantity than you can shake a stick at. |
| Tony Roma | On International Drive. Also on the 192 past Old Town | Specialises in barbecued ribs with a variety of different flavourings. If you like a rack of ribs then this is the place to go. |
| Cracker Barrel | We went to the one the 27 around 1 mile south of Tuscan Ridge. | Chain of Country stores that are half shop, half restaurant serving traditional Old Time food which I have to say was pretty good. Dishes include pot roast, chicken and dumplings, both of which were very edible. Great choice of vegetables. A very satisfactory meal and a pleasant change if you're fed up with steakhouses, Absolute bargain at $50 for 4 people, and that included deserts, apple dumplings, mmmm. Only downside is no beer. Website |
| Randys | Located on highway 27 mile or so north of the 192 junction | Small restaurant offering a good range of fresh seafood, steaks, and "home cooking" dishes like meatloaf, liver and onions, fair selection of fish, and the obligatory steaks on the menu. Oysters at $4.99 for 1 dozen, bargain. Frances really enjoyed the clam chowder. Good food and great deal cost wise, the bill for 4 of us coming to $60. |
| Ace Chinese Buffet | On the I192, couple of miles east of the 27 junction | Another pretty good all you can eat Chinese buffet. Probably the largest selection of dishes of any that we have been to so far. Food was pretty good too. |
| JTs Primetime | On the I192, couple of miles east of the 27 junction | All you can eat Prime Rib along with standard steakhouse dishes. Standard steakhouse menu and pretty average food. Been a few times but probably wouldn't bother again as there are places I prefer. |
| Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede | Next to the Florida Mall outlet centre. | We're not really ones for these dinner shows but were taken along by friends. I have to say that it was rather enjoyable. Much patriotic waving of the Stars and Stripes as only Americans can do. Food was pretty basic though, soup, biscuits, spit roast chicken. |
| Dennys | You'll find these all over the place, and there's one at J55 of I4 | Fine place for a hearty, reasonably priced breakfast. They have a huge range of breakfasts, some of which include a stack of pancakes. |
| Bob Evans | On the 27 near I4 junction, so very local | Chain of restaurants, glossy plastic menus with photos of the dishes. You know the kind of place, next step up from Burger King. Food was ok, and they are handy for lunch. Probably will go again simply because of the convenience |
| Perkins | On the 27 near I4 junction, so very local | Similar to Bob Evans above, in fact I would go to Bob Evans in preference. |
| Ocean 11 | On the 192 approx 1 mile east of the I4 junction | As he
name suggest a seafood restaurant. Wide variety of fish and prawn/lobster
dishes. I particularly enjoyed the seared Tuna. They do have very nice
chicken wings as an appetizer. Went back this trip and the food was very mediocre and therefore loses it's "visit again" status |
| House of Blues | Downtown Disney | Well
you have to try the Disney Restaurants. Creole themed restaurant and menu.
Pretty limited in choice and I would say the food we had was no better than
average. The chef went overboard with the rosemary in the Voodoo Prawn starter. You'll get far better value elsewhere. But then this is a Disney Restaurant and you pay for location and "atmosphere". Unlike Bongo this was edible. |
| Bongos | Downtown Disney | Food was absolutely awful. We both ate 4 mouthfuls, paid the bill and left. Had a couple of huge Ghiradelli Sundaes as consolation. Also there was a Latin band playing, the volume was so loud that it was difficult to talk to the person sat on the opposite side of the table. Maybe we just chose the wrong dishes. But they were the ones on the menu that most appealed. Oh and we also had to endure 30 minutes of the band tuning up. Not a pleasant experience. |
| Wolfgang Puck | Downtown Disney | Top floor restaurant "The Dining Room" located at Downtown Disney. Nouvelle cuisine type dining. We went for the sampler which was a 7 course affair. Very nice but rather on the expensive side. Worth a try for the experience but I don't expect that we'll be going back there. Not because it was bad, it most definitely wasn't. |
| That's it for the moment, but
we will endeavour to add more each time we visit. We would be delighted to add your recommendations to this list so please feel free to mail them to us. Bit of self interest here as it gives us suggestions for other restaurants to try. Please include Restaurant name, location and brief comments. |
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