[ Bahama
Breeze | Cafe Trastevere | Cafˇ
Tu Tu Tango | California Grill ]
[ Capriccio | Columbia Restaurant
| Emeril's Orlando ]
[ Enzo's Restaurant on the Lake
| La Coquina | Le Coq au Vin | Ming Court | Nelore Churrascaria]
 Search
for meetings in Orlando
Bahama Breeze
You'll encounter a blend of cultures at Bahama Breeze,
handily located on I-Drive. The same company does Olive Garden and
Red Lobster, but Bahama Breeze, which has three outlets in Orlando,
is more upmarket while remaining in the modest price category. There
can be a crush here because reservations aren't accepted. Expect
a long wait for a table, and spend it lounging on the deck with
a cold Bahamarita while listening to reggae. Then order fresh fish
with a sassy citrus-mustard sauce, jerk chicken, fish in a bag,
coconut shrimp, Jamaican patties, or paella, with pina colada bread
pudding for dessert, or key lime pie.
Bahama Breeze
8849 International Dr.
(407) 248-2499
www.bahamabreeze.com
back to top
Cafe Trastevere
Noted as one of the oldest gathering areas for local Romans, Trastevere
is a neighborhood located on the Tiber river in Rome and home of
several popular outdoor cafˇs. In Orlando, Cafˇ Trastevere
tries to capture that Roman feeling with a casual Italian cafˇ.
Serving simple Italian fare, Cafˇ Trastevere offers a rare treat
for Orlando dining - outdoor seating on two separate patios. Try
the Lemon Pesto shrimp or the crab and corn bisque as appetizers.
Then eat as the Romans do with pesce cartoccio, a daily selection
of fish wrapped in parchment paper and baked with tomatoes, portabella
mushrooms, black olives, and capers.
Cafe Trastevere
825 North Magnolia Ave.
(407) 839-0235
www.cafetrastevere.com
back to top
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
Cafe Tu Tu Tango is a merry tangle of Spanish, Mediterranean,
Cajun, and Caribbean tastes, all served up in tapas-size portions.
The room not only looks like an artist's atelier, it is one. Real
artisans work while you dine. The appetizers are so tempting, it's
easy to go overboard on deep-fried chicken rolls, flatbread smothered
with pi–ons and goat cheese, hot or cold shrimp, crusty plantains,
tuna sashimi with noodles and spinach, jerk chicken, and much more.
For dessert have one of the fruit-topped cheesecakes. It's a fun
place to go with the gang or for grazing with the family.
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
8625 International Dr.
(407) 248-2222
www.cafetututango.com
back to top
California Grill
All-American diners, including a growing number of vegetarians,
are in their element at the California Grill in Disney's
Contemporary Resort. Chefs work in an open kitchen to produce grilled
steaks, chicken or vegetables, superb sushi, seared tuna, tempuras,
wood oven-baked pizzas, and side dishes of polenta, balsamic-blessed
greens, black bean cake, or medleys of steamed fresh vegetables.
Ask the sommelier for samples, then choose a fine California vintage
to accompany the meal. The room has a view of the Magic Kingdom,
so wind down with coffee, dessert and fireworks in the night sky.
California Grill
Disney's Contemporary Resort
(407) 939-3463
back to top
Capriccio Grill
Capriccio Grill is a steakhouse with a pinch of Italian seasoning
located inside Orlando's Peabody Hotel in the heart of Orlando's
tourism corridor and directly across the street from the Orange
County Convention Center. Capriccio is designed and decorated with a taste for Roman tradition.
After a walk by the Peabody Wine Cellar - a Wine Spectator
award-winner - with its myriad gleaming bottles of wines from the
world's greatest wine-growing regions, its open exhibition kitchen
makes a stunning first impression. Steaks, chops, pasta, and seafood, dessert shooters and a relaxed atmosphere.
Capriccio Grill
9801 International Dr.
(407) 345-4570
www.peabodyorlando.com
back to top
Columbia Restaurant
The first Columbia Restaurant was established in Tampa
in 1905 and its clone in Celebration, just south of Walt Disney
World Resort, is the perfect place to dine on the specialties of
old Spain before taking a stroll around this planned, picture book
community overlooking the lake. Order the paella, which takes a while, then busy yourself
with a cup of black bean soup followed by the 1905 Columbia salad.
End the meal with flan, perhaps the best in town. The larger your
group, the larger the paella.
Columbia Restaurant
649 Front St.
Celebration
(407) 566-1505
www.columbiarestaurant.com
back to top
Emeril's Orlando
Emeril's Orlando in Universal's CityWalk isn't for everyone
because you're paying a dear price for verve, nerve, flair, and
enough bustle and clatter to wake the dead. Emeril himself usually
isn't here, but his spirit hovers like a naughty genie, insisting
that les bon temps keep on rolling. Have the shrimp- and cornbread-stuffed
Maine lobster, any dish made with Emeril's homemade andouille sausage,
or the grilled butterfly pork chop in green mole sauce. Reservations
are hard to come by at the last minute, so call from home several
weeks before your Orlando trip.
Emeril's Orlando
Universal Studios CityWalk
6000 Universal Blvd.
(407) 224-2424
www.emerils.com
back to top
Enzo's Restaurant on
the Lake
Enzo's Restaurant on the Lake is a hometown place where
locals blow the budget on anniversaries and retirement. It's pricey
but it's also unfailingly Italian - the sauces slow-simmered from
scratch. A signature dish is the bucatini tossed with bits of prosciutto,
bacon, Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and green peas. The veal dishes
are always good, especially the scallopine with its covering of
capers, white wine, tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Start with the
big antipasto platter and end the meal with the rum cake.
Enzo's Restaurant on The Lake
1130 U.S. 17-92
Longwood
(407) 834-9872
www.enzos.com
back to top
La Coquina
This restaurant is for a special night out, as locals will tell you, but itÕs a very special night out indeed. Dine at the ChefÕs TableŃactually six tables in the kitchenŃat La Coquina and enjoy the fruits of the labor of the excellent kitchen. The menu changes daily, but you may expect lavender honey glazed rack of lamb or confit Chilean sea bass served poached. The seven-course menu is fit for kings and queens, and the setting is in one of OrlandoÕs best hotels, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. Another treat here is the famous Sunday brunch, now starting up again on September 21, with more desserts than you have ever seen in one place. Styled to resemble a French marketplace, the atmosphere is elegant and the champagne flows continuously.
This adult-style Sunday brunch extravaganza offers a vast menu sure to delight.
La Coquina
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
1 Grand Cypress Blvd.
(407)239-3853
www.grandcypress.hyatt.com
Le Coq au Vin
Le Coq au Vin regularly makes the best-of lists and readers'
polls in the Orlando Area. Gourmets who dote on the best French
restaurants will be thrilled by the cuisine and astonished at l'addition.
Entrees are $22 and less. You can dine regally for $50 per person,
including an acceptable wine. The food is country French, seasonal and swimming
in saucy, complex scents. Try the Bayou Tesche - a longtime favorite, salmon, sweetbreads, or spicy cajun. Relaxed is the word for hosts who are
at ease with their unpretentious room and well-seasoned kitchen.
Le Coq au Vin
4800 South Orange Ave.
(407)851-6980
www.lecoqauvinrestaurant.com
Ming Court
Try lunch or dinner at Ming Court, one of OrlandoÕs busy International Drive mainstays since 1989, and youÕll be in for a pleasant surprise. The two-acre garden setting meant to evoke the Ming Dynasty era is one of the areaÕs most popular with locals and visitors looking for something different and a retreat from the theme park mania. The menu here is extensive with a large variety of dim sum, sushi, wok and char-grilled cuisine on offer. Start with chicken corn chowder and the grilled lamb chop appetizer. For the main course, the wok-prepared salt and pepper chicken sounds simple enough, but itÕs treated with a special five-spice salt, shallots and a touch of jalapeno pepper. Plum blossom duck is a treat served with stir-fried asparagus, shiitake and carrots in white wine garlic sauce. For photographs of most dishes check out their website and print out the ten-percent-off coupon.
Ming Court
9188 International Dr.
(407) 351-9988
www.ming-court.com
back to top
Nelore Churrascaria
Orlando is a showplace of entertainment and the restaurants here are no exception. For a taste of South America and the ŅgauchoÓŃor cowboyŃlife, try this International Drive restaurant. Owned and managed by Brazilians, Nelore Churrascaria serves authentic Brazilian cooking with 17 cuts of meat, chicken, grilled salmon, and shrimp. The roasted meats are served on skewers by gaucho-glad waiters, after a hearty helping of the salad bar filled with traditional South American fare. The wine list offers a good selection of South American wines by the glass from Chile and Argentina. The meats are top quality and plentiful. Or top off your meal with a caipirinha or a mojito. Either way, itÕs an entertaining and tasty experience
Nelore Churrascaria
5350 International Dr.
(407) 345-4774
www.nelorechurrascaria.com
back to top
Search
for meetings in Orlando
print this page
back to top
|
