This section will grow as more people suggest their favourite restaurants. We will start with the many varied and very best ones we have found in and around Orlando. We invite you to write a review and we will publish it and credit you with the article. Either E-mail or use the form here.
Tony Roma’s is one of our favourite places. There is only one now in and around the tourist areas and that is on I drive. They have the best Ribs in town and on Mondays they do the endless racks that cost $4 more than usual but you can keep ordering them till you explode!
Chilis is another one of our favourite places. There are quite a few of them around now I Drive, the 192, Lake Buena Vista and also Champions Gate now. Happy hour all the time where draft beers are 2 for 1.
Perkins is one of the nicest places to get Breakfast. There is one on I drive and on the 192 near Poinciana drive and there is one on the 27 intersection of the I4.
Crackerbarrel does a great roast beef dinner and is very popular. It is half store and half restaurant. There are several around the area. Does not sell alcohol.
Manny’s Chop house is privately owned and is very popular with locals and tourists alike. It is situated on the hwy. 27 and is on the South side of the I4 junction opposite Southern Dunes Villa community. They have plenty of early bird deals and twice a week kids eat free. Wed night is 2 for 1 Fajitas.
Carrabbas is a fine Italian restaurant chain is very good. The food is cooked using fresh ingredients daily. All the meals have a home made look and taste. There are around 3 of them in the area. One on Kirkman road, one on the 192 and one on Sand Lake road near the Florida Mall.... more
At first glance you will see that the Ming Court is no run of the mill Chinese restaurant. The architecture is superb giving a very authentic Chinese atmosphere. There is live traditional entertainment every evening. The food is first class and well sized portions are served. There is a sushi bar should you want to use it. It is a little expensive but you get what you pay for here. A 10% off coupon is widely available in the area.
This restaurant is owned by the Miami Dolphins ex quarter back Dan Marino. The food is very good and the atmosphere is great. It is situated in the shopping centre “Pointe Orlando” on International Drive. If you park in the multi story next door you can get your parking ticket validated in the restaurant and the parking is free.
Eating out in the US is fun and very enjoyable. The meals are generally very good with portion size being much bigger than the UK. Almost always Tea, Coffee and Sodas are free refills. Most “service personnel” waiters & waitresses (Servers), bar staff etc work on a very low wage. They therefore rely on tips to make up their wages. Hence the service is generally very good if not a little over the top. As a Brit I tend to find this a bit strange as we are used to being served by people who get paid the same no matter how the service has been and whether or not the server can be bothered to be polite and give a smile. I like the way it is done in the US. When it comes to tipping, if you are happy with the service you should tip between 15% - 20% of the check (Bill) total. Unfortunately the Brits don’t have a good reputation for tipping in Orlando. One other thing most places add the gratuity to the check for parties of 6 or more, even if one or more are infants. So always check to make sure that it hasn’t already been added.
Around Orlando at most times of the year there are often long waits to get to the popular restaurants. So you will have to make sure that you either arrive early or late. Generally they get busy from 6pm to about 8pm.
On a few menus the Entree (Main Course), includes a choice of soup or house salad. They serve the salad up as a starter. The desserts in the US tend to be quite big and sometimes very sweet but some are really delicious!! It is quite acceptable to order one sweet and more than one spoon.
