Off-site, nonchain restaurants?

[DisneyMom92]

My family is travelling to WDW the last week of July and the first week of August. We are staying at Westgate Lakes, which is near Sea World.

We are somewhat adventurous with dining, or rather we would like to be. Vacation for us means eating somewhere that we can't experience at home. Unfortuately, we don't know any place not connected to one of the parks, other than Race Rock, that is good. I am reading about Bahama Breeze, which sounds good. What other good restaurants are out there?

Thanks in advance.

[thefatman]

There are 300 plus restaurants in the I drive area alone.
probably the same along the 192, yes many are chains such as Red Lobster, but there a lots of independant or chains local to Orlando.

What type of food do you like ?

[kellymonaghan]

Close to Disney, I always recommend Pebbles. It's in the Crossroads Shopping Center in LBV, a beautiful building on a little lake by I-4. Inventive American cuisine at moderate prices. Excellent value for the dollar. Try the Chicken Vesuvio.

[thefatman]

Kelly
I just love your description of the little lake by Pebbles.
Its a drainage pond :D
the whole area was swamp before Disney deceided to let the world near their gates, so their on site captives could say they'd seen a bit of Orlando. ;)

[tednvon]

Our "never miss" is Shell's......a very informal seafood restaurant, with all the salted in the shell peanuts you can eat and some great seafood for 8 to 12 dollars...it is about 7 mile east of Disney on 192 (from disney take Osceola Parkway to Sera Lago Blvd and go right to 192 and the left or east on 192 for about 6 miles...well worth it...Ted

[erinch]

we had great relatively inexpensive meals at Jungle Jims and Chevy's in the crossroads center, and East Side Mario's, which is bustling and fun. I'm blanking on exactly where it was, but you could look it up. Bahama Breeze is not to miss.

[SimonV]

Sadly, East Side Mario's, on I Drive, closed a bit more than a year ago. It is now another steakhouse (Logan's I think). However, Don Pablo's nearby is great for Mexican and DiVino's at The Mercado is some of the best Italian I've tasted. Then both Monte's Conch Harbour and Marino's Town Tavern at The Pointe are pretty good, while the main restaurant at XS Orlando (the new entertainment center at The Pointe) is also well above average (with some great steaks and seafood). If you are staying at Westgate Lakes, you will also want to know about two new restaurants on Sand Lake Road, just past its junction with Turkey Lake Road(which WLakes are on). The Samba Room offers a wonderful fusion of Cuban and Latin cuisine while Timpano's is an atmospheric steakhouse with Italian overtones. Both restaurants have a lake view and are well worth seeking out. Happy eating!

PS: There is also a second Bahama Breeze on 535 at its junction with I4, just next to the Holiday Inn Sunspree.

[CPM]

Bahama Breeze is wonderful but it is a chain so is Chevy's & Shells. There is a wonderful French Restaurant not far from where you are staying, it's where a lot of locals dine called Le Coq Au Vin, I don't have the address but it's in the phone book & you need reservations. The food is to die for & isn't all that high priced. I second the Samba room if you like Cuban fare!

[DisneyMom92]

I guess I should have been more specific...by chain, I meant family places like Denny's, Ponderosa and fast food places like McDonald's and Hardee's, or anything else we have here in Southern Indiana :) Of course, unless you live here you have no idea what we have.

Our favorite chain places are Logans, TGIFriday's, Olive Garden and Don Pablo's. That will probably give you an idea of what we like.

Bahama Breeze sounds good :) We also enjoyed Race Rock, but I think that was more for the atmosphere than for the food since I can't even remember what we had.

Thanks again. Keep any ideas coming...We are in big planning stages and have a dinner to replace since they canceled the Villains (still ha v en't recovered from that one) :mad:

[lagasan]

I've heard that Ming Court is excellent. We may go the next time. Anyone know anything about it?

[webray]

Ming Court is excellent, if you go there for lunch they have the dim sum carts (or you can order off the menu)...very very good. Nice atmosphere/leave room for dessert.

Also, Bahama Breeze may be a chain...but it is not your typical chain...the food is wonderful...we love the deck with live music, the gift shop and the specialty drinks. If you are looking for a great meal, Bahama and Ming Court are not to be missed.

There is also Dan Marino's in Point Orlando...I believe he has his own little chain as well..but the food is very good. Also, upstairs in Point Orlando there is Adobe Gilas...a great place for huge tacos, salads and very reasonably priced...good place to go before catching a movie or doing some shopping.

Our other family favorites are Jungle Jims (good monte christo sandwich...my favorite...the men in my family stick with their giant burgers), and Charley's Steakhouse...we go to the one on Orange Blossom Trail...it is worth the drive, even though the one on I-drive might be closer to you.

Happy Eating!

[gina2000]

If you like Thai food, Thai Orchid on Int'l Drive is great. Ming Court (Chinese) is good also. If you like really authentic Japanese food, Hanamizuki (on Int'l Drive) is wonderful.

[mickey1010]

Bahama Breeze is a must!
One just opened up in the Detroit area (and I have been to the Orlando one, as well), they are both delicious! My wife and I usually prefer non-chain restaurants, but definitely make an exception for Bahama Breeze. The food is delicious and the service is impeccable.

We ate at the location that's by the Convention Center.

[Jane E.]

We ate at Bahama Breeze last week and really enjoyed it. They also had entertainment in the bar area (outside) while we were there. Also, I liked Cafe Tu Tu (down the street from Race Rock), but dh didn't. Its an art gallery restaurant that serves appetizer meals. I had a wonderful chicken appetizer, and my sons loved their individual pizzas.

[ohiowilly]

A couple of my favorites are local, non-chain restaurants-for seafood, I've found FishBones on Sand Lake Rd. to be excellent. They offer great portions of very fresh seafood of all varieties. They have excellent steaks, too. The Butcher Shop in the Mercado on I-Drive has incredible steaks, and for the money was a great value. I try not to miss either of these places when I come to town.

[sgtdisney]

I second the Fish Bones vote! Best Steaks and Freshest Seafood!

[horseshowmom]

Here's another vote for Jungle Jim's. We thought it was fun (my daughter still talks about the monkeys in our soft drinks), and the portions were very generous.

Also, we loved Don Pablo's. Since there isn't one in our area, eating there was a treat for us.

Damon's The Place for Ribs is also very good (more than one of them in the area). Sonny's Barbecue is great too although it's also a chain.

Of course, RainForest Cafe is a chain, but we will make sure not to miss it the next time we're in Orlando.

[frost5000]

FYI - Bahama Breeze is owned by Darden, which also owns Olive garden, Red lobster, and a new one called Smokey bones. You can use Darden Gift certs/cards at all of them, so if you wanted to you could purchase gift certs ahead of time at the olive garden to use at BB or SB(your waitress can "cash" out any remaining certificates, so these are better than the gift cards.) I think you can get discount certs. from celebrations web site. Hope this helps a little

[pixie dust gal!]

Frost,

Do you know the web address of celebrations? I am interested in getting discounted certs for our trip.

Thanks!

[ReneeA]

We were pretty happy with a late lunch at Darryl's on Idrive. They had a huge menu, and prices were very reasonable. I think it was about $22 for 2 late lunch meals, and that included 2 beers.

[staylor]

Chevy's at Crossroads is great. I live in TX and eat mexican at least once a week. But Chevy's is a favorite of mine. We don't have one in TX. As a matter of fact, I asked the mgr., when we were there in May, if they were ever coming to TX. She said NO, to much competition. Wow, are they wrong! Chevy's would be great here.

[ceb29]

Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney is my favorite restaurant!!:p

[BedKnobbery]

Just a quick note--I don't know if you have Checkers in Indiana, but we don't have them in Maine so I thought I'd mention it if you find yourself in need of a quick, cheap meal! They are all over the place there, but probably the closest one to Westgate Lakes you will pass on your way to Disney (btw, do you know the Disney shortcut from WGL? Very easy. Basically, take a right outside of the resort, onto Turkey Lake road and continue on thru until you come to the Crossroads area (I think the intersecting road is International Drive, but I could be wrong--terrible with street names). Turn left at those lights, a Disney entrance (by downtown disney) will be on your right, about 2-3 lights down. Took us all of 10 minutes to get to disney that way) The Checkers I'm thinking of is at that intersection where you turn left. They have not only burgers, but also hot dogs (with a variety of toppings). Good fries, too. Just a thought! :)

Oh! Also, if you take a left out of the resort, and another left on Sands Lake road, down to the Publix shopping plaza there is a brand new cuban themed restaurant. I didn't eat there, but it looked really nice!!

Susanne

[SimonV]

Yes, that's the Samba Room on West Sand Lake Road, and it is HIGHLY recommended (it has already picked up a big Latin following in town and gets quite busy, so reservations are recommended - 407 226 0550). The nearby Timpano retro-style Italian chophouse is a sister restaurant on the same plaza and is also well worth checking out.

Here are some links to Samba Room articles:

Link 1 (http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010521/2031.html)

Link 2 (http://calendar.orlandosentinel.com/top/1,1419,C-Orlando-Dining-X!PlaceDetail-3886-3886,00.html)

Link 3 (http://www.where-to-dine.com/R%5CR10454.asp)

Link 4 (http://www.dk-group.com/services/const/rest/samba.htm)

Link 5 (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/dining/orl-ent-dining042101.story?coll=orl%2Dcaldiningtop)

And their own website: www.sambaroom.com

[TinkerPixie]

You might want to try Pacino's on 192 right down from Old Town. They have authentic Italian food. It isnt cheap, but DH and I really enjoyed it. Dinner for two was about $50 with tip.

[tinkandme]

Longhorns is good for ribs, steak, chicken etc, they are located by Dunkin' Donuts across from Krispy Kreme, sorry I don't know the directions to get you there.
Try the website www.longhornsteakhouse.com


Butchershop is fabulous, a little more pricey, but well worth it!
Location: across from race rocks in a plaza with other stores .
Atmosphere is quiet, you can choose your own steak from the case.

Enjoy!

[slick88]

If you like BBQ, there's an excellent small non-chain place called Bubbalou's BBQ located north of Universal Studios. It's on
Conroy Rd (just west of Kirkman).

Order the "Special" which has 4 types of meat (ribs, chicken, BBQ pork, and one other), beans, cheese bread, and cole slaw for $8.95. I was stuffed after eating all that.

[deena]

Captain Nemo's Steak and Seafood Restaurant along with Key W. Kool's on West 192 when you are in the WDW area.