Best restaurants outside of WDW?

[minniebride]

What are the best restaurants to check out outside of WDW property??

I haven't been off property since the 1980's when my family used to stop at the Ponderosa and Sizzler lol Not even sure those restaurants still exist, and I'm sure the selection has improved since then (though I must admit I was a sucker for the Ponderosa buffet!)

So, what are the must-do eateries that are NOT on WDW property?

Thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

there is a long list - what type of food are you interested in -

 

[nichanda]

I always make sure to go to Olive Garden, which isn't far from Downtown Disney. We don't have Olive Garden's where I live, so it's a treat!

 

[babyruth]

we love Joe's Crab Shack! and for fast food Chick-Fil-A since we don't have that at home.

 

[Detailor]

There are lots of lengthy threads here on that topic.

spiceycat's (what type of food...?) question is a good one that might narrow the responses to restaurants that you might find appropriate for your family.

A lot of people will weigh in with several of the chain restaurants - and seems as if most of them are located in the Orlando area.

A few that my family likes...
Bahama Breeze (three or four in the immediate area), always good for a couple of visits during a week near Disney.
Celebration Town Tavern, a nice departure from the typical chains.
Raglan Road, an Irish theme restaurant that's at Downtown Disney.
Earl of Sandwich, a cafeteria style sandwich shop that's also at DTD.
Landry's Seafood, we'll go there once every two or three Orlando visits.

Dick Taylor

 

[mrsklamc]

We love Giordano's but it seems to be a love it or hate it thing. Guess it depends how much you like cheese.

 

[disneyfanjan]

BoneFish is good. It is up on West Sand Lake Road. There are a lot of restaurants up there.
On one of the podcasts, they talked about a lot of places they liked to eat and I wish I had written them all down or at least the date of the podcast so I could have referred back. One was J. Alexanders. Bahama Breeze is good, but there are several. The one closer to Vineland is a little lower keyed and more family oriented than one that is further up International which had live music and was really hopping.

 

[LeahA]

Look at Trip Advisor Orlando's website under their restaurant section. They rate all the restaurants and have great reviews from real people.

 

[JimMIA]

Here's a link to an 11-page thread, on this forum, on exactly the same topic: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=498998

However, I also agree that Pat's suggestion of narrowing the possibilities will give you responses that are more useful to your particular family. Some families are looking for great dining experiences regardless of cost, others are looking for a LOT of food for a low price to cut costs -- there are so many options that it's hard to offer helpful generic suggestions.

 

[mikehn]

Look at Trip Advisor Orlando's website under their restaurant section. They rate all the restaurants and have great reviews from real people.

I agree, you want reviews from 'real people'. Not people on the disboard.

 

[disneyfanjan]

I agree, you want reviews from 'real people'. Not people on the disboard.

I'm not sure what this means...aren't people on the disboard "real"? Do they have financial interests in certain restaurants?? Or do you mean they are biased toward on property restaurants?

 

[SHammett]

Flippers Pizza just outside of the downtown disney entrance (in the same strip as Goodings) is excellent for pizza, breadsticks, wings and salads AND they deliver. We get them at least twice every trip. You can google them for an online menu.

 

[ccgirl]

Subbing and checking out the other thread as I was wondering the same thing.

 

[LeahA]

I agree, you want reviews from 'real people'. Not people on the disboard.

You guys are so funny!

I think the DIS BOARD PEOPLE are very "REAL" just sometimes when someone loves something so much their judgement is clouded.

I enjoy reading the review on Trip Advisor for hotels and restaurants.

 

[Detailor]

You guys are so funny!

I think the DIS BOARD PEOPLE are very "REAL" just sometimes when someone loves something so much their judgement is clouded.

I enjoy reading the review on Trip Advisor for hotels and restaurants.

A small piece of advise, though...
Take Trip Advisor reviews with a grain of salt. It is not a particularly uncommon practice for bad reviews to be placed by people who work for a competitor restaurant or hotel. Likewise, some really glowing reviews have been known to be posted by employees of a hotel or restaurant.
Fortunately, it seems that most reviews are posted by "real" people so it might be wise to disregard the outliers and go with the majority.

Dick Taylor

 

[darrius1st]

If you want a great burger go to Steak and Shake. I can't wait to go back to get another burger from there>

 

[LeahA]

A small piece of advise, though...
Take Trip Advisor reviews with a grain of salt. It is not a particularly uncommon practice for bad reviews to be placed by people who work for a competitor restaurant or hotel. Likewise, some really glowing reviews have been known to be posted by employees of a hotel or restaurant.
Fortunately, it seems that most reviews are posted by "real" people so it might be wise to disregard the outliers and go with the majority.

Dick Taylor

I agree with you 100% Dick! Even when I read reviews on the DIS, you read the good the bad and go with the majority!

 

[mrsklamc]

I guess our Flipper's experience was in the minority; pizza was fine but it took like an hour longer than they told us it would be, and for pick up, not delivery!

 

[CinderBeller]

Try Urbanspoon! I use the site regularly to find where to eat. Most of the review focus on local eateries not chain, so it is a great resource.

 

[DaddyDon]

Millers ale house ...is my fav!