Great Offsite Restaurants

[nwdisgal]

I posted on the Restaurants board for Knock your Socks off on-site restaurants at Disney and have had some great suggestions. I am interested in a couple of fabulous offsite restaurants to try as well.

I don't want to do chain restaurants. I'm not opposed to chains, but my real interest this trip is looking at innovative food in the Orlando area that I couldn't find someplace else. I am looking for something upscale that sets itself apart as far as quality of food and service. One place I've had my eye on is Norman's at Ritz Carlton. Has anyone been there or any suggestions of other places?

 

[ducklite]

Sunday brunch at the Peabody--absolutely incredible!!!

Anne

 

[lovethattink]

We love Fishbones in International drive. It's only open at dinner time. A reservation is a must. Here's a link I found. http://orlandoeats.com/web/restaurant.asp?restaurantid=29

 

[Figment22]

Seasons 52 in the restaurant enclave on West Sand Lake Road. My husband and I had a memorable meal here. Lovely restaurant, great food and service.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Sand Lake Road seems to be an up and coming place and I think it is popular with the locals. I cannot list all the restaurants in this moderately upscale area (at least compared to I drive). Each year we systematically try to go to at least three of them on our list. Here are some... Ruth Criss, Mortons, Samba Room, Seasons 52, Timpani Chop House, and on and on... They are all new (around 5 yrs old) and they are all located in two strip malls (I know it sounds disgusting but REALLY I do not know any other way to describe it).If I were to estimate there are probably 25-30 + restaurants but PLEASE I cannot stress enough this is NOT like I drive atmosphere. Have fun.

 

[JANNYANS]

The area you are thinkng of is called Dr Philips and has some beautiful restaurants .

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Right but it is located on Sand Lake Rd. I had forgotten about the Dr. Phillips portion of it.

 

[leebee]

Try going over to Celebration. We love "Columbia", a cuban restaurant. It looks kind-of high end with linens table cloths and napkins, but we went in wearing jeans with no problem. There is also a "Main St. Grill" or something like that where the food was very good. It doesn't look like much...kind-of cafeteria style...but it was tasty, reasonably prices, and they were very happy to adjust the ingredients for the vegetarians in our group.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Celebration is a great place to eat.

http://www.celebrationfl.com/market_street/dining.html

Ted

 

[flclarkkent]

Try going over to Celebration. We love "Columbia", a cuban restaurant. QUOTE]

I love Columbia, too. It's a great Spanish restaurant that serves up a mean sangria. And you can't beat any of their paellas.

The original one, over in Tampa's Ybor City, is one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in the state. There's also another one up in St. Augustine. All of them are unique places to go eat when you're down in Florida.

 

[lovethattink]

Try going over to Celebration. We love "Columbia", a cuban restaurant. QUOTE]

I love Columbia, too. It's a great Spanish restaurant that serves up a mean sangria. And you can't beat any of their paellas.

The original one, over in Tampa's Ybor City, is one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in the state. There's also another one up in St. Augustine. All of them are unique places to go eat when you're down in Florida.

We love the salad. Their dressing is fantastic! I bought a bottle of it last time!

 

[goofyrn13]

Try Charley's on I-drive.It is pricey but my meal was to die for.Appetizer of fresh huge shrimp, crablegs and calamari.13 oz filet cooked to perfection and a spinach side dish that is hard to explain.Also the key lime is authentic and very delicous.But, be prepared we had 10 people in our party and the bill was around 900$ but others had the 100$ surf and turf and mixed drinks and a several bottles of Merlot.Thank the lord it was on an expense account!!

 

[madisonsmom]

I had no idea that there is a Columbia House Restaurant in Celebration! I was just there and totally would have eaten there! We eat at the one in St. Pete at the pier whenever we are anywhere near the area! Ugh!!! Please go eat there for me and get some beans and rice and a large glass of their uncomparable sangria!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

We always have a great meal at MoonFish - http://www.fishfusion.com/ - their seafood, steaks, sushi, and wine are all excellent. Reservations are a good idea on all evenings. It is in a shopping center with some other high-end places, I believe Ruth Chris, Melting Pot, etc are near there, as well.

Charley's is also great =)