Nice selection of beers on tap, particularly if you’re into IPAs and lighter styles. Not too much for us porter and stout lovers, but I did really like the non-alcoholic FLVR porter I had from a can.
The Everything Pretzel was a nice twist on a standard. Chicken wings are straightforward— simply deep fried, I had mine with the Sticky Korean sauce, which was good.
Chicken Ceasar Salad wrap was also good. Service was friendly.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/celebration-brewing-company-celebration
Another beautiful restaurant from Chef Henry Moso. As with his two Kabooki locations, this one really shows off his design sensibilities, and emphasis on wonderful fish quality.
This Mosonori, like its sister restaurant in Winter Park, focuses on hand rolls. The majority of service is a t a counter, where each hand roll is prepared as you are ready for it, assuring the nori is crisp and still slightly warm. About a dozen types are available, plus a few sashimi options.
Beverages include sake and beer.
Service is friendly and knowledgeable.
I love this concept: bake great sourdough bread, and then put stuff on it!
We went for lunch and had the Sourdough Bread Plate and the Cold Meat Plate. Both were excellent. I particularly loved the ezme, a somewhat spicy nut mixture that came with both.
Service was friendly, and the place was spotless.
I also got their almond cake to go. It had some yummy Turkish spices in the blend.
The place is a bit hard to get to, as no matter which way you go you’re going to need to make a tricky U-turn either coming or going, but it’s worth the effort!
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sourdough-bread-house-casselberry-4
Very nice interior with a great vibe. We went for lunch, and the lunch buffet was extensive and tasty. Service was friendly.
Considering they’d only been open a few days when we stopped in for a busy father’s day lunch this place is already running very well. The menu is upscale Mexican, and the prices are reasonable for the quality. I love what they’ve done to remodel the interior of this space. It’s not upscale and has a nice modern vibe, and the way it is divided up helps control the noise level.
We started with the guacamole, a generous serving that benefitted from a squeeze of lime and some diablo salsa that we ordered on the side. The diablo isn’t really all that spicy, but added the needed kick.
We also tried the tuna tostadas, which were tasty but very tiny–basically just one bite times three.
For an entree I had the pork enchiladas. They were beautifully plated and very tasty, and came with good cilantro rise and just okay black beans.
We finished with the sopapillas, which were nice and poofy, and served with a hazelnut Serrano sauce. Again, the sauced needed more kick, but was tasty.
Special shoutout for the cocktails. The standard margarita was very good, and the Flor de Don Juan was stellar: a mix of tequila, St. Germaine, and lime.
The approach to the new Conrad Hotel is not very promising, which makes the experience of stepping into the stunning lobby all the more spectacular, with the resort’s massive water feature spread out before you. The interior finishes are impressive throughout.
Equally stunning is the view from Ceiba, the Modern Mexican restaurant on the eight floor. This is probably the best place to wow out of town visitors, with a better view of Epcot and Magic Kingdom fireworks than anywhere except the Contemporary.
The menu is unique to Orlando: truly modern Mexican cuisine, with some familiar names such as flautas and tacos, but gourmet preparations inside, such as duck confit and braised lamb shank.
We started with the guacamole which, at $29, seemed pricy, but proved to be a generous serving, topped with ample crab meat, and spiced with salmon roe and thin slices of jalapeños. Delicious.
We’d planned on sampling several such botanas, but the serving was so generous that we went straight to entrees. Well, not exactly. My wife selected the Ceviche De Hamachi Verdi as her entree. Again, it was a generous serving of hamachi, but I would argue that it isn’t really a ceviche, as the fish hasn’t really been marinated in citrus, but rather is just served in a verde sauce. It was accurately described on the menu as coming with salsa verde, green apple, serrano, cucumber, and jicama, but I don’t think she’d order it again.
I had the Flautas de Pato, very crispy corn tortilla rolls (really more taquitos, if you will) filled with duck confit, and served with avocado serrano salsa, cabbage, and queso fresco crema. They were delicious, and I could only eat half of them…
…because I was saving room for the Tsokolate, a flourless chocolate sphere filled with dark chocolate mousse, accompanied by an assortment of delicious crumbles and gels. It was wonderful, and plenty for two people to share.
There’s a good wine list and a very extensive tequila list. I tried several interesting and creative cocktails.
Service was top notch. The entire staff was welcoming and attentive, and our server, Christian, was a genuine host, who made the experience special.
Forty years ago I had a Thon Baguette (tuna sandwich) in Paris, from a modest sidewalk counter. It was the best tuna sandwich of my life. I’ve been looking for another one ever since.
At last I found it! The one at Benjamin French is absolutely perfect, with fresh baguette that is a bit crusty but tender and not too thick, perfect tuna, delicious mayo (was it French, too?) and thin slice tomato and hard boiled egg that accented rather than overwhelmed.
I also tried the ham and cheese, but it wasn’t the same life-changing experience.
Coffee is good (maybe not Paris good, but good) and I love the French soundtrack.
Service was friendly. I’ll be back!
https://www.yelp.com/biz/benjamin-french-bakery-cafe-orlando
What a beautiful job they did redesigning the interior of this space as a Victorian-era English pub! From the amazing ceiling to the Victoria artwork to the perfect lighting levels, they did everything just right.
There is also an amazingly cozy speakeasy through a hidden entrance!
The menu is a mix of English pub food and American sports bar.
Service is extremely attentive, so I’m sure this place will be a big hit.
They really missed an opportunity when they remodeled this space into a Sonny’s. I use the word “remodeled” loosely, because there really is no decor. I’ve been in warehouses with more ambiance. Perhaps that accounts for it being largely uninhabited on a Friday at lunch hour.
That lack of customers didn’t translate into attentive service, though. It was largely missing as well. I even went searching for our server at one point, and short of going into the kitchen did my best to locate anyone on duty.
The cheese curd appetizer was not recognizable as cheese curds, but it was okay, more like conventional cheese battered and deep-fried. Certainly there was no hint of the dry rub coating, but had it been described differently I would have been perfectly happy with it.
The BBQ food is pretty much Sonny’s standard, which is to say average barbecue with a good assortment of sauces. I had the three-meat combo and was surprised that I found the chicken tenders the best item, of all things. The St. Louis ribs could definitely not be accused of falling off the bone, and were definitely not worth the upcharge. Sonny’s baked beans are good, though, as is the coleslaw slaw.
What a transformation this place has undergone since it was a cheese sandwich place! Gorgeous interior and excellent lighting.
The menu offers both a la carte and all-you-can-eat dining. Since the items are pretty much the same, if you’re going to have more than two items, you’re better off with all-you-can-eat. The lunchtime price was $35 which, considering you can order pretty much anything, seems fair.
Most of the dishes we ordered came out quickly, even as they got busy, and we could order as many as we liked. Fish quality of the sashimi was excellent, and was my favorite thing.
Despite the extensive menu, there is a sameness to a lot of the items. They particularly like cream cheese. If you prefer cooked items, there are a lot of choices, both as rolls and appetizers.
Overall I found it to be good if not at the very top level of local sushi, although with some tweaks I think it could be, particularly given the lovely interior design.