Garni is the all-day restaurant at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel. It’s located on the second floor and overlooks the lobby on one side and the pool on the other. Like the rest of the hotel, the space is beautifully decorated, and it has a wide variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, as you would expect from the all-day hotel restaurant at a hotel.
We were there on a Sunday, so they were also serving brunch. It was nice that, while there were a number of brunch items, you could still get plenty of lunch-oriented things as well. We enjoyed everything that we had, and the shishito pepper appetizer was a particularly interesting approach, different than the normal seared shishito peppers. These had been sort of roasted in an interesting cheese concoction, and they were quite tasty.
This is an attractive restaurant located off the lobby of the Wave Hotel in Lake Nona. It features mostly South American-influenced cuisine, and there’s a good variety on the menu. We had the tasting menu, and were a bit disappointed by the experience.
It wasn’t that the courses didn’t look attractive. It just seemed like nothing all that spectacular about any of them, and none of the ingredients really seemed to go together all that well. Perhaps it was just because we had a spectacular omakase the night before at Nami, which is in the same hotel, but we were just a bit underwhelmed. I think maybe a better bet is to just go and order a few things off the menu rather than have the tasting experience.
This is a review for the Chef’s Counter experience at Nami. While the restaurant itself is extraordinarily beautiful, the intimacy of the Chef’s Counter is a level above. The intimacy isn’t just all about size; it’s about the one-on-one connection with Executive Chef Jason Beliveau.
I’ve been to many omakase experiences, but I’ve never had one where the chef knew everyone’s name before he even arrived on stage, and that one-to-one connection continued throughout the dinner. What a dinner it was: 21 courses of meticulously assembled food presented with clear intent, where every ingredient was there for a reason. There wasn’t a single miss in the entire sequence, and the pacing and camaraderie were phenomenal.
Well, I could describe the courses one by one, but I’ll let the menu and the photos do the work, because I’m sure that Chef Justin’s creativity will have made any descriptions I could provide obsolete by your visit.
This is definitely an omakase, but that is not to say it is Japanese. There are influences from all over the world. Just put yourself in Chef’s hands, knowing you’re in for an extraordinary experience, undoubtedly the finest dining experience in Orlando.
The meal also includes a round of outstanding sake and a spectacularly created cocktail (think LN2). In addition, an extensive wine list and thoughtful availability of wine by the glass or cocktails mean that you’ll have plenty to accompany that wonderful food. Equally flawless service is personable while remaining unobtrusive.
If you’re looking for the best Orlando has to offer, whether you’re a resident or a visitor, this is the place to encounter it.
Note that the restaurant is not entered from the hotel lobby. There’s an exterior door on the west side of the Wave Hotel, and valet is available there, or self-parking is right across the street.
