Lunch menu
Exterior
Interior
*** (3 stars)
This is a pretty average sushi restaurant with nothing to particularly distinguish it. The fish was okay. The Chirashi was not a traditional preparation, being just a plate with rice and some sashimi. Service was prompt.
Tokyo Sushi
8111 Vineland Ave
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 465-1188
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tokyo-sushi-orlando
Quiche
Lobster bites
Bread service with complimentary butter and pate
Exterior
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This is an intimate (12 tables or less) restaurant in the plaza off I-Drive north of the Orlando Eye.
As the name implies, the concept here is French/steakhouse. They are striving for fine dining, but it’s not quite at that level. Certainly the service is outstandingly solicitous, but it’s clear most of the staff is unfamiliar with the level to which the management aspires. So while many servers asked repeatedly if we needed anything, it was more obtrusive than helpful. Coupled with an offer of dessert before our main courses were served, it was a bit disjointed. Still, their hearts are in the right place, and experience will iron out these problems.
The food, too, strives but doesn’t always succeed. For starters we had the quiche and the lobster bites. The quiche was a nice, small, thin tartlet that made a good appetizer, as it wasn’t too filling. The lobster bites were essentially an escargot preparation, but using generous chunks of lobser instead of snails. The garlic butter was delicious, but the method of preparation of course leaves the lobster very, very well done.
We also had a small Caesar salad and onion soup. The Caesar was good, and at $5 was emblematic of the extremely reasonable pricing. Where else in town can you get a Caesar salad for that price? The onion soup was the only thing we had that really wasn’t good. It looked like a traditional preparation, but the consistency was more like gravy, and not very appealing in taste, either.
Main courses are also very reasonably priced, particularly considering they include two side dishes of your choice. I thought my companion’s New York steak was a bit tough, but she enjoyed it. The accompanying Chico’s sauce had a nice mustard base. I had the fish special, a corvina, which was delicate and nicely prepared. The home run of the evening was actually the Angel Onions, thin onion straws that were battered and perfectly crisped.
Photos of the place don’t do it justice, as the interior decor is stunning, although it would be better with lower light levels.
And as I’ve mentioned, the prices are extremely reasonable, particularly given the tourist area that surrounds it.
Chez Filet
8255 International Dr
Ste 144A
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 250-4090
https://www.yelp.com/biz/chez-filet-orlando
KFC
Lan-sanity
Stormtrooper
Hamachi truffle
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This is an attractive restaurant with a nice, open, modern decor. They offer a lot of creative sushi and sashimi preparations, plus a variety of hot dishes including Korean, Chinese and others. So it’s not really fusion, but it does offer a nice variety.
Service can get backed up, but our waitress was friendly, and the sushi was good. My favorite was the hamachi truffle, which was barely seared, and had some delicious crispy bits of garlic on it.
Jade Sushi & New Asian
2425 Edgewater Dr
Orlando, FL 32804
(407) 422-7968
https://www.yelp.com/biz/jade-sushi-and-new-asian-orlando
Interior
Exterior
*** (3 stars)
This place basically makes only one thing, which is a deep fried ball of mashed potato with a small bit of chicken, beef, cheese or vegetable in the middle. Ten of them are served in a cone. You can mix types in your order, but they tend to taste very similar. The Brazilian name is coxinha.
Frankly, they were not to our taste, but if it’s something you like, then I’m sure it’s a perfectly fine version. The problem is that there isn’t a place to eat, and barely a place to stand while you wait for your order. They also have a lunch truck, and this place is essentially like getting food from a lunch truck, with nothing but a small counter.
Service was very friendly.
Chicken Bites
2405 S Hiawassee Rd
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 985-4285
https://www.yelp.com/biz/chicken-bites-orlando
Soup and salad
Salmon teriyaki box
Interior
Exterior
*** (3 stars)
This area of Metrowest needs a Chinese restaurant, so I was surprised when the one that previously occupied this space went out of business. This one has potential, but so far is not as good.
We tried it for lunch, and the service was friendly, and the kitchen was very fast. The lunch boxes are a good deal because most include soup, salad and a bento box with sushi, rice, three large wonton triangles stuffed with cream cheese and deep fried, and your entree.
The salad with ginger dressing was the best item. Salmon teriyaki was a bit fishy, as was the California roll. Overall the meal had that heavy oily sense you sometimes get from Chinese food.
There are five tables, but most of the business is probably “to go” or perhaps delivery. The price was reasonable for the large amount of food.
Kome Japanese Chinese and Sushi Bar
2407 S Hiawassee Rd
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 299-8687
https://www.yelp.com/biz/kome-japanese-chinese-and-sushi-bar-orlando
Salad
Volcano
Menu ala carte
Menu
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This restaurant serves Japanese barbecue (essentially the same as Korean barbecue), and lots of it. You cook the meats and vegetables yourself on the grill in the center of the table.
The combo meals are the best deal, because they let you try almost everything on the menu, and the bundled price is quite reasonable, especially considering how much food you get.
We had the Gyu-Kaku, which included miso soup, salad, rice cake appetizer topped with spicy tuna tartare, a big bowl of bibimbap, and for the grill: veggies, three types of meat, shrimp and chicken and a “smores” dessert. That’s a lot of food!
The miso soup had lots of green onions in it, which I like. The salad was an attractive mix of greens with a ginger/1000 island type dressing. The rice cake with tuna tartare on it, called a volcano was the only thing I thought was mediocre. I had a similar version at the Gyu-Kaku in Chicago and thought the same thing.
Perhaps my favorite was the bibimbap. served in a hot stone bowl. I love this type of bibimbap preparation, and usually order it at Korean restaurants rather than the barbecue, so it was nice to have it included.
There were also vegetables for grilling, and a tin of corn kernels.
Of course, the focus in the grilling, and there were nice sized portions of all the meats. Our favorite was the kalbi, although some of the other beef cuts were more tender.
The smores dessert, too consisted of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate.
Everyone arrived at once, filling up the restaurant, so it took a long time to order, but then the food was well-paced, and our server was excellent.
Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ
7858 Turkey Lake Rd
Ste 100
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 613-5056
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gyu-kaku-japanese-bbq-orlando
Chocolate sack
Exterior
Interior
***** (5 stars)
Many years ago there was a Sam Snead’s across from my office, and we ate there at least weekly. Sadly, it closed some 15 years ago, to be replaced by a parade of mediocre imitators.
So it was quite a stroll down memory lane to visit this location, which is virtually identical. The menu is also largely unchanged, so we were able to enjoy several of our favorites including the spinach and cheese dip, oak grilled grouper sandwich, and chocolate sack. Each was even better than I remembered. So perhaps you can go home again!
Sam Snead’s Oak Grill and Tavern
1801 Maitland Blvd
Orlando, FL 32810
(407) 622-8800
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sam-sneads-oak-grill-and-tavern-orlando
Chilequiles
Chili replenish and quesadilla
Exterior
Interior
*** (3 stars)
While the rave reviews got me excited about La Fiesta, we didn’t find anything particularly remarkable about the place. The best thing we had by far was the sangria, which wasn’t too sweet and has lots of fruit chunks.
Cheese nachos were pretty bland, consisting of good chips covered with a liquid white cheese and nothing else, no jalapenos.
The relleno was pretty weird, although the waiter did warn us that it was stuffed with mashed potatoes. We should have followed his suggestion to substitute some kind of meat. The quesadilla was nicely grilled, and filled with cheese and chicken. It was okay, not great, as were the fairly bland rice and beans.
The best entree was the chilaquiles, which seems to be available only at lunch. The green sauce had a lot of flavor, and the shredded chicken and fried egg were good. The chips didn’t really stand up to the sauce, though, and quickly dissolved.
The decor of the restaurant is nice, but overhead fluorescent light aren’t in keeping with the restaurant ambiance.
Service was excellent.
La Fiesta Mexican Grill
3000 Curry Ford Rd
Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 985-4340
https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-fiesta-mexican-grill-orlando
Exterior
Interior
Bacon Cheeseburger
*** (3 stars)
I like the concept at this place, which isn’t a burger bar, per se, but a counter serve place that lets you specify how your burger is to be assembled, starting with the type of patty, then adding condiments and optional toppings. I had a bacon cheeseburger with everything, and I liked all the toppings except the lettuce, which was shredded rather than leaf. The burger itself was a bit dry, as was the bun.
We loved the frickles (fried pickles) and fried cheese curds, but the french fries weren’t notable.
Beth’s Burger Bar
9938 Universal Blvd
Ste 120
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 203-8100
https://www.yelp.com/biz/beths-burger-bar-orlando-2
Ceviche
Cheese quesadilla
Mahi, Cauliflower, Baha, Chiclen tacos
Interior
Menu
**** (4 stars)
This surprisingly large space is divided into several indoor areas and a large patio. Tacos are ordered using a form at the table which you then place in a stand to attract your server’s attention.
Each taco is about four bites, and costs either $2.50 or $3.50. The Mahi Mahi taco was healthful, but the Baja taco, which was deep fried with a crunchy crust was better. The most flavorful taco we tried was the cauliflower, because of the spicy, nutty sauce. Least interesting was the chicken.
We also tried the cheese quesadilla and the ceviche. The quesadilla was nicely cooked to a golden brown, but the cheese wasn’t particularly flavorful. Addition of the hot sauces on the table helped. The ceviche contained a nice portion of Mahi Mahi in lime juice, and was good, if more expensive than the other items at $7.
A lunch deal give you a choice of three tacos and a soup or salad, not a big discount, but a nice combination.
There is a short list of wines and a longer list of beers.
Service was extremely attentive.
Bartaco
7600 Dr Phillips Blvd
Ste 28
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 801-8226
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bartaco-orlando-2