This poke bowl assemblage concept offers an array of bases, fish, and toppings in a bright, spacious setting. You can choose between two types of rice or mixed greens as your base. Then pick a protein and up to four toppings.
My companion and I both went with greens and tuna and wasabi dressing. My favorite toppings were the edamame, cucumber, and seaweed salad. I highly recommend the fried onion bits as a garnish.
Service was fast and friendly.
This is a bowl assembly concept similar to Chipotle, but focused on healthy selections.
My choice was coconut rice and kale slaw topped with chickpeas and salmon. The ingredients worked well together. The sriracha-based sauce I selected was fairly bland, but my wife’s ginger sauce was excellent.
The counter setup at lunchtime is extremely efficient, so it took no time at all to order and pay.
There’s a nice outside seating area in addition to the indoor space.
High end sushi dining in Ocoee! Who would have thought?
The first thing you notice walking into X is the stunning decor, including a custom build-out, fanciful hanging lights, and bold artwork covering most of one wall.
There are an assortment of tables sizes, all elegantly set. Surprisingly, although sushi is prepared at an open counter, there is no sushi bar seating.
The quality of the fish here is what it’s all about. The menu claims it is all from the Tokyo Seafood Market, and that’s easy to believe. The Sashimi Moriawase selections were as good as any I’ve had in Orlando’s high-end expensive sushi restaurants.
Speaking of expensive, that fish comes at a cost, of course. Whether there is a market for food at this level in Ocoee is a question, but I hope so. You won’t find better.
Victoria & Alberts continues to be one of the best restaurants in Central Florida, despite all of the new competition we have been blessed with. Part of the reason is that new chefs have brought new ideas from all over the world, including Copenhagen and South America.
The chef’s table continues to be the most exclusive experience in Florida fine dining, with great views of the kitchen, and personal interaction with the chefs and servers.
So why doesn’t Victoria and Alberts have Michelin stars? Orlando paid for Michelin to rate its restaurants, and Walt Disney World is not in the city of Orlando.
This family-run restaurant offers a full range of Greek foods along with some Italian options. I love the interior, which has really cool booths that look like they are from a classic diner.
Both the Gyro Platter and Chicken Kabobs were generous servings and delicious.
Friendly service.
This is an interesting tapas concept because instead of Spanish food, the emphasis is on Latin food. We started with a delicious red sangria, and then proceeded to try a number of the different tapas appetizers, never making our way to the entrée section of the menu.
The Asparinas were a great way to start, and were offered free for checking in on Yelp! We tried the empanadas, and had half chicken/half cheese; both were good.
The Chicken Molé Rice Balls were also very good, with a complex Molé sauce that wasn’t too sweet.
The Ajito de Pescado was my favorite, with flavors of freshly cooked fish and veggies.
Excellent and friendly service. During temperate weather, it would be great to sit out on the sidewalk.
Really excellent Greek and Italian food in a pleasant environment. Shout out to the spanakopita and Gyros. Meals come with a side, a salad, and bread.
I love this neighborhood diner. It’s got just about anything you could want on a diner menu, from elaborate breakfasts to perfectly prepared sandwiches, and great hot dishes like shepherds pie. Friendly service, and a pleasant decor.
4 Stars
I’ve never been a big fan of Rick Bayless’ Chicago area restaurants, but I enjoyed our visit to this one in Disney Springs. The huge space is probably bigger than all of his Chicago restaurants combined! I’m sure it can get noisy at night, but a Monday lunch was sparsely populated.
The “Half & Half” was a nice combination of guacamole and pumpkin seed hummus, served with chips, jicama, and cucumber, plus red and green salsas.
My wife loved the Smoked Salmon Ceviche Tostadas. Conchinita Pibil was also good.
As with everything at Disney Springs, it’s very expensive. But on the bright side, Margaritas at our Monday lunch were only $5 instead of the usual $19.
Service was good.
Chips salsa and margarita
Beef nachos
Chicken empanada
**** (4 stars)
I’ve been hesitating to go here because the reviews have been so mixed, but I’m glad I did.
Service was excellent (of course it was early Sunday and I was alone) and so was the margarita, which was obviously made with fresh lime.
Because it was Sunday it was “happy hour” all day, and there are some deals. I had a chicken empanada, which had a nice flakey crust, and a huge plate of beef nachos. The nachos were made with an unusal combination of squirt cheese and unmelted cotija cheese, but they were good. And they were just $5. My whole bill was under $16. Definitely a great deal for a nice experience.
Casa Jimenez
15493 Stoneybrook W Pkwy
Ste 120
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 614-1438
https://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-jimenez-winter-garden