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The best vacations are filled with exciting adventures, fun activities, the most comfortable vacation properties, and the best foods, with the last one being the topic we want to talk about today. Life is too short to eat bad food, and we at Tropical Villas Orlando don’t just offer fantastic Florida condos, we offer a concierge experience that helps our guests plan an Orlando trip in a town that could be considered confusing for first time visitors. Today, we want to take our special guests on a taste of the town, offering this ultimate dining guide for Orlando with our favorite restaurants, helping you enjoy a taste-full vacation filled with all your favorite foods.
Start Your Day Out the Right Way
Our parents and grandparents have always insisted that skipping breakfast is a big mistake and although we may have rolled our eyes as we slunk out the door each morning to meet our friends at school, today, we must agree, especially when on vacation. Exploring the theme parks takes a lot of energy, and although there are plenty of places to grab a bite in Disney, Universal, or whichever park you have chosen to play in, the prices at these family spots are destined to be a little lower, letting you save money for souvenirs and admittance fees.
The Diner, 5072 Doctor Phillips Boulevard
Open every day of the week from 7:30 AM until 2 PM, the diner is a relative newcomer to the culinary landscape (it opened in 2017) but has fast become a local tradition. Offering fresh foods and reasonable prices, the menu is a large one, with our favorite foods appearing on the Benedict section. Offering all types of adaptations of the meal, perhaps your favorite will be the Bennyffle, created from two poached eggs, ham, and bacon perched on waffles drenched in their house hollandaise sauce. If you are more of sweet breakfast eater, when you get to their waffle and pancake section of the menu you may just think you have died and gone to heaven, especially if you try their Fruity Pebbles cereal pancakes.
FK Your Diet, 5406 Hansel Lane
In spite of its questionable name (or perhaps because of it) FK Your Diet is a family restaurant, open every day of the week at 7AM. FK actually stands for foster kid, as the owner was a foster kid who fell in love with cooking, learning at the feet of his many different foster moms, and 5% of the restaurant’s revenue is donated to foster kids. If you are on a diet, go ahead and give one of the top restaurants in Orlando a shot; its hearty made from scratch meals are not known for being low in calories, but will ensure that you will have plenty of energy for your daily adventures, and you will be doing a good deed as you chow down. And let us tell you, hitting Rock Bottom at FK Your Diet isn’t a bad thing—it is the name of one of our favorite breakfasts, chicken fried steak (or chicken) topped with sausage gravy and two eggs!
Le Café de Paris, 5170 Doctor Phillips Boulevard
Offering a taste of France to diners seeking something different, Le Café de Paris is open every day at 8 AM, closing at 3 PM weekdays and 9 PM Fridays and Saturdays. Their coffee is world famous and can be purchased at their online store if you become as obsessed over it as we are. The food served at Le Café is a French/American combination of goodness and includes an omelet they call Johnny Omelet, made with egg whites, turkey, pesto sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Their quiches, as you can imagine, are the most popular and change on a daily basis.
Lunchtime Delights
When the sun reaches its high point, your stomach may be reaching its emptiest point so next, we are pointing you in the direction of some of the best lunch restaurants in town. Remember, most breakfast restaurants are also open for lunch, so if you happen to enjoy the breakfast you just tried there is no shame in going back for the midday meal. These lunch spots are just to give you even more options for breaking bread in the middle of the day.
The Stubborn Mule, 100 S Eola Drive Unit 103
Open every day at 11 AM, The Stubborn Mule is a moderately priced American restaurant that’s name is a tribute to the Moscow Mule. Established in 2016 and their fun take on your favorite American dishes will fill your belly as each dish tried feeds your soul. Offering steak sandwiches, Kobe burgers, and Southern favorites such as shrimp and grits, offering a taste of downhome our grandmothers would approve of. Their cocktail menu is an extensive one and if you visit on Mondays, their mules are just $6 all day long; sip heartily and ride share back to your Tropical Villas Orlando cozy condo to nap off the excess alcohol or designated a driver so you can continue your Florida adventures.
Nikki’s Place, 742 Carter Street
Closed on Tuesdays and open at 8:30 AM the rest of the week, Nikki’s Place has soul—soul food, that is. Serving the best home cooking in town (just ask, they will tell you!) from simple and casual digs, the meals they offer reflect the passion Chef Nick (the owner) has for his chosen career. Offering pork chops, wings, ox tail, catfish, and all the Southern treats we were raised on, the prices at Nikki’s Place are surprisingly low and the portions are equally surprising, taking up most of the plates on which they are served. If you can manage it, save room for dessert, as their bread pudding is a blast from the past that deserves to be devoured and their red velvet cake will make you believe in all the good things in life.
Dharma Southern Kitchen, 5565 Old Cheney Highway
Open every day from 11 AM to 10 PM takes those on an Orlando trip in a different direction offering vegetarian based Southern meals. Tasty and inexpensive, Dharma’s innovative versions of traditionally carnivore selections includes Nashville Hawt Fried Chik’n, Georgia Peach Sloppy Joes, and a Phish sandwich so delicious you may be tempted to go back for seconds.
Family Favorites at Dinner Time
The family vacation is a tradition that helps strengthen the bonds between parents and children, but not all restaurants see how that can be a good thing. In many parts of the country restaurants are beginning to ban children under a certain age or not allow them in at all, but in Orlando, we love your children almost as much as you do and this guide to family friendly Orlando restaurants will allow you to enjoy meals in restaurants where you will feel comfortable and at home, even if the kids aren’t quite on their best behavior.
Mrs. Potato Restaurant, 4550 S Kirkman Road
Open every day at 11, Mrs. Potato Restaurant is a much-acclaimed Orlando restaurant that features, yes, you guessed it, potatoes as the focal point of their meals! Offering a taste of Brazil that even the pickiest of eaters will soon be devouring, their potato gnocchi will convince you that protein is overrated. The most popular item on their menu, however, is their Philly Cheese Steak Rosti, made with potatoes, Philly steak, peppers, onions, and cheese. The kid’s menu is filled with favorites such as burgers, chicken fingers, even a kids’ steak cutlet for your more adventurous appetites.
Boxi Park Lake Nona, 6877 Tavistock Lakes Boulevard
Closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Boxi Park is probably going to be your children’s favorite place to eat, offering an all-American menu served from an outdoor counter created from shipping containers. Boxi also features an outdoor lawn with foosball tables, volleyball courts, and a stage on which live music is often playing and parents can relax with a cold drink as their children run mild in the great open space, perhaps making new friends with other kiddos burning off energy as well. The menu of Boxi Park is a large one, containing seafood, pub grub, Mexican treats, chicken sandwiches, and they even provide hot dogs for the littles.
The Kitty Beautiful, 360 State Lane
Closed on Mondays, the Kitty Beautiful is the perfect spot to enjoy an early family dinner or even lunch, as it closes at 6 most days and 7 on Fridays and Saturdays. The menu is vegetarian, including grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and cheese quesadillas, but it isn’t the menu that may attract you, it is the realization the Kitty Beautiful is a cat café! Primarily a cat rescue, your kiddos can meet and greet the sweet felines, enjoy their favorite meals, and relax and play at one of the top restaurants in Orlando.
Those Special Occasions
Not every vacation is a family one. This one may be one in which you are celebrating something special with your favorite traveling partner, a birthday, an anniversary, or a big promotion and that celebration deserves a special occasion meal. This next list of restaurants will enhance any special occasion, offering meals that will be memorable and dining experiences that will be unforgettable.
Chatham’s Place, 7575 Doctor Phillips Boulevard
We always love a good farm-to-table meal, but the chef at this special occasion spot takes farm to table to the next level as the farm he picks from is his own organic farm. Closed on Sunday and Monday and open from 6-9 Tuesday through Saturday, Chatham’s Place offers live piano music every night, white tablecloths, and a gentleman’s club atmosphere that enhances the meal you are enjoying. The menu is filled with American favorites, and Chef Tony Lopez’s passion for food shines through in every bite. Try a Florida specialty, Black Grouper topped with pecan butter and scallions, or the Crab en Croute, made with jumbo lump crab meat, wild mushrooms.
Their wine menu is a small but specialized one featuring wines that come from small family vineyards and the sommelier offers decades of experience, preparing the perfect pairings for your meal. And because no celebration is complete without something sweet accompanying your meal, the dessert menu deserves to be perused carefully and savored serenely. Their pecan macadamia pie will rock your world.
Seasons 52, 7700 W Sand Lake Road
Open every day at 11:30, the dining room of Seasons 52 features a large tree growing in the center adding a touch of drama to its simple but luxurious décor. For diners who don’t see why they have to spend a lot of money to have a great time, the prices on the menu will surely make you happy, falling somewhere between moderate and slightly higher. The menu offers a fusion of American favorites and international specialties, and when we visit for our own special occasion, we always find ourselves ordering the filet mignon and Maine lobster tail and saving room for their mini desserts, including their raspberry chocolate chip cannoli.
Norman’s Orlando, 7924 Via Dellagio Way
Closed on Sundays, Norman’s Orlando offers an elevated dining experience in sophisticated surroundings, the centerpiece of which is a glass wine cellar. Chef driven, the menu is a fusion of flavors celebrating a small collection of international and American dishes. Norman’s tasting menu rotates on a regular schedule and at the time of this writing, its late winter tasting menu has taken our breath away. Starting with Jamón, Queso & Papaya Preserves and ending with a devil’s food cake is sinfully delicious and worth saving room for.
Every Road Brings You Home to Tropical Villas Orlando
Your adventures will be plentiful and your culinary adventures will feed your soul, and as you explore all our state has to offer, the highlight of a vacation filled with wonderful moments may be taking our roads back home to Tropical Villas Orlando. Offering quiet luxury and serene comforts, our fully equipped kitchens may also be where some of your favorite meals will be created. Reserve your favorite escape today!
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