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Eating Out
Guide to Drinking and Dining in Orlando

With a full menu of non-stop dining and entertainment, the fun doesn't set with the sun in Orlando and no craving is too great for Orlando's more than 3,700 restaurants and world-renowned chefs to satisfy. From pizza and pasta to sushi, steak and seafood, the area offers a broad range of ambience and menus - something to suit every palate and wallet. Here's a few favourites:

PRICE GUIDE: (average cost of a main course):
= less than USD15, = USD15-USD25, = USD25+

Traditional American

Planet Hollywood
Downtown Disney Westside Walt Disney World Resort
Tel: +1 (1)407-827-7827

For over a decade the Planet Hollywood chain has been dishing out its blend of American food in movie Americana surroundings. The menu is pretty familiar, burgers, fajitas and so on, but kids love the ambience.

California Grill
Contemporary Resort, Magic Kingdom Resort Area
Tel: +1 (1)407-939-3463 (Disney booking)

Located 14 floors up in the Contemporary Resort, this classy restaurant serves freshly-prepared modern American cuisine in comfortable surroundings and with good service. Try the goat's cheese-filled ravioli with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and mushrooms - delicious!

Enchanted Oak Tavern
6000 Universal Boulevard at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
Tel: +1 (1)407-224-9255

Staple American fare at this large cafeteria that's located in a giant fake oak tree. Lots of corn-on-the-cob, roast turkey and spare ribs, all quite delicious in an unassuming kind of way.

Ruth's Chris Steak House
7501 Sand Lake Rd
Tel: +1 (1)226-3900

Good, all-American prime beef steaks at this Orlando branch of the reliable nationwide chain. There's also seafood and other meat options on the menu if you want something a bit different, all served up in a warm and welcoming, but slightly formal atmosphere.

Southern/Cajun

Emeril's CityWalk
6000 Universal Blvd, Universal City Walk
Tel: +1 (1)407-224-2424

With its New Orleans warehouse decor, and innovative Louisiana-style Cajun cooking this has to be one of the finest restaurants in Central Florida, offering an upscale and exciting dining experience. None of this comes cheap though and you can expect a bill upwards of USD60 for a two-course meal.

International

Manuel's on the 28th
390 N. Orange Ave, Suite 2800
Tel: +1 (1)407-246-6580

Manuel's does a good job with its rather limited cooking space, presenting a creative menu that generally pleases. If you don't like the food (which is pretty unlikely) you can console yourself with the wonderful views over Orlando and beyond.

Victoria & Albert's
4401 Grand Floridian Way, Grand Floridian Resort
Tel: +1 (1)407-939-3463 (Disney booking)

It's may be pricey but with its lavish Victorian dining room, columns of marble and superb international cuisine, it's certainly worth a last-night splurge. Chef Scott Hunnel recently received a major award - the AAA Five Diamond award - putting this restaurant in a very select group. Dinner is prix fixe and consists of seven-courses specially selected each day and for each diner. If you opt for the exclusive chef's table you are introduced to each dish by the chef himself.

French

Bistro de Paris
French Pavilion, Epcot Center
Tel: +1 (1)407-939-3463 (Disney booking)

One of the best French restaurants in the Orlando area, with a constantly changing modern French cuisine and a relaxing ambience; the veal is particularly good, if you're into that sort of thing.

Chinese

Ming Court
9188 International Drive
Tel: +1 (1)407-351-9988

Superb, elegant Chinese, where you're greeted with a pool of carp, and once seated, you look out over a range of floating gardens. Expect standard Chinese fare, cooked to perfection. The dim sum is particularly good.

Thai

Thai House
2117 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando
Tel: +1 (1)407-898-0820

Orlando has more Thai restaurants than there are pigeons in Trafalgar Square (before Mayor Livingstone), but this is certainly one of the best and most sensibly priced.

Bars

At the end of a long, hot day traipsing around acres of theme parks, partying may be the last thing on your mind - except perhaps for a quiet drink in the confines of your hotel. Remember that Orlando has grown phenomenally in the past 20 years, and many of the original downtown bars and clubs closed down when the likes of Disney and Universal moved in. The family focus of the resort also means that entertainment is more important than a drink.

There are nonetheless a handful of bars downtown where you can get a drink in salubrious surroundings. One of the pleasantest of these if Tanqueray's Bar & Grill (100 S Orange St. Tel: +1 (1)407-649-8540). Housed in an old bank vault, Tanqueray's has plenty of character and is a good place to relax with a Guinness or a G&T. Even better, go at the weekend, when there's live jazz playing. They also serve food.

If you have a hankering for a cocktail, try Ybor's Martini Bar (41 W Church St. Tel: +1(1)407-316-8006), a stylish bar specialising in martinis, but with an extensive list of cocktails and spirits as well as a choice of cigars. It appeals to a fairly young and affluent crowd.

If you prefer not to travel downtown at night, the following three complexes contain dozens of additional venues - from lavish piano bars to medieval banquets and country and western bars. Most of them are clustered in three main locations: Disney's Pleasure Island, just off Buena Vista Drive, (Tel: +1 (1)407-939-2648), where a pay-one-price admission (currently
USD20.95) will get you into all the clubs and shows. These include Adventurer's Club, a re-creation of a 1930s private club; Comedy Warehouse; and Mannequins. Downtown Disney West Side, also off Buena Vista Drive, is home to the House of Blues and Gloria Estefan's Bongos Cuban Café. No alcoholic drinks are served in Walt Disney World itself.

Not to be outdone, Universal's City Walk complex includes club-bars: City Jazz; The Groove, for funk; The Latin Quarter; Bob Marley - A Tribute to Freedom, with, - as you'd expect - lots of reggae and a Jamaican ambience; and the Motown Café. You can pay for each club's admission individually, or fork out on a USD9.95 Partypass which gives admission to all the venues. Tel: +1 (1)407-363-8000.

If you'd rather avoid the often saccharine entertainment it is often best merely to retreat to the lounge bar of your hotel for a couple of beers, you won't be alone.

 

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