Best Restaurants in Orlando Area (Seafood mainly) (Destin, Celebration: house, living in)

[ColoSpgsJamie]

Wife, two young kids (11,8) and myself are planning a trip this summer to visit Florida from Colorado. We are really excited about being near the ocean again and all the great seafood places. Colorado Springs has a Red Lobster. :-(

So, we are hitting Destin for a few days then coming to Orlando to spend three days at the water parks. I think we'll be staying on the Disney property near downtown disney.

What do y'all think the best places to eat are?

What are the best seafood places?

Thanks!

[kyle19125]

Sadly Orlando isn't really known for quality seafood restaurants or quality restaurants in general for that matter, as the restaurant scene primarily panders to tourists and families which equates typically to chain restaurants (the tried and true familiar). However there are some decent seafood chain restaurants worth exploring that utilize fresh items/ingredients however. Check out Bonefish Grill which does a great job of appealing to both adults and kids and isn't as steeply priced as other establishments.

Local Seafood Restaurant in Orlando , FL | Bonefish Grill - Locations

[annerk]

Are you looking for a casual family type place or more upscale dining where you'd need to change out of your theme park clothes and into something along the lines of business casual?

If the latter is the case, Ocean Prime on Sand Lake, The Oceanaire on I-Drive, or Blue Zoo at Disney World are probably the best seafood places in the area. You can also get great seafood at a few places that don't specialize in just that, including Colombia in Celebration and Roy's on Sand Lake.

If you want more of a casual family place, Bahama Breeze, Bubba Gump and maybe Big Fin, although that's a little nicer than the average family place, but not really "upscale" either.

By the way, most people in the Orlando area don't say "y'all" and tend to roll their eyes at people who use it when it's obviously not part of their normal vocabulary. Just an FYI.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Sadly Orlando isn't really known for quality seafood restaurants or quality restaurants in general for that matter, as the restaurant scene primarily panders to tourists and families which equates typically to chain restaurants (the tried and true familiar). However there are some decent seafood chain restaurants worth exploring that utilize fresh items/ingredients however. Check out Bonefish Grill which does a great job of appealing to both adults and kids and isn't as steeply priced as other establishments.

Local Seafood Restaurant in Orlando , FL | Bonefish Grill - Locations

I disagree that the restaurant scene panders to tourists. There are some fabulous restaurants outside the tourist corridors. We just don't talk about them to the tourists. Which is why I didn't mention one of Orlando's best kept seafood secrets on this thread.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Originally Posted by annerk

I disagree that the restaurant scene panders to tourists. There are some fabulous restaurants outside the tourist corridors. We just don't talk about them to the tourists. Which is why I didn't mention one of Orlando's best kept seafood secrets on this thread.

Yeah I have to agree as well. While we are not known for being a foodie city, we have incredible restaurant options that match or surpass experiences I've had in many other so-called better locals.

[kyle19125]

Y'all (on purpose) should get out more often. The dining scene here is pretty woeful in comparison to similar sized metro areas such as San Antonio, Portland, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati...particularly when the tourist-oriented "non-locals" establishments are removed from the mix.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Y'all (on purpose) should get out more often. The dining scene here is pretty woeful in comparison to similar sized metro areas such as San Antonio, Portland, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati...particularly when the tourist-oriented "non-locals" establishments are removed from the mix.

I travel extensively, I've dined in Boston, Providence, NYC, the Napa Valley, Portland, Pittsburgh, and a variety of other major and minor cities in the past 18 months. There is an equally good "local" restaurant in Orlando to compare to every better/non-chain restaurant in any of those areas. By the way, two recent meals I've had in other cities were at BC Restaurant in Syracuse and the Pluckemin Inn in central NJ. BC reminded me of the Luma in a lot of ways although I think Luma is slightly better, and the Pluckemin Inn would be comparable to the Ravenous Pig--I think that one is a toss-up with wine list going to the Pluckemin, service going to "the Pig" and food being equal.

Orlando is not the gourmands wasteland you are trying to make it out to be. In fact I've had MUCH better meals in Orlando than in Portland, where I only had one great meal--Portland City Grill--and several marginal ones.

By the way, EB Greens in Buffalo left me scratching my head as to why they claim to be the second (or maybe it was the third) best steakhouse in the United States. The food and service was fine, but nothing spectacular by any means. My dining companions felt the same way.

[ColoSpgsJamie]

Great info. Thanks for the tips. I'll check out the menus at these places.

And my y'all is purposeful too. I was born and raised in South Carolina (only living in CO). So for me y'all is just my normal day to day. The Colorado folks find it "cute".

[strykalot]

Hide Tide Harrys on Semoran (436). Fresh seafood delivered daily. My favorite place.

Bostons Fish House on Aloma.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by strykalot

Hide Tide Harrys on Semoran (436). Fresh seafood delivered daily. My favorite place.

Bostons Fish House on Aloma.

Shhhhh.... !!