Our favourite places to eat in Orlando area
When you visit Florida for the first time it can be very daunting trying to choose a place to eat, with so many restaurants everywhere you look and lots of unfamiliar chain restaurants (for us Brits anyway! ). Here I am going to recommend some of our favourite places to eat when we’re in Orlando.
A reasonably priced place to eat is Chili’s, there are several of these dotted around and about, I have eaten at the one near the bottom of International Drive and the one on highway 27 at Cagan Crossing. Both restaurants are similar in décor and the menu is the same. The menu offers Mexican and American style food such as fajitas, burgers, enchiladas and tortillas as well as steak and seafood dishes. The frozen margaritas (have always been on two for one whenever we have been in) are to die for and I could quite happily drink a few of these during the course of the meal. The staff are friendly (sometimes a little too attentive) and the food is consistently good.
If you are wanting to splurge a little and are in the Downtown Disney area or have had a long day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom then the Rainforest Café is an amazing experience, my children absolutely loved this place and the ambience is fab, with periodic rainstorms where the restaurant darkens and you can hear thunder and the rain coming down gets harder. The menu is wide ranging and we all enjoyed our meals immensely on the evening we visited. The rainforest themed surroundings complete with huge tropical fish tanks and animatronic jungle animals meant wherever you looked there was always something new to see, excellent for keeping small children entertained whilst you are waiting for your meal.
Olive Garden is a favourite of my daughters, Daisy and Katy, I think the bottomless salad bowl and garlic bread really hits the spot with them, the food here is typically Italian with an American slant and I usually plump for a pasta dish as there are so many other places to get a fab steak. The décor is homely and prices are reasonable.
Ruby Tuesday was a place we went to the first time the last time we visited, a lovely comfortable looking restaurant with excellent service, some unusual soft drinks and a varied salad bar to keep you busy whilst you’re waiting for your food to arrive, just be careful you don’t overdo it on the salad as the food is delicious!
Even if you are not staying in a Disney Hotel, you can still use the restaurants to have a meal, a favourite of ours is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We have eaten in Boma a few times, a buffet-style restaurant with an African theme, whilst you are waiting for a table to be free you can wander around the hotel and look at the animals, a favourite with the children, and your pager tells you when your table is ready. The food is delicious!
By Jennette
When you visit Florida for the first time it can be very daunting trying to choose a place to eat, with so many restaurants everywhere you look and lots of unfamiliar chain restaurants (for us Brits anyway! ). Here I am going to recommend some of our favourite places to eat when we’re in Orlando.
A reasonably priced place to eat is Chili’s, there are several of these dotted around and about, I have eaten at the one near the bottom of International Drive and the one on highway 27 at Cagan Crossing. Both restaurants are similar in décor and the menu is the same. The menu offers Mexican and American style food such as fajitas, burgers, enchiladas and tortillas as well as steak and seafood dishes. The frozen margaritas (have always been on two for one whenever we have been in) are to die for and I could quite happily drink a few of these during the course of the meal. The staff are friendly (sometimes a little too attentive) and the food is consistently good.
If you are wanting to splurge a little and are in the Downtown Disney area or have had a long day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom then the Rainforest Café is an amazing experience, my children absolutely loved this place and the ambience is fab, with periodic rainstorms where the restaurant darkens and you can hear thunder and the rain coming down gets harder. The menu is wide ranging and we all enjoyed our meals immensely on the evening we visited. The rainforest themed surroundings complete with huge tropical fish tanks and animatronic jungle animals meant wherever you looked there was always something new to see, excellent for keeping small children entertained whilst you are waiting for your meal.
Olive Garden is a favourite of my daughters, Daisy and Katy, I think the bottomless salad bowl and garlic bread really hits the spot with them, the food here is typically Italian with an American slant and I usually plump for a pasta dish as there are so many other places to get a fab steak. The décor is homely and prices are reasonable.
Ruby Tuesday was a place we went to the first time the last time we visited, a lovely comfortable looking restaurant with excellent service, some unusual soft drinks and a varied salad bar to keep you busy whilst you’re waiting for your food to arrive, just be careful you don’t overdo it on the salad as the food is delicious!
Even if you are not staying in a Disney Hotel, you can still use the restaurants to have a meal, a favourite of ours is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We have eaten in Boma a few times, a buffet-style restaurant with an African theme, whilst you are waiting for a table to be free you can wander around the hotel and look at the animals, a favourite with the children, and your pager tells you when your table is ready. The food is delicious!
By Jennette