Restaurant recommendations in Orlando Area

angel

Cracker Barrel is our favourite family restaurant. Ponderosa was awful, disgusting. I guess it all depends on what branch you to to though

Alikay

We like Cracker Barrel too, especially if you fancy some mash & veg with your meat/chicken as a change from the ubiquitous salad & fries they serve in the USA! Olive Garden is nice too.

vivatifosi

I'm with bina72: love the Olive Garden, but my favourite is the Cheesecake Factory which has a huge menu that even the most finicky eaters can find something that they like on.

Also agree with KarenG: love Chilis and Wolfgang Pucks.

If you are considering the themed restaurants at Disney and Universal, these are fun but the food can be a bit samey. Its worth doing one for the fun of it, but other than that we tend to leave the theme parks to eat.

Steak and Shake do great milkshakes and are a step up from the normal Burger King/McDs.

Check the coupon booklets that you find everywhere in Orlando, as they often have money off offers for the places we have recommended.

SavageDonkey_2

I would recommend Ruby Tuesdays and Chillis.... Go to Chillis when it's 2 for 1 on beer look along the 192 for both. If you're going to the parks Mythos is fantastic in Universal Islands of Adventure. :beer:

I would avoid Ponderosa, Outback, just my preference

vivatifosi

Oops, Savage Donkey is right about Mythos. It wins the best restaurant in the theme parks every year I think. I don't like theme park restaurants for the reasons I've outlined above, but this one stands out from all the others.

I just wish it was in another park. I don't feel like fine cuisine when I've been inverted, spun, dropped, etc. Must be getting old...

Lucie_2

Another vote for Cracker Barrel, and we also enjoyed the Magic Mining co. in Kissimee.
For lunch, the chinese food counter in the Florida Mall food court was hard to beat. They sucker you in with free samples of bourbon chicken

hazzie123

Anyone tried the Dixie Stampede Dinner and Show? Plus the other dinner shows like Medievil Times.

Might be nice to have dinner and show rolled into one?

PaulA

Most of the restaurants in the area are pretty poor quality, they advertise what looks like a good deal but usually disappoint, especially compared to other American cities. Ponderosa a prime example, awful buffet, they sting you for drinks and then demand a tip!

Avoid the places on the 192 or International Drive and instead go into Celebration. This is an odd town that feels a bit like the Truman show and is worth seeing anyway but there are also several excellent places to eat.

Unfortunately Orlando and Kissimmee are set up for mainly British tourists and the prices and quality reflect this.

geo555

There are a lot of good restaurant chains in Orlando, but the best advice, given to me by the manageress of a restaurant in I Drive, is to find them away from I Drive. Most people who go there are tourist and in two weeks time you will be gone, so the standard slips as there will always be another customer tomorrow.
As Snapdragon said, look out for the coupons.

Froggitt

Cattlemans STeakhouse on I-Drive was excellent.

Steak n Shake at Lake Buena Vista was excellent quality and value for a quick diner meal.