Best Off-Site Restaurant's Thread

[maciec]

Ok, we have a Best/Worst Off-Site Hotels thread....how about a Best/Worst Off-Site Restaurant thread!


I can't attest to any (since we have only stayed off site once) so I am looking for all of your opinions.

Thanks!
Melissa

 

[sue Z]

I like Perkins, a restaurant that is in the crossroads but can't think of the name , cracker barrel and Olive Garden

 

[from Canada]

For good food and value, we liked Pizzaria Uno and Chilis. Both of these were on S.R. 535.
Karen

 

[siobhan1997]

Hi, we like Ponderosa for the great value, TGIFriday for the atmosphere, Olive Garden for the pasta

Worst I would Shoney's on Hwy 192 Eek!!

 

[maciec]

Good! Let's keep this going.

I would certainly appreciate it!

Melissa

 

[disneysteve]

Our favorite pizza is at Flippers in Old Town.

Sweet Tomatoes on I-Drive near Belz is wonderful. Its an all-you-can eat salad bar buffet that also has fresh soups, pasta dishes and lots more. Don't miss it.

Steve

 

[Figment22]

Geographically, we usually stay near or onsite at Universal Studios, so my restaurant picks are closer to USF than to WDW.

I have to cast another vote for Sweet Tomatoes. It's always our first night dinner when we get into the area. Great value and the freshest food possible. The specialty salads right at the front of the buffet line are always outrageously good.

If you like barbecue, I highly recommend BubbaLou's Bodacious Barbecue. It's on Conroy about a mile down Kirkman from USF.
It is by far my favorite rib joint and the prices are very reasonable.

For a nicer dinner out, you must try Seasons 52 which is in the restaurant enclave on Sand Lake Road. Very good, fresh food. They use whatever is in season (hence the name) so the menu changes often. Great food and service. The mini indulgences for dessert are the most wonderful idea. They are like tiny parfaits for $1.95. Even if you don't have room for dessert, you can't pass up one of these.

Those are my favorites and we've yet to be disappointed at any of them.

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

We always have to stop at Giordano's. I love their Cheese Raviole. Last time we were there, my DH had their pizza and he wasn't that crazy about it but their pasta dishes are great.

Worst has to be the Waffle House on 192. I ordered a small box of Frosted Flakes and they were STALE! How long do you think they had them??? Won't ever go there again.

<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/3/3_2_100.gif' border=0></a>

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Dopey & Grumpy
Worst has to be the Waffle House on 192. I ordered a small box of Frosted Flakes and they were STALE! How long do you think they had them??? Won't ever go there again.

That's because you went to a place called WAFFLE HOUSE and ordered pre-packaged dry cereal. The place is famous for - WAFFLES!!! The waffles are made to order and since no table is more than about 12 feet from the waffle irons, they are always hot, light, crisp and delicious. Give them another try. The Frosted Flakes were stale because no one ever orders them. Try their waffles next time - you won't be sorry.

Steve

 

[maciec]

Ok here we go so far:

Best
Giordano's x 4
Sweet Tomatoes x 5
BubbaLou's Bodacious Barbecue
Seasons 52
Flippers in Old Town
Ponderosa x 2
TGIFriday x 3
Olive Garden x 4
Pizzaria Uno
Chilis x 3
Perkins x 3
Cracker Barrel
Waffle House (for the waffles)
Sonic
Sizzler
CiCi's Pizza
Cafe D'Antonio
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
Corleons
Bonanza x 3
Bahama Breeze x 3
Logan's Roadhouse
Dux at the Peabody Hotel
Shell's x 2
Orlando Ale House
Panera Bread
Pannullos
O-Boys Bar-B-Q
Boston Fish House
The Melting Pot
Amalfis
La Forcetta's
Tarantino's
Chevy's x 4
Tony Roma's x 2 (1 good experience and 1 bad from same poster)
Bennigans x 2
Pizzaria Uno
Macaroni Grill x 2
Red Lobster
Cracker Barrell
The Fox and Hound
Le Peep
Havana's #1
Yoji's
Black Angus x 2 (1 good experience and 1 bad from same poster)
Carrabas
Sam Seltzer's
China Jade Mongolian
Joe's Crab Shack
Kobe Japanese Steak House
Smoky Bones BBQ
Shake n'Steak
Cattleman's
Moonfish
New York China Buffet x 3
Outback Steakhouse x 2
Golden Corral x 2
Jimmy Buffet
Pizza Hut

Worst
Shoney's on Hwy 192
Waffle House on 192 (stale Frosted Flakes)
Joe's Crab Shack x 2
Jungle Jims
Tony Roma's
Black Angus x 2
Ponderosa
Ruby Tuesday's
Mowtown Cafe

Last Updated 04/23/04 at 2:45p.m EST

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

Originally posted by disneysteve
That's because you went to a place called WAFFLE HOUSE and ordered pre-packaged dry cereal. The place is famous for - WAFFLES!!! The waffles are made to order and since no table is more than about 12 feet from the waffle irons, they are always hot, light, crisp and delicious. Give them another try. The Frosted Flakes were stale because no one ever orders them. Try their waffles next time - you won't be sorry.

Steve

I don't like waffles. My husband does so we tried them. A good restaurant would not have had stale cereal no matter how often people order it. There's shelf life on everything you buy and it shouldn't have happened. I did ask the waitress to bring me another, which she did, and it was stale also. Not all Waffle Houses are the same. We have eaten in others and it was very good, even the Frosted Flakes. This was a few years ago but when it comes to food, I tend not to try something a second time if my first time wasn't a good experience, especially in the Kissimmee area. This is just my opinion and if other people have had positive experiences, then I'm glad for them. Unfortunately, I did not.

 

[Cindy B]

Best:

Sweet Tomatoes... love it!


Worst:

Nothing really, I've never really had a horrendous meal.
Although, DH and I wound up going to a Ponderosa near Sea World once, and the waitress was "tip-trolling". Not that we wouldn't give her a tip, but she was trying to get more out of us, and it wasn't service oriented!

I've been to:

Ponderosa (near SW)
TGI Fridays (Crossroads area)
Sweet Tomatoe (LoVE IT!)

Sonic (near Sweet Tomatoes).. Love Sonic, but it may be because we don't have them here!

Sizzler (near I Drive)

 

[disneyfan551]

I will second Chili's...they have the best fajitas you can find!! We visit our local one all of the time.

Our best deal at Disney is CiCi's Pizza...it is 3.99 for the AYCE buffet and it is very good! It's nice to save some $$ when you eat 90% of the meals at the parks...

 

[disneysteve]

I forgot another favorite because we haven't been there recently. Cafe D'Antonio in Celebration. Excellent Italian food in a very nice atmosphere.

Have you noticed that most of the favorites are large chains - Chili's, Olive Garden, Friday's, etc. I think most of us (myself included) tend to stick to what we know when we travel out of our home area. That's kind of unfortunate because sometimes (often) the best food is at the local independent restaurants. When we go out to eat at home, we almost never go to a chain restaurant because we know where all the good local restaurants are. But when we travel, we do just the opposite. Just an observation .

Steve

 

[LauraR]

The only one I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned is Cafe Tu Tu Tango, on International Dr. It's got great atmosphere (an artist theme with actual artists there working) and there were even flamenco dancers when we were there! The menu is all small plates (tapas) and very creative and interesting. They had a children's menu for our kids and the desserts were really good, too. Our waitress was really kid friendly, too.

 

[CindysGusGus]

I'll give a vote for Corleons on I-Drive near the Mercado. Their steak is great, their grilled asparagus and I have never had better Creme Brulee.

 

[Sonny76]

We ate breakfast at the hotel the first day last year for about $30.00 and I was still hungry. On the way to the parks, we saw a Bonanza All You Can Eat Breakfast Buffet for $2.99 on I-Drive. We checked it out the next morning and it was fabulous! There was alot of choices, the food was super, and it was all you can eat. We ate there every morning after that. We filled up on breakfast and left in the late afternoon for dinner somewhere else. Watch for the buffets! This one was wonderful and I have never seen cheaper prices! I am hoping it is still there because I will look again this year for it.

 

[MrsMud]

Although it gets mixed reviews, we LOVED Bahama Breeze (It didn't hurt that we had a $50 GC);
We HATED Joe's Crab Shack (even WITH a $50 GC)!

 

[mrsstats]

Logan's Roadhouse. Steaks. All the peanuts you can eat, fun place to eat.

 

[maciec]

I just added some votes

Can we please keep this going!