Hello, I came into this establishment and ordered one drink. It wasn’t busy. I ordered My go to…a simple whisky cocktail. I thanked the bartender and gave it a good sniff or three and then a sip to the lips: another open mouthed sniff.. and sadly. Gave it a 3 outta 10. It’s a drink i always order when i go out, it’s a common drink. It wasn’t up to par and it was about 3$ more expensive than most places.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Orlando Foodie
My husband and I dine here at least once a month, and we’ve always enjoyed the experience. The food is consistently excellent, and we’ve had many memorable meals here. However, tonight’s visit left us feeling disappointed.
We arrived at 6:45, ordered drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert. After dessert, we decided to order one more glass of wine. At 8:45, we were informed that we needed to leave because the next reservation had arrived. While I understand the need to manage table turnover, the way this was handled could have been much better.
If there’s a time limit for tables, a polite heads-up when we ordered the additional glass of wine would have made all the difference. Something like, “Just so you know, we have another reservation coming in shortly” would have allowed us to make an informed decision rather than feeling rushed or pushed out after spending $250.
They did offer for us to move to the bar next door, but if that was our preference, we would have chosen it to begin with. We’re long-time customers, and we will likely return, but I hope this feedback helps improve communication in the future to maintain the level of hospitality we’ve come to except.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 1
tamara klotz
Had been before and son and I enjoyed every bite. This time, Tried to make an online reservation before Book of Mormon. Said nothing available until 845pm. Called and someone who answered the phone said, after a few minutes, yes, she could probably get two of us right at 5pm. In the 75 minutes we were there, not a single other person came in so, why the issue with a reservation? Snapper was good but disappointed in the cold pasta and burrata that were appetizers. We barely touched the burrata. Sad a place I liked so much once before was lackluster at best this time around.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 5
Portia Kamons
Delish, fun, relaxed, professional and accommodating. Wonderful spot. Book well ahead; it’s popular for good reason.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alexander Fraser
Four of us tried to walk in on a Friday evening and were told there would be a one-hour wait for a table, with the option to wait at their lounge bar next door. While the lounge itself was nice, the drink options were disappointing—limited to mixed drinks and three subpar canned beers. I asked if I could order a draft beer from the restaurant, but was told they no longer offer that, despite the bar and restaurant sharing the same space. It seemed like a reasonable request, but they wouldn’t accommodate it. No tot mention that when you order a drink at the restaurant it comes from this bar.
To make matters worse, 90 minutes later—well beyond the original estimate—we finally received a text that our table was ready. It would have been much better if they had been upfront about the actual wait time, so we could have made an informed decision about where to dine.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 2
Jess Lin
Fantastic everything! We loved our meal, waitress, and experience. The duck breast with fig reduction was especially delicious.
Parking: We parallel parked
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Confit, Salad
Garrett Cortese
The Strand is a favorite date-night spot for me and my wife. Actually, it is our favorite. Even when we can't get a seat, the staff is super accommodating about putting our name on the list, letting us grab a drink next door at DBA, and calling us over when seats at the bar are available. The menu always has fun changes, and we've made it a thing to always order one special every time we go (either an appetizer or entree). Everything is delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
DaLecia Pruitt
5 star experience through and through!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christopher Atkinson
Orlando has a lot of hyped up restaurants, but very few of them have been hyped up as much as The Strand has been. It has been featured on many lists across many websites, it has been awarded by many local periodicals, and it has been placed on the Michelin Guide since it started in Orlando. That's a lot of hype. I decided to finally come and see what the fuss was all about one day.
We made a reservation for right when it opened at 5PM, and there was a line out the door of other like-minded people. We shuffled in, got seated, and started browsing the small but very intention, and delicious, menu. I ordered a mocktail. I forgot what is what exactly, but I remembered that I liked it a lot. They did a good job.
The ambiance of the building was very nice. It's a super small dining room, and the giant front windows let in just enough light to elegantly light the tables, the plant décor, the open concept tiny little kitchen. It was very nice. Classy. The service was good, too. We had a guy, and he was very friendly. He didn't come by too often, but just often enough to provide us a very pleasant experience.
As for the food, the menu was simultaneously small, but widely varied. I believe that anyone of every food preference could find something good to eat here. Their chicken dish even sounded good enough to get me to consider it, and I never eat chicken dishes when I'm out and about.
We started off with the Snapper Cakes (comeback sauce). These cakes were wide, pressed, crispy, bursting with snapper flavor, and that Mississippi-esque comeback sauce was a welcome zing to the whole dish. A lovely start!
Next up were the Fried Local Mushrooms (dashi aioli, honey, togarashi). They were definitely tempura-esque, in that they were delectably crispy and delicate. The mushrooms were solid and meaty and cooked through. The meatiness was accentuated by the aioli and countered by the sweetness of the honey. Really was the most surprising bite of food I've had in a long time. Very impressed with this dish.
Next was some even more fish, the Red Snapper (blackened with lime compound butter, Anson Mills cheese grits, seasonal vegetables). Per-fect-ly blackened. Still moist throughout. The grits were a little bland, but perhaps on purpose, because it helped tamp down the seasoning from the fish. A perfect pairing!
And I also got to try the Seared Duck Breast (eggplant panzanella, pickled ramp, peach & white wine reduction). Perfectly cooked. I cannot believe how this place nailed every single protein 100% on the cook. A nice pairing with the eggplant. You gotta mix it all up in one bite, though, with the reduction, too, as that duck needs that fruit to help balance it out. Lovely.
Overall, this place shook me to my core with how good it was. It didn't rely on any groundbreaking techniques or and trendy dishes or anything, but the elevated Southern dishes they did provide us were nailed 100% and just left you with no critiques.
I will say, if you're considering coming here, and you see a menu dish you're really wanting, don't wait. Since I've been, half of the dishes I had are already not on the menu anymore. This menu is super seasonal and fresh. Which I love. Come here.
The Strand Orlando is a lovely neighborhood restaurant. Beyond the unassuming exterior awaits a cozy, intimate, relaxed dining environment. The staff are all friendly and attentive and the open kitchen allows you to see the kitchen team working non-stop to keep the delicious dishes of food coming. The pricing is reasonable and the menu offers a nice array of options to choose from.
The restaurant did not have any reservations available on a Thursday evening, but they reserve the bar for walk-ins. I was seated quickly at the last remaining bar seat and quickly greeted by Kristen, who was a lovely server who provided an excellent review of the menu.
The Old Fashioned was a solid accompaniment to the first course and the Jouves & Croisille Malbec de Soif Cahors was an excellent companion to the NY Strip.
The food was outstanding. The Pasta Nero (housemade squid-ink past served cold with chunks of crab meat, fried scallions, and a creamy truffle sauce) was a unique entry point into the meal, all of the flavors really came together well in a creamy, earthy, combination. The coffee rubbed NY Strip was excellent, the coffee ground crust providing a textural and flavor component to a perfectly cooked steak. The pickled Zucchini provided a bit of acidity to complement the steak, while the aioli clad patatas bravas provided a starchy, roasted, creamy counterpoint. The Tres Leches was a lovely finish to the meal and stood out as one of the more interesting flavor combinations in a dessert in recent meals out. The passion fruit is sort of a syrup covering a creamy, moist Tres Leches cake, with crushed macademia nuts offering a nutty counterpoint to the habanero dust offers just the right amount of heat. All of the flavors came together in a delightful way to end a wonderful dining experience.
Highly recommend The Strand for a nice evening out in Orlando - based on the reservation availability, probably important to plan ahead.
Parking: Easy to find free street parking in the adjacent neighborhoods.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coffee-Rub Flank Steak, Pasta Nero
Ms. Candace
Enjoyed my dining experience at The Strand. Top notch service and food. Will definitely return when.I visit Orlando again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paulo Figueiredo Filho
What an easy way to get a bad review: I called trying to make a reservation and the lady at the phone couldn't care less for the customer. That's how restaurants die.
Service: 1
Cathie Fowler
On our first visit tonight we had the most fabulous dinner. We will definitely go back. We were too full to have dessert, but next time we’ll split some so we can stuff in dessert! We loved our waiter—friendly and great service without hovering. It’s excellent and I highly recommend!
Hello, I came into this establishment and ordered one drink. It wasn’t busy.
I ordered My go to…a simple whisky cocktail. I thanked the bartender and gave it a good sniff or three and then a sip to the lips: another open mouthed sniff.. and sadly.
Gave it a 3 outta 10. It’s a drink i always order when i go out, it’s a common drink. It wasn’t up to par and it was about 3$ more expensive than most places.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
My husband and I dine here at least once a month, and we’ve always enjoyed the experience. The food is consistently excellent, and we’ve had many memorable meals here. However, tonight’s visit left us feeling disappointed.
We arrived at 6:45, ordered drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert. After dessert, we decided to order one more glass of wine. At 8:45, we were informed that we needed to leave because the next reservation had arrived. While I understand the need to manage table turnover, the way this was handled could have been much better.
If there’s a time limit for tables, a polite heads-up when we ordered the additional glass of wine would have made all the difference. Something like, “Just so you know, we have another reservation coming in shortly” would have allowed us to make an informed decision rather than feeling rushed or pushed out after spending $250.
They did offer for us to move to the bar next door, but if that was our preference, we would have chosen it to begin with. We’re long-time customers, and we will likely return, but I hope this feedback helps improve communication in the future to maintain the level of hospitality we’ve come to except.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 1
Had been before and son and I enjoyed every bite. This time, Tried to make an online reservation before Book of Mormon. Said nothing available until 845pm. Called and someone who answered the phone said, after a few minutes, yes, she could probably get two of us right at 5pm. In the 75 minutes we were there, not a single other person came in so, why the issue with a reservation? Snapper was good but disappointed in the cold pasta and burrata that were appetizers. We barely touched the burrata. Sad a place I liked so much once before was lackluster at best this time around.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 5
Delish, fun, relaxed, professional and accommodating. Wonderful spot. Book well ahead; it’s popular for good reason.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Four of us tried to walk in on a Friday evening and were told there would be a one-hour wait for a table, with the option to wait at their lounge bar next door. While the lounge itself was nice, the drink options were disappointing—limited to mixed drinks and three subpar canned beers. I asked if I could order a draft beer from the restaurant, but was told they no longer offer that, despite the bar and restaurant sharing the same space. It seemed like a reasonable request, but they wouldn’t accommodate it. No tot mention that when you order a drink at the restaurant it comes from this bar.
To make matters worse, 90 minutes later—well beyond the original estimate—we finally received a text that our table was ready. It would have been much better if they had been upfront about the actual wait time, so we could have made an informed decision about where to dine.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 2
Fantastic everything! We loved our meal, waitress, and experience. The duck breast with fig reduction was especially delicious.
Parking: We parallel parked
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Confit, Salad
The Strand is a favorite date-night spot for me and my wife. Actually, it is our favorite. Even when we can't get a seat, the staff is super accommodating about putting our name on the list, letting us grab a drink next door at DBA, and calling us over when seats at the bar are available. The menu always has fun changes, and we've made it a thing to always order one special every time we go (either an appetizer or entree). Everything is delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
5 star experience through and through!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Orlando has a lot of hyped up restaurants, but very few of them have been hyped up as much as The Strand has been. It has been featured on many lists across many websites, it has been awarded by many local periodicals, and it has been placed on the Michelin Guide since it started in Orlando. That's a lot of hype. I decided to finally come and see what the fuss was all about one day.
We made a reservation for right when it opened at 5PM, and there was a line out the door of other like-minded people. We shuffled in, got seated, and started browsing the small but very intention, and delicious, menu. I ordered a mocktail. I forgot what is what exactly, but I remembered that I liked it a lot. They did a good job.
The ambiance of the building was very nice. It's a super small dining room, and the giant front windows let in just enough light to elegantly light the tables, the plant décor, the open concept tiny little kitchen. It was very nice. Classy. The service was good, too. We had a guy, and he was very friendly. He didn't come by too often, but just often enough to provide us a very pleasant experience.
As for the food, the menu was simultaneously small, but widely varied. I believe that anyone of every food preference could find something good to eat here. Their chicken dish even sounded good enough to get me to consider it, and I never eat chicken dishes when I'm out and about.
We started off with the Snapper Cakes (comeback sauce). These cakes were wide, pressed, crispy, bursting with snapper flavor, and that Mississippi-esque comeback sauce was a welcome zing to the whole dish. A lovely start!
Next up were the Fried Local Mushrooms (dashi aioli, honey, togarashi). They were definitely tempura-esque, in that they were delectably crispy and delicate. The mushrooms were solid and meaty and cooked through. The meatiness was accentuated by the aioli and countered by the sweetness of the honey. Really was the most surprising bite of food I've had in a long time. Very impressed with this dish.
Next was some even more fish, the Red Snapper (blackened with lime compound butter, Anson Mills cheese grits, seasonal vegetables). Per-fect-ly blackened. Still moist throughout. The grits were a little bland, but perhaps on purpose, because it helped tamp down the seasoning from the fish. A perfect pairing!
And I also got to try the Seared Duck Breast (eggplant panzanella, pickled ramp, peach & white wine reduction). Perfectly cooked. I cannot believe how this place nailed every single protein 100% on the cook. A nice pairing with the eggplant. You gotta mix it all up in one bite, though, with the reduction, too, as that duck needs that fruit to help balance it out. Lovely.
Overall, this place shook me to my core with how good it was. It didn't rely on any groundbreaking techniques or and trendy dishes or anything, but the elevated Southern dishes they did provide us were nailed 100% and just left you with no critiques.
I will say, if you're considering coming here, and you see a menu dish you're really wanting, don't wait. Since I've been, half of the dishes I had are already not on the menu anymore. This menu is super seasonal and fresh. Which I love. Come here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Strawberry Chiffon Pie, Duck Confit, Snapper Cakes, Fried Mushrooms
fun neighborhood experience, great food, unique wines, always a wonderful experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The Strand Orlando is a lovely neighborhood restaurant. Beyond the unassuming exterior awaits a cozy, intimate, relaxed dining environment. The staff are all friendly and attentive and the open kitchen allows you to see the kitchen team working non-stop to keep the delicious dishes of food coming. The pricing is reasonable and the menu offers a nice array of options to choose from.
The restaurant did not have any reservations available on a Thursday evening, but they reserve the bar for walk-ins. I was seated quickly at the last remaining bar seat and quickly greeted by Kristen, who was a lovely server who provided an excellent review of the menu.
The Old Fashioned was a solid accompaniment to the first course and the Jouves & Croisille Malbec de Soif Cahors was an excellent companion to the NY Strip.
The food was outstanding. The Pasta Nero (housemade squid-ink past served cold with chunks of crab meat, fried scallions, and a creamy truffle sauce) was a unique entry point into the meal, all of the flavors really came together well in a creamy, earthy, combination. The coffee rubbed NY Strip was excellent, the coffee ground crust providing a textural and flavor component to a perfectly cooked steak. The pickled Zucchini provided a bit of acidity to complement the steak, while the aioli clad patatas bravas provided a starchy, roasted, creamy counterpoint. The Tres Leches was a lovely finish to the meal and stood out as one of the more interesting flavor combinations in a dessert in recent meals out. The passion fruit is sort of a syrup covering a creamy, moist Tres Leches cake, with crushed macademia nuts offering a nutty counterpoint to the habanero dust offers just the right amount of heat. All of the flavors came together in a delightful way to end a wonderful dining experience.
Highly recommend The Strand for a nice evening out in Orlando - based on the reservation availability, probably important to plan ahead.
Parking: Easy to find free street parking in the adjacent neighborhoods.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coffee-Rub Flank Steak, Pasta Nero
Enjoyed my dining experience at The Strand. Top notch service and food. Will definitely return when.I visit Orlando again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What an easy way to get a bad review: I called trying to make a reservation and the lady at the phone couldn't care less for the customer. That's how restaurants die.
Service: 1
On our first visit tonight we had the most fabulous dinner. We will definitely go back. We were too full to have dessert, but next time we’ll split some so we can stuff in dessert! We loved our waiter—friendly and great service without hovering. It’s excellent and I highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Perfect meal with good products
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