Food & drink
Marcus Rivera
Published work
31 signed pages across 5 collections, biggest section first.
Restaurants 16
- KayaModern Filipino cooking in a Mills 50 bungalow, with a Michelin Green Star and a menu built on Central Florida farms. The one dinner off the parks we would book first.Read
- Victoria & Albert'sA one-star, four-hour tasting menu inside the Grand Floridian. It costs about what a Disney ticket for a family of four does, and it is the one Disney restaurant that earns the price.Read
- The Ravenous PigWinter Park's gastropub has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since 2022. Order the $24 pub burger at the bar, or go big on a dry-aged ribeye.Read
- Black Bean DeliA Cuban counter with two Orlando locations and a menu where no plate of food costs more than $18. The Cuban sandwich here is the one to measure every other Orlando Cuban against.Read
- Soseki Modern OmakaseA ten-seat omakase counter on Fairbanks Avenue with a Michelin star it has held since 2022. Superb, prepaid and non-refundable, which is exactly why it is not for everyone.Read
- Jiko - The Cooking PlaceAfrican, Indian and Mediterranean cooking at Animal Kingdom Lodge, with a list of South African wines. The Disney signature restaurant where the food, not the view, is the reason to book.Read
- Hawkers Asian Street FarePan-Asian small plates on Mills Avenue, open for lunch and late. Roti canai, soup dumplings and C.K.T. noodles make a cheap, loud dinner, and the weekday happy hour halves the price of baos.Read
- Se7en BitesA Southern bakeshop and brunch counter in Orlando's Milk District, now in the Michelin guide. Come early for pie, expect a line, and know it is only open four days a week.Read
- California GrillThree courses for $99 on top of Disney's Contemporary Resort, with the Magic Kingdom fireworks outside the window. The food is good; the timing of your table is what you are buying.Read
- Christner's Prime Steak & LobsterA family-owned steakhouse on Lee Road since 1993, with private rooms, a piano and a jacket-preferred dress code. The steaks are what you expect; the mandarin orange cake is the reason people remember it.Read
- CapaA Spanish steakhouse on the Four Seasons rooftop with a Magic Kingdom fireworks view from the terrace. It lost its Michelin star in 2026; the tapas at the bar are still the smart way to use it.Read
- 4 Rivers SmokehouseCentral Florida's home-grown barbecue chain, founded in Winter Park in 2009. Reliable brisket at counter-service prices, with a location near most places you might stay. Go if it is on your way.Read
- The BoathouseA waterfront steak and seafood house at Disney Springs with vintage amphicars that drive into the lake. The cars are the show; the menu is competent and priced for the location.Read
- Knife & SpoonJohn Tesar's dry-aged steak and seafood room at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes. It held a Michelin star in 2022 and 2023; today it is an expensive hotel steakhouse whose menu will not tell you the price.Read
- Space 220EPCOT's space-station restaurant, reached by a simulated elevator to 220 miles up. The show is fun for ten minutes; the prix fixe is priced for the show. The lounge gets you the setting for less.Read
- Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast KitchenA steampunk chocolate factory on CityWalk that sells enormous milkshakes and a full restaurant menu. The shakes are the point; the sit-down meal is not why anyone comes.Read
Local food 8
- Key lime pieCondensed milk, egg yolks and small, sharp key limes. The real thing is pale yellow; a green slice is a warning sign. Around Disney a slice runs about $12.Read
- Cuban sandwichRoast pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard, pressed on Cuban bread. Tampa adds Genoa salami; Miami does not. In Orlando, an honest one costs about $11.Read
- Gator bitesFried alligator is a Florida rite of passage and a mild, slightly chewy one. The classic place to try it is Gatorland, where the basket is $16.99 and the gators outside are not on the menu.Read
- Dole WhipPineapple soft-serve made from a dry mix, first sold at Magic Kingdom in 1984. The cheapest good thing in the park, and you can skip the park entirely by going to the Polynesian.Read
- Smoked turkey legA giant smoked leg from a tom turkey, salty and ham-like, eaten walking. It costs $14.99 at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT in 2026, and one feeds two.Read
- ButterbeerA non-alcoholic cream soda with butterscotch foam, sold in three Universal parks and at CityWalk. It costs about $9.49 now, roughly triple its 2010 price.Read
- Grouper sandwichFlorida's signature fish sandwich has a long record of being faked. Testing has found about one in six grouper samples mislabeled in South Florida. At Disney Springs a grilled one costs $33.Read
- Boiled peanutsPeanuts boiled in their shells until they turn soft as beans, sold warm and wet at roadside stands across the South. Around Disney, two resort pool bars sell a Cajun version for $5.99.Read
Bars 5
- Trader Sam's Grog GrottoA tiki bar the size of a living room at the Polynesian. The show drinks are the point, the wait is the price, and the walk-up list only opens once you are on property.Read
- Oga's CantinaThe Star Wars bar in Galaxy's Edge is mostly standing room with a droid DJ. You get 45 minutes and two drinks, so it is a themed stop, not a night out.Read
- Hanson's Shoe RepairA password-only cocktail bar above Bauhaus on Pine Street, in what may be downtown Orlando's oldest building. Small, strict about phones and caps, and best early.Read
- The EdisonA 1920s power-plant bar and restaurant at Disney Springs. Come for a cocktail at the bar or weekday happy hour; the late-night 21+ club many guides describe no longer matches its hours.Read
- Wally's Mills Ave LiquorsA package store with a bar attached, dating to 1954, with the famous vintage wallpaper. Cheap beer, heavy pours, no menu and no pretense, in the Mills 50 district.Read