The Best Places List makes it easy to eat, shop, and play in Southwest Orlando. These are the very best in Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Metrowest, Gotha, Ocoee, and Winter Garden.
Best Places to Eat
- Best Brazillian: Texas de Brazil
- Best Barbecue: Bubbalou’s Bodacious Barbecue, Choctaw Willy’s
- Best Breakfast: First Watch
- Best Brunch: House of Blues
- Best Burgers: Fuddruckers, 5 Guys Famous Burgers and Fries
- Best Burritos: Tijuana Flats, Moe’s Southwest Grill
- Best Cuban: Samba Room
- Best Continental Cuisine: Chatham’s Place
- Best Cheap Eats: Yellow Dog Eats
- Best Creole: Emeril’s
- Best Chinese: P.F. Chang’s
- Best Coffee: Sol River
- Best Deserts and Bakeries: Cheesecake Factory, Panera Bread
- Best Family Restaurant: Rainforest Cafe
- Best Gas Station Chicken: Dodge’s Store
- Best Greek: Taverna Opa (take virtual tour)
- Best Hawaiian: Roy’s
- Best Hot Dog: Pup’s
- Best Ice Cream: Twistee Treat
- Best Italian: Christini’s, Bola
- Best Italian Lunh Buffet: Positanos
- Best Korean: Shin Jung
- Best Live Music Restaurant: Timpano, Vines
- Best Mediterranean: Cedar’s
- Best Mexican: Tacquito’s Jaliscos
- Best Outdoor Dining: Bahama Breeze, Season’s 52, Bice, Samba Room
- Best Oyster Bar: Lee & Ricks
- Best Place to Bring the Dog: Yellow Dog Eats
- Best Pizza: Flipper’s Pizzeria
- Best Resort Dining: Boma
- Best Romantic Restaurant: Christini’s
- Best Sandwiches: Jersey Mike’s, Toojay’s, Yellow Dog Eats
- Best Seafood: Bonefish, Moonfish
- Best Steakhouse: Morton’s
- Best Sushi: Amura
- Best Thai: Thai Thani
- Best Theme Restaurant: Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Margaritaville
- Best Vietnamese: Rice Paper
- Best Wings: Gator’s, Buffalo Wild Wings
- Best Bike Store: West Orange Bike
- Best Boat Store: Southeast Correct Craft, Advanced Marine
- Best Cigar Store: Corona Cigar
- Best Computer Store: Apple Store,Sony Store
- Best Golf Shop: Edwin Watts
- Best Grocery: Publix
- Best Gourmet Grocery: Fresh Market
- Best Health Food Store: Chamberlains, Whole Foods
- Best Home Decor Shop: Decorator’s Warehouse, Pictures and Mirrors, Ikea, Homegoods
- Best Home Improvement Store: Expo
- Best Hunting & Fishing Store: Outdoor World, Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Bitter’s Bait & Tackle
- Best Jewelry: Bay Hill Jewelers
- Best Landscape Store: Dobson’s Wood and Water
- Best Malls: Mall at Millenia, Florida Mall, Premium Factory Outlet
- Best Music Store: Virgin Megastore
- Best Nursery: West Orange Nursery
- Best Surf and Skate Shop: University Surf and Skate
- Best Ski & Wakeboard Store: Sammy Duvall’s In the Wake
- Best Wine Shop: Gran Cru
Best Places to Play
- Best Bar for Steeler Fans: Beef O’Brady’s Winter Garden
- Best Car Wash: Sonny’s Car Wash
- Best Circus: Cirque du Soleil La Nouba
- Best Driving Range: Windermere Golf Center
- Best Martini Bar: Blue Martini
- Best Piano Bar: Howl at the Moon
- Best Theme Bar: Icebar
- Best Place for Boating: the Butler Chain of Lakes
- Best Place to Ride a Flowrider: Adrenalina Florida Mall
- Best Place for Go Karts: Fun Spot
- Best Place for Pool: Trick Shots
- Best Place to Fish for Barramundi: Osceola Outback Adventures
- Best Place for Cheap Golf: Forest Lake
- Best Place for Public Golf: Orange County National, Grande Pines
- Best Place for Private Golf: Isleworth, Bay Hill
- Best Place for Resort Golf: Grand Cypress
- Best Place for Movies: West Orange 5, Pleasure Island
- Best Place for Relaxation: Bird Island
- Best Place for Tennis: Lake Cane
- Best Place for Working Out: Gold’s Gym
- Best Skate Park: Van’s Skate Park
- Best Place to Skydive Without Jumping: SkyVenture
- Best Shooting Range: Shoot Straight
- Best Show: Blue Man Group
- Best Spa: Grande Lakes Resort
- Best Sports Bar: Friday’s Front Row, Miller’s Ale House
- Best Theme Park: Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Discovery Cove
- Best Waterpark: Wet ‘n Wild
- Best Place for Water Skiing: Isles of Lake Hancock
Popularity: 5% [?]






4 responses so far ↓
1 akeorlando // Jul 28, 2008 at 8:29 am
What an awesome, awesome list! I definitely agree with many of your choices; it’s great to see so many resources listed in one place.
2 Foreclosures Expo // Feb 18, 2009 at 1:08 am
Fore Immediate Release
Dates for second Orlando Foreclosures Expo are set
The inaugural expo, held Feb. 7-8, generated so much business for exhibitors that founder Phil Peachey is already working on an expanded event slated for June 6-7
Orlando – Angela and Frank Schifano were excited about their presence at the inaugural Orlando Foreclosures Expo because it gave them the chance to showcase the new business, the Orlando Foreclosure Trolley, a rolling classroom that takes real estate investors on a tour of bank-owned properties in central Florida. The Schifanos sold several tickets to upcoming trolley tours, but the husband-and-wife real estate agent team also wrote five contracts for foreclosure listings they featured at the event.
“We were confident that the Expo would be an ideal forum for creating awareness about the trolley, but we didn’t expect to sell so many homes,” Angela Schifano said. “We are a prime example of why an event like this is needed. There is no other way for so many buyers and sellers of bank-owned properties to gather at the same place at the same time.”
Many other exhibitors at the Expo echoed Schifano’s sentiments. Phil Peachey, who is founder and organizer of the event, received such a tremendous response that he has already set the dates for the second Orlando Foreclosures Expo. It will be held on June 6-7 at a venue yet to be determined. The inaugural Expo was held at the International Plaza Resort & Spa, but Peachey says the second event will be much larger and will require more space.
Homeowners facing foreclosure, renters looking to buy a home and first-time investors and seasoned investors searching for deals were among those who converged on the Orlando Foreclosures Expo (www.foreclosuresexpo.com ) on February 7-8. The Expo included people facing foreclosure talking to experts about their options, and buyers and sellers of bank-owned properties.
“Now that the first Expo is completed, exhibitors who were there are already booking booths for the next event,” Peachey said. “In addition, people who thought about exhibiting but didn’t because they were unsure of how successful the first Expo would be saw the response and are now interested.
“A lot of people didn’t grasp what we were trying to achieve until they actually experienced the Expo,” Peachey added. “Now that exhibitors understand how many people they can reach under one roof, they are excited about the next event.”
There is no end in sight to the foreclosures crisis, and the volume of bank-owned properties continues to escalate. Economic experts agree that the real estate market will not rebound until the inventory of available properties decreases. Peachey created the Orlando Foreclosures Expo to help people facing foreclosure learn about their options and to link buyers and sellers of foreclosed properties. Most people, even real estate professionals, do not have access to foreclosure listings or to the people who regularly buy and sell them, Peachey says. The Expo was a success – and there is so much interest for more events – because it breaks down barriers, Peachey believes. Exhibitors agree, and many of them found the Expo as a perfect venue for networking and business.
“The response we received from visitors to our booth far exceeded our expectations,” said Chris Christensen, who operates a Real Living Real Estate Solutions office under The Christensen Team name in Orlando. “We left the event with the names and phone numbers of over 70 people that are interested in buying foreclosed properties, and we are both booked for the next two weeks with appointments to show properties.”
Laura McLoughlin of Moneycorp Inc. is another sponsor and exhibitor who has reserved space for the second Expo in June.
“The event not only attracted a big number of attendees, but it also provided a great opportunity to network and make good connections in the industry,” McLoughlin said. “Anyone who wants to get into the foreclosures market or has a service to help clients looking for foreclosures will benefit from participating in the June event.”
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Media Contact:
Jeff Louderback
407-474-6149
jlouderback@cfl.rr.com
3 Restaurant Row in Dr. Phillips // Aug 21, 2009 at 11:39 am
[...] choices here and little something for every mood and occasion. You may also want to check out the Best of SW Orlando page on this [...]
4 Rawman // Sep 14, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Thanks for the excellent list, I live around here and love many of these places, but you helped me discover even more!
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