They don’t call Orlando “The City Beautiful” for nothing! You probably think there’s nothing more to Orlando than theme parks, and you couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a city rich in culture, arts, and of course, entertainment. We’re a melting pot of cultures, and most of our city sits on what used to be orange groves.
I grew up here and moved back a few years ago, so I’m relearning the city, and I couldn’t love it more. There’s so much more to Orlando than just “Orlando”—areas like Winter Garden and Winter Park are some of the best, most charming parts of the city.
All of these spots are tried and true—I reached out to my friends to make sure I was on the right track! I’ve included some of their comments as well. I hope you enjoy your time in our city! It truly is a wonderful place. If you want to visit us when it’s not sweltering outside, November–April is AMAZING. That’s the time of year when we are outside all the time!
We are so excited to welcome you to Orlando for Lifeway Women Live and You Lead! If you haven’t registered yet, don’t miss out. Both events are going to be amazing experiences that are truly life-changing! There’s nothing like spending a weekend with other women, diving into God’s Word, and eating great food.
Without further ado, I would like to offer some places to eat, eat, and eat again! And, if you still have time to explore with your friends, check out the places below for some true Orlando experiences.
Lunch/Dinner Spots
Tin & Taco: Multiple locations—get a taco with cheese fried onto the tortilla. I’m not saying people eat these tacos while birthing a baby, but I’m also NOT saying that didn’t happen to my friend (you know who you are!).
Greens & Grille: Near The Mall at Millenia —amazing salads and fresh grilled meat!
Yellow Dog Eats: This quirky restaurant is a local fave. It’s definitely a great spot if you want to sit outside and eat among locals.
4 Rivers Smokehouse: A local favorite (closed on Sundays)! Has locations all over Orlando—don’t miss out on their desserts!
Junior Colombian Burgers: The Dive-iest Dive—near Universal Orlando (just trust me here—burgers topped with crumbled potato chips and special sauce—this place is great, CHEAP late-night eats and is normally open past midnight).
Reyes Mezcaleria: Downtown—just good, yummy, more upscale Mexican food, and one of the most Instagrammable restaurants too!
Hungry Pants: Sodo—good options for food allergies and all around yummy and healthy too!
Black Bean Deli: Mills 50 and Winter Park—a Cuban paradise, as close to Calle Ocho cafes as Orlando gets.
Breakfast/Brunch
Se7en Bites: Milk District—if it’s good enough for Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, you know it’s good enough to visit. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch, but don’t miss their amazing desserts!
Briarpatch: Winter Park—a longtime staple. You can’t pass up the best french toast in town, nestled on quaint Park Ave.
The Coop: Winter Park—the chicken spin-off restaurant of infamous local fave 4 Rivers BBQ, the chicken and waffles and Coop Scramble might make you question your love of Chick Fil A.
Three Birds Cafe: Winter Garden—if Instagrammable digs, a girly lunch, and cinnamon toast crunch lattes are your thing, this is the place for you.
Rosallie Cafe: Winter Garden—just the cutest French cafe right on Plant Street in downtown Winter Garden. Whether you want a croissant, a cappuccino, or brunch, don’t miss this gem.
East End Market: Audubon Park—a food hall of favorites, this place hosts Winter Park Biscuit Company, Dochi Japanese donuts, Farm & Haus, local favorite Lineage Coffee, and the OG location of Disney Springs sensation Gideon’s Bakehouse (think half-pound cookies as big as your face).
Fancy Eats
Luke’s: Winter Park—named by Conde Nast Magazine as one of the best restaurants in Orlando!
Prato: Winter Park—great Italian food right on Park Avenue—this is a great spot to eat and people-watch.
Seasons 52: Dr. Phillips—if you want a more upscale but healthy place to eat, stop here. It’s a great restaurant for a quiet spot to eat. All of the food has six hundred calories or less (but you’d never know it!).
Uncle Julio’s: International Drive—authentic Tex-Mex with the best fajitas in town.
Rocco’s Tacos: Dr. Phillips—table-side handmade guac is a must.
Don’t miss all the chef-owned restaurant experiences in CityWalk & Disney Springs too!
Local Coffee/Tea
Infusion Tea: They have an incredible tea selection, and their acai bowls are delish!
Foxtail Coffee Co.: multiple locations—great local coffee with a great area to sit and visit. Their coffees are amazing, and it’s a better experience than the big chains!
Dessert
Kelly’s Ice Cream: multiple locations—Y’ALL. This ice cream is no joke. They have flavors that rotate each month, but some of my favorites are cookie monster (it may be blue, but it won’t turn your mouth blue!), toasted coconut, and banana pudding.
DG Doughnuts: Ocoee/Winter Garden—these amazing doughnuts are huge and not crazy expensive. Check out their Instagram for weekly flavors and don’t sleep on their apple fritters.
Twistee Treat: multiple locations—you can usually spot Twistee Treat because some of their buildings are shaped like an ice cream cone. It’s all soft serve, and if you love a Dole Whip (pineapple ice cream) from Disney, they have those on the menu! My personal favorite is a twirl with Oreos (think DQ Blizzard, but better).
Things to do
Winter Park’s Park Avenue
Disney Springs (free parking)
Rifle Paper Co. Flagship Store: Winter Park—local artist Anna Bond resides in Orlando, and her flagship store is a cutie. Don’t miss the clearance/mishap room in the back; I may or may not have just done a lot of birthday/Christmas shopping there today!
Universal CityWalk (free parking after 6 p.m.)
Disney Springs (free parking)
Black Hammock Airboat Rides: located on Lake Jesup, the local dumping ground for all gators removed from places they shouldn’t be, this airboat tour is a local staple. Guaranteed gator sightings and lots of natural Florida wildlife. You can normally find a Groupon online for the airboat tour, and they have a great little restaurant where you can try fried gator tail.
The “Disney-without-paying-for-Disney” experience
Park at Disney Springs and explore all the fun shopping there. Ride the free boat down to the French Quarter for Mickey beignets and then come back for a fun BBQ lunch at local fave The Polite Pig. Hop on over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge to explore the animal safari (zebras, giraffes, Ankole cattle, and more!) and then grab a buffet dinner at Boma or a yummy tapas-style meal at Sanaa (the bread service is amazing!). Head over to Disney’s Boardwalk resort for dessert at Beaches & Cream where you can order the “kitchen sink” for a group to share a giant sundae that comes out in, you guessed it, a kitchen sink. Right as EPCOT fireworks are starting, walk to the back entrance from the Boardwalk and hop on the Skyliner for a free roundtrip gondola ride to the Caribbean Beach resort and enjoy a sky-high free viewing of Disney fireworks.
You can also stop in at the Grand Floridian or Polynesian resorts and enjoy fireworks viewing from their beaches there. They also stream Magic Kingdom music to accompany the fireworks show.
(For all Disney resorts, just make sure you order your food online ahead of time via the MyDisneyExperience app, as you will need proof of a food order to park free at the hotel.)
Most Instagrammable Spots
Downtown Winter Garden
Canva at Lake Nona / Boxi Nona
Bob Ross Mural—Floyd’s Barbershop in Winter Park (ode to our fave local and his happy little trees)
Orlando Postcard Mural – downtown near Reyes Mezcaleria
Winter Park
Audubon Park
Mills 50 District
Milk District
I truly hope you love our city and see a new side of it that you may not have previously known! As you’re here, I hope you’ll pray for the city of Orlando as well. We have so many amazing churches and local ministries that are doing everything they can to reach our city for Jesus Christ. We pray that the overflow of your weekend spills into every part of our city!
Mary Margaret West has been leading in women’s and girls ministry for the last eighteen years and is the author of Show Her the Way: Your Guide to Discipling Teen Girls. Mary Margaret holds a Master of Arts in Christian Education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She has served on staff at churches in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, and as an event coordinator and girls ministry specialist at Lifeway. Her passion is to equip women to dive deeply into God’s Word and live out their calling by way of consulting, speaking at events and conferences, and serving as a Lifeway Women trainer. Mary Margaret loves serving her local church, brunch with friends, and freelance writing. She and her husband Jonathan live in Winter Garden, Florida, with their son, Sam.
