Orlando boasts no shortage of asphalt-paved commercialism. But tucked away inside some of the city’s most unassuming strip malls are pieces of culinary greatness.
These hidden gems include Michelin-approved and cult-followed spots serving izakaya ramen, Pakistani barbecue, brewpub bites, Din Tai Fung-style eats and much more.
Here are 28 Orlando restaurants, both years old and brand-new, found only inside the city’s strip malls.
1015 State Road 436, Casselberry
Delightful Turkish delights including vibrant Turkish breakfast plates, soups, pide, borek, bagels, fresh-baked breads and lahmacun greet guests to this charming Casselberry eatery. Warm carrot baklava filled with ice cream? Yes, please. Credit: Cafe De Wan/Instagram
3333 S. Orange Ave., Orlando
This family-run operation from Bill Spradlin and wife Viradee Pissara will serve its street-style Siamese dishes out of the old Dragon King space in SoDo. Their son, Alex, who worked as a sous chef at Isan Zaap and Lim Ros, will handle the stir-fry operations while Viradee handles everything else, which includes a tom yum noodle soup (“the star dish”) and homemade Thai sausage.
423 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando
This Jacksonville-based restaurant with a menu of soup dumplings, fluffy pan-fried bao, pan-fried dumplings, steamed dumplings and boba tea has made its name as Orlando’s nearest thing to popular Asian eatery Din Tai Fung. Credit: photo by Matt Keller Lehman
5062 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando
Walala Asian Noodle House opened along Colonial Drive just last year, and has since already landed itself a spot in the Michelin Guide, on the Orlando Weekly food critic’s top 10 restaurants to open in Orlando in 2024, and in the hearts and stomachs of noodle obsessives across town. Credit: Image via Google Maps
11701 International Drive, Orlando
Modern takes on Cantonese fare greets guests to this tourist-sector hot spot where hand-crafted dim sum, wok-fired staples and Chinese barbecue are the stars. The concept from the owners of Twenty Pho Hour has Kai Kai BBQ founders Jerry and Jackie Lau helping out in the kitchen, so naturally the char siu pork, roast duck and beef ho fun rule. Craft cocktails and mocktails are also offered inside the fetching space. Credit: Moon Wok/Facebook
2810 Corrine Drive, Orlando
The laidback brewpub has been situated right along the food- and shopping-filled Corrine Drive for nearly 15 years, but it got its start in long before that, with locations on Bennett Road and in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square. The menu offers elevated bar snacks and shareables. Credit: Photo via Redlight Redlight
2505 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando
Family-owned Lam’s Garden has been offering straightforward, traditional Chinese cuisine (and dim sum service) since it was opened in 1989. It’s packed out on holidays with Chinese families and college kids catching up on their holiday break.
955 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park
Soseki Modern Omakase by Chef Mike Collantes offers an intimate 10-seat multi-course dining experience sure to please sushi lovers and skeptics alike. Credit: Soseki/Facebook
8910 Turkey Lake Road, Orlando
The bright joint specializes in shui zhu yu, the spicy Sichuan “water boiled fish,” though not all of the seven soupy delights blaze an infernal trail. The tomato sauerkraut fish soup is ideal for kids, while the rest veer toward the fiery. The best, according to critic Faiyaz Kara, may very well be the lemon sauerkraut fish soup. The restaurant is owned by a trio of women. Credit: Image via Google Maps
4990 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee
Specializing in charcoal-grilled meats, chaats, rolls, burgers and biryani, Koyla Pakistani BBQ opened at 4990 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in 2024. It’s bringing the best Pakistani fare in the city, be it redolent nihari or charcoal-fired bihari kebab. Credit: Image via Google Maps
7048 International Drive, Orlando
This cozy restaurant in the heart of the tourist strip is one of the best places in town to enjoy Ethiopian food — or to try it for the first time. Order a combo platter (meat or veggie) and scoop it with spongy injera bread instead of utensils. First-timers may want to go easy on the kitfo, a spicy steak tartare. Credit: Photo via Nile Ethiopian/Yelp
8685 Fenton St., Orlando
Sushi Izuki, billed as “modern meets traditional omakase,” has opened near South Apopka-Vineland Road in O-Town West. The restaurant is led by chef Leo Chen, who was previously at Neta Shari in Brooklyn, an omakase restaurant that earned inclusion in the NYC Michelin Guide from 2022-24. Izuki, no surprise, is striving to obtain a Michelin star. Credit: Sushi Izuki/Instagram
15 Alafaya Woods Blvd., Oviedo
Yao’s in Oviedo offers authentic Shanghainese cuisine and French elements to bring Yao’s to the forefront of Orlando’s culinary scene. The menu includes bites like spicy cucumber spirals, Pei Pei’s wonton soup, D’s dumplings, firecracker chicken fried rice and more. Credit: Yao's/Facebook
981 W. Fairbanks Ave., Orlando
This deli is known for gyros, hummus and serving large portions of food so customers definitely get their money’s worth. Although a somewhat obvious choice, try the Greek salad and gyro. Credit: Google Maps
1155 Doss Ave., Orlando
Mazala Pijja has opened inside the Laxmi Plaza along Doss Avenue near OBT. Expect pizza pies fusing Indian ingredients like tikka masala, palak paneer and smashed samosas. Credit: Matt Keller Lehman
8548 Palm Parkway, Orlando
Chef Lewis Lin and managing partner Kenny Ly came together to create this “retro-themed izakaya” offering exquisite ramen, yakitori and takoyaki. Stuffed with Showa-era collectibles, vintage ads and decorations, Susuru is an experience and a dining destination all in one. Credit: Susuru
959 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park
Nontraditional pizza house concept Perla’s Pizza is back in business at a new Winter Park location. Previously operating in Ivanhoe Village under chef Michael Collantes before dissolving just months after it opened in 2021, Perla’s is alive again on Fairbanks Avenue, in the previous site of the Winter Park Collective. This not-so-new concept was known for its slew of unconventional toppings and flavor combinations. Perla’s website still says “menu dropping soon,” but Collantes told Orlando Weekly in June 2024 that Perla’s flavors are likely to upset a few pizza traditionalists. Again. Credit: via Perla's Pizza/Google Maps
700 Maguire Blvd., Orlando
From the same team that came together to create the “retro-themed izakaya” Susuru, sibling restaurant Juju shares the same quirky decor and a similar izakaya menu. Credit: Chloe Greenberg
2956 S. U.S. Highway 17-92, Casselberry
This walk-up restaurant is a perennial Best of Orlando winner for its traditional Cuban cuisine and unique efficiency. Even tourists know what’s up. Credit: Google Maps
1015 State Road 436, Casselberry
Aladdin’s Restaurant is one of the first family-opened Lebanese restaurants in Central Florida. The menu features an array of traditional, authentic Lebanese dishes.
Credit: Image via Google Maps Credit: Google Maps
3090 Aloma Ave., Winter Park
Dive into traditional Polish cuisine with some of the many dishes at Europol Deli that won’t break the bank. Returning customers have complimented the Winter Park deli’s selection of Polish specialties, especially the house-made pierogis. Credit: Image via Google Maps
2425 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando
Established in 2019 as a food truck and then a brick-and-mortar shop, Chicken Fire has quickly taken Orlando’s foodie scene by storm. Their Nashville-style, soulful hot chicken can be enjoyed in five different heat levels. Credit: Photo via Chicken Fire/Facebook
1035 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park
Chuan Fu is a Sichuan restaurant by the owners of Chuan Lu Garden and U and Me Revolving Hot Pot in Winter Park. Its menue is mostly mala-coded — the fiery, numb-spicy Sichuan specialty — but fine dishes of the not-hot variety are available too.
188 S. U.S. Highway 17-92, Longwood
This Middle Eastern market has a selection of grocery items as well as traditional Mediterranean treats. Yelp reviewers and our own dining critic, Faiyaz Kara, have raved about Shiraz’s falafel, Turkish delight and baklava among many, many other eats. Credit: Image via Google Maps
5494 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando
A traditional Ethiopian dining experience that has placed in Yelp’s national Top 100 Restaurants for multiple years. Offering authentic Ethiopian cuisine (traditionally eaten with the hands), Selam Ethiopian & Eritrean Cuisine is known for its excellent food and friendly staff. Credit: Photo by Rob Bartlett
783 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando
This Syrian stop in Waterford Lakes shaves some of the best shawarma in the city, according to Orlando Weekly food critic Faiyaz Kara. The spot just opened in 2024 and has already drawn in a sizable fanbase. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
3022 Corrine Drive, Orlando
This intimate Corrine Drive eatery specializes in seasonal small plates with an ever-revolving menu of flavor. Credit: Coro/Facebook
3530 S. Orange Ave., Orlando
Specializing in authentic Nigerian cuisine, Flavors Nigerian Restaurant is owned by Ola Bello and her brother Zeke. In our 2020 review of the restaurant, Orlando Weekly commended the spot for its flavors and sense of community. Credit: Photo by Rob Bartlett
4724 Millenia Plaza Way, Orlando
Pho 813 reopened this year at a new location under new ownership, serving more of the Vietnamese flavor it’s dished out in the past Credit: Google Maps