We’re halfway through 2025, which means Orlando Weekly is halfway through its latest year of unapologetic restaurant reviews. Restaurant and dining critic Faiyaz Kara (with the assistance of Michael Murphy in his absence) has scoured the city’s newest and most buzzed about — or should-be buzzed about — eateries to clean plates and deliver the verdict.

We’ve visited omakase counters, pizza taverns, French bakeries, dog bars, noodle houses and more. Here are all the 33 restaurants we’ve reviewed so far in 2025. 

Barkhaven Dog Bar 724 Brookhaven Drive, Orlando “Yeah, I could’ve chosen a booth inside the dogless dining room, but then I wouldn’t have been privy to all the furry sights, sounds and scents. I saw hounds a-humping, schnauzers a-sniffing and whippets a-whizzing as Frenchies proudly nibbled on pumpkin and broccoli burgers, a selection from Barkhaven’s special dog menu. It’s all part of the experience here, and it’s a whole lot more compelling than watching balls bouncing about on the boob tube.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
J’adore the French Bakery 910 Sand Lake Road, Altamonte Springs “Dumoulin’s freezer is stocked with sheets of Isigny Sainte Mère French butter, while the back of the kitchen is stacked with large bags of Bagatelle T45 pastry and bread flour, also from France. The latter is used to make J’adore’s French baguettes, which are then sliced and stuffed to make superb handhelds. Whether it’s the ‘Le Pâté’ ($11.50), with its slabs of country forcemeat ($11.50) punched up with cornichons and black pepper, or the aforementioned Paris-Brie with French butter, French ham and, oui, French brie, there are no wrong choices here.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Mosonori 1100 Orlando Ave., Winter Park “Now, the idea behind hand roll bars is to enjoy a quick meal and get out. But most of Mosonori’s patrons have been lingering for upward of an hour, and I don’t blame them one bit. The driving soundtrack, handsome digs and people-watching-friendly layout makes it hard to just dine and dart out of there. Hell, I too have been guilty of parking my seat at the bar for bit too long. I’ve even felt bad about it, considering Mosonori has a no reservation policy. What can I say? Eating for me is often an exercise in endurance, and hardly ever a race.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Surah 5100 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando “Certainly the menu veers traditional — this isn’t Korean new wave cooking by any means — but it’s traditional cooking blended with comforting aspects and served with kind consideration. That we felt like nobility was very likely intentional. ‘Surah,’ after all, was the meal reserved for monarchs during the Joseon Dynasty and comprised all the pomp and finery emblematic of a feast fit for Korean royals. So, yeah, we ate like kings and queens.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Palm Beach Meats 3421 S. Orange Ave., Orlando “When owners Eric and Meghan San Pedro moved here from Palm Beach and opened an outpost in SoDo, they brought the only business in the nation licensed to sell Kobe beef in a retail, wholesale and restaurant setting. Yes, it’ll cost you $300 a pound, but there are other top-grade, or A5, wagyu varieties here. Takamori, or ‘drunken wagyu,’ comes from cows that are finished on a sake mash. Ribeyes are $199 per pound, and picanha $99 per pound. You’ll also find Kirameki, Miyazaki and Kagoshima wagyu for $130.99 per pound.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo via Palm Beach Meats/Facebook
Walala Asian Noodle House 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
Voodoo Bayou 7525 W. Sand Lake Road, Orlando “Then I caught a glimpse of the Marra Forni ‘Voodoo Maker’ oven in the kitchen. ‘Get the grilled oysters,’ said the voice of Kris in my head, and these chili-buttered James River plumpers licked by the flames of hickory wood went down easy. Big easy.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Gyukatsu Rose 3201 Corrine Drive, Orlando “The fun part is dipping the beef into the onion-yuzu and yakiniku sauces, or enjoying it with the citrusy heat of yuzu kosho sauce, or sprinkling a bit of spicy ichimi togarashi onto the cooked morsels. Hell, just a sprinkle of pink salt, or a wee brush of real wasabi, will do the trick.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Chayhana 851 W. State Road 436, Altamonte Springs Chayhana Restaurant, touting the “world’s finest plov,” has opened in Altamonte Springs. Chayhana serves Uzbek-style plov, a rice pilaf similar to Indian pulao, as well as manti (dumplings), shashlik (kebabs) and lagman (noodles). Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
[Now closed] Chez Les Copains 1412 Alden Road, Orlando “It’s a fitting name, Chez Les Copains, but if you’re expecting a facsimile of Brasserie Bofinger, Gallopin, Bouillon Chartier and other such Parisian bastions of Art Nouveau, don’t. ‘It all feels a bit staged,’ said my dining copain about Chez Les Copains’ narrow dining room.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Talay 861 N. Orange Ave., Orlando Talay, offering seafood-leaning Thai fare from the folks behind Isan Zaap, opened this year in NoDo. The restaurant is partial to the bounties of the deep — “I want to showcase the flavors of Thailand through seafood,” said chef-owner Fin Patsawee in our review of the space. Credit: Photo via Google Maps
The Chapman & Chase Lounge 500 S. Park Ave., Winter Park The Chapman and the Chase Lounge aim to celebrate the history of Winter Park. The name is a reference to Winter Park founders Loring Augustus Chase and Oliver Everett Chapman, and the restaurant presents a menu of the best Florida has to offer — fresh fish and seafood as well as locally raised beef and plenty of citrus — in a space inspired by fin de siècle style. Credit: Photo via Chapman Restaurant/Facebook
Zen Dumpling 423 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando “It seemed that every time I looked up, I saw bamboo steamers — the ones used as decorative embellishments inside Zen’s dining room, and the ones steadily brought out to tables, ours included. The signature ‘XLB Sampler’ ($15.95) presented us with six soupy sacs inside a basket. No, they weren’t as perfectly uniform as DTF’s 18-fold, 21-gram beauties, but they’re attractive little purses nonetheless. Some are color-coded — truffle-pork is black, chicken is yellow — while the rest (pork, crab-pork, shrimp-pork and beef) aren’t. But pierce their wispy, papery-thin skins and they’ll burst with the brilliance of Zen’s chicken broth.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
El Coqui Ninja Restaurant 3097 Curry Ford Road, Orlando El Coqui Ninja Restaurant has opened in the old Black Rooster Taqueria space along Curry Ford Road, presenting a Puerto Rican/pan-Asian mashup of eats, from corned beef eggrolls with sweet plantain to kung pao chicken mofongo. Credit: Photo via El Coqui Ninja Restaurant/Facebook
Parea Greek Taverna 111 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland “When a shout of ‘Opa!’ echoed through the space, heads popped up to witness the tableside flambéeing of our brandy-soaked vlahotiri sheep cheese ($11). But not before a malfunctioning stem lighter delayed the pyro-theatrics, much to our amusement. So, when a fearless modern-day Prometheus whipped out her trusted Bic and set the thing ablaze in the nick of time, that ‘Opa!’ was a lot more pronounced.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Luca Turci Italian Restaurant 153 E. Morse Blvd., Winter Park “Oh, and the pasta. It’s hand-fashioned here, just as it is in College Park, only the pastaia here does so under a neon ‘Making Fresh Pasta Now’ sign. She looked a bit blasé under the glow of those letters, but it didn’t affect her skills any. The mozz-filled potato gnocchi draped in a shimmering three-cheese sauce and topped with Brazilian farofa (toasted yuca flour) shared equal billing on a plate with smoked Pekin duck ($49).” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Tamale Co. Modern Kitchen & Bar 2401 Edgewater Drive, Orlando “Their tamales were chingón, whether served from a food truck, a takeout stall next to an Altamonte gas station or their colorful space inside the Hourglass Market. But eating one of Tamale Co.’s husk-wrapped cornmeal pockets inside their very own proper restaurant (with full bar, I might add) added an extra bit of relish to the experience — an experience 13 years in the making.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Natsu 777 N. Orange Ave., Orlando “When Lin served a mild Mintersweet oyster dressed with pickled shallots and chili zhoug, it didn’t really feel like the start of a special meal. But that’s precisely what it turned out to be. Japanese horsehair crab crested with hanaho-flowered Hokkaido Bafun uni cascading over salt-cured cucumber and wakame was certainly one of the prettiest things I’ve shoved into my trap this year.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Rawsha Mediterranean Cuisine 8956 Turkey Lake Road, Orlando “In the case of Rawsha, touting ‘Mediterranean’ fare, it was the beef shawarma that initially caught my attention. More so when I noticed the revolving cone of meat was tended to by a familiar face — Nadir, the spit maestro from Toshka Syrian Street Food. No surprise: The shawarma was great, particularly when plated in the ‘Arabi’ style ($20), with the shawarma roll cut into bite-sized pieces, stacked on a plate, dressed with more shawarma shavings and served with a host of sides — fries, pickled veg, cabbage, and both a garlic and a spicy garlic sauce.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Mirchi Indian Street Food 1021 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden “No surprise that the spicing here veers towards the wicked — ‘Mirchi,’ after all, means ‘chili pepper,’ and a red-hot forms part of the restaurant’s logo. The chicken 65, a deep-fried South Indian burner, is the best $9 you’ll spend on chicken anywhere. The reddened morsels are topped with tadka — garlic, green chilies, curry leaves and other spices bloomed in hot oil — for added heat (and comfort). Even cold, hollowed-out puris filled with seasoned potatoes ($8) yielded fragrant bombs of fire.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Nuri’s Tavern 63 E. Pine St., Orlando Nuri’s Tavern is now open in the ground-floor space that previously hosted the Robinson Room. It’s serving tavern-style pizza and is overseen by Team Market Group executive chefs Nick Grecco and Jason Campbell. Credit: Photo via Nuri's Tavern/Facebook
Garni Cafe 6100 Wave Hotel Drive, Orlando “For a French restaurant, the breezy, second-floor space awash in vibrant colors and botanical shrubbery is more Martinique than Montparnasse. I was quite struck by the views, but more so by the giant gruyère popover ($9) that looked like a geoduck plucked straight out of the beachy depths. The eggy and airy cheese bread was served with a lemon-thyme butter, but I wanted to save some of the bread to sop up the liquid in the bouillabaisse ($38) I ordered. Alas, its saffron-tomato ‘broth’ was hardly in a liquid state.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Grappolo Cucina 526 S. Park Ave., Winter Park “Family has a way of bringing the you in you to the surface at Grappolo. When you walk through its doors, you’ll be met with open arms, a bit of good-natured braggadocio and a lot of love. It is family that anchors the recently opened Italian eatery on Park Avenue, and it is family that brought proprietor Massimo Fallica to Orlando. This meant leaving London and his popular restaurant, La Meridiana, behind — a restaurant he continues to help manage and sets the standard for the hospitality and food that feature at Grappolo.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Wave Sushi 360 E. Horatio Ave., Maitland “Sushi burgers. Sushi pizzas. Sushi burritos, doughnuts, hot dogs and tacos. Sushi shaped like basketball shoes, formula race cars and Baby Yoda. Half a million Instagram followers; nearly 800K on TikTok. Although the bricks and mortar of its brick-and-mortar may not suggest it, when you walk into Wave Sushi, you’ve entered a phenomenon.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Turull’s Kitchen and Bar 1319 Florida Mall Ave., Orlando “That Turull’s is inspired by Barcelona is no secret; Instagram told me. And the southside strip-maller does vibe like many of the less bloggable, more contemporized tabernas in ‘Barna,’ places where authenticity and quality are not always mutually exclusive. What was unquestionably authentic was its largely empty dining room at 6 p.m., an hour no self-respecting Spaniard would deign to consider dinner.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
Pho Bar 1012 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando “The indie chain from South Florida receives bonus chutzpah points for rhyming its brand with an acronym synonymous with disaster, even if we found the recently opened eatery on Colonial Drive far from FUBAR’ed. In fact, Pho Bar is polished, efficient and, on our first visit at noon on a Tuesday, filled up beyond all recognition.” Read the full review. Credit: Photo by Matt Keller Lehman

Additional Slideshows

Orlando’s 26 hottest new restaurants and bars opened so far this year

Orlando restaurant critic. Orlando Weekly restaurant critic since 2006.

Chloe Greenberg is the Digital Content Editor for Orlando Weekly.