Amid the highly programmatic and tech-forward landscape of Lake Nona stands the Wave Hotel, a curvaceous glass-and-steel representation of an electromagnetic wave. What pulsates throughout the building’s space, of course, is energy — energy of the corporate kind. After all, Tavistock, the private investment firm run by billionaire (and convicted insider trader) Joe Lewis, is the hotel’s, and Lake Nona’s, creator. Aside from the pretty penny spent on the property’s art, sculptures and all-around whizbangery are its restaurants —Bacán with its South American-ish fare, Nami and its contempo-Japanese cuisine, and Garni Café, a decidedly French restaurant overseen by the hotel’s executive chef, Guillaume Robin.
The Brittany-born Robin was bestowed with the title of Maîtres Cuisiniers de France (Master Chef of France) earlier this year for his dedication to “upholding the excellence, creativity, and heritage of French gastronomy.” Sampling his escargots ($19) baked in garlic and parsley butter and capped with wee little puff pastries had us reminiscing about relishing Thomas Keller’s snails at Bouchon Bistro.
The setting here, of course, is markedly different. In fact, 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. The slab of mahi was generous enough, but for the price, I expected more than just two mussels and two wee shrimp in that bowl. By comparison, the bouillabaisse at Chez Les Copains is far superior — and $2 cheaper.
The charred octopus à la niçoise ($24) looked like a proper catch, served over black rice with blobs of goat cheese and garlic croutons, but wow, was it salty. Inedibly so. A brining mishap, possibly. Our server was nice enough to take it off the bill.
What I can wholly endorse, however, is the steak tartare ($24), adeptly prepared tableside with USDA Prime beef, mustard, capers and parsley. I also appreciated the use of preserved lemon in the gnocchi Parisienne ($22) to help cut through the richness, but the Parmesan cream sauce just loaded the dish with a weightiness that negated any semblance of comfort.
Not so with the profiteroles ($14): Delicate choux pastry filled with Norohy vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled with warm chocolate sauce is an ending that will please crude vacationers and hardened snoots alike. Let’s be real — Garni Café isn’t trying to be Orlando’s version of Balthazar, Frenchette or Bouchon. This is a hotel serving French fare as seen through the very corporate eyes of Tavistock. But that doesn’t mean Garni isn’t worth a look.
Garni Café
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This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2025.