Harlow Grove is one of those restaurants that fancies itself a concept — a lifestyle. You only need see “Whispering Angel rosé” peeking from its menu to grasp the lifestyle on offer, a slice of suburban glam fantasia populated by pretty people and wallpapered with panache. Unfortunately, you can’t eat the vibe. Located a short stroll from Plant Street in Winter Garden, Harlow Grove is the brainchild of Fort Lauderdale-based brand factory Knallhart Management Group, which also operates the nearby AJ’s Pizza Joint, Harrell’s, and The Whole Enchilada. So long, mom and pop — Winter Gardeners are now spending credits at the company store.
Despite local discontent with the economics spawning places like Harlow Grove (see: the recent disappearance of long-lived WG favorites), the restaurant is popular, and weekend tables are hard to come by. I get it. The two-story space is British Colonial meets postmodern gorgeous: a lively lounge and intimate mezzanine, an elevated terrace loved on by a neighboring live oak, an army of sharply uniformed staff. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. But gorgeous like a stage set. Like it shouldn’t be located on Main Street, but streaming on Netflix. Like an eerily frozen-faced Nicole Kidman might sidle up to you at the bar and whisper unpalatable secrets in your ear.
Those secrets are revealed in the bill of fare — American in the most mundane of ways. Think room-service fusion. Think Thai noodle salad next to Caesar, demi-glace next to coconut curry, chicken tenders and filet mignon. The wine list reads like a hospitality rider for Real Housewives: Santa Margherita pinot grigio, throwback fatties like ZD, obligatory Dom for the dumb-money set.
All of this is OK when done right. I’ll drink a glass of ZD with a crab cake — especially the crab cake ($24) at Harlow, our best bite of the night. Beautifully crisped, fat with clean crab, it was served atop a creamed corn that played the sweetest of second fiddles. It was an auspicious start brought to a halt by the arrival of gritty, suspect PEI mussels ($20) swimming in excessively lemony broth. Likewise, potato bisque ($10) disappointed, its tater base solely a vehicle for pungent, one-dimensional truffle with a texture approaching gloopy.
Fifty-five dollars American is a big ask for steak frites. Granted, at 14 ounces, it’s a big plate. And while the sliced New York Strip passed the eye test, it was dry and chewy — sans signature marbling, thirsting for its sauce au poivre.
By contrast, one glance at a rack of 24-hour “Signature Ribs” ($34) and the flavorful meat fell off the bone. Although let down by flat BBQ sauce, the ribs were enjoyed, as was lobster lasagna ($38) that ate as you might imagine: richly, with cosmetically charred pasta, béchamel, truffle, and Parmesan crispies for mouthfeel.
Desserts are big and sweet; there’s a range of well-made cocktails; and all things flow from a tightly orchestrated service dynamic. Though we were twice left without utensils, service is, generally, restaurant-group polished. The downside is it’s also performative — by meal’s end, we were exhausted from being talked to like babies and assured that everything on the menu is ah-mazing.
Look, there are worse things than whiling away an evening in the swirl of rattan birds, designer handbags and wildlife statuary that is Harlow Grove. Serenaded by laughter and cocktail shakers, it would be easy to do as its branding suggests and #StayAwhile. And if quantity is your measure of value, you may find more of it than we did. But if you put food first, when plates arrive and break the atmospheric spell, you’ll find yourself seated in what seems an awful lot like a stylish, safari-themed Applebee’s.
Harlow Grove, 186 S. Main St., Winter Garden, 352-995-2713, harlowgrovewg.com.
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This article appears in July 8-14, 2026.
