23 international restaurants in Orlando you should have tried by now

Antonio’s Ristorante

611 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland, 407-645-5523; $$$
This Maitland mainstay has been around for nearly three decades but it’s better than ever, thanks to creative and artistically plated dishes courtesy of executive chef Patrick Tramontana. Long-stem artichokes wrapped in crispy prosciutto and stuffed with goat cheese are as magnificent to eat as they are to behold. Entrée masterpieces include the braised lamb shank served with Parmesan-sweet pea risotto and oak wood-grilled mutton snapper with mushroom risotto and basil-pesto crème fraîche. Be sure to stop by the downstairs gourmet market on your way out.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine

108 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, 407-644-8609; 7600 Doctor Phillips Blvd., 407-352-6766, $$$
Bosphorous serves delightful fare with many lamb, eggplant and yogurt-centered dishes. Not only is the food superb, it’s also a nice place to sit while smoking scented tobacco from their water pipes and/or enjoying a glass of Turkish wine.
Photo by Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine via Facebook

Cedar’s Restaurant

7732 W. Sand Lake Road, 407-351-6000, $$$
Their spin on traditional Lebanese food is a lightness of texture and flavor that is both refreshing and inviting. Use the hot, puffy house- baked lavash bread to scoop up baba ghanoush topped with pickled walnuts; kibbeh are crunchy-fabulous. Top off your meal with a hookah on the patio.
Photo by Cedar’s Restaurant via Facebook

Chef Wang’s Kitchen

Closed Tuesdays. 5148 W. Colonial Drive; 407-930-3188; $$
Beijing-born chef Jian Hua Wang serves some of the best Chinese food in the city. In addition to Northern Chinese and Dongbei specialties, Wang serves Sichuan classics – don’t pass on an infernal bowl of “water boiled spicy fish filet” or the veg-friendly “spicy napa heart wok.” A plate of Japanese eggplant, peppers and potato proffers a taste of the north. Other hits: beef chow fun and sturdy pan-fried beef knishes – dumplings reminiscent of Shanghainese sheng jian bao.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

DaJen Eats Vegan Café & Creamery

4845 N. Orange Blossom Trail, 407-286-4983; $
Jamaican vegan fare makes the Citgo on North OBT near Lee Road one of the more unique gas stations in town. Dishes ranging from rice & peas with sweet and spicy cauliflower bites and crispy fried chick’n seitan to “loona toona” sandwiches are offered. Eight different varieties of vegan ice cream fashioned from coconut milk are also sold. Note: DaJen Eats will close its Citgo location this summer and move into a permanent location in Eatonville.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Southern Spice

Open daily. 7637 Turkey Lake Road, 321-251-2244; $$
There’s plenty to sample from the stacked menu of usual and unusual suspects of southern Indian fare. Dosa lovers will heartily indulge in the mainstay’s puffy cousin – kuzhi paniyaram – while those with a propensity for more intense flavorings will want the veg Chettinad curry cooked in no less than 28 spices. For a taste less charged, kola urundal ($16) comes spiked with a sprig of fried curry leaves and with magnificent little fried lentil “kofta” lolling in the thickened swell. Whole marinated pompano coated with semolina and pan-fried is a must.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Gaviota Seafood & Fine Peruvian Cuisine

100 S. Eola Drive, 407-428-4682, $$
For some truly remarkable Peruvian food, Gaviota creates plates that incorporate the culture’s most-prized dishes and flavors. The lomo saltado is as tender as can be with rice at the perfect consistency. Although the prices are a bit higher than necessary, the food and experience is still worth every penny.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café

205 E. First St., Sanford, 407-321-2204, $$
Homey gasthaus in Sanford’s historic downtown district offers bier, wursts, spaetzle, strudel and some of the finest sweet red cabbage you’ll eat, but the talent extends well beyond the food: Oompah music, dancing and downing 'das boot' (about a yard of beer) are a crowd-stirring must.
Photo by Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café via Facebook

Kadence

1809 E. Winter Park Road; $$$$
From the trio that brought us Kappo comes Kadence, a nine-seat stunner serving superlative multicourse omakases. Ingredients are ever-changing and are flown in twice, sometimes thrice, weekly from Japan; what they do with them is why a visit here is a must for any Japanophile. Sushi-only lunches go for $61-$75 and feature 12 pieces, soup and dessert.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Le Coq Au Vin

4800 S. Orange Ave., 407-851-6980, $$$$
Incredible French cuisine is the hallmark of this south Orlando landmark. Graceful perfection distinguishes dishes such as 'grouper bronze? aux dix e?pices,' a fillet encrusted with toasted pecans and spices and bathed in citrus beurre blanc, and the center-cut black Angus steak, served with a dollop of peppercorn sauce.
Photo by Le Coq Au Vin via Facebook

Mo-Chica Ceviche-Peruvian Grill

Open daily. 5700 International Drive, 407-723-8416; $$
I-Drive Peruvian restaurant serves up the standards in decent enough fashion, but there’s very little here that sets it apart. A bracing and balanced ceviche mixto with octopus, calamari, shrimp and corvina is worth a look, but anticuchos lack flavor. A seafood chaufa was plagued with uncooked rice kernels. Lomo saltado fares better, and they do serve up a killer flan (aka crema volteado).
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

7048 International Drive, 407- 354-0026, $$$
Orlando’s lone Ethiopian restaurant is a blessing for foodies with an appetite for the exotic. Utensils come in the form of pancake-like sourdough bread called injera, used to scoop intensely spiced dishes from a large communal platter. Be sure to sample traditional honey wine as well as Ethiopian coffee, brewed in a clay pot.
Photo by Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

Pho 88

730 N. Mills Ave., 407-897-3488, $
You won’t need burgers for a fast-food fix once you find this Vietnamese noodle shop. Specializing in gigantic, weirdly addictive bowls of very thin rice noodles and various cuts of beef submerged in delicately seasoned broth, they also serve the usual exotics of shrimp paste and grilled pork?– but the soup’s the thing.
Photo by Pho 88 via Facebook

Rasa

7730 West Sand Lake Road, 407-930-0402, $
The Malaysian street-style food of this restaurant is unmatched and incorporates the diversity of the tradition cuisine in the menu. The chicken dumplings are a perfect way to start the meal and the “luse chicken” should never be missed with its glistening coat and glorious marinade.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Reyes Mezcaleria

Open daily. 821 N. Orange Ave., 407-868-9007; $$$
True flavors from various regions of Mexico come out in such dishes as duck breast with mole negro, tostadas with yellowfin tuna or braised short rib, wonderfully moist tamales, and fried yuca with carnitas. Don’t pass on veg chile rellenos stuffed with beans, queso Oaxaca and grilled corn, or red chile enchiladas with short rib and pumpkin. Taco lovers: Don’t forget to ask your server for double tortillas.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Rincon Cubano Cafeteria

3327 N. Forsyth Road, Winter Park, 407-679-5600, $
Down-home Cuban cooking awaits those who take the drive down Forsyth Road; Maria Alfonso brings her diner to life with welcoming exuberance. Empanadas are a must (if they haven’t sold out); meat-lovers will revel in the steak palomilla, churrasco and pork-topped mofongo. Breakfast and lunch only.
Photo by Tiffany Wallace via Facebook

Sapporo Ramen

5080 W. Colonial Drive, 407-203-6777, $
Banish all thoughts of salty plastic-wrapped bricks: It isn’t that kind of ramen. This West Colonial noodle house is bent on spreading the foodie cult of ramen, and after sampling richly flavored bowls of tonkotsu, shio, miso or shoyu ramen, you will be too. Udon and soba noodles are also offered, as are curries and gyu-don, both of which are worth ordering. Starters (overdone edamame and mushy octopus fritters) are best skipped. Ramen rules here.
Photo by Sapporo Ramen via Facebook

Shiraz Market

185 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd., Longwood, 407-951-8084, $
With an unbeatable price of two skewers of koobideh, rice and charred plum tomato, any lover of Iranian cuisine must try this market. The starchless, sticky-free rice is by far the best rice ever and quite difficult to make, yet easy to enjoy.
Photo by Rob Bartlett

Singh’s Roti Shop

5244 Old Winter Garden Road, 407-253-2900
This popular Pine Hills hangout is worth a try, no matter what time of day, but it offers many satisfying cheap lunches. The chana roti could feed a family of four; those with less ambitious appetites can pick up a few doubles and a tamarind-sauced saheena fritter.
Photo by Singh’s Roti Shop via Facebook

Sticky Rice Lao Street Food

1915 E. Colonial Drive, 321-800-6532; $
Within the spectrum of flavors at the city’s sole Laotian eatery, you’ll find the familiar flavors of sweet and spicy along with flurries of funky, fermented and fishy. Popular dishes include pork tapioca dumplings, sticky chicken wings and lemongrass beef jerky; the cucumber salad and papaya salad offer a blast of umami courtesy fermented crab, crab paste and shrimp paste more suited to advanced palates. Can’t pass on the sticky rice – no Laotian meal is complete without it.
Photo by Rob Bartlett