New
Restaurants
2022
BY FA I YA Z KARA
Eat. More. Chicken. And more upscale
Mexican. It’ll be hard not to this year, given the spate of fried chicken joints and dolledup cantinas proliferating across the city. Hey, I’m not complaining, not after 2021 denied the restaurant industry a return to normalcy. It was a period of reckoning — still is — but through all this upheaval and transition, there’s chicken. And upscale Mexican. We’ll also see some big names coming to town — Michelin-starred chef Akira Back, fivetime James Beard Award nominee Ford Fry, and Norman Van Aken, who’ll reopen Norman’s in Dr. Phillips. We’ll see tasting menu–only concepts go brick and mortar, specifically Camille from chef Tung Phan and The Foreigner from Bruno Fonseca. And a private members-only club will open its tasting menu restaurant to the public in an effort to lure in the Michelin inspectors. The star wars are upon us, so let the jockeying and lobbying begin! And let the good eating continue. This list of newly opened and soon-to-open restaurants should help.
Alfo’s Pizza Fritta
The folks behind Stasio’s Italian Deli will branch out into pizza fritta — the handheld, deep-fried, doughy treat of Neapolitan origin. Some delays with the City of Orlando have stalled development, but there’s hope it will open by the end of the year. (Opening TBD, 2300 E. Robinson St., no website)
Anejo Cocina Mexicana
The upscale cantina going into the old New Standard space in Winter Park’s Ravaudage complex will feature a bevy of traditional Mexican fare along with a sizable list of tequila 18
SNEAK PEEK: IMMERSION AT LONDON HOUSE OPENS IN APRIL. PHOTO BY ROB BARTLETT
and cocktail offerings. (Opening March, 1035 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, anejococinamexicana.com)
Ava MediterrAegean
There are gorgeous Mediterranean dishes to be had amid gorgeous people and a gorgeous space. Menu items are served taverna-style to encourage sharing. Dress nice, and be wary of tableside flambées. (Open, 290 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, avamediterraegean. com)
Bacán
The New World dishes served inside the high-tech Lake Nona Wave Hotel aren’t fashioned by robots, but robots have been known to patrol the lush dining room keeping an eye on guests indulging in the smokin’ offerings, that is, smoked cocktails, smoked scallops, smoked romesco and smoked feta (served with charred octopus). (Open, 6100 Wave Hotel Drive, lakenonawavehotel.com/ bacan)
The Bandbox
A 1920s, Art Deco-inspired, spirit-free speakeasy will certainly be a unique and, perhaps, much-needed addition to the Ivanhoe Village bar scene. Apart from the nonalcoholic craft cocktails, Bandbox will offer a variety of vintage and collectible goods for sale. (Opening April, 1817 N. Orange Ave., bandboxorlando.com)
Bitebound
A variety of “chef-inspired” bowls is what’s promised by this eatery run by a couple of working moms. Craving carnitas? Then the “Cravin’ Carnitas” bowl should do the trick. (Opening April, 1100 Orlando Ave., Winter Park, bitebound.com)
Bread & Wine
The old downtown Hubbly Bubbly space gets a noticeable upgrade with this breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night
ORLANDO WEEKLY ● MARCH 2-8, 2022 ● orlandoweekly.com
spot serving gourmet delights. Pre-noon pick-me-ups include coconut pancakes and red velvet waffles, while shrimp tempura pasta and tuna tataki served atop zucchini carpaccio beckon later in the day. The place stays open until 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. (Open, 131 N. Orange Ave., breadandwine.us)
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop
This 24-hour, “zero human interaction” Automat-style restaurant will bring a contactless ordering system and 32 varieties of hot pockets to our dumpling-obsessed city. Matzo ball soup dumplings, anyone? (Opening September/October, no location announced, brooklyndumplingshop.com)
Bumby Arcade Food Hall
At this 18-stall food hall incorporating the gorgeous space of the Orchid Garden on Church Street, vendors will be as worthy as the Victorian-esque architecture — though Susuru Yatai, the Japanese street food concept by Susuru’s Lewis Lin, will no longer be a part of the food hall. (Lin plans to open a Japanese street food concept in a different location.) They do promise “an exciting selection of local favorites.” (Opening TBD, 116 W. Church St., no website)
Café-Boutique Piano
A restaurant across from Hannibal’s on the Square featuring the very wide breadth of “European” cuisine as well as nightly piano shows sounds like a match made in … well, somewhere. If anything, it’ll add a bit of intrigue to the Hannibal Square dining scene. (Opening spring, 558 W. New England Ave., no website)
Café Don Juan
The Puerto Rican chain will serve its tostadas, empanadas and coffee out of the City Place mixed-use complex across the street from Krispy Kreme in Winter Park. A full breakfast and lunch menu will also be offered. (Opening April, 1100 Orlando Ave., Winter Park, cafedonjuan.com)
