The restaurant has gone through numerous chefs in its five-year lifespan, each exhibiting a fierce commitment to Florida ingredients. But its latest, Chris Edwards, employs them in ways his predecessors never did: quail with a confit of Athena melon and brebis from Blackberry Farms; peach and green tomato pizza with blue crab and bacon lardons; and braised rabbit thigh with Charleston Gold Rice risotto, just to name a few. A studied cocktail program, solid weekend brunch, and stunning modernist interior cement 1921’s cred as the one of the best restaurants in all Central Florida.

The superbly seared kebabs grilled at this Persian grocery store in Longwood aren’t just easy on wallets and purse strings, they’re a sight for hungry eyes. Beef koubideh and chicken kebabs are perpetual faves, especially when served with Samin Nosrat-worthy saffron-scented rice. Ask for barberries, grilled peppers and lavash for proper Persian stylings. Leftover shreds of lavash beg to be dunked in the shallot-yogurt dip.

After closing its hideaway Casselberry locale, WA Sushi re-emerged in a far more conspicuous Casselberry spot distinguished by a swish interior and some of the finest Japanese fare in Seminole County. The focus, of course, is still on quality cuts of seafood like uni, scallops and giant octopus legs from Hokkaido; A5 wagyu; and otoro flecked with gold. But don’t overlook the stellar and creative daily specials like lightly fried Japanese flounder with daikon oroshi sauce; simmered mackerel with Japanese plum sauce; and nikujaga, a beef stew with potato, carrot, onion and yam noodle.

This contemporary Korean restaurant a la NYC stalwarts Atomix and Jungsik dazzles with its seasonal tasting menus served at the six-seat chef’s counter. However, the selection of reimagined Hanguk creations offered a la carte in the moody dining room are just as laudable. No matter the menu, the dishes are gorgeous, be it hobakjuk pumpkin porridge with rice cake, pepita brittle and water kimchi, or sizzling bibimbap teeming with uni, scallop, and octopus.

Brandon McGlamery’s Park Avenue mainstay spotlights Italy’s dynamic duo of carbs – pizza (fired in imported, wood-burning Acunto ovens) and pasta (rolled and shaped in-house). The menu, naturally, is seasonally directed and combines McGlamery’s love for wood-fired foods and pasta, like oak-roasted duck breast and rustic whole branzino. Pizzas are some of the best in Winter Park, while pasta offerings (think lamb pansotti and sunchose casarecce) change constantly.

As sons of missionaries in Guadalajara, Joe and David Creech appreciated the intricacies and nuances of Mexican cuisine at a very early age, and that appreciation blossomed during the pandemic when they began making tortillas from scratch using imported blue Oaxacan corn. The result: tacos and quesadillas of the highest order, stuffed with items like veal cheeks or chorizo and potato. But their birria “machete” – a giant tortilla rolled in a spicy beef stew – not only speaks to the Creech’s Jaliscan roots but set the town ablaze (in a good way). Douse the fire with prickly pear margaritas and white wine sangrias, both available by the quart or gallon.

The restaurant that put the city on the culinary map hasn’t let up one bit. Bringing former Dovecote Brasserie chef Clay Miller into the fold has only bolstered the Pig’s rep as one of the finest dining establishments in the city. The menu impresses with its creatively unpretentious bill of Southern fare incorporating uniquely Floridian ingredients. Owners James and Julie Petrakis used the pandemic as an opportunity to create a beer garden adjacent to the restaurant serving brews from the Ravenous Pig Brewing Co. next door. It’s a family-friendly (and pet-friendly) space to guzzle, play games, or watch a film on the outdoor screen.

This cozy 10-seater by Taglish chef/owner Mike Collantes is all about serving high-end, globally inspired, and seasonally driven omakase. Collantes and his focused group of culinarians show a dedication to local sourcing and a predilection to tweezing in presenting their impeccable and artistically plated dishes. Omakases run $285 and don’t include beverage pairings ($110 to $325 extra). 

Orlando’s bespoke ramen movement made a literal splash in 2016 with Domu ladling bowls of creative and classic renditions inside the East End Market. In the years since, chef/owner Sonny Nguyen has expanded noodle operations, opening a Domu in Dr. Phillips and a quick-casual ramen concept – Domu Chibi – near UCF. Pork bones boiled down for 18 hours makes for a heady tonkatsu, though a shoyu ramen with fried chicken thighs offers an equally luxuriant slurp with the addition of ajitama brulée and duck fat. Noodles are made in-house to boot. Oh, the crispy wings coated in kimchi butter are no joke.

When the Osprey Tavern, a centerpiece in the city’s restaurant scene, changed concepts mid-pandemic into a seafood restaurant, locals took notice. In fact, a seafood restaurant is precisely what owners Jason and Sue Chin had in mind prior to opening Osprey Tavern in 2015, so better late than never. With ex-Luma luminary Michael Cooper at the helm, the restaurant is now locally focused, with dishes like Pompano Beach swordfish, Florida Bluehouse salmon, or Cedar Key clam chowder. The cocktail program and caviar service shines.

Chef Xiong “Tiger” Tang, a skilled perfectionist with a commanding kitchen presence, continues to churn out some of the most impeccable and wickedly peppery Sichuan fare anywhere in the Sunshine State: Chongqing-style hotpots, braised fish filet in spicy chili oil, tongue-numbing Laziji chicken, and many more electrifying choices for the capsicum-deprived. Tang and restaurant partner Paula Ahn have reopened their Baldwin Park location as a reservation-only spot, while the original West Colonial Drive location takes walk-ins.

John and Juliana Calloway met in L.A. opening restaurants for renowned chef/restaurateur Richard Sandoval, so no surprise that the taqueria they opened here in Juliana’s hometown took on an unmistakable SoCal vibe. BRT has shades of Trejo’s Tacos and Ray Garcia’s B.S. Taqueria, but it’s the made on-site corn tortillas, enveloping everything from smoked lengua to pork fat to Angus brisket, that really impresses. Pozole verde and beef achiote bowls shouldn’t be overlooked either. The Curry Ford West location also serves brunch.

Chef Wendy Lopez commands the kitchen of this NoDo stalwart by restaurateurs Jason and Sue Chin (The Osprey, Seito Sushi Baldwin Park, The Monroe) giving representation to Mexico’s regional gastronomic riches, including charred octopus with squid ink chimichurri and duck enchiladas from her native Michoacán. Lopez’s tequila-cured arctic char with pineapple aguachile is a mesmerizing (and fun) north-meets-south take. The gorgeous interior design inspired by Tulum and Quintana Roo compels guests to sample one of the 150 agave-based spirits in various cocktails. Enjoy with a bowl of chapulines (tiny fried grasshoppers seasoned with tamarind, chilies, and spices) for an inimitable arthropodic crunch.

Yes, it’s technically a bar, but it’s a bar that just so happens to serve some of the best Japanese pub grub around. There are bites like whole binchotan-grilled Japanese flying squid and blue crab and corn croquettes that dazzle. But it’s with the yakitori where Tori Tori’s kitchen really struts its stuff. Chicken skin tare and chicken oyster can’t possibly be done any better than it is here, and lamb karubi lollipops offer a red meat alternative to prime-grade beef from Revier Cattle Co. Plus, there’s a killer okonomiyaki for purists and some creative cocktails for the bibulous.

“Juju” is the Japanese word for the sizzling sound made from grilling meats, but the vibe inside this sister restaurant to Susuru nearly upstages the binchotan-seared yakitori, kushiyaki and dry-aged fish. Stepping into the Showa-era-styled izakaya is like time-warping onto a Japanese movie set from the 1960s. It only serves to enhance the dining experience here, which features a 10-course meal at the 6-seat kappo bar, or Japanese soul food faves in the izakaya dining room. Enjoy a cocktail or two while watching old Japanese music videos in the lounge.

Bialys, not bagels, are the focus at this Colonialtown breakfast and lunch spot run by Hannah Jaffe and Nathan Sloan. The pair worked for some big names in L.A. — Jessica Koslow (Sqirl), Michael Voltaggio (ink), and Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (Son of a Gun) — so no surprise their humble little deli draws major buzz. Bialys come in caramelized onion or smoked jalapeno and muenster varieties with fillings ranging from gravlax to labneh to scrapple (this is not a kosher deli). The corned beef “big mac” layered with lettuce, American cheese, pickles, onions, and special sauce served on a sesame bun explains the lines Deli Desires often draws.

Z is a relative newbie in a sea of old Vietnamese standbys, but what husband-and-wife team Hien Pham and Huong Nguyen bring to their Colonial Drive restaurant is a focused menu with dishes amplifying the clean flavors of Vietnamese cuisine. Soups, be it marinated duck noodle, pho with bone marrow, or anchovy-based seafood bun mam, are stellar. The street food menu with such items as banh beo (steamed rice flour cakes), banh khọt (stuffed pancake-like tarts), and bo la lot (beef wrapped in betel leaves) not only made Vietnamese fare trendy once again, but positioned the restaurant at the very top of Vietnamese joints in the city. Bonus: many of these dishes are offered as vegan options.

This hotly anticipated Filipino concept by Kadence founding partner Lordfer Lalicon and Jamilyn Bailey lives up to the hype with its nostalgia-steeped interior and deeply personal dishes that veer less towards fried and porky fare and more toward seafood and vegetables. It’s “casual fine dining” at its finest, presented in five “waves” fusing mostly Florida ingredients with familial Filipino recipes.

The latest by restaurateurs Jason and Sue Chin (Seito Sushi Baldwin Park, The Osprey, Reyes Mezcaleria) may very well be their most fetching, but so is the menu of modern comfort fare. Dishes straddle the line between approachable and sophisticated – pastrami-spiced corn dogs and jerk-spiced chicken hearts served on skewers with grilled pineapple for example. The cocktail program is top-notch and the gorgeous mid-mod space a la Florida practically begs patrons to linger.

There are restaurant institutions and then there’s Nikki’s Place. The Parramore stalwart has been plating meat-and-threes through 70-plus years of systematic segregation and residential displacement, always with class and dignity. Fronted by 80-year-old Nick Aiken, his wife Inez, and daughter Nikki, the restaurant has established itself as a gathering ground for the community. It has hosted a who’s-who of African American icons, politicians, and civil rights leaders since 1949. That Aiken’s brand of soul food is incomparable cements Nikki’s as the go-to place for Southern fare, be it smothered anything (oxtails, pigtails) to fried chicken to meatloaf. Best of all, meals can be made from stellar sides alone.

Bruno Zacchini excited this city for neo-Neapolitan-style pizzas as pie hounds lost their minds over the intriguing topping selection at the cozy Curry Ford West pie house. Zacchini’s starter dough undergoes a 48-hour ferment before being pulled, tossed, topped, and fired at 1000 degrees, producing a charred and flavorful crust. The Pizza Bruno in College Park serves Jersey-style pies, while a third outpost slated to open in Maitland will offer similar neo-Neapolitan pizzas as the original.

Kevin and Maria Ruiz garnered a rep for serving some of the finest Peruvian fare in the city with their pop-up dinners, so no surprise their inviting brick-and-mortar operation in Curry Ford West has solidified it. The bright, modern space has been a draw for its list of natural wines and dishes like chicharrón de calamar with herbaceous wakatay salsa, and wicked arroz chicken chaufa with smoky ají panca, Peruvian choclo and bok choy. And, yes, they serve Inca Kola.

Ermias Hailab and Abeba Gonetse introduced many in this town to fare from the “Cradle of Humanity” when they opened Nile in 2006. Now, 17 years later, tourists and locals alike come to scoop boldly spiced stews and meats with spongy, tangy injera from communal plates inside Nile’s cozy digs. The post-meal coffee ceremony alone is worth braving the I-Drive traffic for.

After a three-and-a-half-year hiatus, Norman’s is back in a new space with a new look and, thankfully, some old faces most notably chef de cuisine Carlos Robles Molina, general manager/somm Yusuf Yildiz and, naturally, legendary Florida chef Norman Van Aken. It’s as essential an Orlando restaurant there is, even in its third incarnation, with the menu’s original Latin-Caribbean DNA still intact, though flavors from Japan and Southeast Asia add to Van Aken’s “New World” bent. The wine list is just as stellar as it was before…just don’t expect 2019 prices.

The seafood towers may not reach the jaw-dropping heights of Toronto’s famed Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant, but the salvers of fried seafood at this modern Cantonese restaurant in Dr. Phillips impress nonetheless. Other prized catches to consider: XO-style clams, jumbo oysters with steamed ginger-soy-black bean sauce, Hong Kong-style roasted chicken and whole flounder done two ways (crispy fried and sauteed). Cantonese-style dim sum, while pricey, may be the best in town.

No one ages beef the way chef John Tesar does. His Dallas restaurant, Knife, is widely considered to be one of the best steakhouses in the country and its sister chophouse, situated inside the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, has attracted steak-lovers for the exceptional prime cuts dry-aged inside a $70,000 meat locker. Of note is the 240-day aged bone-in ribeye. It’s as funky as it is life changing. 

Executive chef Fabrizio Schenardi oversees all the restaurants at the Four Seasons Resort, but Ravello with its modern Italian flair, is one nearest and dearest to his heart. Dishes veer in the direction of Schenardi’s native Piemonte (he was born in Rivoli), with the veal-stuffed ravioli, duck breast with glazed chestnut, and pan-seared trout with Arneis wine sauce being the restaurant’s most-loved items. Alba white truffles make a customary appearance during the season, while Rabii Saber, the James Beard-nominated pastry chef, ensures a worthy ending will be had.

It’s clear that Morimoto Asia executive chef Yuhi Fujinaga and executive sushi chef Alex Munkhbilguun are bent on offering the absolute finest cuts of fish and seafood procured from Toyosu Fish Market and around the world inside their sprawling, two-story Disney Springs behemoth. The relationships the restaurant (and the Morimoto empire) has forged over the years have clearly placed them in an advantageous position as far as sourcing is concerned. Preferential treatment? Maybe, but either way the consumer is the ultimate beneficiary of these prized ingredients and the respect and deference with which the chefs and their discriminating kitchen staff present them. Non-sushi stars include the Peking duck and spare ribs.