Restaurant Listings - Cuisines - Italian

Address	1130 S. Highway 17-92
City	Longwood
Phone	407-834-9872
Price	$$$$
Scott's Review

Enzo is gone, but his restaurant continues on. Let your server put together an antipasti selection from the table in the dining room.

One of my favorites is bucatini alla Enzo, which features fat, hollow pasta tossed tableside with prosciutto, peas, bacon and mushrooms plus a little sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan. All the ingredients meld together to flavor a buttery sauce that coats the noodles. With prosciutto and bacon in the mix the taste is a decidedly salty one, but not unpleasantly so. Because they’re so fat and unwieldy, bucatini noodles are impossible to be eat gracefully. So just dive in the best you can.

Costaletta di vitello, was as good a veal chop as you’re likely to find anywhere in town. The thick chop was as tender as you expect a veal chop to be – and as tender as you are justified to demand at that price. It was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and seasoned with butter that had just the slightest hint of white truffle essence.

Go before sunset and enjoy the gardens before going inside.

Enzo's Hideaway

Address	1560 E. Buena Vista Drive
City	Lake Buena Vista
Phone	407-560-3696
Price	$$$
Scott's Review

This gem truly is hidden away, below the entrance to Maria & Enzo's and behind the Edison (both sister restaurants). It's a quiet respite that also serves excellent food.... Read more

F&D Woodfired Italian Kitchen

Address	2420 Curry Ford Road
City	Orlando
Phone	407-751-5697
Price	$$

Though open only four weeks when first reviewed, F&DWIK already has a comfortable homeyness about it. The inside dining area is still too small — about 32 seats — for a profitable business model. But the outdoor patio has been expanded, covered and will eventually have a companion bar to the one inside.... Read more

Fiorella's

Address	Westin Imagine 9501 Universal Blvd.
City	Orlando
Phone	407-233-2950
Price	$$$
Scott's Review

After a shaky start, this casual Italian situated in a newish hotel behind the Orange County Convention Center is finally finding its way, thanks in no small part to Robert Mason, who took over the kitchen. Mason, formerly of the Boheme, has given the menu something it didn't have before: consistency.

The oven-roasted grouper was a thick fillet served on top of thick, round noodles. It had a delightful crisp crust and was topped with a stack of rich crab meat.

Filetto con Gorgonzola, a certified black angus tenderloin of beef, was grilled to a perfect medium-rare and finished with tangy blue cheese, accompanied by baked tomato, cipollini onions, asparagus and fingerling potatoes.

The setting is OK, but you never get over the feeling that you're sitting in a hotel, because you are. One irritating thing: there is no self parking, you must use the valet service, which is free (if you don't count the tip).

Fiorenzo

Address	9801 International Drive
City	Orlando
Phone	407-345-4570
Price	$$$
Scott's Review

Fiorenzo, the Hyatt Regency Orlando restaurant formerly known as Fiorenzo Italian Steakhouse, has emerged from its monthslong renovation. Even though it shortened its name, it is still Italian and you can still get a good steak. With the reopening of the restaurant, Jared Gross, who made the hotel’s Urban Tide seafood restaurant a destination for locals, has taken the role of chef de cuisine at Fiorenzo. There wasn’t a thing wrong with the food here before, but with Gross’s direction I expect it to soar.... Read more

Francesco’s Ristorante & Pizzeria

Address	400 S. Orlando Ave.
City	Maitland
Phone	407-960-5533
Price	$$
Scott's Review

The chef owner of the restaurant is Francesco Aiello (I love it -- a name that’s two-thirds vowels!), a native of Palermo, Sicily. He is not new to Central Florida kitchens; he’s been cooking here since 1998, most recently at Terra Mia in Lake Mary.... Read more

Grato of Winter Park