Jay and I were jonesin for sushi all month, but since we knew that a trip to Orlando was looming we decided to forgo Stinktown's best offering and wait for the real deal in Florida. Orchid Court Sushi has received some terrific reviews so we were primed for a great meal when we arrived at the lounge promptly at five o'clock. They only serve sushi in the evenings and they have some great happy hour specials between 5PM and 6PM, so get there early to take advantage!
The lounge is located directly off the lobby and is surrounded on three sides by windows, so it's filled with natural light that makes it feel both warm and welcoming. Seating is first come, first serve, and once I spotted a small covered area with cushions and comfy pillows I made a beeline for it because I'm all about the plush!
The Bar ... always stop here first!
Orchid Court Sushi Lounge
Needs More Fish!
Jay lounges in the sushi pagoda
A girl, and a drink, and a sushi couch ...
We ordered drinks from the bar to start the first vacation meal off right, and Jay selected the Naturally Hot: Reposado Tequila muddled with cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, jalapenos, and fresh lime juice. He enjoyed this but said it could have been hotter - the jalapenos lent it a little kick but not enough to warrant the name which he said should have been "Just Warm."
Naturally Hot, just like the hubba!
I chose the Rose Sidecar which was made with Hennessy VS Cognac, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and homemade rose petal syrup. I loved this drink! It was strong and perfectly blended and went down oh-so-smoothly. These drinks, by the way, were the Lowe's Resort specialty cocktails - they had an entire book to choose from with all kinds of really interesting and delicious sounding drinks from their various world-wide resorts. The Orchid Court also has a specialty cocktail menu of drinks but we never made it to those ... just gives us another reason to pay them a repeat visit!
Rose Sidecar
Aside from a bowl of Miso Soup, everything we ordered was from the happy hour menu. Jason ate most of the soup but I did have a few sips and thought it was pretty good, although I could still taste the shrooms lurking in the bowl.
Miso Soup
There were six, four-piece sushi rolls to choose from on the happy hour menu, and we selected four of them: Spicy Tuna (with sesame, chimi pepper, and avocado); Mexican (shrimp tempura, avocado, jalapeno, spicy mayo, and cucumber); Spicy Salmon (with sesame, chimi pepper, and cucumber); and California (snow crab, Japanese mayo, cucumber, and avocado). These were all quite good, and some of them had a definite kick. I personally enjoyed the California and Spicy Tuna rolls the most and really liked that they used real crab meat in the CA roll.
Sushi Rolls - yum!
Happy hour also includes specials on Nigiri and Sashimi, so we ordered four pieces each of tuna and salmon nigiri and two pieces of Octopus nigiri. It was all beautiful and fresh and delicious!
Nigiri plate
My first plate ...
We had to order a second round of drinks before heading out into the wilds of Citywalk, so this time Jay selected The Park Avenue, made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, vermouth, and a dash of butters with a drowning, drunken cherry. This was one of the best Manhattans we've had in a long time, and certainly the best of the trip!
The Park Avenue
My second drink choice was the Garden Cooler - Hendrick's Gin and Elderflower Liqueur muddled with kiwi and cucumber and topped with apple and lime juice. This was wonderfully refreshing and packed a powerful punch - it was a great way to end the first of many snack stops during the evening.
Garden Cooler
Jay and I had every intention of returning to Orchid Court for another visit before leaving on our cruise, but there were so many other places we wanted to try that it just didn't happen. And to be completely honest, we did try on Saturday night because we wanted some good drinks and tasty snacks to keep us company while watching Game 3 of the World Series but they were only televising college football and we were outvoted by a group of sadly misguided, bad beer-swilling hotel guests.
Sports-viewing angst aside, Orchid Court absolutely lived up to the hype and served up some terrific sushi and creative, powerful drinks. It's a hidden gem that deserves to be discovered!
1 comment:
Love me some good sushi! Thanks. :) I can't wait to hear about your trip!
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