The Restaurant Scene is Taking Orlando by Storm in 2021

It's almost like a new restaurant is popping up every day on the Orlando food scene.

Locals have seen a lot of places open, fail, just for others to take their place in downtown Orlando, but nothing has been quite like the growth over the last decade for the Orlando restaurant industry.

The industry growth in central Florida has been monumental over the past decade. Jobs have increased in the tens of thousands, and Central Florida's restaurants have been hiring more than any other industry—Out pacing hospitality, tourism, and retail.

The various type of restaurants are constantly growing and evolving as Orlando’s community becomes more diverse. From vegan, to Japanese, to fast causal, we’re seeing food break into the Orlando scene that’s never been here before—And staying successfully.

So what are all these new restaurants, and when can you go grab a bite?

After the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry across Florida, new places are beginning to open up, and there’s even more options than ever before.

Take Jopango, who sells vegan Japanese food, boba, and mochi ice cream. Or Chicken Fire, a Nashville-inspired spot serving heat. Perhaps the most talked about opening of 2021 is Winter Park Biscuit Company, owned by Blink-182 road chef and cookbook author Mary Westfall and A Day to Remember guitarist Neil Westfall. The vegan diner is serving it’s much buzzed about impossible burger, and plant-based fried chicken.

Here’s a list of the 13 hottest restaurants that are open in the spring of 2021, according to Eater Miami.

There are also a number of new food halls popping up later this year, like Kevin O’Donnell’s Gatlin Hall, or the Food Factory, a part of the Oviedo on the Park development.

And if you’re looking to eat on a budget, there’s been no shortage of fast casual restaurants in the Orlando area. According to research done by Simple.Thrifty.Living, Orlando has more fast-casual restaurants than any other city in the U.S. It’s also home to the most burger, Mexican, and sandwich fast casual spots in the country as well.

More new fast-casual places include Great Greek, a Mediterranean-inspired spot on the ground floor of the SkyHouse building downtown that just opened in March. Jollibee is set to serve Filipino fast-casual food, with Chickenjoy! fried chicken and their delicious Yumburgers.

With all of these places to explore, you can simply take a walk downtown to enjoy the Orlando sights and all of what the restaurant scene has to offer—And maybe burn off a few calories.