The Mother of all Disappointments
I've heard all kinds of wonderful stories about this restaurant chain, so when a good friend from L.A. invited me there on his nickel I naturally said "SURE!" He had apparently heard the same wonderful stories about their California restaurants and decided to treat me to something special during his visit. On the way there he told me about how difficult it is to get reservations; they only take them so many months in advance, and when a new day is made available its totally booked an hour later, etc. So naturally I was extremely psyched for this dinner.

I live on the north side of Orlando, and Universal is on the south side, so it was almost a half-hour to get to Universal. THEN it was almost a half-hour to get to a parking spot in what is billed as the largest parking garage on the entire planet. I believe it. It should be given its own ZIP code. THEN it was almost a half-hour to walk from the parking spot to the restaurant. (This is for a 9:00 reservation on a Wednesday in early June. If we had gone to Maison Jardin instead I would already be receiving my entree, so we are not off to a good start.)

By canceling the time we had allotted for walking around checking out CityWalk we were able to check in to the concierge about 10 minutes early, who promptly told us we had an hour wait for our reserved table. After waiting in a bar for 75 minutes that is packed to twice it's legal limit (with one bartender), we four are seated in the glass-enclosed outer dining area, where the acoustics make fingernails across a chalkboard sound good by comparison, given our menus, and left to wait another 30 minutes For our orders to be taken.

The food was VERY expensive by Central Florida standards (about $35 to $60 per entree, if memory serves), and as high as some of the finest restaurants in New York City back in the late 1980's. The wine was even worse: a '95 Silver Oak Alexander Valley cab was $175 for a bottle that sold for under $50 at release less than a year before, and wholesales here in Florida for under $38.

Oh, yes - I almost forgot about the food. As well I should. While I'm not saying that it was BAD, I am saying that it was rather bland - what little seasoning was rather discordant; distracting from the flavor of the food rather than complementing it. Yes, I'm sure they were quality components, fresh and clean. I just wasn't impressed with the finished product. My rack of lamb was dry and a little overcooked, and had too much pepper and not enough of anything else. It left me wishing fondly for the rack of lamb at (of all places) Outback Steak House. Go figure. My companion's grouper was about the same, as was my friend's steak. I confess to forgetting what my friend's companion had.

Bottom line? It takes FOREVER to get there, the service is apathetic (especially for mid-week) the prices are extortionate, the food uninspiring, and the acoustics are reminiscent of a basketball court. Oh, yes - the chairs are uncomfortable even if you were NOT forced to sit in them for over three hours.

If someone offers to take YOU there on their treat my advice is to PAY them to take you elsewhere. There are a LOT of very nice (or better!) restaurants in The City Beautiful to enjoy. There is no reason to pay a king's ransom for mediocre food and abysmal service.    [22 Apr 2001 10:55:35]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: The door

     ­Joe   joe32825 at yahoo dot com

HighPoint of My Week in Orlando
Contrary to Joe's experience above, everything about mine was exemplary. I had been escorting a dozen foster children from here to Disneyland, was worn out, & deserved a break from the junket. The parking accomodations were very good, I thought. I saw your restaurant the day before we left, June 10, & was disappointed to have missed your earlier seating. However, I came back before 6:00pm and was impressed to see the whole crew inside in an obvious team meeting. I was welcomed & seated immediately, with no reservation, under your portrait. I had to reconnect with my group by 6:30pm: so only had time for the gumbo. It was the best I have tasted!!! and I have tried it in New Orleans and all over! The service was quick, polite, and caring. The price was very reasonable, I thought. I had the same in Austin, TX 2 weeks ago-didn't hold a candle to yours, and cost $20.00.

I enjoy your Emeril Live show at least once a week and always garner wonderful nuggets from it. I did miss some of your Everything But the Oink during July 4 week. Can I get those recipes? Especially, the ham hock gravy and directions on how to do the ribs and the saran wrap detail? Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!    [16 Aug 2003 07:09:13]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Gumbo

     ­Jan Ferguson, Juneau, Alaska   janblake at alaska dot com

too bad about joe
Well, I went to Emeril's with my woman about three weeks ago and we are still patting our tummies. It was awesome! They must have made some improvements since 2001 when Joe went.

Joe is correct that it still takes forever to get parking because you are basically going into the Universal Park or whatever the heck is there that people are lined up to get into. We had 6:30pm reservations and got there just in time. So, parking is indeed horrible; allow at least 30 minutes from the time you pull into the entrance, until you step out of your car. And you have to pay for it.

Anyway, we got there at 6:25pm, and were seated immediately. We were served by two waiters at all times and one (or perhaps two, I can't remember) of the managers came around after every serving to make sure we were enjoying our experience.

I can't stress enough about the food. It was absolutely the best. Holy crap! I can't believe food can taste this good outside of mom's cooking. Maybe it was because I had the specials and possibly Joe above didn't, who knows. All I know is I had the Venison Steak and Rabbit Fricassee, and both melted in my mouth; I’d never had rabbit.

We skipped out on the wines because we didn't want our bill to be over a thousand dollars, but it seems lately that almost all restaurants do that. Stick with the Abita beer (and sometimes hard stuff) because they usually don't slap you with 300% markup; Joe's right about the wine.

Everything me and my partner had were top notch delicious.

I like restaurants that put the dish in front of everyone at the same time. It's too bad they didn't match our linens like other restaurants. But that was a small inconvenience, and I didn't see any lint on my trousers so no harm done.

The people next to us had ordered some dessert or something and they didn't like it. It was taken off their bill.

Speaking of eavesdropping, it's kind of loud there on the lower floor; but I'm sure that private wine room upstairs is nice and quiet; if you want to try to reserve that one, good luck.

Overall, it was a truly delectable experience at Emeril's and we definitely plan to go back as we live in Tampa.

After dinner we strolled over to the cigar bar and I got to puff down a nice one while waiting for our stomachs to digest enough to wobble back to the car. So the City Walk has more to offer pre and post dinner than other dinners.

Pricey? ... yes, about $150 including tip for two without wine (my after-dinner drinks cost a bit). Worth it? Definitely.
Is Outback better? Hell no, I don't go to Outback because I don't like the food or "superhappy" service there.

I recommend Emeril's, it's worth the other troubles of parking and avoiding the wine prices and noisy ambiance.    [08 Feb 2005 08:46:36]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Rabbit, Venison, Chicken, probably anything

     ­Anonymous