If you are looking for a restaurant with great theming, fabulous food and drinks, and friendly attentive staff, then Bahama Breeze is the one for you. Their slogan, "At Bahama Breeze there are no worries, just happy, friendly people and island hospitality" couldn`t be more right. Truly one of the best restaurants in Orlando, there are two locations. One at International Drive and the other at Vineland Road, Lake Buena Vista.
This Caribbean themed restaurant has a wonderful wooden deck outside where you can sit and relax with one of their delicious drinks before or after your meal. Live music is available most nights and this just adds to the party atmosphere.
The restaurant offers delicious cuisine in a tropical setting. Inspired by Caribbean architecture, the spacious dining rooms have high ceilings and are tastefully decorated in rich wood and wicker. There is even a tin roof and lush 20 ft palm trees which all add to the island theme. The kitchen is where it all happens at Bahama Breeze and as it is visible, you will be able to see the chefs hard at work as they create mouth watering dishes for you to enjoy.
You will be spoilt for choice with the menu as there is plenty of variety to suit all tastes. If you`ve got room for desert, then try Rebecca`s Key Lime Pie which is one of the best you`ll find in Orlando. Portions are huge, freshly prepared and made from scratch. If you have any leftovers at the end of your meal, then your server will put it in a food container for you to take home with you.
There is a huge array of drinks on offer and so many different cocktails to sample, you won`t know where to begin. Their signature cocktail is called the Bahamarita and is a margarita with Cuervo Gold, fresh kiwi, mango and strawberry ices. If it`s a non-alcoholic drink you want then try a lemon breeze which is made with freshly squeezed sugar cane and fresh lemons.
Bahama Breeze is such a popular restaurant that it does get extremely busy. Although you cannot make a reservation, what you can do is "call ahead seating." You just telephone the restaurant location before you leave and if there is a wait, they will add your name to the list, as if you were there in person. When you arrive, just check in with the host/hostess who will give you a pager which resembles a coaster. When your table is ready, the pager flashes and vibrates. It`s as simple as that.
The address and telephone no of the International Drive location is 8849 International Drive, tel: (407)248-2499 and the Lake Buena Vista location is 735 Vineland Road, tel: (407) 938-9010.
The web site address is
www.bahamabreeze.com
So get yourself on down to Bahama Breeze and lose yourself in the sights, sounds and aromas of the Caribbean, but beware, once you`ve sampled this amazing place you`ll soon be back for more.
I phoned Bahama Breeze and asked them to put us on the list for a table about 30 minutes before we were leaving.
We arrived on time and were shown to a large table in the centre of the restaurant more or less straight away. Our server, Annette, was fantastic. She knew everything about the menu. My Mum asked if one of the cocktails was very alcoholic and she told her exactly what was in it. We all ordered some drinks; a Bahama sunset, Batida de Coco, a Mojito, orange juice, pink lemonade and some Cokes. The orange juice was fresh and so delicious. The best I had ever drank by far. The cokes and pink lemonade were all refillable.
Anette was fantastic and didn't write anything down. She remembered everything which was impressive seeing as we were a party of 7, all eating and drinking different things.
The menu was huge and I had trouble deciding what to have. Shortly before we came away I started a thread on Bahama Breeze on The Dibb asking the best branch to go to and I remembered someone telling me to try the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. So that?s what I ordered...
I think it's probably one of the best things i've ever eaten! The mashed potatoes were so creamy with a hint of cheese and the chicken was succulent and cooked perfectly and the sauce was gorgeous.
My mum ordered the Chef?s Special Salmon and Tiger shrimp with Chimichurri sauce. She asked Annette again about the sauce as she was afraid it would be hot, but she described it perfectly (and not at all spicy-hot) so Mum went ahead and ordered. She said it was lovely.
My Dad had the Shrimp Linguine which he said was lovely
My sister had the Jerk Chicken Salad which she said was really nice.
We were struggling after dinner but decided we would have a quick peek at the dessert menu. It would be rude not to!
My Dad and DH both had a Key Lime pie which was HUGE. This photo doesn't do it justice!
My mum and sister shared a Bananas Supreme
And DD and I shared a Chocolate Island, although I ended up eating most of it. She was more intent on feeding my DH his pudding! DS12 had the same all to himself!
After dessert we all had coffees and hot tea and got the check. Ouch! £173.97 + tip! It was a little expensive, but the meal was absolutely amazing and we couldn?t fault a thing. And I guess since some of us had cocktails and we all had desserts, it?s not so bad really. Without tip it worked out about £16 each; Worth every penny in my opinion. It was the best meal we?d had so far. We will definitely come back here again next time.
Moving on, we had another drink and the children had their sweet, the manager came up to us and apologiesed. We were very lighthearted about the whole situation and made sure that she was awre we were not too put out. With that, we were served a free round of drinks. Before we could finish, the waiter and manager arrived at our table with the biggest slice of keylime pie I have ever seen.
They had sent a driver to the Kissamee restaraunt to get some just for my wife. To top this all off, they did not include this on our bill. Needless to say the waiter got a very well deserved tip and the manager a very warm hug before we left.
Highly reccomended and try the wings as a starter.