Dining Review – The Palm Restaurant Orlando

When we are staying at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando one of the added benefits is having a Palm Restaurant right on site.  This is one of those upscale chains that you can count on for a good meal, an excellent service experience and an excellent wine list.  We always go when we have a chance.  This past Christmas vacation we had that chance again.

It was just Cheri and myself this time, as we had a day alone prior to some of the kids arriving.

The wine

There is a calm atmosphere here, and we settled in for a leisurely dinner.  The wine list is comprehensive, with a focus on Italy and Napa/Sonoma.  Choices are available from all over the world, although you won’t find a lot of inexpensive options.  Our choice was an excellent one, the 2012 Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine was dark purple red, medium+ bodied and brought a dark fruit driven palate with oak notes.  It also finished very long and is a quality bottle of wine.

The linguini special

On the food side Cheri had the lobster bisque and the appetizer crab cake with the sautéed spinach for an entree. I ordered the shrimp cocktail with atomic horse radish and then the special – linguini with clams, mussels and shrimp in a spicy marinara (basically a Fra Diavolo).  They

were all great.  The linguini was perfectly al dente, the sauce was very spicy without going over the top and the shrimp were large with that perfect crispness.  I would advise to go a bit easy with

Lobster bisque

the atomic horseradish that comes with the appetizer as there is already some in the cocktail sauce.  Vanilla ice cream and coffee finished it off.  Service throughout was top notch.  As usual, we had a thoroughly enjoyable meal at The Palm.  We even stopped by the bar the next evening with the kids for a drink and a small bite before heading out for dinner elsewhere.

While traditionally known for its steaks and lobsters (two, three and five pounders were available) there are other excellent choices here.  Classical Italian dishes and some seafood are always on the menu.  We’ve tried everything over the years with no disappointments.

The Palm delivers, and our wallet is out when we are in town.  It’s a favorite in the Universal Orlando area.

The particulars:

The Palm Restaurant

5800 Universal Boulevard in the Hard Rock Hotel Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: 407-503-7256
Fax: 407-503-2383

Website: http://www.thepalm.com/Orlando

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