Where to eat at and around Loews Portofino Bay Hotel

Close by, on foot or by car

• The Palm

  10 min walk

  Steakhouse at the Hard Rock Hotel, founded in New York in 1926 · $$$$

  The big steak dinner within walking distance, 10 minutes on foot across Universal Boulevard to the front of the Hard Rock Hotel. The Palm began in 1926, when Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first one in New York, and it marks its hundredth year in 2026. Start with the jumbo lump crab cake, then a prime New York strip or the 22 oz bone-in ribeye, with lobster macaroni and cheese on the side; a broiled jumbo Maine lobster is the splurge. Dinner is 5pm to 10pm, until 9pm on Sunday, and happy hour at the bar runs 4pm to 6pm, Sunday to Friday. Book.

  Reserve aheadHard Rock Hotel, 5800 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819

• Velvet Bar

  10 min walk

  Lobby bar at the Hard Rock Hotel, with live music or a DJ nightly · $$$

  The bar worth the walk after dinner: the Hard Rock Hotel's lobby-level bar, 10 minutes away on foot, with live music or a DJ every night from 8pm to 11pm and a veranda for a quieter glass. Cocktails are $19, among them All You Criminals, the bar's Maker's Mark take on an Old Fashioned. Boards of cheese and charcuterie and focaccia-style pizzas cover a late supper. It opens at 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 4pm from Friday to Sunday, and stays open until 2am, with last call at 1.30am.

  Walk inHard Rock Hotel, 5800 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819

• Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ

  6 min by car

  Orlando barbecue counter, since 1986 · $

  The cheap and good counter, and local cooking: an Orlando barbecue restaurant since 1986, off Conroy Road, six minutes north by car. The meat is smoked low and slow over hardwood. Order the 3 Pig Platter, pulled pork, sliced pork and spare ribs with fries, baked beans, slaw and garlic bread, at $22.49, or a brisket sandwich at $12.49, and start with gator nuggets, $14.49, for something Florida. It is open every day from 10am to 9pm, and there is nothing to book.

  Walk in5818 Conroy Road, Orlando, FL 32835

• Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen

  8 min by car

  Universal's steampunk chocolate factory at CityWalk · $$

  Universal's own showpiece at CityWalk, opened in 2016: a two-storey chocolate factory in 19th-century steampunk style, with smokestacks, across the lake as you walk in, built round the story of the inventor Penelope Toothsome and her robot Jacques. Guests here take the free water taxi from the piazza rather than the car. Order a specialty milkshake, served in a souvenir jar and crowned with a cupcake or a brownie, and the warm chocolate almond bread; the savoury menu covers brunch, lunch and dinner. It is a table-service restaurant that takes reservations, so book for an evening.

  Reserve aheadUniversal CityWalk, 6000 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819

• YH Seafood Clubhouse

  10 min by car

  Cantonese seafood and dim sum, in the MICHELIN Guide · $$

  The flagship of the Yummy House group, on Restaurant Row ten minutes south by car, and listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Come at lunch for dim sum, ordered from the menu rather than from carts and served from 11am to 2.30pm: crystal shrimp har gow, seafood siu mai, baked pineapple buns and the deep-fried sticky pork dumplings, with egg tarts to finish. Dinner turns to Cantonese seafood. It is open every day from 11am to 2.30pm and 5pm to 9pm, until 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Come in a group to order widely, and book.

  Reserve ahead8081 Turkey Lake Road, Suite 700, Orlando, FL 32819

• Isan Zaap

  12 min by car

  North-eastern Thai, MICHELIN Bib Gourmand · $$

  A MICHELIN Bib Gourmand in Millenia, 12 minutes away by car, cooking the food of north-east Thailand, with its Lao overlaps, rather than the usual pad Thai. Order the whole fish larb, cut up, fried crisp and tossed with toasted rice powder, lime and herbs, and a som tum from the papaya salad list, topped with fermented crab or fermented pork sausage if you are curious; durian sticky rice is the adventurous pudding. It opens at 11.30am every day, closes from 3pm to 4.30pm on weekdays, and shuts at 10pm; call ahead for six or more.

  Walk in4693 Gardens Park Boulevard, Suite 119, Orlando, FL 32839

• Keke's Breakfast Cafe

  12 min by car

  Breakfast and brunch café on Dr Phillips Boulevard · $$

  The breakfast to drive to when the hotel's $38 buffet is more than the morning needs: a breakfast and brunch café 12 minutes away by car, open every day from 7am to 2.30pm and closed only on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The pancakes come three to a stack and large, $11.49 for the original buttermilk; the build-your-own omelette is $16.99, and there are waffles, French toast and eggs Benedict. It takes no reservations, so arrive early at weekends, or order ahead for pick-up.

  Walk in7512 Dr Phillips Boulevard, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32819

• Morimoto Asia

  21 min by car

  Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's pan-Asian restaurant at Disney Springs · $$$

  The famous chef's table within a drive: Masaharu Morimoto's pan-Asian restaurant at Disney Springs, listed in the MICHELIN Guide and 21 minutes away by car with the roads clear. The order is the Morimoto Peking duck, carved from a whole house-roasted bird and served with bao buns, flour tortillas or lettuce cups, $85 for two; add pork dumplings from the dim sum list, or the orange chicken in a Florida orange sauce. Lunch is 11.30am to 3.30pm and dinner 4.30pm to 10pm, 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday, with the bar open later. Book.

  Reserve aheadDisney Springs, 1600 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Breakfast