There is no shortage of great restaurants within Walt Disney World Resort’s 40 square miles. Places like Victoria and Albert’s, Fulton’s Crab House, and California Grill will come to mind, but the area’s breakout favorite in the last 12 months is the lesser-known deep blu seafood grille.
Tucked inside the Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort, and just a stone’s throw from Epcot, deep blu’s success and popularity is owed, at least in part, to Chef Cory York, the epicurean mastermind that has won Best Chef in Orlando Magazine’s Dining Awards for 2 years in a row. Deep Blue also won this year for Best Hotel Restaurant and Best Seafood Restaurant.
After a recent visit to deep blu, I’m inclined to agree with the thousands of readers that cast their vote in favor of this up-and-coming eatery, which opened just 18 months ago.
As soon as we handed our keys to the valet and wandered into the lobby, Marc and I were immediately taken with the stately but slightly whimsical décor at Bar 1521, located at the entrance of the restaurant. Named for the year our beloved Ponce de Leon met his maker, the bar prides itself on serving local libations, including a Central Florida Cosmo made with vodka from Winter Park Distilling Company. I’m told you can get a good view of Epcot’s nightly fireworks from the Bar 1521’s outdoor patio.
Inside deep blu’s dining room with its cathedral wood-planked ceiling and sumptuously tiled exhibition kitchen, we settled into our straight-back leather chairs and gazed at our menu.
If you’re starting to get the picture that this restaurant is on the pricey side, you’re on the right track. Deep blu is definitely the sort of place where bills exceed the double digits, but for your $100+ check you’ll be spoiled with unbelievable service (did I mention deep blu also won in Orlando Mag’s dining awards for service?) and really, really good food. And what you DON’T get with this classy locale is a stuffy or snobby atmosphere. As the restaurants slowly filled up, I noticed that guests wore everything from suits to t-shirts.
Pass on Chef York’s crab cake and you’ll be making a grave error. The crab to “cake” ratio is so weighted towards the giant nuggets of lump crab that it’s hardly fair to even group it in the category of “crab cakes.” It was, by far, the best crab cake I have ever tasted.
For our entrée, we opted for the day’s featured item, which just happened to be Chilean sea bass. But the steaks came so highly recommended that we decided to also order the 6oz filet mignon. The kitchen happily split our order so Marc and I each received half the steak and half the fish artfully set on our plates. For our entrée side, we chose good ol’ grilled asparagus in favor of heavier items like blu Crab Mac N’ Cheese and Tempura Broccoli.
The move was genius because it managed to conserve a few inches of gut space so that we could squeeze in some dessert from deep blu’s highly tempting and innovative dessert menu. I’m still talking about Chef York’s Key Lime Pie Gelle, which was made with a graham cracker short dough crust and this pear-like topping he calls “mango caviar.”
Overall, I couldn’t find a single flaw in our inaugural deep blu experience. And even though Marc and I live a solid 30 miles away, I know we’ll be back again. Deep blu seafood grille is officially date night approved!
P.S. One last thing I wanted to mention: deep blu offers a chef’s table experience, which invites foodies to sit at the handful of chairs overlooking the exhibition kitchen. All night long, chefs will continue to supply epicurean adventurers with small bites of everything they’re cooking, which means you’ll get to sample almost everything on the menu by the time the night is through. Price ranges from $100-200 per person depending on wine pairings and requests.
deep blu seafood grille
14651 Chelonia Parkway, Orlando
407.390.2420
deepbluorlando.com
