Look, I’m not gonna lie — I think the Caribe Royale Orlando Hotel might have made me even more bougie y’all. My friends already know that I’m travel + hotel bougie. So they were thoroughly prepared for our first girl’s trip ever!
But I don’t think I was prepared for how much more bougie I’d become after visiting this hotel! I mean, we stayed in a 2 bedroom villa that had a “private” pool, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a jacuzzi, and a balcony. But I’m from NYC y’all — I’ve stayed in a 2 bedroom suite before. That’s no biggie! Sometimes we just need MORE space.
However, the fine dining restaurant on their property? I wasn’t ready!! If you’re looking for a fine dining restaurant near Disney World, then look no further because the Caribe Royale Orlando Hotel has exactly what you need!
But beware, if you’re already sorta bougie when it comes to certain things, this may make things a bit worse.
I’ve always been the “you don’t need to take me to a 5-star restaurant on our first date, or ever” kind of girl. I’ve been a picky eater my whole life! So a lot of the photos I’ve seen from 5-star joints, just don’t look appealing to me. And if I’m just reading the ingredients off the menu … even worse. So the idea of getting dressed up to go out to a very expensive dinner, just to cringe at everything on the menu, never made sense to me. Take me to one of my favorite spots up the block so I can get a rum punch and some plantains, please.
But BABY, after visiting The Venetian Chop House at the Caribe Royale Orlando Hotel! LISTENNN! The wants and needs have changed! The standards have upped a notch! If you wanna take me to a fine dining restaurant baby, by all means, please do so.
Don’t let me stop you! Just be prepared for the bill, because I’m about to order every single dang thang on this menu!
When I say my face almost hit the floor when we saw the bill! Whew, chile.
Now granted — I was with 3 other Black women, 2 of whom were already at Walt Disney World with me for a weekend girl’s trip for my birthday. So if that doesn’t already scream, “They probably spend money like drug dealers” then I don’t know what else to tell you. I mean, we literally flew to Florida, some of us straight from work on a Friday, to spend the weekend in Orlando — just ’cause. So it’s not like I ran up the bill by myself. And it’s not like we weren’t already planning on having a grand ol’ time in Orlando.
But — the meal was also comped by the hotel, and we were told we could order an appetizer, a meal, and a dessert, plus two glasses of wine. So it probably wouldn’t have been THIS expensive, if we were just going there on our own. I wouldn’t have ordered an appetizer if they weren’t already comped, because there wasn’t anything I actually wanted. But since it was free, I figured I might as well try something new!
So What Does An $800 Fine Dining Meal (Near Disney World) Look Like?
Fine as hell! Kidding, just kidding.
Between the four of us, we had 4 appetizers, and 4 main dishes (which weirdly enough — or weirdly to me, didn’t include sides, just a protein), so then we had to also order 4 sides. Which we all tasted. Then there were about 8 glasses of wine, (2 each) — 4 different desserts, and 4 dessert wines. Which our server told us was “on her”, yet somehow ended up on the bill anyway? Whatever — again, the meal was comped, so it wasn’t a big deal, and they actually weren’t even expensive. It was just … weird. Anywho …
Here’s what we ordered …
Appetizers
- Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
- Wild Mushroom Risotto
- Seared Fennel Pollen Sea Scallops
- Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
Does the free basket of bread count as an appetizer, or?
Mains
- Bison Short Ribs
- Baked Stuffed Maine Lobster
- 8 oz Center Cut Filet Mignon
- Ora King Salmon
Sides
- Brussels Sprouts
- Fresh Asparagus
- Potatoes au Gratin
- Gnocchi
Desserts
- Ultimate Chocolate Sphere
- Roasted Banana Caramel Cake
- Spaghetti Vanilla Bean Gelato
- Limoncello Cheesecake
Wines
- Val D’Oca Prosecco
- Stemmari Moscato
And I’m not sure what the two dessert wines were but you can see a glance at one of the glasses above.
Of course, I’m missing a few things above since we were too excited to eat, to take photos of everything. Plus it was my birthday, and I technically wasn’t supposed to be working! But I couldn’t NOT share the good word with y’all, so you get the point.
If you think this all looks good, just know it tasted 2x as good as it looks! Cause let’s be honest, that steak looks sus. But it was absolutely delicious! And please, let me remind you again that I’m picky AF! Plus, I grew up in a Caribbean household, and Caribbean folks only eat Caribbean food 99.9% of the time. So I was a lost cause by like 6. However, now that I’m an “adult”, I’m forced to try new things, so my friends don’t keep making fun of my picky palate. And to be honest, I’m glad I did.
Is A Fine Dining Meal (Near Disney World) Worth The Extra Coins?
Abso-f*cking-lutely!
Or at least dinner at The Venetian Chop House at the Caribe Royale Orlando Hotel was!
If you’re heading to Walt Disney World for an adult trip, with whomever, you can’t go wrong by adding in at least one sit-down meal at a fine dining restaurant! I love snacking at the parks and attending the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot was great! But after a LONG a** day at Disney, sometimes I’m ready for a change of scenery. Plus when I travel, I like to step out of the “resort bubble” and “do as the locals do”.
So while you’ll find a few fine dining restaurants at the Disney Parks, you don’t have to stay on Disney property or in the parks, to enjoy a fine dining meal just because they’re close. There are other options close by. And the Caribe Royale Orlando Hotel is one of them. It’s about a 10-15 min Uber drive to Disney World? And the food alone at the hotel is worth staying here.
But if you’re celebrating a birthday or anniversary, a fine dining meal is the way to end your night!
Plus the service at The Venetian Chop House was great. (Minus those minor hiccups mentioned above.)
We got to dinner a bit later than expected, and were the last ones to leave! We were chatting it up, and having so much fun, we didn’t even realize the restaurant had closed and everyone had left! I never felt rushed. No one was just hanging out waiting for us to leave so they could grab our plates, or tried to hurry us through the meal so we could leave. Someone did ask if we wanted coffee, so he could shut down the machine, but that was it. And I loved that! Apparently, they close at 10 p.m., and we didn’t leave until about 11:30 p.m.?
Not to mention — my potatoes stayed hot my ENTIRE dinner. I’m still stunned. Like, how sway. When I went to pack up my little to-go box, they were still warm in the freaking box! Look, it’s really the little things for me, okay? And for that, this experience was totally worth it!
I can easily blow $100 on a normal day in NYC for dinner, so I guess a $250 dinner for my birthday should be no biggie, right? Okay, that sounds incredibly insane when I say that out loud! Now hold on one second. It was definitely worth it, but it’s even better if someone else picks up the tab. Okay!? Or if you just never tell me the price, and just swipe my card. ‘Cause whew!
But yes — totally worth it!