Our adventures in Baldwin Park, Orlando, FL
We spent a couple days in Baldwin Park, FL. A fantastic area for wining, dining and taking an evening stroll in the warm night air. Our favorite cuisine in the area was Seito Sushi, and for beverages Tactical Brewing Co, and we also quite enjoyed renting bicycles from Pedego to see the sights.
Places to dine at Baldwin Park, FL
Seito Sushi
This Award winning restaurant did not disappoint. Seito Sushi offers an amazing selection of Sushi and Japanese Cuisine. This was our first meal of the night, so we shared a specialty sushi roll and we both had a cocktail. The sushi was fresh and delicious with a standard roll serving size large enough for us to split and reasonably priced. Michael had a Japanese Old fashioned, which proved to be smooth and complex. Expertly crafted with just the right amount of sweetness and citrus to complement the Japanese whiskey and not mask it. Onalea enjoyed a Stardust that had Coconut Cartel rum, yuzu, pineapple, coconut, star anise, and nutmeg topped with a pretty flower.
The Osprey
The Osprey is a fine dining establishment mainly focusing on seafood. The main meals were priced accordingly ranging from 25 + for most entrees. We decided to split an appetizer, the Josper Grilled Shrimp. The shrimp came out whole (heads still on) which freaked Onalea out a little, but Michael was excited to try something new. We had to ask a waiter the best way to eat them. After getting a quick lesson on how to properly pull the head of the shrimp we dug in. They were amazing, leaving the head on definitely added to the flavor of the shrimp. You had the taste of the sea with plenty of Vadouvan curry butter making every bite a true delight.
Michael has never met a flight of alcohol that he would not try and they offered a rum flight here. So, we of course had to try that! We both found a rum that we truly enjoyed. Michael preferred the “smokey one”, Onalea preferred “smooth one”.
La Bella Luna
Be sure not to miss the Italian restaurant La Bella Luna! We decided to take advantage of their happy hour special of Mussels and a couple drinks. Michael had the house red wine and Onalea a beer. Once the waitress left us with our order, we quickly googled how to eat mussels. We also verified our research when the waitress came back that we were eating them the correct way. We sat outside for the next two hours watching the sunset as we sat there with our laptops open sipping wine and talking about our next blog article. Michael thought the mussels were good being the first time eating them it is hard to compare. While we were there, we saw pizzas flying out the door. We confirmed with the waitress their pizzas are one of their most popular to-go items and they are constantly sending out grub hub orders. The red wine was a nice house red and they had a pretty standard selection of beers and with the happy hour special, the price was right.
Gator’s Dockside
I think the best way to describe Gators Dockside is a Floridian Buffalo wild “Wings”. It was awesome! TV’s everywhere, solid bar menu with Burgers, Fish & chips, wings and gator. Being In Florida we ordered a Floridian draft beer and Gator tail. The bear was a nice red ale with good flavor. The gator came and it looked like small pieces of breaded chicken and there was a dipping sauce. Michael had to have the first bite and after confirming it does taste like chicken and the dipping sauce was awesome Onalea hesitantly tried her first bite and agreed it was good. We would definitely eat gator again and would recommend trying it.
Colibri
We at our lunch sitting outside of Colibri, a nice local Mexican restaurant. The view is amazing looking out over the lake or watching people bike, jog, or skateboard along the pathways. We split the sampler platter to get a taste of a variety of their food. Michael alerted the waiter of his food allergy and the waiter verified that there would be no bell peppers in the dish. The meal came out a little slower than pre pandemic but nothing to complain about, time is irrelevant when the view is gorgeous and the brews are cold.
When the plate was delivered to the table the waiter informed us that one of the dishes in the sample did have bell peppers and asked what we would like to substitute it with. We were very grateful to the kitchen and the waiter for catching this but wish we would have known before so we could have substituted something to come with the rest or picked a different dish. So, we placed our order for the substitute. The food was good Mexican food. Onalea fell in love with their guacamole proclaiming this was the best she has had while Michael enjoyed the food but did not find anything special. We were just starting our day so stayed away from the margaritas, with much sorrow in our hearts.
Five Guys (national chain)
We did not go here but it is nice to know that with all amazing new things to try there is a place where you know exactly what their burger and fries taste like. And if you don’t know then you should, Five Guys makes great burgers!
There are other restaurants in the area, but we just did not have the time to sample them all.
Places to Drink at Baldwin Park, FL
Tactical Brewing Co.
If you are in the area and like beer, then you need to stop at the Tactical Brewing Co brewery. They offer a wide selection of beers, both theirs and a couple of guest taps. When we visited, they had 18 beers on tap and had a nice flight offering. We shared a couple of flights before Michael decided to stick to an imperial stout that he really enjoyed while Onalea became smitten with the Red Ale. In addition to beer, they also have some amazing popcorn for sale to snack on. We shared a bag of their truffle butter popcorn. They also offer growlers to go, happy hour specials and live music. It is a place for every occasion if you are a beer enthusiast.
Admiral Cigar Club
This place reminds you of the old-time cigar bars you see on TV with humidors full of cigars and a staff that is both helpful and knowledgeable. Admiral Cigar Club has a large selection of cigars to choose from along with an amazing assortment of spirits. We had the tobacconist select a nice cigar to go with our drinks and sat and enjoyed the night. Michael drank a whiskey drink and Onalea had a rum cocktail. We shared the cigar. It was not too harsh with a nice vanilla aftertaste. We enjoyed people-watching and sharing our cigar. I would say the atmosphere was what I would call friendly sophistication. Casual, yet classy.
The Wildflower
This is an off shoot of Colibri, it even shares the same bathroom. The Wildflower is a cocktail bar with a trendy interior. From the comfy couches to the artwork on the wall. We came here just as they were opening around 5pm and the bartender stated they get most of their clientele later in the night. We both had cocktails from the menu, while they were well made there was nothing that really stood out. We both had our laptops with us because we had been working on and off and were not looking for a wild night and the staff didn’t mind us spreading out. Their menu had snacks listed but they did not have any to offer other than the restaurant next door.
Things to do at Baldwin Park, FL
Pedego Electric Bikes
Pedego eclectic bike shop is a new addition to Baldwin Park and if you have never ridden an electric bike, you should. One of our favorite times in Alaska is when we spent a day on bikes on the Tony Knowles Costal Trail. We decided to just rent the bike for an hour and take a relaxing 2.5 mile ride on the Baldwin Loop and stop and visit the Orlando Veteran’s Memorial Park.
We both rode around the trail a couple times stopping to take pictures, pedaling when we wanted and enjoying the area. They also have half day and whole day rentals with other trails to ride if you are looking to clock some extra miles.
Escape Artists
We did not get a chance to visit this escape room but Escape rooms are an amazing time. This one has some great online reviews, and this is on the top of our to-do list if we get a chance to go back to this fun area. If you’re in town and you like puzzles, check them out!