This restaurant was originally called Lombard’s Landing; not sure why that was changed to Lombard’s Seafood Grille — maybe people thought Landing had something to do with an airstrip. No, no – this Lombard’s is the street that runs into San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. The food here has never been special but it’s usually palatable. And as one of only two full-service restaurants inside the theme park (Finnegan’s Bar & Grill is the other) it’s the choice for people who’d rather not do the self-service thing.

MOOR is inside the Gaylord Palms Resort in the space that previously was Sunset Sam’s. There have been subtle changes to the decor, but the main scenery element — a tall ship “floating” in a waterway inside the resort’s massive terrarium of a lobby — remains.

Seafood is a forte here, and it’s all done well.

In fact, the restaurant’s new name is inspired by the connection that ties boat to land, although the menu also suggests an acronym that celebrates the regional cuisine: Mindful Of Our Resources.

Whatever, I’ll have some MOOR, please.

Narcoossee’s has always been something of a disappointment to me. I always left it wishing it had been better than it was, which was mostly so-so.

But now the restaurant is on a new path. The chef has refreshed the menu, and it seems the kitchen has a renewed interest in turning out more exciting dishes. If you’re really adventurous, try the crispy whole snapper, presented as though swimming on your plate. If that’s too graphic, have the togarashi-spiced tuna and jumbo prawn. If the roasted beet salad is available, grab it.

Now serving a very pleasant waterfront brunch. Read about that here: http://goo.gl/ZVqxjb

An upscale seafood (Ocean) and steak (Prime) supper club (live music) in the vein of The Oceanaire Seafood Room. The main dining room features warm wood walls with huge five-foot portholes that look through to the lounge area. (The dining room has its own bar for more intimate imbibing, a nice touch.) Touches of blue neon and a soft glow from drumlike light fixtures offer romantic notes, and white tablecloths and candles with frosted shades add a touch of elegance.
A “surf n turf” appetizer had lovely sea scallops and boneless short ribs plopped together in a smallish bowl with way too mashed potatoes. Good scallops, good ribs, bad presentation.
Onion soup was distinguished by a near lack of broth under heavy cheese; she-crab soup had a slight astringency and was not nearly as rich as it should have been.
Service was professional and thorough, and once the kitchen makes the right improvements, Ocean Prime will be a good choice.

The promise of a good seafood restaurant has sailed into Central Florida aboard The Oceanaire. The Oceanaire Seafood Room is meant to take you back in time, with its interior that suggests a 1930s ocean liner.
Sample some of the fresh fish selections after you enjoy the crab cake appetizer. On one visit, my companion had the wahoo, or ono, a mild fish similar to the mackerel. On another visit, there was a monkfish from Georges Bank. It had the characteristic texture that mimics lobster meat but was a thick steak cut with the center cord intact. Not the prettiest presentation, but quite good.
It’s a bit pricey, but quality is worth paying for.
The Oceanaire brand was recently purchased by the Landry’s Seafood organization, but so far it seems the quality is being maintained.

Paddlefish is the reimagined Fulton’s Crab House (née Empress Lily), on the nonfloating structure made to resemble a vintage paddlewheel river boat.

It’s less vintage-y with the recent renovation, which gave it a modern look, both inside and out (though the frozen-in-place paddles remain).

This is a huge facility, but it features several smaller dining rooms that keep it from feeling like a large main feeding room on a cruise ship.

Poke Hana is one of the more recent entries among the the local poke providers. It occupies a rather spartan but colorful spot in a storefront on East Colonial Drive in the Mills 50 district. One supposes the decor is meant to approximate a beachside shack somewhere in Hawaii. There are long narrow tables (too narrow, really, for two people to sit across from one another) with yellow and white metal chairs that no one would ever look at and think, “Boy, those sure look comfortable.” Touches of neon, ceiling fans with a rattan look, and a projector splashing a video of surfers on one of the walls completes the Maui-like mien.

It wants to be thought of as an inland contemporary fish camp, but there isn’t anything campy about it. But the seafood is good, so there’s that.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a big new JW Marriott has appeared and along with it a pretty darned good restaurant, Sear + Sea Woodfire Grill.

The hotel is a new neighbor of other large hotels like the Waldorf Astoria, Hilton and Wyndham in the area known as Bonnet Creek. In fact, if you sit on the restaurant’s comfortably spacious veranda, as I did on my recent visit, you’ll have a view of the actual creek and its woody banks just below.

As you might deduce from the clever name, Sear + Sea is a steak and seafood restaurant, which might sound a bit ho-hum at first. But the menu, under the direction of chef de cuisine Alex Pyser, is creative and appealing.

There’s no denying that the setting for the dining room here, with expansive windows into the titanic aquarium filled with exotic sea life, is impressive. It would be a terrific place to have dinner if it wasn’t for the lousy food. There isn’t anything wrong with the menu, it’s fairly straightforward with a little of something for any taste. But the execution and quality are sub par. And I don’t know why that should be. All it would take, it seems to me, is a desire to do better food. But apparently management believes the crowds will come for the view alone, food be damned. Pity.