It is unique among the downtown businesses – it’s a quiet place with a classy feel that puts the emphasis on good wine. It’s a terrific meeting space or neighborhood hangout without the manic music or big crowds you might find in some the neighboring restaurants and bars. It’s just what downtown needed.

Stylized African cuisine to go with the Animal Kingdom Lodge locale. The food is excellent and the wine cellar boasts the largest collection of South African wines outside of Africa. Jiko is worthy of being listed among the top tier restaurants at Walt Disney World.

The Parkview is a favorite wine bar and restaurant on Park Avenue. Besides a terrific lineup of wines (be sure to check out the wines offered with the Coravin device) the kitchen puts out some good food to accompany.

The full name is Spencer’s for Steaks & Chops, but that’s a bit limiting. Spencer’s is a terrific all-around restaurant. Be sure to try the crab cakes and fried poached egg appetizers. Steaks are first rate, but so is the double-cut lamb chop and king salmon (served under a glass dome filled with smoke). Although Spencer’s is located inside a hotel next to the Convention Center, this is a restaurant worthy of local attention. The decor is upscale casual, and a meal here is a relaxing evening.

Churrascaria means meat. Well, not literally. Churrascaria (tchoo-huh-scah-REE-uh) actually means house of barbecue, but to fans of this type of Brazilian steakhouse, it means meat, meat and more meat. Texas de Brazil is a small chain out of, no surprise here, Texas that is riding the wave of low-carb popularity with a new location on International Drive.
Here’s the way it works: you first visit the salad bar, which is more than just lettuce and condiments. You’ll find all manner of salad fixings plus such items as hearts of palm, tabbouleh, artichoke hearts, Brussels sprouts, roasted red peppers and, for some inexplicable reason, sushi.
When you’ve had enough of the salad bar — and my advice is to go easy there — the waiters, called gauchos and dressed accordingly — will start bringing large skewers of meats, sausages, chicken and seafood to your table. And they’ll keep bringing them until you tell them to stop. (You do that by turning a small disc on your table over so the red side is showing.)
The thing that keeps this from being just another glutfest is the quality of the meats, which is first-rate. Plus, the overall atmosphere is upscale and attractive.

Once the lobby and restroom area for the larger restaurant inside the Italy pavilion at Epcot, this new wine bar is small, and reservations are not accepted, but it offers some pretty good “small plates” and a robust list of wines to go with them.

Not your typical wine bar. It’s two stories, serves some serious food, and it’s all overseen by a certified master sommelier, George Miliotes, who loves to introduce his guests to new wines. If he makes a suggestion, take it.

A sort of Wine-O-Mat concept wherein you pay as much as you want and are handed a debit card with that amount loaded on it. Then you wander about the space, which has dozens of automated wine stations. When you spot a wine you want to sample, you select it, insert your card, and place your glass under the spigot. Sample, sip, repeat. But don’t expect a lot in the way of nibbles. A meager cheese platter may be your only hope.