This gem truly is hidden away, below the entrance to Maria & Enzo’s and behind the Edison (both sister restaurants). It’s a quiet respite that also serves excellent food.

The name doesn’t exactly exude culinary confidence or creativity. Such a name tells me the owners are more interested in a drinking clientele so any food served would be secondary. But when I found myself in the area looking for a place to eat after my destination restaurant was unexpectedly closed, I decided to give it a try.

I liked it very much.

F&D, the food and drink restaurant group, has opened its second, or maybe third, Mexican/Tex-Mex brand, F&D Cantina, in Thornton Park. The restaurant moved in to the space that was Jax Thornton Park since 2017. Prior to that in was Baoery and more famously Cityfish. It began its life, in the early 2000s, as Central City Market when the mixed-use building was new.

Crispy Pig Snacks is the defining dish at F&D Kitchen and Bar. It shows the creative promise that this Lake Mary restaurant could achieve, but it also demonstrates where it falls short.

F&D occupies a space that has in fewer than eight years has been home to four restaurants I can name off the top of my head, and I’m pretty sure I might have missed one or two. Some of them, such as Jinja, Shan and Rikka, all had menus with an Asian influence.

The menu of the current occupant is mostly anchored in North America, with a decided dedication to Central Florida, at least in terms of sourcing. The chef is Pete Morales, a graduate of Johnson and Wales University in South Florida, and an alumnus of the estimable Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, as well as other popular restaurants, including Yardbird Southern Bar & Table and Swine Southern Bar & Table. (How did people come up with restaurant names before the ampersand was invented?)

Most of the menu is straightforward, though nothing I would call boring. There were several interesting selections.

Firebirds is a Charlotte, North Carolina, based chain started in 2000 by Dennis L. Thompson, who co-founded Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon. There are 34 locations (over two million dollars in bar inventory!); the Orlando restaurant is the company’s first in Florida.

The menu features little creativity yet tries to offer something for everyone. You’ve got your steaks, chicken dishes, various fish, burgers, meatloaf, five salads, distinguished from four others designated “Firebirds Signature Salads.” (The “Soups of the Day” section has eight selections, so figure that one out.) Most everything I tasted was just fine, though nothing rose to a level of wonderful.

There are other locations of this popular breakfast and lunch spot in the area, but this one is unique in that it has a bar. Not a fully stocked bar, mind you, but a careful selection of appropriate cocktails. The food is good, too, with an emphasis on fresh cooking

The Lake Mary FishBones impresses first with its size and splashy décor. It is easy to believe the rumors that put the price tag for the new restaurant somewhere around $6.5 million. There are multiple dining rooms as well as a sushi bar, indoor lounge and outdoor bar with tables that feature personal gas fireplaces. There are numerous display aquariums with exotic marine life plus a live fish tank for your dinner selections. Among the upscale decorations and touches of classiness are numerous glass works by Tampa artist Duncan McClellan. Directly behind the host stand is an immense wood-fired grill, which is something of a trademark in various Talk of the Town restaurants.
The sushi selections are listed as bait, an unfortunate pandering to those who think of raw fish only in derogative terms.
This is a second location for a Sand Lake Road restaurant – sort of. The two really are quite different, and I don’t recommend the Sand Lake Road version. The Lake Mary restaurant is big and splashy, and steaks are treated with the same skillful deftness as seafood. Try any of the fresh fish and sample some of the sushi. One dessert will serve four people.

And just like that, Flying Fish, formerly known as Flying Fish Cafe, has become arguably the second most elegant restaurant at Walt Disney World. In my estimation, only Victoria & Albert’s offers a more upscale decor.
There is still an on-stage kitchen, and instead of the tiled chef’s counter, gathering-height tables may be abutted next to the kitchen counter to affect chef tables of various sizes.

Speaking of the chef, there’s a new one in charge to go with the updated decor. And Tim Majoras, pictured at top, figured he might as well go and redesign the menu.

No, the potato-wrapped snapper first introduced by the restaurant’s original chef, John State, and retained by his successors is gone. I don’t think anyone will really miss it.

While cakes, pastries and other assorted baked sweets are a focus, chef Stuart Whitfield’s menu makes a few forays into savory territory, mainly with soups, salads and sandwiches. A chicken pot pie is offered daily. Well, nightly, only after 4:30 p.m. All of the food I sampled was of high quality and expertly prepared.

However, the experience of eating there is less enjoyable, at least when there is a full house, as when I visited for lunch with a friend. And the process is a bit confusing, even with someone at the front door attempting to explain it.

It’s Greek, and it’s on the corner; you can’t get more succinct that that. But no corners are cut on the quality. All your Greek favorites are here, served in a small, unassuming space.
I supped on the melitzanosalat, a dip made with roasted eggplant, and followed with a bowl of tangy avgolemeno, the chicken soup thickened with a lemony egg sauce. For my main course I had the moussaka, a big brick of seasoned beef, eggplant and potatoes topped with a fluffy bechamel. Substantial and delicious.
If it’s a warm day – it’s Florida, the odds are in your favor – sit on the patio, across the street from Lake Ivanhoe.