New home for Longwood favorite

Journeys, the award-winning restaurant that has spent the last six years tucked away in a hard-to-spot location in Longwood, opens in its new spot tonight. It’s still not something you’d see just driving by — in fact you have to gain admittance from a security guard at the front gate, but the new space has more advantages.

Bram and Geraldine Fowler have moved their restaurant to the clubhouse in the gated community of Alaqua, hence the new name, Journeys at Alaqua. I stopped in the othe day and took a peek.

The restaurant is the main focus of the golf course’s clubhouse and occupies the center space. The dining room is a vast area, a big change from the small rooms of the Longwood location. There is also a full bar and lounge, something Journeys didn’t have before.

There is also a large patio area overlooking a greenway and woods beyond. I hope the Fowlers take advantage of the outdoor space; it’s beautiful. Journeys regulars — and there are many, enough to award it a Best Restaurant Overall Foodie — will note the artwork that was carried over from the other space: the high-resolution black-and-white prints of monuments throughout the world that give the restaurant its identity.

I grabbed a menu for opening week and the dishes look good, as always. But chef Bram is offering a three-course prix fixe menu for $25 that is a terrific deal.

Getting to Journeys is, well, a journey, especially from downtown Orlando. It’s about four miles north of State Road 434 on Markham Woods Road to the gates of Alaqua. A guard must wave your through, then it’s about a mile down the road past many mansions, some of which prove that just because some people have a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean they also have good taste.

Journeys at Alaqua is open for lunch and dinner. The address is 2091 Alaqua Drive, Longwood. The phone number is 407-629-2221. For a look at the menu, visit the Web site.