Santiago’s Bodega, the Key West tapas restaurant that had a faltering opening in Orlando in 2013 then found its footing to the delight of hundreds of regulars, has now opened in the suburbs of Altamonte Springs.
The new restaurant, in the Springs Centre, improves on some shortcomings that the Orlando shop had to overcome — or continues to live with. It’s a larger space, including the lounge area, which has a nice, long bar. More notable, there is ample parking in the ready lot surrounding the Springs Centre, although on the evening that I visited the lot was being resurfaced and was roped off, so it was just like going to the SantiBo on Virginia Drive and having to circle around looking for a spot.
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Don’t you hate it when someone moves into to the neighborhood, does some painting and landscaping and generally makes your place look like crap?
That’s sort of what happened when Vanbarry’s moved into the neighborhood where Julie’s Waterfront had been living so comfortably — and unchallenged — for so long.
Vanbarry’s became an immediate hit. And it couldn’t even boast a waterfront venue like Julie’s. It’s across busy Orange Avenue and up a hill. But you can see the little lake from there, and that apparently was enough for the scores of people who have been flocking to the beachy pub ever since it opened in 2014.
So Julie’s did what most neighbors do when the newcomer shows them up — it spiffed up the outside with a new paint job.
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