What: Full-service all-day dining
Where: Directly below the lobby overlooking the
pool
Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 11:00
p.m.
Price Range: $$$ - $$$$+
Reservations: Not required but highly recommended. Call (407) 503-3463
The hotel’s main dining room is a real winner, one that may give Emeril a run for his money in the gourmet dining sweepstakes at Royal Pacific.
The large dining area (the restaurant seats 380) is styled in the Indonesian fashion with louvered walls and ceiling fans hand-fashioned from silken hand fans. A service station takes the form of a fanciful Balinese hut, while Indonesian carved wooden panels divide the room into separate seating areas. Floor to ceiling windows seem to bring the pool area indoors and huge carved frogs from Indonesia stand sentinel-like, adding a whimsical touch. Alcoves along one side of the room serve as added dining space, or buffet lines, one of them set aside for the special evening kids’ buffet ($4), complete with kiddie-sized tables and chairs, a great way to give the grown-ups a mealtime break.
Most breakfast tastes can be accommodated — there’s even a Japanese breakfast option — with the typical a la carte breakfast running just over $15. Unless, of course, you order one of the fancier Eggs Benedict offerings, in which case your bill could easily exceed $16.50, the price of the sumptuous, all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet that includes made-to-order eggs and omelettes. The children’s version of the breakfast buffet is $7.50.
The lunch menu overlaps only slightly with the dinner menu, but offers more moderate prices. For example, a New York Strip Steak (very good by the way) is $16.50 at lunch, $25 at dinner. Sandwiches ($9 to $12) are also available and include South Seas versions of the standard burger and the traditional club sandwich.
Dinner is where the kitchen at Islands Dining Room comes into its own. Islands turns out some of the best dinner entrees at any of the resort hotels, with prices to match. It is easy to spend $30 to $35 or more per person on food alone, without drinks, tax, or tip. For many people that will put dinner here in the “special occasion” category, although the aforementioned $4 kids’ buffet may lessen the impact on the old wallet. The menu also calls out some less expensive (and less adventuresome) choices. That being said, I don’t think you will leave the table disappointed.
The appetizers ($9 to $12) are very good indeed. Salads ($8 to $15) include a wonderfully simple “Seven Leaf” with lemon-soy vinaigrette.
Entrees ($15 to $28) range from upscale versions of homey dishes like udon noodles and fried rice to a buttery filet mignon ($28). The seafood choices ($19 to $26) change seasonally so it’s hard to predict what you’ll encounter. Among those I have sampled the Pistachio Crusted Pacific Sea Bass and the Black Cod in Sake-Miso were especially good.
Desserts (just over $6) are superb. The serving sizes are modest with presentation every bit as important as taste. The consensus is that the Dark Chocolate Souffle and the Fly Away Creme Brulee (a mini-masterpiece of Japanese-style minimalist art) are the best.
The Islands Dining Room features Character Dining (I’ve spotted Curious George and Woody Woodpecker) and strolling entertainers. Several nights a week a seafood or American buffet is offered for $25, with entertainment to match. You may also see a witch-doctor magician moving from table to table or hear strolling Pacific-islands musicians.
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