The original plan was to visit a Polish restaurant in the outskirts of Downtown Orlando. After about an hour of searching, I failed miserably and couldn’t find the darn place. I drove back home, disappointed, but still determined to find a spot. Going down International Drive I noticed that there was a restaurant I had never seen before. About a mile away from Sea World’s Aquatica was this Italian steakhouse. What intrigued me was its premise: not an Italian restaurant, but an Italian steakhouse. Delmonico’s Steakhouse became the next adventure in the Floridian Cuisine Experience.
The inside of the place was a mix of higher-class Italian flair, old-school Italian mobster costumes, ode to the Frank Sinatra lifestyle, and finally some tongue-in-cheek flavor. There were caricatures all over the place, a room dedicated to Sinatra, and a massive bar in the exact center of the restaurant. They made great use of the building space with a plentiful amount of tables with enough room in between them. Now, Delmonicos qualifies as a local joint because it’s the only one of its kind----in Florida. There are four locations in New York, but Orlando became their first joint outside the Big Apple state.
Delmonico’s menu was a bit small for an Italian restaurant. I guess the steakhouse title was a preceding warning of the smaller quantity of food to choose from. Even more shocking was the exclusion of pizza. No pizza in an Italian place? Now I know this place is trying to draw away the younger crowd, in a nice manner anyway. There are a slew of pasta dishes and a slew of steaks to choose from. I decided to go with the garlic cheese bread and also their signature dish: Delmonico Steak. Ripping this from the menu, it consists of: 24 oz certified Angus Beef, Center Cut Rib-eye Steak from Midwestern Heavy Aged Beef, seasoned and perfectly seared---Served with Penne Marinara. My server warned me that this steak is heavy on the fat; they don’t remove any of it. My response? Bring it on. I also decided to run with an order of meatballs.
I received my garlic cheese bread, which was decent. Nothing too special, and definitely nothing when compared to the likes of my first Italian restaurant experience (La-Forchetta). There was the right amount of cheese and butter and the bread was hot and thick. Then they flipped the switch by giving me the free bread afterwards. If I had known I was getting free bread (which was fantastic, from the fresh dough to the creamy butter) I never would have asked for the garlic bread. Now, I didn’t regret the ordering, but I am stuffing up on bread before taking on a 24 oz steak with pasta with none of the fat removed. I was about to get hammered.
The steak arrives.
I’m gonna get hammered.
This is hands-down, no question about it, the juiciest steak I have ever experienced in my entire life. Puddles of calories were oozing out as I chopped it up. No, the calories may sound like a complaint, but its actually a compliment---and a warning. If you are watching your diet, do not order this by any means. But if you want a damn good steak regardless of fat, then look no further. Inching its way into the Top 3 Steaks I’ve Ever Had with Le Cellier and Charley’s Steakhouse, the Delmonico delivered as it gives you plenty of meat, plenty of juicy flavor, plenty of tenderness, at a whopping price of: $20!?!?!? That’s it? And let’s not forget, this actually comes with pasta! Compare that to Charley’s Steakhouse, which won’t even give you the prices in its own menu.
I personally am more of a pasta fan as opposed to steak, but decided to go with the steak since it was the restaurant’s most popular menu. The dish of penne pasta however was quite good. They give you plenty of sauce without drowning the thing, and the pasta itself tasted fresh, and wasn’t overloaded on toppings. The meatballs were the big surprise of the night though. I honestly expected a small dish, and three small rounds of meat to put with the pasta. Instead I got these gigantic towers of meat with sauce all over and under it. The meatballs were very soft, very chewy, and had a great blend of meat and minimal vegetables inside. The only thing missing was ricotta cheese, which is something that very few meatballs do (although its done to perfection in the Hollywood Studios pasta joints). The steak killed me however, as I couldn’t finish it, it was so rich I was regretting touching any bread before taking on the mammoth.
Bottom Line: Delmonico’s is quirky enough to deviate from the norm, but lets the food, not the presentation, do all the quality talking. This place offers great food at reasonable prices albeit having a small menu. The steak here was a delicate surprise, and a monster overall. When I visited, this place did pasta and steaks right—what more could you ask for? The service was great, as the attractive (always a plus, and hush up female audience, this enhances any dinner, that’s a fact of life) staff engaged in conversations with you, as opposed to just throwing food on the table and running away. Prices were good, staff was good, food was good, and this spot hit all the right cylinders. And with the Italian music lightly interacting in the background, you feel like you are in a non-violent scene in Goodfellas.
All I need is Spider serving me a drink.
Give yourself 20 points if you understood what I meant.
Final Verdict: Recommend
Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse
6115 Westwood Blvd.
@ International Drive
Orlando, FL 32821
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