Polonia: Great Temporary Trip to Poland

So throughout my journey through Florida the one type of food I have yet to experience is that of the Polish. From what I’ve been told and from what I’ve seen, it’s a very meat-and-potatoes type of cuisine. And, being a fan of both I decided to finally try a strongly recommended Polish restaurant in Longwood, located just off the outskirts of Orlando. Polonia Polish Restaurant, after bouncing around through Key West and Winter Park, has emerged as one of the highest-rated restaurants in the area.




From the outside, the restaurant doesn’t look like much. A tall sign, a building with one dominating color, and a small parking lot. Not much more than that. However, inside the atmosphere immediately changes as you have music in the background, people dancing, different European accents bouncing around, and a very simplistic theme accompanied by a home-friendly feeling. The menu isn’t big, but quite varied—and the only difference between the lunch and dinner options is price and most likely the serving size. For lunch I decided to tackle the potato pancakes for my appetizer, and then attempt the Polish Trio for the entrée. The Polish Trio consists of three typical Polish foods: stuffed cabbage, pierogi, and kielbasa.




With a brief wait, the potato pancakes arrive with some apple sauce on the side. Picture a thicker hash brown with more flavor and a crispier texture. These round cakes of awesomeness hit the spot and are surprisingly more filling than meets the eye. The apple sauce had the texture of almost like a creamy shredded cheese, but still had that nice kick of apple that complimented the pancakes quite well. If you are a fan of potatoes, then these are a must-have. Thick, fresh, and tasty, it was a nice way to kick off the lunch.





And then came the Trio. Like a wonderful cinematic trilogy, each item was great in their own special way, but altogether created a nearly flawless lunch. I started with the kielbasa (it can come fresh or cooked—I picked cooked) and they were two large pieces of thick sausage. They were very good, very hearty and with a side item alone it can constitute as a meal. I personally thought I was going to enjoy the pierogi the most since my mindset had decided that it’s basically ravioli made out of potato. The texture of the pierogi was very similar to that of a ravioli, but has less stuffing than your typical pasta dish. Nonetheless, they were good, and worked well with the sauce it was swimming on.



Lastly is the stuffed cabbage. I was much more skeptical with this dish because a) I don’t like cabbage and b) I don’t like cabbage. This almost made me a converter however because it was a pure delight from start to finish. You have the cabbage engulfing a nice bundle of meat and rice while tomato sauce (Or mushroom sauce, depending on what you choose) covers the whole thing. The cabbage on the outside nearly melts like butter while the cluster of meat and rice inside is soft, tasty, and mixes well with the sauce. It is very unique to what I usually eat, but it’s the good kind of unique.



Feeling good about the place I decided to attempt a dessert to finish off the lunch. Lemon mascarpone became the dessert of choice. This work of art is a very tall lemon pound cake with a sweet cheese filling in between the layers. In a small bit of cheating, this dessert is more Italian than Polish but they make the cake inside the restaurant from scratch. Like I said before, this is less a dessert and more a work of art as it was tasty heaven from the first bite to the last. You have a very tasty pound cake that wreaks of tasty lemon messing around with a cheese that is so sweet and so creamy I label it as one of the five best frostings/toppings I’ve ever had on a dessert. Seriously. It was my favorite part of the meal, and this is after having such a delightful lunch. And at less than $25 for this lunch, I definitely got my money’s worth.

Bottom Line: If all Polish food tastes this good, it is no wonder why Fredrick Chopin was able to write such beautiful music---he was always pleased with his meal. Ridiculously out-of-nowhere reference aside, Polonia is a wonderful cuisine experience that is essentially taking homestyle cooking of Poland and serving it to satisfied locals year-round. With great food, great service, and great prices, I have no reason to ever deter you away from this delightful place. From top to bottom, Polonia stands as one of the better Central Florida restaurants out there.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommend



P.S. You can take some of their food to go. Score one for the customer.


Polonia Polish Restaurant
750 South US Highway 17/92
Longwood, FL 32750

Atlantic Cove: Completing the Cuisine Trifecta

Pre-Note: This review is dedicated to Karly, the poor unfortunate soul that had to do double-duty as a hostess and a server during an extremely busy evening at the restaurant. You did great.

There is a small plaza area on the corner of International Drive and Central Florida Parkway that has been exploding in business and success. On one corner you have the popular Japanese joint Oishi and on the other side you have Thai Thani, an even bigger hit with the tourists. In between there was a small market that wasn’t really pushing good numbers. Well, that centerpiece became replaced by yet another restaurant. Here’s the fun catch, all three restaurants are run by the same owners, therefore are linked together in a way you usually don’t see in cuisine joints.


Atlantic Cove (open since 2012 Eve) is the centerpiece of the culinary trifecta in this plaza. This spot specializes in seafood while also serving up sushi, drinks, steak, and even food from the other restaurants in case you just aren’t craving what the spot offers. That being said, why go to Atlantic Cove if you want food elsew—never mind, off topic. Just like the other places, the presentation was slick, sleek, higher-class, and spacious enough to not drown you in claustrophobic pizzazz. Unfortunately though, when I went it was an extremely busy night, and the staff clearly wasn’t prepared for the insanity that was arriving.


Now, the staff was full of smiles and friendly faces, but clearly a lot of changes had happened for that night (Valentine’s Day) that didn’t exactly register well amongst the employees. Didn’t help that there was a party of infinity in the corner that had been dragging for two hours. The menu isn’t as big here as the other two restaurants, but the fact that you can ask for the other menus definitely makes up for it. Atlantic Cove boasts that they get the freshest seafood from all over the world---sea bass from Chile and salmon from around Scotland. I decided to give their sea bass ($30+) a shot while also fight against the ninja roll. Their main seafood entrees can be ordered in a variety of different ways (chargrilled, fried, etc.) in a variety of sauces (I went with lemon garlic, can’t go wrong there). The ninja roll is shrimp tempura and other assorted seafood mixed with avocado, spicy mayo, and special sauce.




Because the restaurant was getting its arsed kicked by massive parties, a plethora of people pouring in, and the Valentine’s Effect (One of the busiest evenings in the United States for restaurants), it took a while for my food to arrive. The sushi was taking longer than the main entrée, which was an interesting surprise. The sea bass arrived in all its glorious presentation. Now, the fish looked great but it could really do without the unnecessary greens that were embezzled underneath. The greens were not flavorful at all. The fish on the other hand was thick, had that nice fish taste, and was cooked just right. Left me wondering how they would have done with mahi-mahi (My favorite fish). That being said, that price tag of $32 is a bit much, even if the fish came from Chile. I personally believe if you are going to charge over $30 for a fish entrée (which are notoriously the least filling of the “meats”) at least throw a second side item option.




At least I have the ninja roll to fall back on. When this monstrosity of sushi arrived, it filled the stomach the rest of the way with its great mix of fried, tender, sweet, and spicy. This is by no means the nicest-looking sushi to present, but definitely one of the best I’ve ever had, and hands-down one of the best to offer to beginners in the sushi consumption game. This sushi doesn’t have the cold, fishy seafood taste that sushi is known for, while also giving a good kick of spice and fried to keep you awake. And at only $10, you can probably fill yourself up with two orders of these. The ninja roll is arguably my favorite sushi item in all of Orlando.


So this blog focuses not only on the best locals joints of Florida, but also the most unique. This place is definitely unique and got my attention because of its web-like connections. Under one massive roof you get three restaurants, each with different menus, several bars to choose from, and access to all three in one sitting. You can eat sushi from one spot, eat the main dish from the second, and then drink and have dessert in the third. If you are a big enough fan of this area, you can plan it so that it will be a very long time before you have two dinners that seem similar.


Bottom Line: Completing the triangle, triathlon, triceratops of restaurants in the area, Atlantic Cove is guaranteed to be another success story, despite its pricing and sometimes-long wait for food and service. If there’s something this place needs to work on, is its staffing as the demand was overpowering the manpower. But the food was definitely good, the service (when I got it) was fantastic, and I couldn’t ask for a nicer experience. While the price is on the uppity side, it’s a great date place, or just a good spot for higher-class seafood.

Final Verdict: Recommend. But with a full wallet.

Atlantic Cove
11025 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32821