Spectacular!! Food and drinks phenomenal and the service even better. Asked for a special rum flight and was immediately accommodated. Some of the best octopus tapas ever had. If you don't try the Sangria sorbet goat cheesecake you don't k ow what you are missing read more

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The bar service was "ok". Very overwhelmed. I had the seafood stew... the serving was good but the amount of seafood was minimal. The main issue was the presentation...to me a stew is a thick dish. This was more a thin soup with pasta and seafood swimming in broth Taste-good Presentation-bad Pee menu-very bad Value-lacking read more

Best overall in Universal, Orlando. Service was great, food was excellent, and the ambience was calming after a long exciting day. Smaller portions let you choose more than one and we wanted to try multiple menu items. Their kids meals even looked delicious. Thanks, glad we found you close to our hotel. read more

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This is a beautiful restaurant with a nice selection of rum-focused cocktails and small plates foods from rum-producing areas. I enjoyed the view sitting outside. It was easy to get a table during the week, which made it convenient for us as resort guests. Our service left a little to be desired. The food is served tapas style, but everything was brought out all at once. I wish they would have coursed it so we could enjoy dishes without food getting cold. It was surprising how long things took given that the restaurant didn't appear very busy. The food was hit or miss. Our server recommended the lomo saltado, but we found the meat to be a little overcooked. The salmon belly crudo was just ok: not a lot going on, with fish that didn't blow us away in terms of quality. The garlic shrimp was excellent, and the fruity cheesecake with sangria sorbet was a delicious thing to share for a sweet end to the meal. The cocktails were generally great. I'd skip the milk punch if I were to return, but I'd get the tavern grog again in a heartbeat, and I loved the blueberry basil shrub concoction. Beware--if you're used to the weak drinks in amusement parks, this is not that (which is nice for a change). All in all, I'd return if I was staying at the hotel again, especially for cocktails, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here for food. read more

Strong Water Tavern - Cheesecake - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

This was my favorite place to part take in during our stay at Loews Sapphire Falls hotel. We stopped by on a Saturday night around 8:30 pm at Strong Water Tavern. The vibe was a tropical Caribbean bar feel from start to finish. Giant rum selection, wood accents, and live Caribbean music was being sung. House-aged vintage and exotics rums, cocktails, wines, beer you name it they got it. Nice balance of drinks if rum isn't your thing. The tapas menu is what you would expect from a Caribbean-inspired place. Foods from little Havana, Jamaica, Mexico, U.S.V.I. and Venezuela to name a few. We ordered a few plates like tuna tartare, beefsteak empanadas, and Lomo Saltado, all came out when they were plated. The portion was plenty full for being a tapas style, enough for dinner. Service was good for our party of three, friendly and beverages were refilled quickly. Live music gave this tavern a fun, social vibe perfect for a Saturday night. Would return if I was staying at this resort at Universal. read more

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Very cool place to come and have some drinks. Plenty of space on the inside and they also have an outdoor area with a fire pit. It was pretty crowded so we ordered our drinks at the bar and before going outside by the fire pit. Drinks were good and I look forward to coming back here in the near future. read more

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I absolutely love this restaurant! I've been twice and both times I've celebrated something special. Our server, Angel, has waited on us both times and he's be an absolute ANGEL!! Food is delicious, drinks are great, and the atmosphere is perfect for a chill night after spending an entire day at the parks. 10/10 recommend. read more

Whenever I come to Universal I always stop in at Strong Water. They have some of the best food options on property. I just beg you to never get rid of the pork belly tacos and bring back the sliced ahi tuna dish with the melons and plaintain chips. That was my absolute favorite! The new tuna tartar is okay but bring back the old one, it was so good! The ambiance is a lot of fun. It's a very nice bar and they do have live music on the weekends. It's a full service bar but they're known for their rum forward drinks. The service is always great here. I've never had any issues. Christian is one of my favorite bartenders. He makes me the best drinks just knowing the spirits I like. He's very attentive, funny, and makes great recommendations. Highly recommend this spot! read more

Strong Water Tavern - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

I booked a stay at Sapphire Falls resort for my husband's birthday. Just one night as we both work too much so I wanted it to be special. Of course it rained on and off all night, leaving us to figure out dinner. Rather then venture out we decided on Stron Water as it was in our resort. A minimal wait, I booked our reservation online but they sat us even earlier. The restaurant is an open floor plan with a wrap around balcony seating area overlooking the water. The bar was popular and they have an amazing drink menu. For guests not looking to be seated they have a take out bar area. The food? Tapas style dishes represented on menu by different countries. Lots of variety to choose from. We chose 3 bites to share. Our first? From the Columbian section of menu we ordered the Lomo Saltaedo. (Which I believe is actually Peruvian). It was delicious. Tender beef and flavorful veggies. Of all our orders I was impressed by the freshness of the produce used. Crispy, juicy and not over cooked. Perfect. From the Puerto Rico section of the menu we chose the chicken skewers. These were fantastic! A flavorful marinated chicken with plantains, onions and peppers. Cooked perfectly. I wanted another order immediately! Our last? The sliders. Simple burgers that tasted b like your dad made them on the grill with a mustard sauce for spreading. Our service? Good. He took our photo and upon noticing my husband's birthday pin brought us a free dessert...one Id been eyeing their cheesecake! Fantastic. Fig sauce and topped with a sorbet. The only small beef with service is he could have checked on us a couple more times (drink refills and just to follow up on food or sell us another plate!). Overall? We both loved this visit! I live locally and based on our experience would drive to this resort simply for this restaurant! We will definitely be back to try more of their menu! Recommend! read more

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I am at a conference in Orlando being held at the Loews Sapphire hotel. This is my first time staying here. I travel a lot for work, and have been in Orlando 3 times in the past month, so I know what to expect at Disney and I-Drive hotels. I arrived at the hotel around 1 pm and asked the front desk where I could get lunch. They advised Anastasia restaurant. I went downstairs and they said they were only serving brunch. It was $90 per person (it was Mother's Day) I asked for other options. They sent me outside to the pool but after walking past splashing children and never finding where to order, I took an uber to Disney springs for lunch. Due to the rain, I returned to the hotel for dinner. At 8:30 I went to strong water tavern for dinner. It had not been open during the day. The host said it would be a 2 hour wait. There were many open tables so it was because they didn't have staff. I asked if I could order to-go. He directed me to stand in a line at the bar. There were 4 people in front of me, 2 of whom had already ordered and were waiting to pick up food. After 15 minutes in this line the first person received their food. It was 35 minutes before I got to order my food. The bartenders (I think only 2, maybe it was only one) was taking care of the 30 guests at the bar, plus making drinks for the tables. They were working hard. I even got on my phone to see if I could place an order that way on the website, but that wasn't an option. I finally reached the counter and ordered and was told it would be 25-30 minutes. Maybe I'm just tired from a day of travel, and frustrated due to lack of food options, but I honestly am feeling so upset. It is now 9:30 pm and I don't like the feeling of being stranded with no food options in such a big hotel. I am not sure what to do for the remainder of the week. I just assume when I go to a conference the hotel will have food options. I will let the conference planners know this was an issue on the hotel side. I wanted to leave this review in case there was anyone else traveling who needed to know the lack of food options. I took a screenshot and there are options within universal studios park, but not at the hotel. I don't know what to do about breakfast. Or should I just pay for an uber or delivery? I'm sure the conference will take care of other meals. When I finally got desserts for my friend and I they were just okay. I don't typically leave such a long review, but the lack of options really has me upset. I will note my server (bartender) was extremely kind. His name was Christian and he even personally walked the desserts to me while I was waiting in the lobby. read more

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So, so good. Had the grilled octopus and it was tender with great flavor. The ceviche had perfect shrimp and the sauces on the tuna tartare was perfect. The steak special was perfect for 5 of us and the plantains are some of the best I've had. They also make great drinks and the servers like Mikey and Chris really know how to make your experience special. Thank you for a great visit during a work conference. read more

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Came here for an early dinner on a Sunday and it wasn't super busy, so we were seated immediately. The restaurant is quite spacious with large windows. The tables are nice and spaced out. The menu is separated into different sections (ceviche, Cuban, Jamaican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Bahamas, USVI, and Colombian). Everything was sort of tapas style and shareable, so we tried to get a variety of dishes For Cuba, we got the arroz con pollo For Jamaican, griot For Mexican, pork belly tacos USVI, chicken tenders Puerto Rico, chicken skewers Colombia, empanadas Everything was delicious and super sharable. The sauces were so flavorful and everything was fresh. Would come back again to try other dishes. read more

Strong Water Tavern - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

We had Haitian Groit with plantain's, Tapas style. It was all meat, no fatty pieces, and it was huge! Hamburger sliders (not so good, weird kinda smokey), Coconut Rice (extremely tasty!), and for dessert, Coconut yogurt with blueberries and peanut (so good!). It was so good! Delicious. I would give it a 9 out of 10. The service was excellent! Even the outside, a manager asked he could take a picture of me! Sure you can! read more

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Delicious and authentic food. Chris from Baltimore took amazingly good care of us, thank you Chris!!

If you're in the area and you're looking for a place to have tapas from many different places, (countries) look no further than the Strongwater Tavern. We received great service and this place has a wonderful vibe and it is welcoming. The food while everything is pretty small portions as they are tapas were all very tasty. They have an OK wine selection, lots of libation offers and obviously a decent beer selection. Cheers read more

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Dropped in for a late meal after the park, around 9:45. Cool inside vibes with dark leather and booths. Offerings include tapas, kids meals, a full bar with a strong rum focus. Live music in the eve which was really good. The good: Super friendly hosts and server. The food that was good, was really good. Drinks was great, loved the vibe as mentioned. Offer an outside deck as well with good views. The bad: We waited for an extended time for our food. I know we were hungry so I made sure it wasn't in my mind, but about 40 minutes for tapas (outside of one) was too long and 20 for my drink from the bar. It wasn't crowded inside, just a few tables at most. My daughter's tapa (tostados) was really good (per her) but really small- 4 small chips which was a bit too small for the price.. She ordered a kids meal to add on (she's 12). My son had the kids chicken tenders and fries, which surprisingly took the longest of all things. He enjoyed. My daughters had the chicken and cheese quesadillas, which were average good per them. My husband and I had the pork belly tacos, good size and amount, 2 full ones and delicious. We also ordered the chicken skewers with coconut risotto cakes (we were deterred from ordering the shrimp and steak as they are pre portioned so many times the steak is undercooked and shrimp overcooked). The chicken skewers looked great until we bit into them- 40 minute for cold ( it lukewarm) skewers. Definitely disappointed and we didn't eat them, and they removed from the bill as we didn't want to wait any longer with it being after 11 and technically the kitchen closing. 3.25 We had preordered dessert- churro ice cream and a pineapple upside down cake with bacon. Both were good, just didn't think the bacon complimented the pineapple cake at all and we didn't eat that part after first try. I would say, there is so much potential to be better, and maybe it was just an off night, but definitely left disappointed and snacking on my son's extra fries. read more

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First of all, the service was amazing! Our server was very knowledgeable about the drink and food menu. The Tavern is known for their selection of various rums and shareable style foods. We ordered the beef steak empanadas and the surf and turf. The empanadas were fantastic! They did a great job with them! The surf and turf however was not the best. Their surf and turf is a steak and shrimp skewer with vegetables. The skewer overall was over cooked and charred. The steak was too fatty and hard to cut. The chimichurri flavor was not present. The Tavern itself was right up my alley. The atmosphere overall had a chill and loungey feel. I know, "loungey" is not a word. Although, the surf and turf was not good, I would not let it deter me from trying it again. The drinks, empanadas, atmosphere, and most importantly the service is enough to go back. read more

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Love the food. Do not love the automatic gratuity added without notification when I'm a party of ONE. And do not love that they are stingy with the ceviche chips and when I asked for more the kitchen would not provide. Love the drinks too, so kind of on the fence about whether I will go back. Probably will to give it another try. read more

While staying at Loews Sapphire Resort I had the pleasure of spending a couple of evenings at Strong Tavern. They serve tapas style food from South America and the Caribbean. The short ribs were the best I had there but all the food I tried was good. The service was good as well. All the servers were attentive and friendly. Great atmosphere. I was there for a conference Abe the place was packed w professionals and families. This was a good venue and I will come back. read more

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This place has such a cool vibe. They even had live music right in front of a waterfront view. The menu plus the location (right in my hotel lobby) felt almost too good to be true! Sadly, the service was so tremendously slow that I wound up canceling most of my order and taking dessert to go. Swing and a miss. read more

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I went to the strong water tavern to celebrate a friend's birthday and had a good time. The ambiance of the place was definitely my favorite part. The patio overlooks the theme parks and there's pretty big fire pit you can sit by. I didn't order food but the drinks were pretty good. A little on the pricey side, but it's universal so that's expected. The service wasn't impressive, not sure if we just had a bad experience. It took a long time to even get a drink order in. We were definitely ready to leave about 30 minutes before our check finally arrived. Overall, beautiful restaurant and location & drinks are yummy. read more

Strong Water Tavern - The last typhoon - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

The ambiance was great. Specially their patio area. The food was overall good. The service wasn't bad but wasn't Ethel greatest. We would return for sure. read more

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I come to Orlando a couple times a year for work, and usually stay at the Aventura. However, this restaurant is always good enough to walk over to. The best thing on the menu, by far, is the Curry Goat. It's savory, filling, and just spicy enough to want to quench your thirst with some rum. As for drinks, they always have a local beer option on tap, and I also really like the milk punch. Prices are a bit high, but that's resort life! read more

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This restaurant and bar are located in the Sapphire Falls Hotel. The restaurant serves Latin, Caribbean tapas with a variety of options from Civeche to Empanadas. It has a warm, well decorated interior with windows facing the water. They offer live music on most nights. It's a nice touch to have some Latin jazz. The bar specializes in rum but has a full bar to your liking. We ordered 5 different tapas from tuna to short ribs. Everything was delicious. Service was very attentive and friendly with Angel our waiter. We loved everything we tasted and it was not greasy but very flavorful. read more

Strong Water Tavern - Tuna - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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Tapas were wonderful we had 4 different kinds chicken tenders, beef empanadas, chicken skewers and arepas then the Best Creme Brûlée I have ever tasted! read more

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We love staying at my family's favorite hotel the Sapphire Falls and every time we go to the Tavern. Great selection of drinks and rum. The menu is pretty good, too. Selection is great. Our server Maggie is super nice and very knowledgeable. She helped us with the sampler and the different drinks we ordered. So if you are staying at the Sapphire Falls, grab a chair on the deck or one of the big comfy seats and have some fun with your friends and family. read more

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Nice nice! Tapas? What I got a couple of dishes and ofcourse a rum cocktail - Caribbean Ceviche - this was overall very good, I like the bottom layer of mofongo that was warm. Complimented the ceviche. I was surprised that the mofongo had meat in it which was not pointed out on the menu - Curry Goat - quite an interesting take on the jamaican curry goat I know. Very flavorful and meat falls off the bone. But the meat quality was not as fresh as I expected. The rice in this was also quite interesting, lots of coconut and more sweet... - Jackfruit Ropa Vieja - This was okay. I expected the jackfruit to be more stringy but less jackfruit flavor. There was a bit more jackfruit sour - Jerk Chicken - this was also great. Surprised that it also came with rice. Could lose the rice since it was tapas... maybe add plantain strips. - Last typhoon Rum Cocktail - I love that they use the fruit as sweetener which I could taste, but the amount of alcohol was almost not tasted. Environment Located in the Loewe's hotel, this could be fancy evening dining experience but there was also a lot of more casual, maybe cause of the hotel and also the resort being near. The seating were more on the lounge experience side. Niceness of the staff Very very nice waitress. Made sure I had everything I needed. Explained the concept, I was sold on the cocktail and definitely appreciated it Dollar It was definitely on the more expensive side. The drink was 15$. The goat was 25$ and all other "tapas" were at least 13-15$ per. Can add up pretty quickly Yes Very good environment but I am not sure...Would give them another chance if the opportunity arises but I don't see anything exciting that I would want to return read more

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The only reason i'm deciding to give this place 2 stars instead of 1 is because we had a credit from the hotel and it lead to us paying 100 dollars less than the final bill. But let's pretend we paid the full price. I would be very disappointed that I dropped a big amount of money on this place. I'll just say the server was very nice, and this isn't his fault, but we did wait quite a while for our food. It took about 50 minutes for our tapas to come out. My sister who had some chicken tenders from the kids meal got her food sooner though. The food itself was pretty mediocre considering the price for each small portion. The sliders were okay, not bad but not worth 16 dollars. The bread reminded me of the bread that they would give us on our cheeseburgers at public school, not particularly tasty but gets the job done. I also had The Canoa which was again fine but nothing crazy. If these dishes were 8 dollars instead double the price, I would be happy but again the big problem here is the price. If this wasn't at a hotel on a theme park property it wouldn't last a day. The ambiance inside was nice I did like the tables and chairs. They were playing the playoff game which led to a fun lively atmosphere. We also had two cocktails that were pretty good. Honestly, I would recommend just coming here to get a drink at the bar and enjoy the atmosphere. read more

Strong Water Tavern - Surf and Turf Pinchos - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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The best meal we had on Universal/Loews property. Original, well spiced, fantastic cocktails to accompany the courses. Waiter took the time to take photos of the specials to give us an idea of what the description actually looked like. Classy! Great ambience, good food. read more

This is the best restaurant on property! We've gone out of our way to eat here, and even picked sapphire falls to stay at because we wanted to be closer to this restaurant. The staff are amazing, and with such an extensive menu, they're surprisingly well versed in both the food and 100+ rums available. The food is out of this world. It's small plates, great for sharing, so you can try out dishes you might not normally order. The tequeños are the best, but we try a new dish every time we go. Even if you aren't a rum drinker, the bar tenders will put together a flight for you that matches your taste. We notice a lot of the same staff seem to stick around - shoutout to Kasey who served us last year, and Angel this year. Definitely don't miss this spot read more

As locals, my husband and I decided to spend the day exploring the different Universal Orlando hotels. Each one conveniently has a water taxi that takes you to CityWalk where you can hop on the different connecting boats to each resort... definitely makes for a fun date day! We decided to park at the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort which is where we started and ended our journey. Strong Water Tavern is located inside the resort, just off the main lobby. I agree that this is one of the best dining options on the entire Universal property (just look at the reviews of other restaurants... yikes). We ended our day just in time for sunset and requested to sit on their outdoor patio overlooking the water. They have comfortable lounge seating as well as a few tables and and great view. At first we were only planning on having drinks (they are known for their extensive rum selection), but we decided to order a few tapas and dessert which ended up being our dinner. The rum old fashioned is excellent. We also ordered the garlic shrimp (camarones al ajillo) in a white wine sauce which was super tasty. Get some extra bread for dipping because you don't want that sauce to go to waste. We also ordered the short rib huarache which was very large and filling (definitely shareable). While it was loaded up with ingredients, I expected the short rib to have a bit more flavor. For the $25 price, it was just ok. The tapas in general are pretty pricey, but that's to be expected in the theme park realm. Now the real star of the show was the dessert! We had the banana bread pudding (made in-house) served with rum raisin ice cream. Omg, my husband & I both agreed that this was probably one of the best bread puddings we've ever had. It was a very generous portion and super moist all the way through. The ice cream on top paired perfectly. I would come back just for dessert alone! They also validated our parking for dining in which was a pleasant way to end our adventure. read more

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Staying at Universal Sapphire Falls resort for a work conference, and decided to treat myself a nice dinner. The entire menu looked phenomenal but unfortunately I wouldn't be able to eat ALL of it. I had the beef empanadas and the beef sliders, both of which left me incredibly too full to try the Octopus with Fideos. The empanadas were pillowy soft on the inside, seasoned extremely well, and a very light, crispy exterior. The sliders despite being sliders were far from ordinary; the bun and patties had to have been cooked over an open flame for that juicy, firey taste. I rounded the meal off with their Sapphire Sour, which is just what you'd imagine it would taste like; royalty. In addition to their array of cocktails, they also had a rum bar. Service was efficient, and extremely well mannered. Highly recommend having dinner with them when staying in Orlando or Universal Sapphire Falls read more

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I am giving this restaurant 2 stars bc of the drinks only or it would be a 0. The tables are so small that if you have kids you couldn't even fit meals on. They were not the most accommodating when asking for a bigger table or booth. The food was horrible- every single thing that came out was cold or luke warm. The octopus was so fishy you could smell it across the restaurant. There honestly wasn't a dish that was extremely good everything was very spicy or again COLD. We spent 200 bucks on a meal I would say wasn't worth it at all. We all left with stomach aches. The meal took us 2 hours to eat with kids it was impossible. We had rice that we asked to warm up bc it was cold and it took 25 mins to come out. The food took over an hour and half. The only good thing about this place is the cocktails. Skip the meal and come for the drinks. read more

Strong Water Tavern - Choripan- just watery cold spicy soup - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Excellent rum selection coupled with outstanding service. Staff is very knowledgeable and accommodating. Fun venue to try new things or share with friends. Two thumbs up and would happily return. read more

Strong Water Tavern - Cheese board - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Discovering this hidden gem on Universal property was a delightful surprise! A quick ferry ride from CityWalk transports you to Sapphire Falls resort, where a menu brimming with delectable concoctions and mouthwatering small plates awaits. Whether you're looking for refreshing drinks or flavorful bites, this tiki bar/restaurant is the perfect retreat during your Universal Orlando adventure. Cheers to a fantastic find! So far, I've tried the Mai Tai and Tavern Grog, which were both very good. For food I had the Fried Buttermilk Chicken Tenders and the Beef Sliders. I'm excited to return to try more delicious cocktails and small bites! read more

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Small tables which makes no sense since this is a tapas place meaning you are supposed to order many plates and share .... Which means your table will be crowded and uncomfortable to eat. You get very little food and it's expensive since for a family of 4. The goat curry was mostly fat/skin, surf in turf (which was recommended by our waiter) was lukewarm shrimp, beef and vegetables not even seasoned well. Thankfully we each were able to each get 1/2 piece of shrimp since there were only 2 on the skewer. The Caribbean ceviche was fine and we had another pastry appetizer which was fine but small portions. We ordered only waters and our bill was over $100 - we still left not feeling full. Oh and we were the only people in the restaurant at 5:15pm so there is not excuse for lukewarm low quality food. Would not recommend - save your money. read more

Great food and service! Live music was a plus. Huge selection of rare rums and craft cocktails. Full bar!

Hidden inside a hotel, this intimate and classy tapas-style restaurant is the perfect spot for date night after a day at universal. First, pork belly tacos were phenomenal. 2 massive tacos in an order, pork belly melted in my mouth. Next we got this flatbread special they were offering that night (so not sure it's still available). It was chorizo, chihuahua cheese, pesto on roti and I can confidently say it's one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. They should consider making it a permanent item on their menu. Lastly, we shared the griot -- pork and sweet plantains hit the spot. Highly recommend this spot!!! read more

Strong Water Tavern - Caribbean Near Me - Orlando, Florida

No DR on the menu! One of the countries with most delicious dishes. Not recommending.

Located in the Sapphire Falls Hotel at Universal. If you're not staying at that hotel, the restaurant will comp your parking ticket in the self-park garage if you spend at least $45. Make sure to remember to ask for that, or your parking will run 35-45 bucks for a couple of hours! Emphasis seems to be on the bar (hence the name, I suppose), but the food is very good, mostly Caribbean and Jamaican influences. Caribbean ceviche was a good appetizer. We both had the curried goat -- a dish you don't find on too many American menus -- and it was very tasty. If spicy food is not your thing, tell them to go easy on the habanero chiles in the sauce. Service was prompt and cordial. read more