Restaurants in Ocala

One Flight Up's name refers to its shaded, dog-friendly balcony location, which overlooks the charming storefronts of Donnelly Street while cultivating relaxation with wind chimes and hanging plants. From 8:30 a.m. into the night, the café serves sandwiches, salads, desserts, and drinks suitable for each hour of the day. Breakfast begins with quiches, coffee, and espresso, and then lunchgoers can dig into tomato-basil bisque or a Harvest chicken-salad sandwich. At night, in addition to the food menu, the café's team cracks open beer bottles and pours wines that include Milton Park shiraz and Cortenova pinot grigio.

On weekend nights, live music wafts through the interior and out onto the balcony, twinkling with string lights. Mondays host open-mic performers, who demonstrate their abilities to take a microphone apart.

After living in the Florida Keys for almost 20 years and owning a variety of restaurants for more than 10 of those, Ken and Sandi Kloza were ready for a change of pace. To spice things up, the couple and their kids moved to Ocklawaha and began renovating a restaurant space, the soon-to-be Kick n' Back Cafe and Grille, in Silver Springs. In May of 2011, they propped open the doors, inviting guests to enjoy hearty Caribbean-American meals amid breezy tropical-island decor.

To stay true to the Caribbean theme, the eatery's chefs balance authentic Caribbean delicacies, such as conch fritters and cuban sandwiches oozing with marinated pork, with fresh seafood such as shrimp and gator. The restaurant also serves up its infamous slow-cooked Mo Bay chicken, marinated in jerk seasonings. In addition to delectable Caribbean entrees, diners can fuel their mornings with a veggie-filled omelet or biscuits soaked in gravy, which they can enjoy out on the tiki-hut-inspired covered patio or in the sand castle they built on the restaurant's volleyball court.

With a menu loaded with pizzas and calzones, cheesy breadsticks, and flavorful wings, Gumby's ovens satisfy voracious cravings into the wee hours of the morning. The pizza makers start each day by making mounds of dough by hand, which they decorate with more than 15 inventive toppings, such as alfredo sauce, chicken tenders, and feta cheese, to create specialty pizzas and personalized pies. The same hand-tossed dough serves as a foundation for their famous Pokey Stix, which are smothered in garlic butter, Italian spices, and heaps of mozzarella and parmesan cheese, then cut into strips exactly the length of Abraham Lincoln's foot. To complement the bubbling pizzas, buffalo and boneless wings can be tossed in tangy barbecue, honey mustard, sriracha, or one of four other sauces.

Built in the late 1800s as the Manor House, a luxury hotel catering to well-off vacationers from New England, Rose Villa evokes decades of history by serving gourmet fare in fully restored surroundings. Each room of the manor has its own visual theme, from the burnt-sienna polka dots papering the original parlor to the wooden cabinets and extremely large sticks decorating the Teddy Roosevelt bar. The menu of French-inspired cuisine proves as vibrant as the setting, with the bright-red shell of a lobster tail contrasting with the dark grill marks atop a filet mignon.

Post meal, patrons can venture inside the absinthe bar, where light streams through stained glass as a barkeep pours four brands of absinthe, another nod to the building's past according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Dishes and drinks are also served outside beneath an oversize gazebo surrounded by lush greenery.

In 170 feet of water, running from the east coast of Fort Pierce, Florida, to the Carolinas, lies a reef populated by game fish, dubbed 27 Fathoms by local fishermen. Chefs in the kitchens of 27 Fathoms, named for the reef, cook locally caught wild fish and seafood such as the pan-roasted diver scallops with smoked gouda and crushed macadamia nuts. For the culinary prowess they display in doing so, they have earned a 2012 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor. Their sushi menu includes signature rolls such as the ultimate maine lobster—a tempura whole lobster with smoked bacon, avocado, and baked seafood volcano sauce. In addition to seafood, the staff pan roasts venison tenderloin and blackens elk steak by hiding it in a darkroom. They also add their own spin to chicken and waffles with sweet-potato-infused waffles, brussels sprouts, and peppercorn mélange syrup.

Gentle breezes ripple through the palm leaves on the outdoor patio, where glasses of fine wines and craft beers clink along with the sounds of nature. Friday and Saturday nights feature late hours and live entertainment for diners seated indoors at the high-topped wood tables.

Mi Apá Latin Café likes to brag that they have the best Cuban food outside of Miami, serving hot pressed sandwiches, arepas, and meaty entrees made from scratch and complemented in authentic style with Latin colas and fresh juices. The steak sandwich combines palomilla steak with ham and shoestring fries, and the Miami sandwich stacks turkey, ham, and bacon in a bit of sliced meat architecture to rival Paris’s famous chicken-nugget Eiffel Tower. On the entrees list, diners find smoky ropa vieja made of shredded beef in a rich Cuban sauce, and a Cuban pot roast stuffed with chorizo and simmered in a tomato and wine sauce. Burnt orange umbrellas shade an outdoor seating area, where patrons can sip tamarind or guava juice while taking in the breeze.