Restaurants in Southchase

Joseph and Efren Boglio grew up in a Northern Italian town near Torino, raised by a mother locally renowned for her cooking abilities. Although the brothers loved the double-crusted, ricotta-stuffed pizza that she made every Easter, it wasn't until they moved across the ocean to Chicago that they realized just how special it was. Unable to find an equivalent after eating their way through local pizzerias and hunting pizzas in the wild, they opened Giordano's in 1974 with the goal of recreating the savory pie from their childhood. They've adapted their style over the years, but the concept has stayed the same: thick layers of mozzarella submerged in rich tomato sauce and served in a shallow bowl of golden dough. Diners can add ingredients such as spinach, sausage, or shrimp. Even though the Giordano’s deep-dish empire has expanded to Florida, its menu retains its old-country stamp with cuisine such as juicy italian beef and housemade meatballs.

Although Thai cuisine typically earns praise for its bold, spicy flavor combinations, the chefs at Red Bamboo Thai Restaurant aim to make their cuisine accessible to all palates, personalizing the level of spice from mild to Thai hot. Using red, green, and yellow curry pastes, the culinarians lend a piquant touch to the fragrant combinations of basil, coconut milk, and scratch-and-sniff bamboo shoots that make up the menu. They also wield sweet and spicy chili sauces to lend dichotomous flavors to entrees such as deep-fried red snapper or prawns.

Although each bite of food features complex combinations of herbs and spices, the dining room embraces a more subdued aesthetic. Earth-toned walls surround the booths and tables, remaining relatively unadorned except for a scattered collection of framed pictures and small tapestries.

Springing from the mindparts of CEO and founder John Kunkel, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill combines the tasty flavor of Mexican fare with a dedication to healthy eating and responsible food sourcing. After cutting its teeth in the mean streets of Miami's South Beach, Lime Fresh spread its delicious message across the country, stuffing organic beans, colorful veggies, homemade salsas, and humanely raised meats into tortillas made from non-genetically-modified corn and flour. Chefs grill quesadillas, roll burritos, and sizzle fajitas before customers' eyes, and they can easily convert each item on the menu into a vegetarian-friendly feast or a makeshift futon. As guests content themselves with mouthfuls of flavorful tacos, fresh salads, and cheesy scoops of nachos, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill's dedicated staff works hard behind the scenes to build strong community relationships through contributions to local charities and nonprofits.

MyCityEats' 2012 pick for Best Middle Eastern Restaurant in Orlando, Pasha Taverna & Lounge seamlessly blends Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisines, serving seasoned tender kebabs alongside plates of stuffed grape leaves and falafel. Hearty fish and lamb-shank tagines arrive in decorative conical dishes with plenty of moroccan bread to soak up the sauce. Sweet, subtle desserts conclude feasts with flaky baklava or the Athenian Chocolate-Lover's Dream, which stacks alternating layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse.

In a dining room that Orlando Weekly described as “seductively decorated,” patrons sip on Moroccan mint tea amid carmine-red walls punctuated with keyhole-style insets and paintings. Textured benches roll along one wall, ending at a photomural that Orlando Weekly reported depicts the Atlas Mountains and Agdal Gardens. As dusk falls outside, the attached hookah lounge begins to fill with tendrils of scented smoke. On Friday and Saturday nights, belly dancers hypnotize guests with their undulations and their habit of holding a pendulum before the eyes of every visitor.

Tabla's executive chef Sajan Prem forges an ever-changing menu from authentic, centuries-old recipes. Hungry twosomes can start off the eating proceedings with South Indian specialties, such as the medu vada—deep-fried lentil donuts served with sambhar and coconut chutney ($5). Carnivorous appetites train meat-seeking eyeteeth on the shola kebab, morsels of tender lamb marinated with fresh herbs and spices and charcoal grilled in a tandoori oven ($15), while carnivores with a vendetta against vegetables can tear into the vegetarian kashmiri dum aloo, potatoes stuffed with dry fruit and Indian cheese, and cooked in a saffron-based garlic butter sauce ($12). An order of Tabla naan, a fusion of Indian bread, Italian spices, and sesame seeds ($3), sops up spicy sauces. Quartets toast hearty meal conclusions with wine or cocktails from the full bar as they admire the elegantly fringed curtains from one of the plush booths or flying carpets.

The chefs at Old Town take edible discs seriously, putting in extra care to set delicious pies in front of your lucky face, which is much luckier than your last face. They hand-toss all pizzas and bake them in slate ovens to achieve crispiness before layering on a delicious, house-made sauce composed of sweet tomatoes, garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil. There's also white sauce (with creamy Parmesan and roasted garlic), hot and spicy, or basil pesto. Old Town pizzas benefit from fresh, locally sourced ingredients piled high on personal 10-inch pies ($5.99) and crowd-pleasing 16-inch large pizzas ($11.99). Additional toppings range from the familiar to the gourmet, including local Tucumcari feta cheese, green chilies, and toasted pine nuts. The list of specialty pies includes the meat-eater’s dream dinner, the Stampede ($9.50 for 10-inch pie, $20.50 for 16-inch), stacked with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mini meatballs, smoked ham, and ground beef. At the other end of the life-form spectrum is the Farmers Market pie ($9.50 for a 10-inch and  $19.99 for a 16-inch), positively lush with fresh veggies and green chilies.