Knife and Spoon Orlando Guide: Everything You Need to Know
Knife and Spoon in Orlando is one of the best restaurants in the world, earning the coveted Michelin star in 2022.
In this guide, we will explain what Knife and Spoon is, why it's so popular, what you can expect, the best things to eat on their menu, what to wear, and our full dining experience from our visit.
Overall Experience at Knife & Spoon
Knife & Spoon was absolutely worthy of the hype that they receive around town.
From the moment that you walk into the restaurant, there's a modern yet luxurious feel.
The service is extremely professional and high-level, from the staff at the host stand to the servers, and even the food runners.
The food is immaculate, savory, cooked, and served at the perfect temperature.
Their 32 oz dry-aged steak is by far the best option on the entire menu.
Knife & Spoon feels like a full experience, rather than just a normal sit-down restaurant.
Although this restaurant is a bit pricey, it's worth every dollar.
What is Knife and Spoon in Orlando?
Knife & Spoon is a signature steak and seafood restaurant that was created, and is led by famous Chef John Tesar.
Although Knife & Spoon is one of the newer restaurants in the area, having opened in the Spring of 2020, it quickly caught the attention of both locals and visitors.
What is a Michelin Star?
A Michelin Star is an extremely rare award that is given to the best restaurants in the world, based on five traits:
- Quality of the ingredients
- Harmony of flavors
- Mastery of techniques
- Personality of the chef expressed via their cuisine
- Consistency of the menu and restaurant over time
Michelin Stars is an annual award, which means that restaurants have to be excellent year-round, every year, to continue to be awarded this honor.
Who is John Tesar?
Chef John Tesar possesses an impressive culinary career of over four decades, owning a chain of popular restaurants in Texas.
Tesar is famous for his chef’s approach to seafood and steakhouse cuisine, having reinvented the steakhouse dining experience.
Although Tesar would originally excel as a European-trained seafood chef, he would transition to steakhouses, and combine the best of both worlds in his restaurants.
Why is it Called Knife & Spoon?
Knife & Spoon pays tribute to Tesar's other restaurants located in Texas, Knife, Knife Plano, and Knife Burger.
As you can see Tesar has a common theme when naming his restaurants, as they all involve a tool that often gives chefs their finishing touch on cuisine before serving, the chef knife.
Our Full Dining Experience
Knife & Spoon is located inside the Ritz Carlton Orlando, on the right side of the hotel, next to the staircase.
If you aren't staying at the Ritz, you can simply valet your car and it will be complimentary as long as you let them know that you're dining here.
Once you've arrived at the outside of the restaurant, you will immediately see a neon sign that you can't miss, and many bright lights with a uniquely designed waiting area.
This is a very popular picture spot for social media.
Once you enter the restaurant, you'll immediately notice the lights are dimly lit to create a unique evening experience.
The ambiance continues to be extremely modern- the host stand can be found directly in front of you, and the bar will be on your left-hand side.
Once you've reached the stand, the host/hostess will confirm your reservation and quickly lead you to your table for the evening.
After you've been seated, your server and service team will briefly introduce themselves, ask if you'd like anything to drink, and offer their suggestions.
After the server has returned with your drinks, they'll explain their menu in detail, explaining each section, what is popular, as well as what their favorite part of the menu is.
For drinks, my wife and I chose the old-fashioned & pomegranate mocktail.
They did not disappoint.
It is important to know that you may experience longer than normal time with your menus. This is done for guests to absorb the delicacy of each menu item and chef selection and provide an order to your service team at once. When you are ready to order, your server will take note of your choices in food from start to finish of your meal that way service and the kitchen is timed to the chefs liking for presentation.
Shortly afterward, a member of your service team stops by for table-side bread service, offering several types of mouth-watering rolls.
Our favorites were by far the Brioche, Multigrain & Sourdough bread rolls.
For appetizers, my wife and I ordered the seasonal vegetable and Chefs Choice, sugar snap peas in a garlic butter sauce, and cultivated mushrooms blend, along with a wedge salad.
The only downside of our experience would be that we didn't end up finishing these appetizers, as the entrées came out much sooner than we expected.
Throughout all of these food and drink deliveries, our server would come in periodically to check on us and ensure that the quality was as expected, and whether there was anything else that we needed.
Finally, our favorite part of the entire experience was the entrées, specifically the 32 oz, 30-day, dry-aged steak.
Not only was this steak absolutely massive, but it was also cooked and delivered at the perfect temperature, and it was absolutely mouthwatering and juicy at every bite.
Although the food was impeccable, we cannot rave about their service enough.
Towards the end of the night, we encountered a family emergency and needed to cut the night a little short, which meant that we had to skip dessert.
After our meal was finished, the server came back to offer dessert, and my wife commented that although she would have loved a carrot cake, we had to head out due to a family emergency.
The server urgently understood and took our remaining food with him to pack up in to-go boxes.
Later in the night, we realized that the to-go boxes were each individually labeled, and better yet in one of the to-go boxes, they had given us a carrot cake free of charge!
From the moment that we walked into the restaurant, to hours long after we had left, the Knife & Spoon restaurant and staff made a tremendously positive impact on us.
We would recommend this restaurant to every person that we know.
What to Wear to Knife and Spoon
Business casual is the expected attire when dining at Knife & Spoon, typically known as no jeans, no shorts, no casual dresses or short skirts for women, optional ties for men, and a rotation of button-downs or blouses.
Making a Reservation
Typically this restaurant is so popular that you'll only be able to eat here with a reservation.
You're able to make a reservation via open table, or by calling them directly.
The staff will ask if you're staying on property at the JW Marriott or the Ritz Carlton, or if you're simply visiting.
Hours of Operation
Knife & Spoon is only open in the evenings, every night.
Dining Room: 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Bar and Lounge: 5:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Knife and Spoon Location
Knife & Spoon is located at the Ritz Carlton (Grande Lakes), and can be found on the right side of the hotel, at the lobby floor level.
Related Articles
Ritz Carlton's Orlando Spa Guide: All You Need to Know