3 Best Restaurants in Universal Orlando, Florida

"Bice" (pronounced beach-ay) is an Italian nickname for Beatrice, as in Beatrice Ruggeri, who founded the original Milan location of this upscale Italian chain in 1926. At the Orlando branch, starched linens, frescoed ceilings, marble floors, and bay-view picture windows set the stage for sophisticated (and pricey) dishes such as pan-seared wild halibut with Swiss chard or veal scallopini with lemon-caper sauce. Although prices start at around $30 for pasta dishes and peak at $70 for a rib eye steak, pastas and salads are available in half portions upon request. The Amaretto cheesecake is a splendid dessert.

This casual restaurant has omelet stations at breakfast; flatbreads, sandwiches, and salads at lunch; and grilled salmon, filet mignon, and roast chicken at dinner. The kids' menu is entertaining, with plates such as I Don't Want That (grilled cheese) or I'm Not Hungry (chicken tenders) that are served with a choice of fries, a salad, or fresh fruit.

With its dark-wood interior and hundreds of framed celebrity caricatures, this pricey restaurant resembles its famed New York City namesake. For most diners, steak steals the show (aged beef is a specialty), but the gargantuan Nova Scotia lobsters are nearly as popular. Other seafood options include broiled salmon with mango salsa and jumbo-lump-meat crab cakes with chipotle tartar sauce. The Italian specialties are top-notch versions of favorites like veal parmigiana.