2 Orlando restaurants ranked among Florida's 'most legendary': report

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando is well-represented on Southern Living's statewide ranking of the "most legendary" restaurants. 

The lifestyle magazine published its list earlier this month, detailing the top 17 restaurants considered as "cultural icons" in Florida. 

"Their counters have heard countless stories, their dining room floors have seen thousands of visitors, and their locations have been carefully selected to tell a story of place," Southern Living said about its list. "From the Panhandle down to the Keys, Florida is home to many legendary restaurants, more than can be listed here, each with a unique story to tell—just ask the loyal patrons who return again and again."

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The No. 1 most legendary restaurant in Florida is Capt. Anderson's Restaurant & Waterfront Market in Panama City Beach, according to the report. Here's a look at the Orlando mentions:

Lee & Rick's Oyster Bar

This beloved Winter Garden dive bar was ranked No. 8 overall on Southern Living's list. Here's why, according to the report:

A beloved dive since 1950, Lee & Rick’s is the mom-and-pop joint that Central Florida locals are reluctant to tell you about for fear the restaurant’s long, concrete oyster bar will get too crowded. But visitors and locals alike are welcome to gather at the 80-foot bar to have oyster experts shuck and hand you the briny bivalves with a cold beer. Still in the family, the restaurant is now run by Lee & Rick’s eldest son.

Bull & Bear Steakhouse

This Orlando steakhouse was ranked No. 15 overall. Here's what Southern Living said about it:

There are few names more legendary in hospitality than Waldorf Astoria, the storied Gilded Age Park Avenue hotel that touts a list of hospitality superlatives almost as long as the list of famous guests—presidents, world leaders, rock stars. Today, there are 36 Waldorf Astoria hotels around the world, but the first to open outside of Manhattan was in Orlando, Florida—and is home to Bull & Bear Steakhouse.

The restaurant is an intimate parlor of hunter-green and coffered ceilings. On the menu are innovative dishes that are unique to the Orlando location, and so fabled they’re known simply by a mononym: "the Lemon," a dessert that's as delicious as it is deceptive. Tableside theatre using facilities like liquid nitrogen, gold leaf, and smoke infusion make for an evening that will go down as a family legend.

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Click here to read the full report.