The Pharmacy Orlando

Orlando friends, I have one heck of an amazing restaurant to tell you guys about this morning! Have you guys heard of The Pharmacy?

The Pharmacy is a hidden restaurant and when I say it’s hidden, I mean it! There is absolutely no signage out front and you could easily walk right past the entrance without knowing that a charming restaurant is located on the other side of the big cement wall.

What looks like the door to an elevator is actually the main entrance of the restaurant and once you press the button, the doors open and you step into a small but bustling restaurant with a speakeasy feel.

Those who dine at The Pharmacy seem to find out about it from a friend. Our waiter told us that most of their business can be attributed to word of mouth, which definitely adds to the charm of the place. We felt like we were in on a special secret!

Ryan heard about the restaurant from our good friend Ben who heard about it from one of his personal training clients. Ben and Ryan ate there on Friday night while I was dining with the New Balance team and Ryan came back to our hotel room at the Grand Floridian absolutely raving about the food and the overall dining experience. Last night Ryan jumped at the chance to dine at The Pharmacy with a handful of his coworkers again and I was lucky enough to tag along for the fun.

At The Pharmacy, the drinks, called “Elixirs,” are super strong and ridiculously delicious. They make their own sodas, tonics and bitters and I knew I had to try something from the bar. (It was really dark inside, so my photos from last night are horrific, but I just had to blog about this experience because I think so many of you would love this place!)

I ordered the Moscow mule and that baby will put hair on your chest! It was intense but delicious. The ginger beer used in the drink was fantastic.

Our table decided to share a bunch of food which was a great decision since it allowed us to try a bit of everything. Our waiter told us that everything at The Pharmacy is fresh, local and organic and one thing he didn’t mention was that everything is cooked to perfection. We were in awe of just how well prepared everything was and our table could not stop raving about every single dish.

I snapped a few pictures but didn’t want to detract from the evening since it was a work dinner for Ryan, here are a few highlights from our meal:

Seasoned French fries with homemade ketchup and remoulade

Rock shrimp

Whole chicken for two

Ryan ordered this entree to share and it was my favorite selection of the evening! The chicken was served on top of roasted vegetables and the sweet potatoes were underneath the chicken were some of the best I’ve every had in my life.

We had a handful of other dishes and I left feeling “Thanksgiving full” because I could not stop eating everything in front of me. It was all so incredible. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough to those of you who live in the Orlando area! It would be a fun date night restaurant or a great place to take out-of-town guests who are looking for fresh, local food from an original, high quality restaurant.

YUM!

Question of the Morning

• What is one of the most unique restaurants you’ve ever visited in your life?