Norman’s

A nice Valentine’s Day experience overall. The restaurant is beautiful but a bit too dimly lit to see everything you are being served. The Valentine’s menu was set and the food was fresh, wonderfully presented and our server Andrea was perfect. The house made ciabatta bread was too die for! My boyfriend’s main dish was beef and oh so delicious. I had the tile fish which was a bit disappointing for my taste. The fish was fresh but almost tasteless. Both desserts we ordered were good but not spectacular. Again a nice experience but I don’t think we will be returning.

Oh my went for husbands 50^th bday:) however they didn’t know so can’t compare service to bday dining
However, I wish I lived closer would go every night…,
Food was out of this world, service was better than food and view is fantastic:)
Can’t wait to go back
5 stars to this great restaurant

Had a nice evening here and food was super delicious. Server was excellent. Get the shrimp appetizer to start. Can’t miss.

My chef cousin was in town from DC for the Disney marathon, so I had to show him what’s up with Orlando. It was just him, his daughter, and I dining and it was a last minute drop in. We called ahead and they didn’t have anything available until later that night. We decided to just drop in to give it a try and head to Highball & Harvest if they couldn’t accommodate us. Once we arrived and with a little sweet talking it turned out that they were able to seat us! It was probably my cousin’s cute daughter that gave the hostess the extra push to seat us.
The ambiance is dim-​lit and very classy with high ceilings. Definitely a great restaurant for a romantic dinner.
We ordered the following:
–Fried Green Tomatoes
–KUROBUTA PORK BELLY
–NORMAN’S HOUSE SALAD (For his daughter)
–MY ‘DOWN ISLAND FRENCH TOAST’
–PAN-​SEARED SCALLOPS
–PAN COOKED FILLET OF FLORIDA YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER
–PORK ‘HAVANA’
–Flan
The Highlights were:
MY ‘DOWN ISLAND FRENCH TOAST’
My first bite blew me away… cinnamon flavors of the french toast combined with a buttery soft seared foie gras… damn. Best dish of the night.
PORK ‘HAVANA’
Medium rare pork tenderloin. Yeah you heard me, medium rare and it was awesome. My cousin said that the USDA changed guidelines for cooking pork awhile ago, so it’s actually okay to eat pork that is pink on the inside. I enjoyed the Smokey flavors of the tenderloin mixed with the mole. The grits were a bit dry on the inside but the crunch of the outside was actually kind if nice. It was shaped into a cylinder, so it almost looked liked corn on the cob.
Flan.
Loved the texture of the flan. Really firm and deep flavors to the flan.
Service was great from beginning to end. I think there were three or four different people serving us.
I want to bring the fiancée here sometime before I leave this town, which just got a little less boring after my dinner here.

Waited to be seated for half hour past our resie. Hostess had an attitude. Couldn’t really «determine“if the wait would be longer than 30 minutes to be seated. We ordered the 4 course tasting menu. The cost was $ 175 a head. Once seated we waited 30 minutes for the the frisée salad — which was average at best. Second course took 1 hour to arrive — after repeated inquiries to our loser waiter. Finally, gave up and just ask for the third course the Waygu beef entrees. We asked for these to come as quickly as possible — we had basically given up on the place at this point. They finally came out 30 minutes later — Luke warm. Our server was a bag of excuses and was unable to execute a 4 course tasting menu. One person in our party had two small pieces of Waygu which were way undersized versus the other plates– that got 3 pieces. Such sloppiness should not be tolerated at this price point. Norman’s wouldn’t hold a candle to many tier 2 restaurants in NYC. And at that price their are a dozen places I would rather eat at and the food was unremarkable (that’s being polite). It’s way over priced — the service was poor and the food average at best. I would avoid it at all costs. We just threw $ 1,100 bucks out the window. This is a bad review and I normally would just move on — but given the hype and other positive reviews I felt compelled to warn others. AVOID!

Wonderful meal from the onset to the desert. Soufle is wonderful dessert, ask early for this since need preparation time.

This is the 6^th time that we dined at Norman’s. Usually we would rave about our fantastic meals and the impeccable service. However, on our most recent trip everything was quite the opposite: our meals were mediocre and the service was average (for a fine dining establishment). My husband and I love this place and took my parents here to celebrate my dad’s birthday. However, the entire night was not as refine as we had hope for, the experience was not as pleasant as we had always received at Norman’s.
We were offer complimentary champagnes which was nothing special given that everybody at the restaurant received them.

We ordered oysters (watery and bitter) and scallops (salty) as appetizers. And since the Tasting Menu hasn’t change since July, we settled for a la carte dishes.
2 Lamb Dishes (great)
1 Serrano encrusted sea bass, (salty compote on the bottom of the fish)
1 Fillet dish (salty mash potatoes)
We ordered a dessert to share and the chef added a piece of chocolate on top that says «Happy Birthday!»
I have to say for the caliber of an establishment such as Norman’s, I feel like that there was no effort in making guests feel special. They used to be so great. may be they were having an off night.

My husband and I went for our anniversary. The setting is gorgeous and the service is impeccable — professional and everything you would want from a fine dining establishment. Even my husband’s whiskey came with a spectacular presentation.
However, neither of us felt the food met the expectations set by everything else about the experience. I have to say, it was… fine. Just not spectacular. We eat out quite a lot and, if we are going to pay as much as we did to eat at Norman’s, we expect quite a lot– and this just fell flat.
We ordered pork belly and scallops as appetizers. Pork belly was not very good; scallops were actually my favorite thing I ate all night. My husband ordered a 72 dollar steak. It was quite good — just hard to justify the price tag when we have had better steaks at better prices. I had the Serrano crusted sea bass. There was no Serrano flavor and my filet was chewy– couldn’t even cut it with a fork. Huge disappointment.
The first-​class staff acknowledged our anniversary with special desserts… although my dessert was the most underwhelming course of the night, I appreciated the gesture.

We went here for an anniversary dinner and it was AMAZING!!! Fernando was gracious and very personable! Our food was delicious!!!
~ FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
Queso Fresco ~ Escabeche Spiced Mayo
(These very good, juicy, thick tomatoes)
~ NORMAN’S HOUSE SALAD
Point Reyes Blue Cheese ~ Almonds ~ Champagne Vinaigrette
(I always prefer a Caesar salad but since that was not available we chose this and it was good… but would love to see a Caesar salad next time)
~ PAN-​SEARED SCALLOPS
Anson Mills White Grits ~ Huitlacoche ~ Orange Buerre Blanc
(these were AMAZING… those grits should come by the bucket full :) … they were seriously delicious! The Scallops were cooked perfectly!!! I wish there were more than two on the plate!)
~ SERRANO CRUSTED SEA BASS
Chorizo-​Saffron Risotto ~ Tomato Consommé ~ Lime Foam
(the fish was moist and delicious with a slightly crunchy top… the chorizo complimented the risotto without overpowering the dish like it tends to do)
Fernando helped us chose a great bottle of wine to compliment our meal. It was a GREAT experience and we cannot wait to return!

What an unforgettable experience. Our dinner was excellent, especially the sea bass and lamb. We also had the cheese plate and the red hawk is to die for. What really made this and unforgettable evening was out waiter Fernando, he made excellent pairing recommendations was very charismatic and knowledgable on everything throughout the evening. I will definitely be coming back and recommending Norman’s to everyone I know. Thank you!

Pricey but worth it, complex, fresh, sophisticated, delicate, and everything you’d expect from a restaurant in a Ritz-​Carlton hotel. Although, I’m used to having this exact quality at a lower price from Cleveland’s own cadre of celebrity chefs. We sat at the patio with a view of the golf course. This is a formal restaurant that strictly enforces it’s dress code; so no shorts, no vests without shirt underneath, definitely show up wearing shoes. Leave the Birkenstock sandals at home, in fact don’t wear those at all, ever, as they are a fashion crime anyway, but I digress.

This place lives up to their reputation. Our server, Paul was top notch. He was on point with the food and wine. He knew it was my birthday and brought out champs for us and an amuse bouche that’s shrimp ceviche. We ordered beef tartar, pork belly, oysters and foie gras. Beef tartar was so damn good we ordered a second round! Our wine and my daughters apple cider was never empty. For entrees I ordered the sea bass, my boyfriend had lamb and my brother had snapper. EVERYTHING was GREAT! Will definitely come back! Ask for Paul!

Just went here this past Saturday. They weren’t offering the tasting menu but they did it for us anyway, which was so nice. My mother in law doesn’t eat seafood so they let her choose two different items for two of the courses.
First «course» amuse bouche was rare tuna, it was wonderful. Second was an octopus salad. This one I wasn’t a fan of, it was too tough for me. My mother in law chose the fried green tomatoes which were excellent and my husband substituted he octopus with the beef carpaccio/​tartar which was topped with a quail egg yoke. It was very good.
Third course was a buttery melt in your mouth cobia. It was seared perfectly. Our main entrée was a bison filet mignon. This was cooked medium rare, which is how I prefer it. It was unbelievable. It was accompanied by the best Brussels sprouts I’ve ever had. Each course was paired perfectly with wines.
Dessert was a soufflé with homemade chocolate gelato. It was a great ending to a wonderful meal. We were never rushed so enjoying each course on our own pace was fantastic.
The only small complaint that I have is that I called 5 days before our reservation to say that it was my husband’s 40^th birthday. I requested a special chocolate dessert be presented to him. She assured me that she would talk with the pastry chef and make sure that something special was brought out. I offered to pay in advance for it if needed and she assured me that it would be taken care of. My husband was brought the same dessert as everyone else with the exception that he had a candle and a thin chocolate ribbon that said «Happy Birthday». I didn’t say anything then as I wasn’t about to make an issue out of it after such a nice evening but I was disappointed that my request was disregarded.
The evening and dinner as a whole was great though.

A recent visit here showed much improvement. Clearly ownership has taken a renewed interest. The food is consistently good if not stunning, and service is a lot more professional.
General Manager and wine director Yusuf Yildiz clearly knows his stuff, and has great plans for a new wine room, storage and emphasis on depth of the wine list, coming in August 2015. I look forward to seeing if Orlando can finally add a truly world class wine list to its restaurant portfolio after several decades without one.

On a recommendation, I tried the Chef’s tasting menu with wine pairings– what a delightful mix!
The amuse bouche was a small cup of tomato basil soup — rich and flavorful!
From the beginning to the end, each plate brought out quickly became my favorite! But my most favorite was the bison — pan seared, crusty outside– melt in your mouth, tender goodness inside! Each of the wines complimented the plates wonderfully!
Service was amazing, a wonderful experience with Frank!

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending The Cook Book Dinner with Chef Norman Van Aken, for a reception, dinner, book discussion, and after dinner party with live music at Norman’s, Ritz Carlton Orlando. Including a choice of Chef Norman’s newest cookbooks. The cookbook, «My Key West Kitchen» or the IACP award nominated memoir, «No Experience Necessary… the Culinary Odyssey of Chef Norman Van Aken».
Unlike Chef Norman, whose arsenal now includes a pen as much as a pocketful of chef (‘s) knives all I am is a mere cook. How do I indulge, describe what I consider a meeting of culinary gods? I needed inspiration… so armed with a double single malt on the rocks and Chef’s Memoir «No Experience Necessary», I dove right in, with each sip deeper into the chapters that tell a tale of achievement which most of us don’t dare walk let alone dream. His brilliant storytelling left me inspired and hungry for more of his penmanship, and of course ammunition to express that wonderful evening. Oscar Winner Ms. Lupita Nyong’o capture’s the sentiments so aptly with her quote «no matter where you’re from your dreams are valid».
The Reception commenced with a signature «90 Miles to Cuba» Rum Runner Cocktail, Sparkling, White, & Red Wine, Hors d’oeuvres of Gordon’s Artichoke Fritters with Aioli, Beef Tartare, and Foie Gra Mousse. The entire menu was created from Chef Norman’s «My Key West Kitchen and No Experience Necessary Cookbook».
Beer Steamed Key West Shrimp with Mojo Rojo: Hearts of Palm, Florida, Citrus, & Avocado Salad paired with Weingut Robert Weil 2010 Traditional Riesling. Vibrant, fresh, and zesty, the Riesling paired beautifully with the citrus and shellfish.
Chez Nancy Spiny Lobster with Brown Butter, Capers, and Croutons Paired with Château Carbonnieux 2011 Blanc. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion, this white Bordeaux balanced the richness of the lobster.
Grill-​Roasted Lake Meadow Farms Duck Breast, Brussel Sprouts, Sweet Potato Mash, Raisin-​Pineapple Sauce paired with Domaine Tournon Shay’s Flat Shiraz 2011. Vibrant, spicy, and silky Shiraz with Duck, cooked to perfection, it was brilliant!
Tournedos of Beef «For a Mother», Sunny side up Quail Eggs, Wild Mushrooms, Madeira Wine Reduction Paired with Turnbull Oakville 2010. I have to admit this was my favorite course. Perhaps because Chef Norman created this meal for Ms. Janet as sustenance after their first child Justin’s birth, «genesis of life with quail eggs», the impeccable presentation, or the ideal pairing of a full-​bodied well-​crafted Californian Cabarnet with a chunk of beef, perhaps I was basking in the joy of dining on the Chef’s table with Chef Norman and the elegant Ms. Janet… There was many reasons this course commanded my foodie soul.
The wine flowed, the dishes were the appropriate temperature and each plate was a work of art, an experience to please the senses — sight, smell, taste, and touch. Hijacked by these senses I couldn’t help recall how Chef Norman introduced his book No Experience Necessary with «Celebration Dinner for food icon Ms. Julia Child and 350 of seated guests, co-​produced with Chef Em (Emeril Lagasse) and Chef Charlie Trotter». The cookbook dinner might not have had such an ambitious dinner plan but to me it still was the «perfect military drill and combination of synchronized symphony in the kitchen». YES! I did indeed have the pleasure of walking into the kitchen at Norman’s and catch a sneak preview of what was going to be an evening filled with mouthgasams.
Sunshine’s Key Lime Pie Paired with La Spinetta Moscato d’Asti Biancospino 2013. Irresistibly fresh Moscato paired with light and airy Key Lime Pie — vibrant ending to a fabulous evening filled with love, laughter, and deliciousness.
I have dined and wined at Norman’s at the Ritz Carlton on a number of occasions. From the moment you step out of your car at the Ritz Carlton till you leave Norman’s — it’s a millage, smiling faces, impeccable service, perfect presentation, delicious food, stellar wines, and all in all an evening to remember. The service at Norman’s is incontestably one of the finest I have had the pleasure of experiencing.

Dinner at Norman’s was delicious. It is located in the beautiful Ritz Carlton. Food is artistically prepared and is very unique. I started with the Winter Beet salad, which was less of a traditional salad and more of a smaller portion of different interesting combination of vegetables. If you’re looking more for a traditional large salad with lettuce, cheese, and nuts, I’d pick the Norman’s House Salad, which had really delicious dressing. The sea bass was amazing. The yellow snapper was good but not as tasty as the sea bass. The New York strip steak was really delicious as well. All in all, come here for a delicious and special dinner.

Don’t wear shorts or they will sit you outside… even when it’s cold. They did put the heat lamps on and lowered the screens but just in case I suggest you wear pants and dress up.
I had the Pan-​Seared Scallops, Yuca Stuffed Crispy Shrimp and Pan Cooked Fillet of Florida Yellowtail Snapper. It was all amazing. This place is definitely high end and you can taste it. I’ll be back soon again.
Thanks Chef Norman and staff! :)

Had a wonderful time! Service was old school. Great waiters, servers, etc. wine list was not the largest ever, but had a good sampling of nice wines. We are from Texas, and happened to be celebrating both our birthdays and our anniversary. The waiter gave us free champaigne for a toast at the start, and our dessert plate was decorated for the occasions.
Food was amazing. Scallops were suculent and buttery. The fish prepared perfectly. Dessert was a banana bread delightful creation that melted in our mouths.
If you’re in Orlando and don’t want to deal with 1000 screaming kids and flip flops and jeans for dinner, Norman’s at the Ritz is a great alternative!

An up market restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
I had originally thought this was going to be a Tapas Style restaurant, but the tapas section of the menu was basically the starters. None-​the-​less this was a great restaurant with wonderful Spanish/​Cuban themed food.
I tried the following:
Fried Green Tomatoes — Very good
Yuca Stuffed Crispy Shrimp — Sour Orange Mojo, Habanero Tartar Salsa, Nicaraguan Slaw — Very good
Roasted Breast of Chicken — Very good
Pork Havana — Very good
Havana Banana Split — Bananas, Chili, Macadamia Nut Brittle — Very good