The Rusty Spoon

Thoroughly enjoyed our meal here, especially the unique desserts. Love that it is farm to table and in a perfect location downtown. Great for business meetings or special occasions. Love the atmosphere and we experienced good service. Hoping to return soon.

I dined here during magical dining month with a friend and it was the best out of the few I tried. The atmosphere is a little on the fancier side. It would be wonderful for a romantic dinner. The waiter was extremely helpful and helped me choose a cocktail that I absolutely loved when I normally steer away from cocktails. He even started us out with appetizers that weren’t even on the menu. My filet mignon was artfully displayed and deliciously juicy. Our appetizers were delicious as well; I never knew a salad could taste so good. Our desserts were total opposites of one another, one overly sweet and teeming with caramelized sugar bits and the other a tad bland. I would definitely love to dine here again.

Really really excellent. From the amuse bouche, to our carpaccio starter, to my braised lamb, everything was simply wonderful. OK, the iced tea wasn’t awesome, but everything else wonderful. We’re still raving about it the next day.

The atmosphere was lovely and the food was fantastic. My boyfriend and I shared the Carpaccio (fantastic) and I got the Crudité salad (added chicken) and my boyfriend got «The 55» which is the burger and it was top notch. We just sat at the bar and our server was lovely and very attentive. It seemed a bit quiet for a Saturday night, but we felt it was due to the fact that it was Memorial Day Weekend. We’ve only heard great things about The Rusty Spoon and our experience was very satisfying. We will be back!

My husband didn’t need to season his food, which is a first in our 8 years of marriage. The food was well seasoned, flavorful. I had the watercress tomato, sunflower sprouts and buffalo mozzarella to start and enjoyed every bite. Main ordered the summer lasagne which was delicious but challenging to eat as the pasta was al dente and the sauce watery. My husband ordered the steak which was undercooked for his liking but was so flavorful with a perfect char. For dessert we ordered the strawberry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla gelato. Service was great and it is always a nice touch when they bring you out a complementary ham and cheese fritter courtesy of the chef. Would love to return.

A top notch experience with excellent service and amazing food.
I had been wanting to stop by Rusty Spoon since arriving in Orlando. Located on Church Street near 55 Weat, Rusty Spoon is a local «farm to table» restaurant with big beautiful tinted windows that calls for you to try them out. I finally got the chance to stop by last week, and boy does it live up to the hype.
The restaurant is split into two main areas. The main area you see when you go in is a huge bar with tables surrounding it that are located mostly to the far side. Behind the bar wall is another lower-​lit area that looks to be more meant for dinner and more intimate experiences. When I stopped by, I decided to sit at the bar. A wonderful gentleman named Kenny came over, introduced himself, and gave me all the information I could ever want about the restaurant and the food. I actually thought he was the owner at first, but he is just the bartender who has been there since they opened. Not only was he working the bar, but he was handling orders for the entire area! Despite what seemed like an unmanageable workload, Kenny was still able to make good conversation and get things to me in a decently prompt manner. If you stop by Rusty Spoon, be sure to ask for him and his little pot he uses to refill your water.
I decided to order the 55, a burger filled with bacon and cheese and topped with onions and something else that was tasty. The burger was so amazing that I in no way needed any condiments, which is unheard of for me. It came with a set (actually a mountain) of fries that had some type of seasoning sprinkled on top of them that paired exquisitely with the burger. The fries came with an organic sugar-​free ketchup that my wife normally tries to get me to use. While I would normally resist, it actually went perfectly with the fries. The thought that went into creating this meal was truly extraordinary. The entire meal cost something like $ 10-​$ 12, which is an absolute steal.
Overall, Rusty Spoon is a wonderful restaurant that provides excellent service and food that is tasty AND well planned. In a world full of «farm to table» restaurants that often underwhelm, Rusty Spoon emphatically delivers.

I love trains, so we sat outside a few feet away from the train. The food was very good, the service was great. A bit pricey, but worth it.

We visited restaurant for the dinner with the group. Very nice location, right in the downtown of Orlando. Inside restaurant is quite spacious, but doesn’t help with the level of the noise (yes, you have tow scream to talk to your neighbor).
We visited restaurant on Tuesday, which happened to be our lucky day — all wines were half price, glass or bottle, so it really helped — the wine list has a number of reasonably priced options, but still, you can’t argue with 50% discount.
We started dinner with a few appetizers which we shared. Fresh oysters were absolutely outstanding, great flavor, perfect size — 2 dozens disappeared in no time. We also shared a few salads (they were good) and couple of Butcher’s Plates — note that while this dish is tasty, it is shareable for only two people.
For the main course, I had seared tuna on a bed of shrimp fried rice. The tuna was cooked properly (medium-​rare), however, it was served practically at a room temperature, which was not good. Also the dish was very dry overall, lacked practically any sauce. Yes, I sound like a judge on Chopped, but this really took away from the experience. Some of my dining companions had lamb shank which was cooked for 24 hours, and that dish was definitely very tasty.
Very nice dessert, both in regular and liquid form (nice selection of Port). Mini doughnuts with chocolate sauce was a pure decadence on the plate. Good coffee was also appreciated.
Good friendly service overall (wine service can be improved — bit of a formal training would help).
Recommended.

The Rusty Spoon is a great place for a power lunch, but since I’m vacationing it’s perfect for out-​of-​towners too. The dining room has a very rustic and welcoming vibe. Excellent Caesar salad with lettuce from Frog Song. The onion rings are like donuts with an onion in the middle. My friend thought the clams were delicious. The fish and chips were good, but the fries stole the show. They were hand cut shoestring fries with a hint of garlic and parmesan. Kenny was very attentive and hospitable.

Delicious, delicious, delicious! Foodie heaven people! Rusty Spoon is a TRUE scratch kitchen!
It’s located right in the 55 West Plaza and you have to park under i4 or garage to get here but it is so well worth it.
Been here a few times. First time I had some sort of flat short noodle pasta dish with chicken and mushrooms and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was full half way in and just wanted to keep eating!
Recently had the snapper sandwhich. I’m not a normal sandwhich eating gal BUT, yum yum YUM!
The toasted bread it came on tasted like something I would imagine Chef Ramsey would serve! The snapper was cooked just perfectly and tasted amazing. It also had a small side of salad on the plate which was just the right size to compliment the dish and was drizzled with a freshly made dressing.
On to the rest. The restaurant is always full. It did take long on the lunch hour. The hostess, not so great. No smile and seemed bothered. The gentleman who was handling the bar area was also our waiter. 5 stars for this guy, super professional! Made us feel great and he explained the specials with such enticement!
The inside is very rustic and comfortable with brick exposures.
My fellow foodies, you have to eat here, everything is fresh! I usually don’t go on and on but Rusty Spoon deserves this 5 stars!

This restaurant tries really hard to be modern and innovative but their food doesn’t live up to their promised standards. The quality is good but the execution is sadly lacking. I’m actually surprised that the chef is a James Beard nominee. Perhaps he/​she was nominated for a vegetable dish, because that’s the only thing they got right. The main meals were underwhelming and the portion was off. Either too much protein and not enough garnish or vice versa. And to finish, the donuts I ordered for dessert were delicious on the outside but every one of them was raw in the middle.
That being said, I wouldn’t waste my money here again and I’d recommend trying somewhere else. For over $ 20 an entrée, I expect the food to be superb, not subpar.

Made reservations to have dinner here on a Sunday evening with friends from NYC. We are all foodies and have high expectations l. This place did NOT disappoint! I requested outdoor seating so I could bring my pup. We were all a little bummed we couldn’t eat inside because the ambiance looks really nice inside! The patio is very boring outside and we had a lot of road noise. We ALMOST left before we ordered because the menu was so limited. I had been wanting to try the 55 burger for like a year now so we decided to stay and try the burger even though graffiti junction across the street was tempting us. I am soooo glad we stayed! All four of us ended up ordering the burger and we all died over it! It’s stuffed with bacon and gruyère cheese with some type of special (magical) sauce on top. The burger was a great size and extremely juicy! The flavor of this burger is like nothing I’ve ever had before! My friend was surprised when they had gluten free buns also! I opted for the gf bun also but the burger was soo good I could eat it without the bun! Oh and the haystack fries… Covered with truffle cheese. Sooo good! I almost kicked the plate. This place is a MUST for a date night and a burger! I will be back just for the burger and haystack fries!!!

Vivacious, inspiring, honest, dedicated, a savant chef, and an incredible mom, Chef Kathleen Blake could easily be nominated for epitome of womanhood award. It is with immense pleasure and pride today we share her story at the most fortuitous moment — helm of the five-​year anniversary of Rusty Spoon, the brain child of Chef Blake and husband Mr. Blake.
A food and life philosophy with sustainability and local produce at it’s epicenter, Chef Blake is a staunch advocate of supporting Central Florida’s local community of farmers she considers «Super Heroes». Few of her friends — Jim Wood with Palmetto Creek Pork, Melani and Roger’s Waterkist Farm, Dale Volkert’s Lake Meadow Naturals, and Wild Ocean Seafood Market have earned a permanent spot at Rusty Spoon.
Lake Meadow «Red Devil» Stuffed Eggs — Tabasco, Cornichons, Tons of Herbs & Oven-​Dried Tomatoes. With the variety of dishes and flavors she can create from one single egg, Chef Blake is the «Egg Queen». Red Devil Eggs simply put are a gastronomical quickie!
«Lake Meadow» — Spinach, Escarole Hearts & Watercress with Lake Meadow Soft Cooked Egg & Sautéed Chicken Livers tossed with Warm Bacon Vinagrette. It doesn’t come fresher than this — a perfectly poached Lake Meadow egg adorning sweet chicken liver bites, smoky bacon dressing, local greens. It’s the definition of farm to table on a plate.
Waterkist Farms tomato salad with ricotta, drizzled with balsamic glaze. No matter where you are, the «best tomato» is the closest one; showcasing it’s sweetness, freshness, and terroir. And nothing is closer or sweeter (aside from San Marzano of course) than Waterkist Farm’s heirloom bounty. Ms. Julia Child’s famous words come to life each bite — «You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces — just good food from fresh ingredients».
Remodeled Lasagna — Mélange of Local & Wild Mushrooms with Wilted Spinach, Roasted Butternut Squash, Shaved Pecorina & Brodo. We all are intimately familiar with lasagna Bolognese, the Northern Italian casserole made with pasta layered with cheese sauce, slow-​cooked meat sauce, and cream. I am here to remind you that in all my numerous travels in Italy, I not even once ate this sloppy mess. What I tasted, relished, all over Venezia, Milano, Florencia, and Roma, and to date crave was a rendition similar to Chef Blake’s deconstructed plate of happiness. Keeping up with seasonal ingredients, earthy mushrooms, sweet squash, swimming in deeply flavored yet delicate broth, I could live on this and never even crave meat. Yeah baby, I went there!
Jamison Farm Lamb Shank — Fragrant Couscous, Wilted Greens & Moroccan Chermoula. Singularly the most handsome chunk of lamb I have had the privilege to experience in Florida. Transported all the way from Pennsylvania, Jamison’s Farm all natural, free of hormones, antibiotics, herbicides and insecticides seems the only choice for Chef Blake’s soul satisfying lamb boasting deep and savory flavors. Do restrain from an inexplicable desire to literally lick your plate.
Grown-​Up S’More — Graham Cracker, Milk Chocolate, Marshmallow. Even I am rendered speechless in describing this ethereal chocolate indulgence. I highly recommend ordering it before your meal, heck who said sweets can be relished only after an entrée? Another exemplary example of my admiration for Chef Blake’s ingenuity — each dish a balance of sweet and savory, textural interplay which I personally consider Chef Blake’s culinary fingerprint. Yes, even in a blind tasting setting, I will be able to identify Chef Blake’s dish.
Its been said that the difference between a Good meal and a Great meal is that, with the former, you finish the meal thinking, «The Food was Good». With a great meal, you can’t help but think, «Life is Good».
When food is treated with the respect it so richly deserves, it becomes a way of life. Chef Blake’s undettered focus on seasonality and highest quality ingredients on a daily basis is a full circle farm to table experience. And that my dear friends, is where you can taste the difference!

So, I ordered the 55 burger. It looked good. I really had a hard time seeing the menu cause it was dark outside and the place was about to close. I wouldn’t ever order a burger from this place again. It had no flavor. Very plain and fell apart. The guy next to me ordered the same burger. He thought it was fine and mentioned that it was cooked medium just exactly the way he wanted it.
My friend comes here often and says the place has really good food. So I’ll try it a few more times.

Had the grilled octopus as an app by the bartender’s recommendation. Super super good and exceeded my expectations.
Grabbed the pudding trio for dessert — must have. Rice pudding, Carmel and chocolate. Perfect mix. Match with a French press coffee.
Will deff be coming back!

I made a reservation on a Thursday but there really was no need they had plenty of tables for some reason they didn’t seat me until we were both there. The Slow Braised Lamb Sandwich was alright the bun was very big I would serve it on a smaller Brioche bun. We also ordered the Dirty South it was good nice flavor and portion.

Thank goodness for the Rusty Spoon! This has to be an Orlando gem, right? I’m not from the area but I’m so glad my coworker and I went here. We arrived just after 10pm after a long day of work wanting a delicious meal and although they closed at 11pm a delicious meal is what we got and explorations service as well. (thanks James!)
We started with the deviled eggs and the haystack with the three sauces and my oh my both were delicious. I’m not sure if it’s just an Orlando thing but I had deviled eggs at three separate restaurants during my short trip there and all were rather tasty. The three sauces for the fries were also delicious. The rusty spoon aioli was my favorite. So, so good!
My coworker and I both got the tuna special for dinner. There was a lot of components and I can’t remember all of them but bravo to the chef for this one.
And last but not least — the grown up s”more. We shared this but I could have easily devoured one of my own. Simply delicious.
So happy to have stopped in here and will for sure return when I’m in Orlando next!

I’m really split on The Rusty Spoon. Our server was friendly and the food was good (especially the desserts!), but (apparent) portion cutting for Magical Dining Month and slow service kind of put a damper on the experience.
We started off with a Due South lager and beer cocktail, the latter of which was better than expected. Our server went over the specials but did not mention the Magical Dining Month promotion initially. Only after we asked for the menu did he bring it out; in hindsight, this is sort of interesting. It is the first restaurant I’ve visited during Bite or MD Month that didn’t hand out their promo menu when seating guests.
My wife and I ordered the deviled eggs and butter-​poached local clams as our appetizers. We got a decent amount of clams but, judging from the other deviled egg dishes coming out of the kitchen, it looked like we got a half-​portion — we only received three pieces while other dishes had six. I get that these restaurants are giving you a great deal but I was a little taken aback. Out of the two appetizers, I preferred the eggs, which had great flavor. The clams were fine, but nothing special.
For our entrees, we ordered the Dirty South, which is a shrimp plate with grits, and the Lake Meadows chicken quarters, which came with sausage and grit fries. The grits were extremely creamy and quite good. The chicken dish won the entrée round for me, as I thought the broth they used with it was a good mix of salt and spice. The grit fries were interesting.
The desserts were easily the best thing we ate. Both the adult s’mores and the donuts were outstanding. I could see myself visiting again just for the dessert.
The entire meal, from sitting down to walking out the door, took a little over two hours, which is, quite frankly, absurd. I was not under the impression that it had anything to do with the server; it felt like the biggest hold up was the kitchen. The restaurant, for a Saturday night, was not crowded. I would say it was somewhere a little north of quarter capacity and there were a good twenty to thirty minutes between courses. Granted, I had great company but we kept wondering where our food was. The drinks, bill, refills, etc. came swiftly.
There are quite a few restaurants around town that do the whole «locally sourced ingredients, ever-​changing menu» thing and I think The Rusty Spoon needs to make a few tweaks to really stand out. Nothing was truly terrible (even the wait, which I wasn’t a fan of), but nothing blew me away, except for the desserts.
Also, in case you were wondering, the spoons are not rusty.

Had a delicious dinner at the Rusty Spoon this week. I had the tile fish special, cooked perfectly with a crispy skin and a rich buttery risotto base, with citrus flavors cutting through the richness. What a dish.
And, so I am in love with the shrub, had a delicious peach shrub single malt whisky drink before dinner. Fabulous.

3 Stars because they are inventive and use local ingredients, but I haven’t been wowed by anything yet.
I’ve been to The Rusty Spoon a handful
of times and held out on writing a review thinking I was just missing that one exceptional experience.
What I really like:
— locally sourced meat, eggs, and veggies! The menu is chock full of stuff that would make your locavore buddies proud.
— the haystack fries! Because who doesn’t like shoestring fries with multiple sauces? No one. That’s who.
— Peach cobbler dessert. Mmmm– seasonal and tasty! Still, we didn’t end up finishing it completely (shared among three of us).
What wasn’t as great:
— Service has been friendly, but every time I’ve gone we’ve been abandoned by our server and struggled to get the bill, get silverware, etc. they often start strong, but even on a slow day service falls off.
— The lunch sandwiches have been hit or miss for me. I just haven’t left thinking «I’ll be back for that dish!»
I’ll still be back to try the Lamb sandwich everyone’s been mentioning on here. Hopefully that’ll put it over the edge because this is one of those spots I really want to love!

C’est magnifique!
Rusty Spoon is a modern American gastropub with deep European roots. This kind of place doesn’t sound like it belongs on Church Street, however you should be glad it is. Downtown dining needs to come a long way, and this place raises the bar.
The décor is sleek, upscale, yet rustic or «earthy minimal» in it’s furnishings and color palate.
The menu is well thought out, and pretty reasonable actually. I tried several things across the menu including: boiled eggs with homemade tapenade, haystack fries with shredded romano and 3 made-​in-​house dipping sauces, which featured a bold and delicious gourmet ketchup, curry dip and aioli. Both were memorable and recommendable. Others at the table raved about the Shiitinonion soup and the clam appetizer.
For the entrée, I chose the heralded Slow Braised Lamb «handheld» which is a worldly take on a French Dip, sort of. Tender, shredded lamb with ricotta and a gourmet dressing atop a Moroccan flatbread. With a delicate side salad, this $ 11 meal was very satisfying. I tried some of the handmade vegetarian lasagna which was as visually appealing as it was tasty.
The dessert menu cannot be skipped, especially on a birthday occasion. We tried the homemade donuts (good, but not my fave), the adult s’mores (THE best!), a duck egg sabayon which is a light custard-​like concoction that dances across your tongue, and a peach cobbler type deal. It was a sweet finish, that’s for sure.
I hope to return soon. Please check this place out. It’s a great addition to downtown, and the menu offerings are sure to surprise you.