Portillo's Waterford Lakes — Restaurant in Alafaya

Heard that Portillo's has some of the best hot dogs in town, so we decided to come here for lunch one day. Ambiance was really nice. Old school 1950's drive-in diner kind of stuff everywhere, with a specific Florida tinge to it. With the main centerpiece being the giant alligator mural right up front and center, eating some sandwiches. Very fun, I think.

Service was great. There was a dedicated door person who greeted us and made sure we knew the different ways we could order our food. He handed us menus and we started browsing. After we figured out how gluttonous we planned on being, I went up to the counter to order from a real person.

We started off with the Jumbo Hot Dog (Everything includes mustard, relish, celery salt, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle, and sport peppers piled onto a steamed poppy seed bun).

Classic Chicago dog, which is a perfect dog. Tangy mustard, sweet, acidic relish, the bite from that celery salt, the oniony onion, of course. Pickles and peppers finish it off and make for one of the better examples of a Chicago dog I've encountered in Orlando.

Then we moved onto the Rodeo Burger (Portillo's classic 1/3-pound char-broiled burger on a Brioche Bun, stacked with new thicker, crisper bacon, thinly-sliced red onion, onion rings, American cheese, and Portillo's tangy BBQ sauce).

A really nice thickness for a burger patty for a fast food joint. And they're right, too, the bacon is noticeably crispy. Mega big and crispy onion rings combine with the BBQ sauce and make for a really nice burger! Best fast food burger in Orlando.

We finished off with the classic Italian Beef Sandwich. The description of this sandwich is really long, and there seems to be infinite ways to customize it, I'm not sure what's most "traditional," but I asked for all the regular toppings, and the workers said I should add some cheese, so I did.

Wow, so good! They dip the sandwich in a jus, so the whole thing is beautifully soggy. You gotta eat fast. But you won't regret it. Do the lean, and dive in. Deep, flavorful beef, sweet and spicy, tangy and acidic peppers. Best thing I ate that day. Come get...

I am giving 4 stars because of the noise level which is pretty disturbing. I will come back to that. OK folks, the place has only been open a week so I would expect some glitches. I had a Big Beef with Giardiniera . It is confusing because they write "hot Peppers" on the ticket. Giardiniera is the secret sauce to the Beef sandwich. It would be like ordering a big mac and having the sauce held off. You gotta have the Giardiniera. My Big Beef was very tasty and I brought home 1/2 and as a late snack, still tasty. The fries likewise very well done and tasty. The unsweet tea was a bit weak, needs to have more tea in the water! I told M'Lady that the menu had pasta. The on line menu does show it but she did not see any indications and got the Fish Sandwich and Onion Rings instead. She raved about the onion rings and no complaints on the sandwich. OK back to the noise level. It is acoustically fatiguing. When the new Townhouse in Oviedo opened up it was also very noisy and I complained and within a month they installed acoustic panels on the ceiling. Problem Solved. For Portillos, the situation is much worse doe to the size of the building and number of patrons. The store was 95% capacity, if not more when we visited 713PM 12/20. I doubt that even at 30% the noise level will be tolerable. I worry about the staff and Chef's who will hear this for 40 hours a week. The noise suppression must include the kitchen where sound proofing of the sinks and counters (sound mats under the steel) might reduce noise (and shouting) from the kitchen. Then the dining area needs sound suppression panels. There may be temporary solutions, but enlist an Accoustic Engineer. There is a woman in Oviedo who has the credentials and is on Linkedin. Otherwise I am looking forward to some Chicago Style Hot dogs and (unlike another commenter) will not mind if heavily slathered with mustard and relish. I do hope you have celery salt, please have celery salt. ...

Portillo's Waterford Lakes: A Mixed Bag of Delights and Disappointments

My wife and I recently decided to try out the new Portillo's in Waterford Lakes, Orlando. The prices seemed reasonable, so we were optimistic about our dining experience.

I opted for the Italian beef, while my wife chose the broiled chicken sandwich. I swapped my fries for onion rings, but unfortunately, the onion rings were a letdown. They reminded me of the Burger King style, seeming frozen and not freshly deep-fried. My wife's chicken sandwich was also a disappointment, as it was plain, dry, and boring.

However, the Italian beef was a standout. It was flavorful, tender, and perfectly spiced with hot and sweet peppers. I didn't have it dunked in the sauce as it was already moist with the beef, but I did enjoy the au jus on the side. Without a doubt, the Italian beef was the highlight of our meal.

A few issues dampened our experience. None of the self-ordering kiosks were operational, which was frustrating. One of the fountain machines wasn't working, and there was no out-of-order sign, causing confusion and inconvenience for many customers. The nostalgic black and white floors weren't clean, which was disappointing for a new restaurant. Additionally, there was a blocked entrance in the dining room to accommodate an order queue, causing an egress issue.

Overall, while the food had its high points, especially the Italian beef, the visit was marred by operational and cleanliness issues. For a new place, it seemed to be lacking enthusiasm from the employees and had several kinks that needed to be worked out. Hopefully, future visits will show...