Knife & Spoon — Restaurant in Oak Ridge

Knife & Spoon is a 1 michelin star surf and turf restaurant located inside Marriott's Ritz Carlton at Grande Lakes Orlando.

The restaurant's ambient lighting is mostly the natural light provided by the glass panes that surround the restaurant and some ceiling fixtures. For the accent lighting, they have light fixtures on each of the pillars inside the restaurant and also a small candle at each table. If you go during the night, then the dimly lit environment provides an intimate ambiance.

Throughout our dining experience, we had different people providing different services. Once we got seated, our main host walked us through the entire menu and how it is set up, which was helpful. Though they talked really fast and with all the background noise, it was a bit hard to hear them clearly.

The service was mostly great, but there were instances when it felt a bit too much. During some instances, it felt like the servers were trying really hard to get us to order a certain menu item. Our server, in fact, said it herself, "I feel like I'm bullying you into ordering something." At another instance, we asked our second host some clarification questions around the menu when the main host walked in on our conversation and she stood there the whole time as if she wasn't happy with that. For some courses, they skipped cleaning, and at other times, we had to ask them multiple times when we realized that they weren't paying attention.

Now let's talk about the food. You can either pick Chef's tasting menu for $135 + taxes, or you can do a la carte. The 2 of us picked their a la carte dining option and made it a 4-course dining experience.

1st course (colds)- Hamachi Steak tartare

2nd course (hots)- Crab scampi Gnocchi

3rd course (main)- Filet mignon Dayboat catch

Sides- Potato puree Cultivated mushrooms

4th course (dessert)- Caramel Dulcey The apple

Drinks- Take the pain away Florida boulevard Jimmy sears

Both the cold dishes were amazing. I personally liked the hamachi more. The fish was fresh, and the oil really enchanced the flavors. Suprisngly, it had a somewhat fruity flavor. Tartare had some crisps on top, which really complimented the soft texture of the meat, and the mustard was great too, not too overpowering.

Between the 2 hot dishes, scampi was definitely better than the gnocchi. Scampi was very creamy, and thankfully, crab didn't smell fishy at all. Gnochhi itself was very light and airy and felt like you were eating a cloud, but the sauce was very watered down and had a very sharp after taste of peanuts.

Between the 2 mains, filet mignon was better than the fish. The fish was cooked a bit unevenly. Some parts of the fish felt very dry compared to the other parts. The filet was cooked perfectly just the way we wanted, and the sauce that came with the filet was really good, too. Meat was tender and juicy.

Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the 2 desserts we got. They were decent. They were too sweet, and there were too many flavors and textures in each dessert that didn't quite go well (for me personally).

Our drinks were pretty good. Jimmy Sears had a strong raspberry flavor. Take the pain away was buttery and smooth. Florida Boulevard had a sweet and sour taste.

Overall, it was a good experience. I felt it was a bit on the pricey end given the overall food and...

Overall It Left a lot in Wanting

I went into Knife & Spoon with high hopes expecting an exceptional meal, and was left disappointed.

The service was standard, yet could be improved upon. I made it clear that I was pressed for time with my server, yet the gap between my courses was a bit too much, even for a somewhat busy night.

I asked the server if the chef had any butters for the steak, only to receive the response that the chef believes a good steak should speak for itself. While I’m inclined to somewhat agree, this steak was not a steak that could stand on its own.

I ordered An 8oz filet blue rare, yet it came out Pittsburgh rare. Unless the restaurant normally chars the meat that much, I found the amount of char excessive, even for a steak that size. While this may seem pedantic, a restaurant of this caliber should get these things pitch perfect.

As for the flavor, it was bland and empty. Of all the steaks I’ve had, this is the one that most needed butter, sauce or anything.

The appetizers were ordinary. The steak tartare was good, but not breathtaking, and the oysters could have been fresher.

The Kimchi creamed spinach was good in name only. I’ve had box ramen with more flavor.

Nothing was horrifying about the experience, it’s just not up to standard. This is the first time in my fine dining experience that I ate every plate thinking of times I had this exact same dish somewhere else much better, and oddly enough, when I wasn’t in a rush, much quicker.

However, if I could return, I would. I didn’t get the chance to dine in the dining room, but from what I saw it had an interesting ambience. Most restaurants seem to love making the rooms so dark you can’t see the menu; Knife & Spoon does provide a lovely openness to the feel of the dining room.

I would also get a ribeye instead of filet next time. The menu definitely favors the ribeye, which is an easier cut to get right, especially if the chef thinks bernaise, truffle butter, etc shouldn’t be on the menu.

Again, nothing was obscenely wrong, just not great either; it was just another restaurant, and at no point do I want to associate anything with the Ritz Carlton with easily...

We ate at Knife and Spoon Jan 14th, my first experience eating at a michelin started restaurant and one of many that my girlfriend has dinned at. The atmosphere was good, the restaurant is beautiful. The wait staff was impeccable. Some of the food was top tier, but to our disappointment the $190 steak we ordered was not. I ordered the 32oz bone in ribeye 60 day aged at medium rare, but when it arrived it was charred on the bottom and the center was cooked to medium well. The outside edges were well and the steak itself lacked salt, tasted bitter from the char on the bottom, and was surprisingly chewy. It was truly a disappointment! We had these reservations for weeks and that was what I was looking forward to the most. Now, beyond the steak... The Hamachi was excellent, the breads were amazing, the lobster was very good yet on edge of being chewy. The Mac and cheese was delicious, the pureed potatoes were the best I've ever had, and the mushrooms were stiff and undercooked, but the flavor was good. We had 4 different mixed cocktails between us and every one was spectacular. When I showed the maitre d the center of the steak and the char at the bottom, she immediately apologized and offered for the kitchen to cook me a fresh one. I declined because it takes 45 mins to cook and at that point we were there for almost an hour and a half. She did remove the steak from the bill and then apologized, inviting me back for the opportunity of redemption which I do appreciate.

All in all, the experience was a let down but there were glimmers of their true potential. I'm not sure if I'll ever come back, but it's a possibility. The wait staff was exceptional and we tipped 25% including the price of the steak that was removed because of the exceptional hospitality. I spent 8 years in the restaurant industry when I was younger, everything from James beard award winning Norman Van Akens 1921 to small upscale French and Italian restaurants... Sending out that steak was a serious mistake, it just...