Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen — Restaurant in Orlando

So we decide to come here for our first Magical Dining Month restaurant of the year, based on menu alone, and we were surprised to find it all the way out in Lake Nona. We didn't think there was anything out there but the medical school. We get there, however, and we see the restaurant nestled right next to Bosphorus in this quaint little shopping complex with a hotel and plenty of space for new businesses. The parking garage even has a projection show on it with jellyfish and fish adorning it. It's a really pretty scene, and I liked being there.

We chose this place because it's a 'small plates' kind of restaurant, and for Magical Dining Month we got to choose two things from the apps, two things from the entrees, and one dessert. So we got everything. Because that's what we do. Refer to my picture of the menu for further detail on the dishes.

The apps: The heirloom salad was good. I liked all the different tastes from the onion and the beet and the crouton, but the salad tongs it was served with were hard to use. Just be forewarned. The fried goat cheese was the most unique thing I ate that night. It was also the second best. It was fried with the cheese all ooey and gooey on the inside, and the honey with thyme set it off in just a way that I instantly wanted to apply to be on Chroma's food development team. The spring rolls were ok. It was a ton of lump crab meat, which was super appreciated, but like, I just feel like it wasn't married to the idea of the spring roll. It just wasn't connected enough for me. Maybe I watch too much Chopped. The chicken satay was very solid. They were perfectly cooked chicken skewers, nice and moist, and the peanut sauce was absolutely dynamite. Nice and thick and creamy and peanuty! Highly recommend.

The mains: The lamb ribs were easily my favorite dish of the night. Korean sticky ribs are one of my favorite things in general. Nice and sticky and flavorful. Meat fell right off the bone. The Chroma burger was two sliders, which were solid. Even though they were well done, the burgers were still nice and juicy, thanks to a higher fat content, I'm sure. And the bacon jam really set it off. Bacon jam is such an awesome burger topping. The fish and chips were ok. The fries were seasoned nicely. The fish was four white fish medallions that I could dip in the tartar sauce provided. There was a lot of malt vinegar in it, so be wary. And the flatbread. Was very good. One of the better ones I've ever had. The crust was chewy and crisp, the ham added that meaty umptiousness, the almonds added that great crunch, and the goat cheese, well, goat cheese adds to everything. I love goat cheese.

The desserts: There were five to choose from. We chose the blueberry peach cobbler, and the house special, the bread pudding. The cobbler was good, but the peach slices within could have been cooked to a little bit more of a tenderness. The bread pudding was out of this world. There were only a few hunks in the small vessel it was served in, but those hunks were charred and crisp or moist and delicious. And there was ice cream on top! Such an awesome dessert.

Overall, this was awesome. There wasn't a bad dish in the house, and the way they came out one at a time gave my girlfriend and I a chance to really ponder each dish and talk and have a great time. Normally, I'd probably give this place four stars, but because of their great Magical Dining menu, and our wonderful server, I bumped it up to a...

Sadly our visit to Chroma was very disappointing, we have be to this restaurant before and have had a completely different experience. However, today the Sunday lunch rush began to cause problems for the critically acclaimed restaurant, when not only ourselves but other patrons began to wait far too long for food.

I have worked different restaurants before and understand that the kitchen gets back up. it is however important to do what you can to manage the situation, such as bring out side orders and appetisers for certain patrons that have them readily made in order to make sure each table isn’t waiting too long for their food. in our case we waited over 45minutes for our food that never arrived, while another table that arrived 30minutes after we did received their food within 10minutes this was an appetiser, we also had an appetiser which was merely truffle fries that would have taken far less time than the appetiser we saw come out to arrive. We continued to wait an extra 15 minutes for at least our fries to come out let alone the dishes we ordered to no avail. Whilst I am aware this is a fine dining restaurant that is also having a back up on orders, this is no excuse to wait an hour for something as simple as french fries, had these been brought out to soften the blow of the wait time I would have understood.

Ultimately we made the choice to exit the restaurant which we did not want to do as we are aware the food is good. As we left however we felt disrespected by staff as no one seemed to care that the timing had taken this long since it was happening to everyone, this is still no excuse to dismiss a customer let alone patronise them as they leave. I did not appreciate being told “we are not a quick service dining spot”, this kind of comment is unacceptable behaviour especially coming from a manager as we decided to exit. While we appreciate our drinks being comped (only orange juice by the way) I do not appreciate being disrespected as I leave a service that was far less than satisfactory. The standard which is to be upheld by a restaurant of this calibre was completely none existent today during the brunch portion of the day, no one should wait over 60minutes for something like french fries no matter the restaurant is quick service or Michelin star and if you are experiencing issues with service you find a way to manage the situation to continue keeping your customers happy whilst the wait continues.

Our only saving grace today was that our specific waiter was a very nice person and I could tell he himself felt quite bad about the situation, despite being dismissed by everyone else in the restaurant. Disappointing as we have had a positive experience previously, this however does not excuse the way we were treated...

Chroma is a clean modern tapas style restaurant. The service is pleasant but its a little too "try hard" for the quality of food they serve. Most of the food doesnt stand out in any particular form and the overdone service as if its a michelin restaurant makes it humorous when paired with the detailed mistakes and lack of service knowledge. Id advise to provide a service that is on par with the food quality and staff knowledge of the culinary and beverages served. Acting like a sommelier for mediocre over priced wines and making mistakes while doing it is quite the show.... Best to just hand over the wine and say enjoy.

The tuna tartar was of mid quality. The added cucumber was not a tasteful addition to the dish. Lose the cucumber and replace it with a couple wedges of lime. Consider upgrading the wonton. Overall this dish was ok.

The chroma sliders were very greasy. On first bite the flood gates of grease overpowered anything this dish had to offer.

The grilled octopus was good. No complaints there. Potentially a little overly seasons and over cooked. It lost its fresh fish taste. This dish was good but its octopus for people that dont like octopus.

The ricotta flatbread was really decent but the bread used could have been better. Consider using real bread vs grocery store toast quality bread. The square presence of the bread and the under toasting did affect the dish but overall not bad.

The chicken skewers were potentially the best dish. The peanut sauce was the correct consistency. The chicken was cooked to perfection. If I were to come back this is the one thing I'd get again (and the flatbread if the bread is upgraded)

The wine was mediocre served in a decanter (its a $20 bottle in the grocery store dont give me a decanter). The act of being a sommelier and leaving cork in the wine and potentially risking the aluminum packaging going into the glass by pouring the wine out directly on the peeled off but left on the bottle packaging killed the trick.

Cocktails were mediocre. Beer was standard.

While staff was extremely kind and the atmosphere was nice, the food (which is what you're there for) lacked due to small details. All in all it felt a little funny having such nice people serving us as if we were in a higher end restaurant. The decour quality exceeded the taste of food. Focus on improving the food first, and Spend less time hyping the restaurant through visuals and hospitality rituals and this place could be really...