Se7enBites — Restaurant in Orlando

The only saving grace of this place was the manager and the gentleman with the orange-reddish glasses.

When you first arrive, you might see a long line. Like any normal person, your first thought is probably, Okay, how long? So I asked the door attendant, and he said 15–20 minutes. I had my doubts, but he was right—the line moved quickly, and he was cordial. If you give respect, you get respect. Take this time to ask questions if you're unsure about what to order. He recommended the Morning Smash Up. The first thing I did was check the price, and then I agreed to try it.

Then the wait continued. I ended up getting in within the expected time, and that’s where the issues started. I knew it would be loud, but it was loud.

You're required to pay before sitting down, including tipping. I didn’t have an issue with that, but since you're tipping upfront, customer service becomes even more important. I sat down, time passed, and eventually, I asked a waiter, Hey, any idea how much longer? He said he’d check with another waiter. That second waiter came over, and her response was condescending—like I was being a bad patron for even asking. It was a simple question that required a simple answer.

That interaction probably played a role in my not enjoying the burger (I’ll try to be fair here), but the food wasn’t good at all. It tasted worse than average. A McDouble has more flavor. And don’t even get me started on the fries. They tasted like frozen ones from the grocery store with some salt sprinkled on top. There’s no reason McDonald’s or even Chick-fil-A should have better fries than you. Do better.

This experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I requested a refund on my tip (since it was shared) to make sure that condescending server didn’t get a dime. Instead, I tipped the one person who remained neutral and just did their job with cash.

Let’s be honest—some of these restaurants get such big egos that their food quality declines. I even saw a woman next to me barely touch her plate, and the waiter/busser asked if she was gone or coming back. The hive-mind mentality of blindly maintaining positive reviews is wild to me. This isn’t the first highly-rated restaurant I’ve been to that left me disappointed—it’s just the first where the customer service matched the food:...

So according to the wonderful readers of Orlando Weekly, Se7en Bites was the best place to have breakfast this past year. Along with that, this place has gotten a LOT of press and media attention. I figure it was time to start acting like a local and come here. The place simple and eye catching on the outside, and casual and comfortable on the inside.

Pro tip: They sell enamel pins, for you people out there who collect pins.

We walked up to the counter and placed our orders.

I got the Minnie Pearl (two pearl sugar waffles hugging our "almost famous" buttermilk fried chicken with a splash of HOT (spicy, kickin, buffalo- for all you temp-spice-level wonderers) honey & over medium egg , topped with vanilla bean butter syrup & served with a side of cheddar chive grits).

This was excellent. The waffles had that pearl sugar inside of them that made them sweet but not too sweet, which Always pairs very well with Southern hot sauce. The big piece of fried chicken breast was fried perfectly and juicy as all get out. The grits were pretty ok. If they added a bit more cheddar to their recipe, I think that would serve them well.

I also got the chance to try a daily special of theirs, the SUPER Southern (cornbread waffle topped with cheddar chive grits, Ginger lemon BBQ pulled pork, 2 over medium eggs and finished with apple fennel slaw). This was the star of my meal here. That waffle was an excellent vehicle to absorb the pulled pork sauce, the egg yolk, and the acidity from the slaw. Very very good dish.

After the mains, I wandered over to the dessert counter. There were SO many options. There will be something for everyone here, I promise you. I was actually overwhelmed. I ended up splitting a thing with my table, a multi-layer thing that was part brownie, cookie, cheesecake, etc. The downfall of set-ups like this is usually that the stuff is too sweet, but not here. The monstrosity was just sweet enough.

Overall, this place is like an Orlando legend, and I can tell why. It's solid and not letting the hype and success let the quality suffer. I liked this a lot, and I...

We ordered the “ Minnie Pearl “ that was the best rendition I’ve have of chicken and waffles.The waffle was sweet but just right too. WHOMEVER cooked that chicken today. I love you.

( if you like my pics check out my ig : _ dan_chi )

We also had the 7th trimester. It’s a buttermilk biscuit with eggs and Mac & Cheese. The Mac and Cheese was great! I wish I subbed the over medium egg for scrabbled in hindsight. My only complaint is I felt like the sandwich was a bit dry.

Lastly we got the veggie biscuit delight. I didn’t like this one at all but I believe that might just be my palette. It had pimento cheese which I hated. I didn’t love the seasoning on the green tomato either. I will say the tomato was very fresh and the plate looked great too

The price point is high but the food looks of quality and definitely worth it. The portions are big too so you can sort of buffet style it and sample bites from others in your party.

There’s a bakery counter here too. I believe they make them in house. I loved the look of the counter too. It gave small town diner vibes meets a supernatural stop for Sam & Dean

We tried several bakery treats

The DWFM was extremely rich but good. The red velvet ding dong was ok. The amaretti cookie was super soft in the middle I didn’t love it. The lavendar bar was good too very adult meets hot tea on a fall day in Vermont on a mountain top.

There’s a line here I’m not sure if it’s because of Covid or that’s their usual. The restaurant gives a nice vibe for a small town feel meets chip & joanna...