Seito Sushi Baldwin Park — Restaurant in Orlando

Update 11.7.22: This restaurant continues to impress under Chef Huy Tin. The crab miso bisque has made occasional appearances as a winter seasonal item. Chef's tastings haven't been offered since the start of COVID, but I am told they may be starting up soon again. There are so many new and interesting flavors that have come up over the last few years. The menu is highly seasonal, with a few staple items that remain throughout the year, such as some specialty rolls. Thus has proven to be a successful model, given price increases and supply chain issues that cropped up during the covid era.

Since my original post, there have been a bevy of awards and mentions in the high-dining world given to this restaurant. All of them much deserved. Orlando Magazine just named them "best chef" for the 2022 Dining Awards, and they've been named "best sushi" two years running now (2022 & 2022). Orlando Sentinel's 2022 Foddie Awards gave them Reader's Choice, Best Sushi and Best Japanese. The owners were semifinalists in the 2022 James Beard Awards.

ANYTHING you try at this restaurant will be no less than perfection in a bite/sip. If you want the best Asian fusion in Orlando, you have to, HAVE to, HAVE TO eat here!

Reservations in advance are highly recommended, as it is nearly impossible to get a walk in or same-day reservation. Even two days out is pushing it as of now.

Edit 12.6.17: the crab bisque was retired due to lack of orders. Unfortunately, it seems as though not enough people knew of it's creamy goodness. There are plenty of other menu choices to make up for it. However, I will certainly miss this offering, and hope that one day it may return, even for a limited fall-winter run, or as an omakase item.

Two words: "Crab Bisque". Seito's version has a whole bunch of lump crab meat in it, and an added Asian flare with Japanese seasonings and a garnish of toasty sesame oil. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever tasted.

I discovered this beauty, along with so many others, at an upscale eatery in Winter Park's Baldwin Park called Seito Sushi. I had done a Google search of "sushi places near me" a long time ago, and this came up. I had perused their menu (which is kind of inaccurate now on the website, they definitely need to update)and decided I wanted to try them because of some interesting sushi recipes they had come up with. I am so sooooo glad I did. This place was way better than I expected. And being such an avid Asian food lover, I am surprised at myself for not knowing about it earlier.

This is the best Asian fusion restaurant I have ever eaten at. The restaurant design has all the class of a hip upscale lounge. It reminded me of my fond experience at an eatery in St. Petersburg called Sea Salt. There were stylish, beautiful people sipping martinis and sharing grilled duck bao at the bar(which are fantastic, by the way), young, fresh-faced professionals on the terrace sipping exotic teas and tapping away on their smartphones, and my group, staring wide-eyed and wondrous at the many delectable morsels that were cast in front of us as we ordered to out heart's content. But no one seemed stuffy or "too good" in there. I even spotted the head chef coming and going past our table with a bus boy to accept a delivery of what I can only imagine are ingredients for some Omakase experience you have to reserve at least 3 days in advance for.

Don't get me wrong, this place can cost you a few dollars if you're not careful. But it is entirely woth it. This place is truly a gem. I dare say it, but Morimoto Asia can go kick rocks. Rangetsu since they went all pseudo nightclub can go kick rocks. Try this place the next time you want to splurge on a date night or a birthday or just to get dressed up and feel classy while you eat some amazing food. You won't be...

So our friends came out to eat with us to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday. She got to choose the place, duh, so she decided to go with the place that Orlando Weekly readers voted as the best sushi in Orlando. We get here and first and foremost, the interior is beautiful. The atmosphere was dark, but the few light fixtures present were brilliant and popped in a way that made you feel like you were somewhere fancy. Only amplified by the giant, beautiful wine & spirits display smack dab in the middle of the dining room. So good.

Our server was super nice. She greeted us, did the whole asking us if it was our first time thing, and gave us plenty of time to figure out what we wanted to drink. I got a mocktail that was a blend of cold brew and honey and something else. I don't remember what it was called, but it was delicious. Sweet, but not too sweet.

I got two rolls, and I let our server choose for me. I said literally anything but lobster rolls. They just feel gimmicky to me. The first one she chose for me was the Siam (Shrimp tempura, tom yum mayo, jalapeno, avocado, yellowtail, ginger-lemongrass pesto, cilantro, tobiko, lime). Super fresh, not too saucy, the yellowtail was plentiful and forward, and the pesto gave the whole thing a ring depth that just felt right.

The second roll she chose for me was one that she said was off menu. They actually have a whole "roll"-o-dex that includes a ton of off-menu rolls, just in case there's nothing there that catches your interest. I don't remember what it was called, but I remember it has spicy tuna that was out-of-this-world tasty, avocado on top that wasn't too avocado-y thank God, and it came with two dipping sauces on the side. It was solid.

I just want to say that I'm so pleased that I asked for the best two rolls that the restaurant has and I didn't get two rolls that were covered in sauce or smothered in tempura flakes. This place lets the fish and the other lovely ingredients sing without covering them up with goo. Good for them.

My girlfriend got the best thing, though. She ordered the Nigiri Selection (Ten piece chef’s choice with thoughtful accoutrements). There were 10 different pieces on the plate, so it was basically a flight. Everything from wahoo to tuna to three different kinds of salmon. The most interesting one was the smoked salmon, but the best one by far was the salmon belly. It had some fat-ish marbling in there that made it the best bite of food from the whole meal. Wow.

The server also told us that if 10 didn't sound like enough that they have a 12 piece version as well, just so you know.

Overall, I loved this place. I come from a place that has some good sushi restaurants, the Gulf Coast, and I hadn't been wowed with Orlando sushi, until now. Seito deserves the top spot for sushi, as far as I can tell. Five stars all day. I hear that Kabooki gives them a run for their money, though. I'll have to head...

We used to love Seito Sushi, going mostly on special occasions. We went on Fri of Valentine's Day Weekend. Prior to arriving, we called to see what time was best. The woman who answered the phone advised us that it's the busiest between 6 and 8:30. We arrived at 8:30, expecting to possibly have a drink at the bar. This was the case and the bar service was exceptional. They were friendly and quick to get us our drinks. When our table was ready, we asked for our tab to be transferred to the table. Once at our table, we waited between 15 and 25 mins to have a server greet us. By the time he finally came, we decided on our entire meal. I ordered the ginger salad to start with and my fiance ordered the miso soup. We also decided that we'd start with 3 rolls and keep a menu in case we were still hungry. My best guess would be that the miso soup is not made to order, but judging by how long it took, you would think that was the case. Since we already had our drinks from the bar, the server didn't need to get us one at the moment. My salad came out in about 15 min, while my fiance's soup took another 10 min to get to the table. I requested an extra side of dressing upon receiving my salad. I never received that dressing. My fiance's glass was bone dry, while mine was almost finished. The server asked him if he wanted another drink and he agreed. We explained that my fiance got the beer special at the bar, which was $3, and figured he'd get it right because the tab was transferred. After waiting about 15 more min for his drink, we finally received his beer. It wasn't until then that the server asked if I wanted another drink. We were about 1/4 of the way through our rolls when the server warned us that "last call for food" was about to happen in the kitchen and the he urged us to get our order into the kitchen before it closed. We ordered the sizzling beef entree (not as good as I recall from the first time we were at Seito). The server brought us another soup, as if we wanted another one. He stated it came with the meal. I suggested he just take the one we ordered first off of the check, since the soup we just received came with the meal. We were finished with our rolls and just received our dinner portion by the time I received my glass of wine. The menu has downsized tremendously since we were last at Seito. The portions of the meals also downsized. The service has DEFINITELY downgraded. By the time we were finished with our dinner, we were so disappointed. We got the bill for over $100. I didn't think twice about just handing my card to the server and getting out of there. As he was running the bill, I looked over my charges and realized the server gave us the $7 beer special instead of the $3 beer special. The bartender from earlier that night made the corrections and we were on our way. Rushed and disappointed. We will...