The Osprey — Restaurant in Orlando

The Osprey is my favorite restaurant in Baldwin Park! Not only that, it’s easily one of the best restaurants in all of Orlando! If you’re looking for a place with a bright, clean, rustic atmosphere that at the same time has exceptional service and really unique/flavorful food, this is THE PLACE you should go! Food is 10/10, service is 10/10, and the location is 10/10!

We ordered many different things from the menu on our recent visit: Sweet Hawaiian Rolls, Crush Puppies, Calamari, Grilled Octopus, Cioppino, Florida Local Catch, and the Pink Lady Apple Tart for dessert! Everything was AWESOME! There wasn’t a single thing we ordered that we didn’t like. This is one of those restaurants where you could pretty much order whatever, and know it will be extremely good!

The Hawaiian rolls came with a super unique bee pollen butter - unlike anything we’ve ever had before! They were warm, and the butter paired so nicely with them. We’d literally have 10 orders of this and be happy. Their “crush puppies” are basically hush puppies with crab - also REALLY good! The sauce they come with is awesome and really makes the whole dish. Like the others, the calamari is another must-try! Definitely some of the best calamari we’ve had in a VERY long time…and we’ve had lots of calamari over the years! Same with the grilled octopus - we always will order this if it’s on a menu, and this was exceptional. This time, it had a unique spicy curry paired with it, and that combined with the nice grilled flavor was just wonderful, I do understand from other reviews that they like to change ingredients around, so if curry flavor isn’t your thing, there’s a good chance the next time you come in, the octopus will be cooked with completely new ingredients!

That’s what makes this restaurant special - even though they might keep a lot of the same menu items, they always like to play around with different ingredients and flavors, so it’s like you’re going to a new restaurant every time you visit! Now for the entrees, the local catch this time was a really meaty fish (similar to swordfish, but I forgot the name) and it was some of the best white fish we’ve ever tried - it had a pistachio sauce that was SO GOOD! The cioppino was also really good as well! It’s a bit different form your more traditional cioppinos, but we personally loved the broth. It had Calabrian peppers in it which made for a super unique but excellent flavor! And finally, the dessert rounded off the meal super nicely! The homemade green apple ice cream was unlike anything we ever tried, but was an easy 10/10. The apple tart was great as well! Combine both things together because that’s what tastes the best. Such great food here!!

I know this is a long review, but I can’t stress enough how good this restaurant is. If you’re anywhere in the Orlando area, this is easily worth the drive. It also helps that it’s located in downtown Baldwin Park, which is a great area to walk around in afterward! Our waitress was so on top of it, answered all of our questions, and really was awesome. I forgot her name (maybe Maggie?) but she really helped make this a 100/10 experience! We will be back!!!

EDIT: We’ve since come back and tried new menu items! We had the local catch of the day once again, and it was Swordfish! Amazing with the pistachio sauce - totally would recommend!! We had the Open Blue Cobia Crudo - a beautiful, fresh bite-size piece of sashimi packed with flavor. Another 10/10! The Bigoli Alle Vongole was really good, but still not as good as some other menu items, so I might recommend skipping that. The Josper Grilled Octopus was cooked different this time with pork belly on the side, and it might’ve been even better than before! How is that even better?! And finally, the Massachusetts Diver Scallops were SUPER expensive, but tasted wonderful! All in all, another wonderful...

We dined at The Osprey in Baldwin Park on a Friday night to celebrate my husband’s birthday. I’ve eaten in the area before and had been wanting to try this seafood restaurant for a while. Traffic was hectic (it was Halloween, after all, with lots of families out trick-or-treating), but parking wasn’t too difficult, I ended up at the nearby bank lot down the street, which was easy enough.

I had made reservations and called to let them know we’d be a bit late; they were very accommodating and still seated us right away when we arrived. The staff immediately wished my husband a happy birthday, which was a lovely touch. The dining room itself is beautiful, open kitchen, central bar, and a lively but comfortable atmosphere. There’s outdoor seating too, though we chose to sit inside.

Our server, Cass, was wonderful; attentive, professional, and warm. Since it was Halloween, the staff were dressed in costume, which made it even more fun.

We started with cocktails: I ordered the A La Mode from the spirit-free menu (spiced apple, coconut, cinnamon, lime, ginger beer) and added a shot of spiced rum—fantastic combination! My husband had a classic Old Fashioned, which he enjoyed. For appetizers, we tried the Cedar Key Clam Chowder and Ceviche. Both were good, the chowder flavorful, and the ceviche fresh and bright, though quite spicy from the chili crisp. The Sweet Hawaiian Rolls were okay, soft and warm but a little under-salted, and the honey butter didn’t quite add the punch of flavor I hoped for.

For entrées, my husband had the Florida Local Catch, which that evening was American Red Snapper (I believe). This was good but not great. The butternut squash was undercooked, though the raisins and pumpkin seeds were a nice touch. I requested the Branzino but asked if the chef could serve it with the sides listed for the scallop dish (polenta, roasted corn and jalapeño relish, and peanut salsa macha), which they kindly accommodated. Cass did mention the meal might come out “layered differently,” and indeed it did. The fish was plated separately from the sides. The branzino was served whole and butterflied, which was fine, but the presentation felt incomplete. The open center left plenty of space where the accompaniments could have been layered in to create a more cohesive and appealing plate. I ended up removing the meat myself and placing it on the side plate. While the fish itself was delicious, the plating missed the mark. The polenta had great flavor but was much looser than expected.

Although we didn’t order dessert, Cass kindly offered my husband a little sweet treat to go for his birthday, which was such a nice gesture and left a positive final impression.

Overall, the experience was pleasant—the service and atmosphere were lovely, and the food had some bright moments, but nothing truly stood out or left a lasting impression. I’d recommend The Osprey for a nice night out or a drink and appetizer at the bar, but for me, it wasn’t quite a...

When the Magical Dining menus come out every year, I examine each one, assign them a score, and go to the top five or six. Every year, no matter where the restaurant is, or how many times I've been there before. I lucked out this time, though, because the Osprey's menu was banging, and I had never been here before. This was my opportunity to strike.

Ambiance was upscale old world Florida. I can't explain why. You'll hopefully just agree with me when you see it. It was accentuated by the Ernest Hemingway quote on the wall. It was a very beautiful spot, like each of its sister restaurants.

Service was on point, too. Our server had a good command of the whole menu, especially the drink menu. She guided me towards the right mocktail to pick. She checked in on us the right amount, and the food came out promptly and of proper temp all night. Bravo.

As for the food, I'll outline it here.

Apps

Josper Roasted Pork Belly (stone fruit bbq, grilled summer greens). This was their 20th anniversary dish, and it was excellent. Well cooked, massively thicc slices of pork, accented well with the sweet bbq sauce, and those green were nice, too, like a skinnier bok choy. Very good.

Crush Puppies (blue crab, Florida sweet corn, green goddess). These, on the other hand, avoid these like the plague. Don't get me wrong, they were fine, soft hush puppies with a crisp exterior. But the fact that blue crab was the first listed ingredient was laughable. There were a few molecules in there, but really, just skip this and get the Smoked Fish Dip.

Mains

Swordfish Milanese (bagna càuda aioli, broccolini, meyer lemon). This thing was wonderful. It was pounded and breaded, like a swordfish schnitzel. It sat atop of a nicely spicy aioli and there was an acidic tang from the lemon around. The broccolini was a non-issue. Broccolini is such a useless veg. A very good dish overall.

Squid Fusille (pesto, marinated tomato, meyer lemon). Excellent, unique pasta dish! Tender, delicious squids swimming around a good amount of fusille, a wonderful pesto throughout that was accented perfectly with chunks of pecans sprinkled atop the dish. Pops of those acidic tomatoes every once in a while, just a well composed dish.

Desserts

White Chocolate Panna Cotta (brown butter streusel, apple butter). I love a good panna cotta. This one was white chocolate to a T. Perfectly sweet, contrasted against the very sweet streusel and the very tart apple butter. This dessert was very fun. I recommend.

Cannoli Trio (orange-cardamom, lemon pistachio, chocolate hazelnut). I love a flight. These cannoli were definitely not traditional, so if you're Italian, beware. But they were each filled with lovely cremes that were very strong and fragrant. Each one unique, each one delicious. A great way to end the meal.

Overall, this was a stunner of a meal. Can't go wrong with coming here for Magical...