Garp & Fuss — Restaurant in Winter Park

A not so hidden gem 💎 (there’s a literal sign on the street pointing you in their direction) We made reservations this evening to celebrate my partners promotion and a night without kids.

Garp & Fuss comes up everywhere for places to try in the Winter Park area (and for good reason). A perfect place for a date night. It can be found tucked in a cool alley surrounded by some other businesses, this place is gorgeous and doesn’t feel like you’re in FL. From the atmosphere, to the service, to the food they hit it out of the park. Janelle (hopefully spelled this right) was our server and she was super kind and friendly. Even helped us with making some choices and they were all on point. Thank you!

To start off, we got some drinks - da pink Cadillac and their sangria both off of their cocktail menu, they’ve been in the gym because those drinks were strong. Aside from their cocktail menu they have a ton of other wine, beer and alcohol options.

Their big pretzel with mustard and beer cheese was my appetizer choice and I had zero complaints. The ol’ lady went with the mussels - and when she finished “those were the best mussels I’ve ever had in my life” - word for word was the first thing out of her mouth

Before I continue to our entrees did I mention how great the service was? Janelle was attentive with checking in and making sure all was well (it was!) got us a box for leftovers before our entrees came (a little touch goes a long way)

For our entrees, we went with their Fuss chicken sandwich and the 12oz rib eye. These did not disappoint! The chicken sandwich was flavorful, the blueberry relish really added a great touch to an already delicious chicken cutlet sandwich, the fries as a side were shining stars too. Some of the best fries I’ve had. They managed to get them crispy but also light and fluffy on the inside. The 12oz ribeye was juicy and seasoned perfectly. Tucked under that juicy steak blanket were their Chimi potatoes that could’ve been their own meal.

Tummies full and happy, we’re asked “by chance do you guys have room for dessert? (No i didn’t) but once we found out they had a Florida Orange cake that “tastes just like a creamsicle” I knew there was only one move to make.

Yes, we got it (to-go) I can’t and won’t ever turn down a creamsicle flavored dessert. I will follow up in the morning on how that is (I’ve got high hopes). UPDATE - as expected the cake was also very delicious. Spot on description!

Seriously this place is wonderful. Shoutout to everyone who keeps this place running. Jesus Christ himself must’ve been in that kitchen tonight whipping up the food because wow! 10/10s all around.

Jokes aside; if you’re on the fence on where to go out next, give Garp & Fuss a try. There are plenty of different options if you’re picky like me. It was even tough for me to make a choice, but we will be back to try more of their menu out...

What a great spot!

We don't get to Winter Park as often as we'd like but wanted to venture out of our usual go-to routine. The menu looked good, and being a Chicago native I spied an Italian beef style sandwich that was calling my name. I was all in.

Tucked away "off the beaten path" of the main Park Avenue establishments, we didn't find it right away. But once we did, it looked welcoming and fun from the outside. Our first stop was a couple of bar seats while we waited for a table but decided to stay since the bartenders were good people and it had a good vibe.

The menu is pretty extensive, and everything looked good. You could come close to having a different meal every day if you came here for a month. It was hard to pick just one thing!

First to try was the Mangia. It's a large tasty meatball in a marinara sauce with ricotta and with some fresh French style baguettes to dip or make mini sandwiches. It was delicious! My inky complaint would be to add a few more slices of bread so all the sauce can be mopped up.

For entrees, I had that Italian beef sandwich, or the "Garp" as it was named on the menu. It came with a tasty au jus and was piled with giardiniera for some extra flavor and spice. I did have to sub the side, though. The guy next to us at the bar had ordered a ribeye with some garlicky smashed potatoes and I had to have them. Awww, yeah. They were gooood. Can't go wrong with fried potatoes!

Next up was the Greek salad with Ahi tuna. Very fresh, thick cut of tuna, mixed greens, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes and a vinaigrette dressing with a hint of lemony flavor. And a mild cheese that added a nice touch.

For drinks, a nice Rose and the B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe were ordered up. Nice pours and the cocktail had decent strength with a nice peachy flavor and a hint of ginger beer spice. The bar area isn't huge but the space allows for good social interaction and would likely be a place we'd be at every weekend if it were closer. Had that neighborhood hangout feel, in a good way. Not too divey, not too snooty. Just right.

So what's all the Garp and Fuss about? Well, they're sisters. Garp is a cool chick behind the bar and Fuss is rocking the kitchen as the chef. As I suspected, they're fellow Chicagoans. Hence the Garp sandwich moniker. For those that aren't aware the 2 food groups in Chicago are deep dish pizza and Italian beef sandwiches.

There's a great atmosphere and business was constant. Service was friendly, quick and attentive, everything was clean, and the chalk art in the bar area has some cool stuff as well. Music selection was on point, with a lot of the favorites from 70's & 80's having you want to sing a little while enjoying the night. All I can say is they've made a pretty awesome little place and we're...

It pains me to write this review because I have generally enjoyed this place as I have eaten there several time.

Due to its beautiful location and great food, I chose it as the place to celebrate the union to my husband with 12 members of our family. They assured me they could accommodate a party of our size before I booked.

If you are planning a celebration with a large party, I suggest you choose somewhere that is not Garp & Fuss and more suited to bring the level of hospitality a group of this size may imply. Our family is Belgian and Honduran, we've enjoyed many nights on Park Avenue and Luma on Park or Prato which is why we went out of our way to choose Winter Park as our place to gather.

We were seated in the atrium as requested but instead of putting together the normal size tables and chairs that are usually available, we were sat at a farm table with a hodgepodge of chairs ranging in size. Given we are all adults, the smaller chairs seemed unusual for an adult party but we were able to make it work. Two members of our party were situated in the doorway leading to the lounge/kitchen so their placement was very awkward.

However, it's the fact that the air conditioner was dripping on my new father in law's head that brought me over the edge in regret for choosing Garp & Fuss for such an important reunion.

I brought it up to the hostess, who directed me to the owner as there was no manager present. The manager said "one of the girls could have just turned off the AC for you" so in turn, it was turned off and then our party began sweating in their suits. It was a disaster. Finally we asked for the AC to be turned back on and a gray-haired owner came out to atrium area and when my father in law brought it up, his solution was to pull the table away from the wall. All... twelve... of us....

Over $600 later, I can say we had a great time but that was no thanks to this establishment. It was despite them. I wish I would have directed my party to a more hospitable location. My dad remarked we should have gone to Texas de Brazil BUT I chose this one because I thought it would provide the level of hospitality its coziness and independently-owned nature implied. However, we ordered 4 full bottles of wine, appetizers, entrees and coffee and didn't get so much as a slice of cake wishing our families well in this new union.

And we were charged $6 per bread basket which we joked was church communion portion sizes but that was before we knew there was a charge for them! We wouldn't have been laughing if we knew and spent $25+ on these baskets alone....