The Porch Winter Park — Restaurant in Winter Park

So my girlfriend and I came here because we saw the Groupon online and the restaurant is in Winter Park, and we love being in Winter Park, so we came here. The location is pretty sweet. It's in the middle of everything and right next door to The Meat Shop, which is a wonderful specialty butcher shop that it's just fun to walk around and be there.

The atmosphere was wonderful. All the doors and one of the walls were open, letting the beautiful Florida morning weather inside. There is a big wraparound bar in the middle of the joint, and TV's aplenty, making this place just seem fun. There are even arcade machines in there. Galaga! We got seated and started snacking on the free peanuts on the table. Also, they are apparently running a promotion this month where your first drink is on them, so I got my sweet tea and my girlfriend got her Yuengling for free. Pretty sweet.

We ordered an appetizer, the Fritters (Homemade "Key West" style conch fritters with a side of key lime aioli and sriracha cocktail sauce). These were bad. Real bad. They were burnt and there was absolutely no flavor on the outside. And inside the conch was not chopped up and distributed evenly, making some of the fritters hush puppy-like and some of the fritters nothing but a big giant piece of breaded, rubbery conch. So bad. Even the delicious sauces couldn't save my app.

My girlfriend got the Mama Jama (Our Award Winning combination of pimiento cheese, bourbon bacon jam and crispy onions) for her entree. The burger was well cooked, and the pimiento cheese was messy and everywhere and delicious, but the star of this show was the bacon jam. It was so bacony and jamy and everything I was hoping it would be. It went perfectly on this burger. She got onion rings for her side, and they were good, too.

I, on the other hand, had the Buff Chicken & Waffles (Our spin on this southern classic! A fried chicken breast doused in your choice of buffalo sauce in between a fresh Belgian waffle topped with honey butter. Served with maple syrup and bleu cheese fondue for dipping). This dish was the bomb. I opted to not have my chicken tossed, and I had the buffalo sauce on the side. The waffle was so crisp and topped with a wonderful butter. The chicken was perfectly breaded and cooked; it was so juicy. The buffalo sauce was a good idea, but I'm glad I didn't have the whole thing slathered in it. The bleu cheese sauce was one of the most unique sauce I've ever had. It was very rich in bleu cheese, so I only had a few dips. My jam is the maple syrup. It's my favorite sauce for chicken & waffles, no doubt. Also, I had the tater tots. They were delicious, but I wish there were more of them.

The dessert is what makes this place a five star restaurant. We got the Mom's Peach Crunch (A family recipe from the south with fresh peaches, butter and blue bell vanilla ice cream). This dish was the best peach dessert I have ever had. Hands down. I don't feel bad saying that. This dessert came out in it's own little glass serving vessel that it was obviously cooked in, and that singular cooking vessel made the peaches SO well cooked. They were so tender and amazing. The crust was the same way. It was the consistency of dumplings, and the crumbles on top were a nice touch. Oh, and the ice cream. That cold contrast. Omg. Such a good dessert.

I now want to clarify what I mean. The entrees and the dessert we got were all without-a-doubt worthy of five stars, but the appetizer cannot be overlooked. It was so bad, I can't give this place a five star review right now. Maybe when I return...

2/8/2023 Today my friend and I decided we could enjoy some lunch together along with our kids at The Porch in Winter Park. When we walked in we were greeted by the hostess & she told us that she could sit us in the back of the restaurant in a large booth, but that there was going to be a private party fairly near our table. We agreed & she confirmed with her manager that it was okay.

We sat down at 3:45 and ordered drinks & our food. During this time our children were coloring with the crayons & kids menus provided to us. My friend had her 1 year old son in his stroller next to us who started crying because he was hungry. She took him outside to console him and returned back to the table. He started crying again (which babies do when they’re hungry) and we noticed the private party the hostess told us about starting to walk in & sit down.

A lady with blonde hair (who works at the restaurant) kept making eye contact with my friend & giving ugly facial expressions because I guess the baby was crying.

It had been 40 minutes that had passed and our food was STILL not ready. Our children started getting antsy & at this point were extremely hungry.

The blonde lady I mentioned earlier (I say “blonde lady” because she refused to tell us her name) walked over to our table & with the most insensitive tone she states “We have to move your table because I’m sure my private party will not like “this” (as she is pointing to my friends baby who is crying.)” “We can not have “this” happening right next to the private party who is going to spend a TON of money to be here.” AS IF we weren’t also PAYING GUEST as well.

She came towards us the most unsympathetic, unprofessional, and indecorous way.

Wouldn’t you think when you see a mother struggling with her baby (who has exited the restaurant to console him) you would try to ask if everything was okay, or if you could do anything to help? She did the complete opposite of that, and mid-conversation she walked away from us.

The problem with kids in restaurants is not the kids or the parents. The problem is a society that shames normal human behavior, be it from a parent or child. Kids are kids and if you don’t have them, that’s fine. Parents should be free to socialize in a public place with their kids and not be shamed by the unpredictable behavior of a 1 year old BABY. If you are at a restaurant with a kids menu, expect that your dining experience might include kids at the next table.

After that degrading & dehumanizing experience, & having waited 40 minutes for our food we got up with our children STILL HUNGRY and left. DO NOT BRING BABIES THAT MAY CRY HERE THEY ARE...

08/2024: Still great food and servers! And still a little too loud inside lol. I've been here at least 15-20 times now. The food always tastes great! Anything I've ever ordered was great. And I like eating here. I just wish they'd put sound dampening panels on the ceiling and/or walls to bring the decibel level down. I told them about this several times and they're fully aware. It's like deafeningly loud in this place simply because of the concrete floor and metal, which is fine for a bar at night, but a little annoying if you're trying to talk to somebody during lunch or dinner. And forget about trying to read a book if you're eating by yourself lol. Eating on the actual porch helps, but you know, it's Florida and 1000 degrees out there 😆

2019: Seriously love the food at this place! My kid loves it too. Excellent burgers, wings, tots, sandwhiches, HUGE pickles, etc. I've never had anything bad here. Good drinks, bloody Mary bar on Sundays. Servers are nice. Decor is cool and modern. Location is convenient. Parking can be a pain sometimes, but they have a good size lot. They have indoor and outdoor seating. I really do like this place. My only complaint here is the sound level, which makes it difficult to relax (my opinion). I think its because of all the cement/wood/metal decor. This is all the time, but it is especially loud during a sporting event. Go if you love sports! You will love the energy! Don't go if you want to talk to the people next to you - you will end up yelling a lot. I went once with a group after a movie at Winter Park Village - we had to wait until we ate and left to discuss the movie lol We couldn't hear each other. I find myself wanting to eat here a lot for the food, but then sometimes skipping out because of the decibel level. This place is popular with the young crowd. You don't see many older couples here relaxing and talking. I should note that during the cooler part of the year, it all works out by...