Orlando's Seafood Grill - Winnipeg

Orlando's Seafood Grill

Reservations accepted
Street parking only

709 Corydon (Lower Level)

Winnipeg, MB

Phone: 204-477-5899

Arnaldo Carriera, Chef & Owner

Located in downtown Winnipeg, Orlando's is a small, unique restaurant specializing in grilled seafood with a Portuguese flair.  The menu is small, but includes not only seafood, but also a few beef, chicken and pork selections.  The menu, itself, however, is irrelevant if you want the full Orlando's experience.

The chef himself takes your dinner order at the table.  He inquires about your tastes or wants for the evening, but makes suggestions and guides the selection according to what is best and freshest that evening and what he is most inspired to cook for you.  We all enjoyed this approach and were not disappointed in our meals, but we realize that this manner of ordering may not suit everyone, so if you really want something else other than what the chef suggests, then you'll have to be very specific.  However, we found the chef so very charming and welcoming that it was hard to resist his guidance on the menu selection.

We all ended up having a variation of the chef's special, which includes salad, and an entrée of meat, seafood, vegetable and pasta, prefaced by a selection of three appetizers. Even though one of us does not eat seafood, this was not a problem for the chef.  He simply offered more of the meat with the special.

We began by ordering drinks, which were nice, but the strawberry margaritas were a bit less fruity than one would prefer.  The toasted bread and oil-balsamic dip started the meal off very nicely, though.  The Appetizer Trio arrived shortly and consisted of Shrimp Orlando, a shrimp paté, and cod cake. The Shrimp Orlando was the favourite of the three -- perfectly cooked shrimp in a delicious white wine sauce.  The shrimp paté was also very good, but could have used a bit of toast or cracker to eat with it.  The cod cake was also tasty and well cooked.

Up next was Caesar salad, followed by our entrées. We were not disappointed in the Chef's Special.  His selections were excellent.  The chef definitely has a passion and true understanding of seafood. Bear in mind that seasonal availability affects the selection of seafood, so what is available one week on the Chef's Special may not be the same another week. Our Special consisted of small but satisfying portions of New York strip steak, cooked to our preferences, poached orange roughy, snapper, jumbo prawns, linguini in rosé sauce and mixed vegetable.  Everything was perfectly cooked.  The orange roughy melted in your mouth and the prawns were so big and so succulent, they were like eating tiny lobsters.

The dessert being offered that evening was a surprising concoction called Molotov.  A large dish of frozen yogurt, blackberries, strawberries, a strawberry sauce, a chocolate sauce, a large wedge of dragon fruit topped off with a soft meringue.  It seemed an odd combination, but it was tasty and there was something in it for everyone to enjoy.

Pricing is in the average to high-average range.  The chef's special --  which includes salad and appetizer -- is $35. The à la carte menu varies with entrées ranging from about $25 - $45 or so.  Throughout the meal, we enjoyed attentive, warm and welcoming service.  Between the chef and the wait staff, we felt less like we were in a restaurant and more like we were special guests in someone's home.  If you are looking for a quiet, laid-back evening with a bit of surprise, Orlando's will not disappoint you.