Exploring Downtown Orlando

Night-time fun isn’t hard to find in Orlando. Both Disney Springs and Universal’s CityWalk provide plenty of scope for fine dining, shopping and nightlife, but there is another venue that remains a great alternative for a night out, and it’s one that many visitors never see.

With the theme parks so prominent in grabbing your attention, the vast majority never venture beyond Disney, Universal and the many attractions of International Drive. But if you want to see the real Orlando, you must go downtown, or the city centre, if you prefer.

Go back 30 years or so and this was genuinely Party Central for Orlando in general, headed by the magnificent Church Street Station, which provided a host of guaranteed opportunities to eat, drink and be royally entertained.

In fact, before Downtown Disney (which became Disney Springs in 2015), Church Street Station was one of the biggest attractions in Florida, drawing around three million visitors a year.

The end of Church Street Station

Sadly, under a combination of poor management and increased night-time competition from Disney and Universal, the Station slowly dwindled into a shadow of its former self, shutting its doors for good in 2009.

Consequently, the attraction of “a night on the town” also tailed off for many years, before making a comeback with a range of entertainments aimed mainly at locals.

Now, there is almost as much fun on offer as there was in Church Street’s hey-day, and it’s worth pointing out these neat alternatives to I-Drive and Co when you’re looking for that ‘something different’ factor.

Orlando's Downtown 2023 highlights

First off, for dining there is now a massive range of choice, while for bars and pubs, there is an equally impressive collection.

And, while Rosie O’Grady’s Good Time Emporium may be a thing of the past, visitors and locals alike are now drawn by the likes of Hamburger Mary’s (not quite the restaurant it sounds like!), SAK Comedy Lab and Mathers Social Gathering, all of which are within a short walking distance.

Of course, downtown is now anchored by the superb Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, a world-class series of theatre venues that attract Broadway-level touring shows and big-name performers like Andrea Bocelli, Chris Rock, the hit musical Hamilton and even the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

There are three separate venues to the Dr Phillips centre, including the all-new Steinmetz Hall, which features a technologically superb auditorium that can be configured into a variety of different set-ups, as befitting the performer, and is among the most acoustically perfect concert halls in the world.

The actual buildings that make up Church Street Station remain, but they have now devolved into a collection of individual restaurants and bars, with the latter including the likes of cocktail specialists Chillers and Clandestino Orlando, as well as Irish Shannon’s Pub.

When it comes to dining choice, the Church Street area has more to offer, too. Kres Chophouse is a wonderful supper-club style restaurant, serving a delicious array of steaks and seafood with a Mediterranean accent and an upscale vibe that is ideal for that special occasion. Just stopping in for a drink is highly advisable, while their array of desserts is truly decadent.

And then there’s the award-winning Artisan’s Table, with its fabulous New American cuisine, based on locally sourced, organic produce and a contemporary vibe that sits well in the heart of increasingly sophisticated Downtown.

Unique entertainment on offer at Orlando

The main entertainment in Church Street is provided by the unique style and comedy of Hamburger Mary’s, a tasty bar and grille during the day (with great burgers and cocktails), but also hilarious (adult advisory) drag shows most nights, featuring the likes of Leigh Shannon’s Cabaret Dinner Show, Dining With The Divas, Twisted Sisters Bingo and Family Gayme Night.

Travel across the street to Orange Avenue and you’ll discover the superb improv comedy of SAK Comedy Lab, which has been a downtown fixture for more than 30 years and has been the launching point for several major comedic careers, like Wayne Brady. It runs most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with their Duel of Fools a signature show.

For drinks before or after the show, we heartily recommend Mathers Social Gathering, a superbly stylish cocktail bar with light bites and a real vintage style all their own, as befitting its repurposed warehouse setting that dates to the 1880s.

In the party mood?

For those who’d like to sample the local party scene, go no further than the Wall Street Plaza, between Orange Avenue and North Court Avenue, where the seven different bar venues often spill out into the street and make it a lively mash-up of different venues and drinking styles, from classy cocktails to craft brews.

Or head for The Beacham, a 1920s movie theatre that has become Orlando’s top nightclub in recent years, featuring live performances and big-name DJs from time to time, as well as just an ideal venue in which to dance the night away.

Finally, for an evening with a difference, head to the gorgeous Grand Bohemian Hotel, where the Bosendorfer Lounge is a haven of contemporary chic and there is usually live jazz and classic soul to go with their sensational signature cocktails every Friday and Saturday night.

All in all, it is a fabulous array of grown-up nightlife choice, and it highlights – yet again – just how much Orlando has to offer. We’ll see you there…!

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