The Hillstone – Winter Park, FL.

The Hillstone

One of Winter Park’s most beloved restaurants has got to be The Hillstone. It sits ever so perfectly on Lake Killarney leaving nothing but gorgeous views when sitting either inside or outside. Ranking at 4.6 stars on google, the Hillstone never disappoints when it comes to food and drinks!

Party Size & Dress Code

Just an FYI, the preferred dining experience is for parties of 2. They can accommodate bigger parties but it’s not guaranteed. The Hillstone may be best for date night or catching up with a friend! 

(Another important note is to dress accordingly here, no jerseys, tank tops, or flip flops, please!)

Locations

Winter Park is not the only home to the Hillstone, they have locations in Texas, New York, Colorado, California and Arizona. With each one being a little different from the others, from different patio sections and bar themes, they still hold the same sophisticated and warm ambiance. Consistency is what they truly do best.

Ambiance

I happen to go on a perfect day here in Orlando, highs of 84 degrees and just enough wind to keep cool. My partner and I were looking for the best new spot to try together and stumbled upon the Hillstone. With a slew of amazing reviews, we gravitated towards it immediately! Like I said, the weather was perfect so we chose to sit outside. The seating out there was spaced perfectly so no worries about bumping into anyone when needing to go to the bathroom or step away down to the beautiful pier leading into the lake, which also has seating for anyone that wants to be closer to the water!

Food & Drinks

We started off with the Jackrabbit, a tequila based drink with hints of grapefruit and mint and the house margarita, both absolutely to die for. For the appetizer we chose the creamy, dreamy, artichoke and spinach dip with warm tortilla chips. After some time to digest and relax, I had ordered the pan roasted salmon with pomme puree..and as a true New Englander does, I take seafood very seriously..this salmon was the best cut I had in years! Perfectly cooked, moist, not an ounce of it was dry or discolored, it was heavenly. My partner ordered the cheeseburger which we had thought would be more on the lowkey side, and boy were we completely wrong, they stack an almost inch thick burger with fresh ingredients and serve with fries. 

A few other menu items that were highly recommended from the people around us were the Hawaiian Ribeye and the rotisserie chicken with wild rice. It seemed almost everyone we spoke to were returning guests that were ordering just that!

The Pier

After eating, the best part was being able to walk down to the pier. They have tons of seating down there where you can decompress and watch the water. As the sun set we watched fish and turtles swim in the lake and were so grateful a place like this was so close to home!