Elize - Orlando

So disappointed. I had business guests for lunch and remembered the place as the Rusty Spoon. Chef/Owner has changed. Service polite but inattentive. They were out of their signature dish. My fish and chips were no better than Captain D's. New owners, so perhaps they are working out the kinks. I hope so. Very convenient for my business trips but I cannot risk taking clients here until there is much improvement.

This was our first time since the restaurant changed to Elize. The food was incredible! You could tell the food was made fresh and with quality ingredients. The decor of the restaurant was modern and minimal. The place was bright and not loud. I would highly recommend Elize!

Had dinner with family here. I arrived way too early and I sat down at the bar to wait for everyone to arrive. I had a great conversation with barman Mark, he's very knowledgable and obviously passionate about what he does. The bar is well stocked, they have Guinness on draft and a good whisky selection. The ambiance is pleasant, modern and welcoming. Noise levels are slightly on the higher side, but not at all at a level that it interferes with a normal conversation. They have this great concept where you can order each meal either appetizer or entree sized. We all started out with two appetizer sized dishes, I had the carpaccio and the beef cheeks. The beef cheeks were super tender and the carpaccio took me straight back to a vacation in Italy many years ago, simply sublime! To be honest the portions were slightly bigger than I expected and I could probably have ended the meal after those two, but everything tasted so good and we had such a great time, that I ordered some more. I ordered the, again appetizer sized, hanger steak and the roasted shrimp. The hangar steak was a perfect medium-rare and very tasty, the shrimp were out of this world; they come with a velvety, creamy mash and with a slightly nutty butter sauce, the dish is nothing short of sensational! We finished the night by sharing a chocolate lava cake and I had a glass of Lagavulin. All in all a fantastic experience, highly recommendable!

The food was delicious, but small in portion. We each ordered a main size hot meal for approximately $22 each but the portions were way too small to be considered a full entree. For example, hangar steak came with basically nothing but meat and a little garnish. Expect to order a full size portion PLUS at another half portion of something at a minimum. All four of us left rather hungry but had no time to order more before the theater. Although the concept of half and full portions of each item on the menu is interesting, I think the server should have emphasized more that a full portion is still not equal to a traditional entree. The menu is really more of a tapas style and that should have been explained. Of course, ordering more means its going to cost more so I would expect to have to pay in the $30s or $40s to do that. Also, the place seems very empty most of the time which does not inspire me to go back.

I have always loved this restaurant, ever since the days when it was called Rusty Spoon.