Osteria Ester

The Write-Up

The full story

Osteria Ester brings the Good Salt group's touch to Italian American cooking in the old Soco space on East Central, a warm room that reads as a neighborhood red sauce joint. Guests say the house focaccia is out of this world and the lasagna comes in generous portions built for sharing, with a tableside flambeed cheese that diners keep raving about. Cozy and unpretentious, it works for date nights and family tables alike.

District Story

The story of Thornton Park

A name written on a plat in 1913, east of Lake Eola, and still carried by brick streets and bungalows today.

Read the Thornton Park story →

Similar Feel

More places with this feel

Matched by vibe, not by neighborhood: the places across Greater Orlando closest in spirit to Osteria Ester.

The Monroe

Bars & lounges · Downtown · $$$

Good Salt's midcentury room in Creative Village turns childhood favorites serious: famous fried chicken, popper deviled eggs, pork belly s'mores.

The Monroe, 448 N Terry Ave, Orlando, FL 32801-1894

Peperoncino

Italian · Dellagio · $$

Tiny and homey by the Dellagio fountain, this Italian spot has guests saying it feels like Italy.

7988 Via Dellagio Way Ste 108, Orlando, FL 32819

Kaya

Fine dining & steak · Mills 50 · $$$$

Filipino cooking in a cozy house on Thornton Avenue that feels like grandma's house, if grandma cooked at a very high level.

618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL 32803

F&D Cantina

Mexican · Thornton Park · $$

On East Central, Thornton Park's festive cantina, a dog-friendly patio room where regulars dream about birria tacos and the watermelon margarita.

617 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801

Maggiano's Little Italy

Italian · Pointe Orlando · $$

Family-style Italian at Pointe Orlando, built for the table that cannot agree on one dish.

9101 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819

Pannullo's Italian Restaurant

Italian · Winter Park · $$

The old-school Park Avenue Italian room regulars call a longtime fave, cozy and unpretentious, with a view across Central Park.

216 S Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

Keep Going

More in Thornton Park

Other places in Thornton Park, Local Picks first, then the closest to Osteria Ester.

Rusteak Local Pick

American · New American · $$

On the Lake Eola corner in Thornton Park, a neighborhood spot cooking like it has something to prove, polished, relaxed but never stiff.

101 S Eola Dr, Suite 103, Orlando, FL 32801

Jinya Ramen Bar

Noodles & Southeast Asian · Ramen · $$

Lights stay dim and bowls run deep on North Summerlin, with broth simmered the slow way and a sleek room that fills fast.

Jinya Ramen Bar, 8 N Summerlin Ave, Orlando, FL 32801-2930, United States

F&D Cantina

Mexican · $$

On East Central, Thornton Park's festive cantina, a dog-friendly patio room where regulars dream about birria tacos and the watermelon margarita.

617 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801

Orlando Farmers Market

Markets & shops · Farmers Market · $

Every Sunday, the Lake Eola lakefront becomes a shaded, dog-friendly stretch of vendors with live music and a wine and beer garden.

20 N Eola Dr, Orlando, FL 32801

The Stubborn Mule

American · New American · $$

Steps from the swans of Lake Eola, Moscow mules are the calling card in a cozy, lively room regulars call simply a vibe.

100 S Eola Dr #103, Orlando, FL 32801

Cavo's Bar & Kitchen

Bars & lounges · Sports Bar · $$

On East Washington, Thornton Park's sports bar is Eagles country, where Philly fans gather and the cheesesteak earns loud praise.

Cavo's Bar & Kitchen, 900 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801-2906, United States