Scratch

Nice atmosphere. Food was either meh or WAY too salty. Server didn’t know menu Overpriced. Pathetic beer selection. Won’t be back.

Scratch. The defining food of our era. Also the defining pitfalls of being overly hipster, pretentious and loud! At one point, it seemed like they actually changed the music to something insipid and beat-​driven to drown out the other voices. Yet the small space was not full. This kind of atmosphere, unfortunately, sometimes seems to come with well realized food.
The crab cake, hard-​seared on both sides, square and floating in its sauces was almost transcendent. Except that the sauce was not enduring. I remember nothing about it.
The drop dumplings, more like gnocchi, were chewy and sweet and acidic. Something quite special actually. The favorite for both of us. But, since they arrived after the rich and heavy crab cake, my first two bites were underwhelming. I actually had to adjust to the dish.
The grilled avocado was quite nice. A dish that is so now. But we were both desperately missing a piece of crostini or some simple tortilla chips… something.
My husband’s pork shank was, at least from the sauce I tasted, savory and herbaceous and zingy. He was pleased with it.
Pretzels (in little hand-​rolled buns) were fantastic. But arrived last. Perhaps because they were served with berry jam. Like dessert? But we had both wanted the bread product we deliberately ordered sooner. Especially since the avocado brought none.
This is good food but I have become tired of tapas and the lazy service that they endorse. The resplendent-​ness of this food was compromised by its ill timing, a server who hanging out more than her working and, quite severely, by a loud, cramped and uncomfortable dining room though we were only one of three tables.
The food is well worth it. The surrounding elements are a task.
Take-​out?

Love this place great atmosphere, love the décor, very polite employees, best Crème brûlée as dessert and beat blue berry muffins at brunch time, the food over all is great

Incredible food. Extensive craft beer list. Exotic wine list. Eclectic décor. Period. This is the kind of restaurant that puts Orlando on the foodie map.

Eating at Scratch was one of the greatest dining experiences I’ve ever had since I’ve moved to Orlando, so in short to give this place a try.
My girlfriend and I decided to try Scratch after having driven by a couple times. The concept of a tapas style scratch kitchen sounded very appealing to the both of us. We went on a Thursday afternoon and had no trouble finding parking at a nearby lot for free
I was honestly really afraid that Scratch would hold this pretentious air that many finer dining restaurants tend to exude, but I was pleasantly surprised to how modest the atmosphere was. From the moment we entered, we both felt completely at home. Our server, Brian was friendly, attentive, and very informative in reference to both the food and drinks menu (thanks for the beer rec. by the way! One of the best beers I’ve had!). He felt like a friend, and that’s something that can be difficult to find at many restaurants now. This alone would bring me back.
That being said, the food was incredible. The menu changes I think on a weekly basis and so the items I had may not be available to you, but I can say with all honesty that the food was consistently amazing. We had the Hush Puppies which were crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside. The Pork Belly was crispy but so tender it melts in your mouth and the beef rib was huge and delicious, served in a dark and subtle red wine reduction. Our favorite though had to have been the dumplings, served with Spanish chorizo in what seemed to be a cheese based cream sauce. And the desert, a banana cake served with toasted coconut and ice cream was the perfect way to end our meal.
I left Scratch full, but not in a way that left me feeling gross. I felt electic, satisfied after eating at Scratch. The prices are obviously a little on the higher side, but you definitely know where your money is going into.
I’ll definitely be coming back to try whatever they’ve come up with for that week. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to others.

Disappointing. My husband and I were out looking for a cute restaurant to have dinner. I decided to take a risk and look on Unilocal and saw that this restaurant had many good reviews. The food was extremely overpriced and the portions were tiny. We left hungry and disappointed that we spent $ 90 on dinner. Will not recommend or revisit.

I constantly see recommendations for Scratch as a special occasion or romantic date night restaurant. Unfortunately my experience at Scratch didn’t live up to my expectations. When we arrived there were no tables available but we were able to sit at the bar. We were told that if a table opened up we would be moved, but we watched several tables sit empty the rest of the night with no one offering to re-​seat us. We were hungry so we ordered the fresh baked pretzel immediately but it still took awhile to come out and then it wasn’t even very good. It’s sad that for a $ 9 item, the best part was the little dollop of berry jam. Next we had the grilled avocado topped with a fried egg. This was the best dish of the night. We also had the pork belly adobo and the crispy fried boar shoulder. I remember being disappointed in both items but I can’t remember now exactly what it was that we didn’t like. I think the pork belly may have been too dry and not very flavorful. Part of what ruined the experience was that the last three dishes all came out too quickly so we felt we were rushing to eat before our food got cold. I probably won’t be returning to Scratch but I’d recommend maybe spacing out your order so everything doesn’t come at once. The kicker to the whole experience was that at the end of the night my boyfriend’s card got rung up for the wrong order. We were initially given the right bill to review, but then when he got the receipt it was for about $ 40 more and some other customer’s order. We were able to get it straightened out but it took some time for the charge to be reversed and we never did get a clear answer of what happened. It’s a cute little restaurant but the ambiance can’t make up for the so so food and service.

Eclectic. Friendly. Cozy. Welcoming. This was my first time checking this great Fairbanks Ave. spot after waiting for a year or two to finally make it here. The space was a lot smaller than I figured, but as mentioned above, it was not a bad thing. And overall, I think Scratch has utilized its small space very well. There are 5 – 6 tables seating 2 – 6 people at each. And a nice L-​shaped bar.
I want to preface this review briefly. The 3-​stars were mainly for the food. My experience would have warranted 5-​stars for sure if the customer service side of the experience was really good. Sadly, it was not fully what I had hoped.
When we walked in we were greeted by the host and told it would be a bit of a wait for seating. We were offered seating at the bar which my guest and I proceeded to take with the promise from the host that they would seat us once a table opened up. Oddly there was a 4 – 5 person table open, but unsure why it was not originally offered. So my guest and I went to the bar where we were served by Ashley, who was a great waitress/​bartender/​and turns out one of the owners. I ordered a Southern Pecan beer, which was good, and we started with the pretzel appetizer. Ashley came back a few minutes later and said they were actually out so we put in an order for the pork belly bites. They were delicious. They were fried pieces of belly with micro greens on top and a lime reduction on the side for to dip. It was quite yummy. Then Ashley said she put in an order of ‘lumpia’ for us because of the lack of pretzels. While waiting we were also brought a tomato salad that was mis-​made by Ashley, which was nice of them. It was definitely appreciated. It was tomatoes, spinach (I believe), pickled shallots, and gouda croutons with a lemon vinaigrette. Overall, very good. We were then brought the lumpia, which I thought were ok, but not amazing. It came with a chili-​something glaze which was good.
(Here’s a brief description of what lumpia is: A spring roll of Chinese origin commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines. It is a savoury snack made of thin crêpe pastry skin called «lumpia wrapper» enveloping a mixture of savoury fillings, consists of chopped vegetables (carrots, cabbages, green beans, bamboo shoots and leeks) or sometimes also minced meat (chicken, shrimp, pork or beef).
During this time, another couple came in and were eventually seated before we were offered the table. My guest spoke with the host who apologized and said he had forgotten that we were interested in a table and offered to give us the 4 – 5 person table. We declined, and just finished our meal at the bar. I completely understand and was not that upset, just slightly upset that we were overlooked. Ultimately that’s why I gave the 3-​stars versus the 5.
We then ordered the short rib entrée to share. MOUTHWATERING. That’s all you need to know. It was accompanied by string carrots and one other vegetable. And OF COURSE all the yummy, savory juices from the rib cooking for hours. My only critique of this plate is the carrots tasted just a tad off, couldn’t quite out my finger on it.
All in all, Scratch definitely warrants at least one stop. From the generally friendly staff, the décor, and, ultimately, the food (which is a seasonal menu so it changes all the time, love that). I will be finding a time to make a second stop, not only because of the food, but to hopefully erase and replace the slightly frustrating customer service side of our experience with a better experience that would be 5-​stars.

One star review because I’ve tried several times to make a reservation here. There is no where to leave a voicemail, no one picks up the phone during business hours and after a few e-​mails I’ve heard nothing back.
Update: this place doesn’t take reservations. However leaving 1 star review because they never responded to my e-​mails or phone calls. Regardless, totally unprofessional.

This was my first time here, when we walk in we automatically noticed how small it was a we’re glad we got there for an early dinner (around 7)
When we were seated we were explained the menu and given some water. When our wait tress came back I ordered a strawberry-​lime cider and we ordered the mushrooms and the appetizer that the bread with blueberry sauce (unfortunately I can’t remember the name) I was told the cider was just out in the fridge and had to wait for it to cool down, about 30ish minutes later was got the food listed above.
Right away we ordered more food since it had been taking a little long, we ordered the fried chicken and glazed rib. It took about another 30 – 35 minutes to get that part of the meal as well. And after about an hour they brought me my cider. Even though the wait was long the food was so amazing! Probably the best food my fiancé and I have had in Winter Park. Defiantly check this place out if you want a cool vibe and amazing food!

The food is a four. The service gets a one. Went for the first time Tuesday only to find a frazzled wait staff unprepared to actually serve dinner. And we walked in 30 minutes after it opened. Unacceptable. Once seated the waiter started placing menus on empty tables before noticing us, then said he had not realized we were there. The food was the highlight — broccoli and cheddar lived up to its advance billing. I got the risotto with chicken and arugula. Be warned if you order this — it’s not risotto. More like an Israeli pearl cous cous. I didn’t mind because it was delicious but it wasn’t what was described on the menu. Dessert was a hazelnut chocolate cake that was good but the least impressive of the 3 dishes. Oh. And it took 30 mins because they forgot to place the order. They made it up to us by giving us each a free glass of champagne and comping the dessert. We let them know the service was sub-​standard. But there are too many good restaurants for us to go back to a place where nobody cares you exist.

This place is seriously a GEM in the greater Orlando area. We stopped by here around 9:30pm and there were several tables available. We weren’t ravenously hungry, so tapas were perfect for us. The ambience in Scratch is hip, fun and trendy without being snobby or off putting. The music was fantastic as well.
We ordered a couple of bottles of wine (don’t remember the name but a burgundy pinot noir from Spain), the rice noodle bowl, the grilled chicken w/​polenta, the pork belly and the salmon w/​black bean. The rice noodle bowl was a little difficult to share/​eat, as it came in a plate with the broth poured on top and the noodles were very slippery. In the future it might make more sense for the restaurant to ladle out portions or serve with small bowls. I didn’t try the pork belly but my colleagues enjoyed it. The chicken was phenomenal — crispy exterior, juicy interior — and the polenta complemented it perfectly. The salsify, figs and spices rounded out the whole dish. The salmon was incredible as well — salmon and black beans are not a pairing I would have envisioned, but Scratch did it perfectly.
Overall a fantastic experience — I can’t wait to return!

Wow!!! and WOW I am a foodie and this place blow me way !! The bartender was amazing !! He helped me order !“broccoli & cheddar I thought omg really !! He said it was there signature dish, It’s great .(he said))
He was wrong! It was amazing and I can’t even describe, to you how tasty and amazing this dish is. Well was I eat every bite !!!
I also got the pomegranate salmon, it’s raw, If u like sushi this will blow your mind ! And sushi is bad example ! The risotto well I am not a fan of it ! But this was something to make your taste buds say hell yaaa. I had to take the egg yolk out ! Because I can’t have them! But don’t let that stop u ! It’s simply amazing ! The Staff and food are in my eyes outstanding! I will be back !! ;)

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Orlando, hands-​down. The food is consistently delicious and innovative. The ambience is intimate and romantic. The servers are well-​informed and enthusiastic about the food.
A few notes: there is no full bar; they have an excellent wine and beer selection, but I know that sometimes deters diners, so worth mentioning. Also, they typically don’t take reservations and there are very few seats, so plan ahead. It is, however, an awesome place to relax and sit at the bar if you’re in the mood.
If you love food, you must go.

I usually get long winded with my reviews but I’ll keep this one short.
I’ve been living in Orlando area for seven months and I have to say Scratch is my favorite restaurant. Great food. Great wine. Great service. And the atmosphere is genuine. Not corporate.
You can FEEL the preparation it took to make the meal with each bite. From the server to the chef, you can tell they take pride in their service. If I were a food critic, I will put this place on top of Orlando’s «must have» places to visit for restaurants.
Take your date here. They will love it. It’s first come first serve so hope you get lucky! –that’s what she said.
Go.

I really want to love Scratch. I really really do. But it just fell short. Not even short. Flat, flat on its face in the middle of MSG with a sold out crowd. I love the concept of farm to table and the whole vibe of the restaurant is right up my alley. Let’s get to my usual breakdown so I can explain.
The Décor: At a glance Scratch gives off this great hipster chic vibe without trying to hard. I love the vintage touches and textiles. Plus all the knick knacks are quite touching. However the execution of the décor fell short for me because while appealing to the eye it wasn’t comfortable to dine. The room was warm to me from the start and I did hear other tables complaining about the temperature. With such a small space it’s interesting to me that they couldn’t provide enough either ventilation or a/​c. The seating was also very uncomfortable. From the textiles to the textures the seating was scratchy, no pun intended, and hard. It didn’t make for good seating at all.
The Service: In the beginning I was nicely greeted by the bartender and seated very quickly. After a few minutes I was pleasantly welcomed by my waiter who, after allowing us to browse, took our order promptly… and that was the last time I saw my waiter before my check was delivered. Each server that visited our table was very friendly, they just didn’t come by except to drop off our food. Speaking of, for such a small place we sat with dirty plates on our table for quite sometime before we had to flag someone down to take our plates. If i were going to rate the service alone I would sadly give them a ²⁄₅ just because I feel like giving one star is just plain rude.
The Food: My mother said if I can’t say anything nice, I shouldn’t say anything at all. But my mother isn’t on Unilocal so I can say what I want. The food, while high in quality, was terrible. I mean really really bad. The chicken was salty, the corn lacked rounded flavor and seemed unripe (is that the correct term), just everything was missing the mark. I had such huge expectations and I just felt deflated, underwhelmed, disappointed, and every sad adjective that you can say. I did give them a star for presentation. Because if there is one area they did perfectly was presentation of the food. The chef really showed their refinement and attention to detail in the execution of the presentation.
Overall I wouldn’t come back or recommend Scratch to anyone. I’ve talked to other people and it seems they’re either a hit or miss. I guess I just went on one of the very big MISS days

Delightful. Charming. Delicious. This is such a fun little spot hidden on Fairbanks next to the All Fired Up! Came in on Saturday night for dinner, and this place was hopping!
We were expecting to wait (they don’t take reservations and the place is tiny), however, a couple spots opened up at the bar, so we decided to dine there.
Started with some drinks– it does not appear that they serve liquor, but they do have some crafted cocktails using wine. I enjoyed my glass of sangria, although the glass was a bit on the small side. Two good sips and I was done. Boo. They have a good selection of craft beer as well.
Since this is a tapas– style set up, we were warned anything we order would come out in the order it is ready– meaning salad could come out after entrée, etc. No biggie in my mind, but I guess some people have preferences.
The highlights of the night were the broccoli dish (white cheddar and pistachios sprinkled on the most perfectly cooked broccoli) and the pork belly (not too salty or fatty, just delish). We also enjoyed the fries and the risotto with shrimp (although they could’ve added a couple more shrimp, I felt the ratio was a little off), but the broccoli and pork belly were the stars tonight.
I know what you’re thinking, who raves about broccoli? Just trust me, this is not to be missed. Even your most meat-​and-​potato-​loving carnivore will swoon.
Each time a server brought a dish to us, they took a minute to tell us about it, or give us advice (the pork belly needs a squirt of the lime, the fries are good dipped in the sauce), which I thought was a nice touch. The staff here really works together, and everyone seemed really laid back and fun.
This place is also sensory overload! There is art work everywhere, and the music is jumping. Pair this with good food and fun conversation and you have the makings of a perfect evening.

We had a truly incredible evening here. Chef Dustin visited us at the table a few times and he is a warm and quiet man with a clear passion for creating unique and excellent meals. He sent us a complimentary dish that was incredible!
The restaurant isn’t huge and they don’t take reservations, so hopefully you’ll be as lucky as we were and your timing will be just right. The ambiance is great, the lighting is romantic and intimate and the staff was professional and knowledgeable. They have parking in the rear of the building.
As you would imagine, everything is made from scratch and they are very gluten free friendly and accommodating.
Our first plate consisted of a wild salmon tartare with mixed local greens and vegetables, spot on and excellent… and this from a chef who hates salmon! The skirt steak dish was perfectly prepared, decadent and the sauce was to die for! The broccoli and cheddar, a house standard and favorite, was perfect! A gift from Chef Dustin was an incredible buttermilk risotto with rock shrimp that was well balanced, fresh and rich.
I would highly recommend a visit to this gem in Winter Park!

Trend or not, I like the appeal of tapas. As someone who suffers from a serious condition called Edibles Indecisionosia (the inability to select an entrée. there are dozens of us!), it makes for a slightly easier dining experience. Instead of being locked into a singular dish, I can branch out and try a few things that catch my eye. And then my mouth shortly after.
Alas at Scratch, the problem is that I want everything. The entire menu is a mouthwatering montage of food. And while each plate is certainly a small bite, it does not come with a small price tag. Usually this kind of disconnect is annoying, but Scratch makes up for it through the sheer quality of their dishes. They are worth their price tags… but it’s close.
The décor of Scratch. Holy crap it’s awesome. It’s like tornado went through an apartment building occupied by a hipster, a hunter, a Chinese immigrant, a surrealist painter, and Morrissey. Except instead of it looking like a chaotic mess… somehow it all fits together into something cozy and intimate. don’t know much about interior design, but I think because the place is mostly dark with only a hint of a sultry amber glow allows you to put up anything on the wall and it looks cool. Unfortunately I can’t take this approach with my apartment without making myself seem like I want to be Eric Northman from True Blood. The music is equally random. At one point, we definitely heard the Ghostbusters theme song.
Alright, food. Let’s get this out of the way. If you’ve been reading reviews, you’ve probably seen the the pork belly adobo mentioned. I can confirm that it is divine. Midway through eating the small plate, I was in love. But it was followed by a terrible realization. Inevitably, it would be gone. I felt like the boyfriend of a girl who had joined the military and was going off to serve in The War. We are standing there by the bus, and I’m frightened by the though that this might be the last time I’ll ever see her. Her caress is delicate, warm, and heartmelting. It brings a tear to my eye. And then she is gone. Yes, the plate is that good.
Backing up a bit, we started with a kale salad. Simple, but effective. The dressing was light and delicious, and the greens were farm fresh. After the pork adobo mentioned above, we moved onto the salmon which was a seasonal dish. Yes, this was some of the best salmon I’ve ever had. Perfectly cooked and seasoned in a way that let the salmon shine on its own. Delectable. While the pork was my favorite dish, the salmon was my date’s favorite dish.
We had a couple more small plates, but none topped those two. In addition to the plates, we tried a few of their craft cocktails. They’re wine based, so you’re not likely to get trashed on them, but they are tasty. I wish I could remember the names of them or what ingredients went into them. In fact, now that I think about it, I couldn’t discern half of the words on the menu. That’s not really a complaint, though. I suppose I’m just not that worldly yet. We asked the waiter on multiple occasions to help define… you know, what stuff is. I wasn’t embarrassed. While there was a slight hint of snobbishness from him, he wasn’t rude by any means. If anything, my ignorance made the night more interesting and adventurous.
To summarize: yes, the plates are small. Yes, they can rack up quickly in price (along with the drinks). And yes, it’s worth it. But I would only take people who are foodies. Also, it’s not a place to go if you are famished, regardless of how much of a foodie you are. All that being said… jet fuel can’t melt steel beams.

This was an amazing experience.
They are named such as they make everything from scratch except their bread. I really feel like they definitely could do their own bread cause what they served was nothing to write home about.
I had a strawberry lime cider that I’d never heard of. It was presented in a tall glass with crushed ice and came out pink… The group of 6 women next to our table were so enamored with my drink that half of them ordered the same one.
We started with the «butters». Lime-​basil and Curry guava. Both were interesting combinations of flavors but not too overwhelming. It came with plenty of that bland bread I mentioned.
We ordered sweet corn risotto and the twice fried French fries with the saffron garlic aioli. Amazing fries. The sweet corn risotto was billed as «heavy truffle» but it wasn’t so bad. It was earthy but not salty overdone truffle flavors.
The real stars were the entrees we got. The grilled loup de mer and the pork belly.
The pork belly was so amazing I was really impressed that it was cooked so perfectly but the waitress did say they did sous vide it for 12 hours. The pork belly is on a bed of sweet rice but looked like lentils.
The loup de mer was in a delicious «beer» blanc sauce their version of buerre blanc with beer instead of white wine. Potato and fennel hash was so tasty. Make sure to ask for bread to dip in when you finish the fish.
For dessert we had the flourless chocolate torte with pistachios and berries. I definitely recommend it. It was like fudge.
Service was great. I think our server was chef/​owners gf and her passion and love of the food was overt and contagious. We had a great experience and I can’t wait to go back. Price point was amazing for the received product. Very happy that I got to try this place.