Skip the I-Drive Tourist Traps
You chose the Days Inn by Wyndham Orlando Convention Center because you are smart with your money. You picked a well-located hotel near the Orange County Convention Center without overpaying for a resort you will barely use. That same instinct should guide your dinner plans. International Drive is lined with chain restaurants designed to extract maximum dollars from visitors who do not know any better. You do.
Ciao Italia Ristorante is a short drive from the Days Inn, and it is the kind of place locals have kept to themselves for over 35 years. The Navarra family opened these doors in 1991 and has been rolling pasta by hand, sourcing fresh seafood, and collecting awards ever since. Zagat rated, 9 culinary awards, more than 3,000 reviews from real guests. This is not a chain. This is the real thing.
Real Italian, Real Value
Budget hotel does not mean budget dinner. It means you know where to allocate. At Ciao Italia, the value proposition is remarkable. You are getting handmade pasta, fresh seafood, classic veal and lamb preparations, and a wine list curated over decades, all at prices that would shock anyone used to paying convention center markups. Families are especially welcome. The kids menu is $13 and includes gelato for children 10 and under.
The menu covers the full range of Italian cuisine. Linguine alle vongole with fresh clams. Risotto loaded with seafood. Chicken parmigiana that puts every Olive Garden within 50 miles to shame. Veal piccata prepared with the kind of care that takes a generation to learn. Every sauce, every broth, every dressing is made from scratch in the kitchen.
