ORLANDO, Fla. – Walking into a Michelin-starred restaurant for the first time, I had a few expectations.
Tiny portions? Probably. Ingredients I’d never heard of? Almost certainly. A dining room so formal I’d be afraid to put my fork down too loudly? That was a possibility, too.
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But my dinner at ÔMO by Jônt wasn’t quite the experience I had built up in my head — and I mean that in the best possible way.
The Winter Park restaurant describes its philosophy as an effort to “dissolve the barrier between kitchen and guest,” with food influenced by Japanese and French cuisine. After experiencing its Magical Dining menu, that idea makes a lot more sense to me.
ÔMO is unquestionably fine dining. The service is meticulous, the food is beautifully presented and there is an obvious level of precision behind every course. But the experience itself was much more relaxed and approachable than I expected.
And during Magical Dining, so is the price.
ÔMO’s regular tasting experiences start at $195 per person and can reach $375 per person. The restaurant also offers à la carte dining in The Salon, but its Magical Dining offering gives guests three courses for $60, making it one of the most accessible ways to get a taste of what the Michelin-starred restaurant does.
For me, that made it an opportunity to answer a question I imagine plenty of diners have had: What is it actually like to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant?
The answer was far less intimidating than I expected.
The music was trendy and upbeat. The dining room felt polished without feeling stuffy. And when a menu featuring ingredients and dishes like chawanmushi, Nanatsuboshi and shio kombu landed in front of me, our server explained everything in a way that made the food exciting rather than confusing.
Starting with the appetizers
For the first course, the Magical Dining menu offers a choice of scallop with almond, cucumber and stone fruit; chawanmushi with leek, potato and truffle; or hiramasa with green onion, tomato and gochujang.
The hiramasa — yellowtail — was my favorite of the appetizers I tried.
It had a slight citrus flavor, while the tomato paired particularly well with the fish. The yellowtail itself had a great mouthfeel, and the gochujang was balanced enough that it added flavor without overwhelming the dish with spice. It was easily a 10 out of 10 for me.
The scallop was much more delicate. It was buttery and soft, with almond adding a welcome crunch and the cucumber and other accompaniments keeping the flavors mild and fresh.
Even the service between courses reinforced just how much attention goes into the experience. Fresh cutlery arrived between courses, and at one point, my dining companion dropped his napkin. Within roughly 20 seconds, someone had already replaced it.
Those are tiny details, but they’re the kind you start noticing when a restaurant operates at this level.
The main course
For the entrée, diners choose between black cod with sake, clam and turnip; Nanatsuboshi with Comté, maitake and shio kombu; or wagyu with stout jus, sweet potato and cipollini.
The wagyu was exceptionally tender without being overly fatty, accompanied by a slightly sweet sauce and stout jus. I wasn’t particularly sold on the sweet potato by itself, but eaten together with the beef and sauce, the flavors made sense.
The black cod offered something completely different. The fish was flaky with a nicely developed exterior, while the sauce was surprisingly delicate. The sake component reminded me almost of a white wine sauce rather than something aggressively boozy or overpowering.
This was also where one of my biggest misconceptions about tasting-menu-style dining disappeared: I wasn’t leaving hungry.
Yes, each individual plate is smaller than what you’d expect from a traditional restaurant entrée. But by the time you move through multiple courses at a measured pace, the meal adds up. By the end of dinner, I was genuinely full.
And then, dessert
Dessert choices include kakigori with hazelnut, kinako and chocolate; dark cocoa choux with chocolate, brown butter and cherry; and stone fruit purin with granola, crème fraîche and peach.
The kakigori was a standout. Despite being a shaved ice dessert, the combination of hazelnut, kinako and chocolate reminded me of a Ferrero Rocher. It was rich and nutty while still having that light, refreshing texture you’d expect from kakigori.
The Dark Cocoa Choux was incredibly creamy with chocolate that was rich but not overwhelmingly decadent. A subtle cherry flavor helped balance everything out.
At $60 for three courses, Magical Dining offers a much more accessible introduction to ÔMO compared with its regular tasting experiences, which start at $195 per person.
The meal still delivers the thoughtful food, meticulous service and attention to detail you’d expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant, but in an experience that felt surprisingly relaxed and approachable.
Magical Dining runs Aug. 15 through Sept. 30, giving diners a limited-time opportunity to experience ÔMO at a more approachable price point.