ORLANDO, Fla. – Inside The Moderne, the room makes a strong first impression. Rich colors, gold accents and sculptural curves give the Mills 50 cocktail lounge a glamorous, Art Moderne-inspired look, while upbeat music keeps the energy moving. Drinks arrive with the kind of drama that invites a second glance. Then plates of shareable tapas begin landing on the table, and the food makes it clear that this is not simply a stylish place to grab a cocktail.
The Moderne may look like a metropolitan late-night lounge, but its kitchen deserves equal attention.
The Moderne Interior (News 6 WKMG CSD)
That balance is part of the restaurant’s identity. The Moderne describes its bar program as an effort to deconstruct and rebuild classic cocktails, while its food takes a similarly playful approach to familiar ideas. The menu is served tapas-style and draws on Southeast Asian and Mediterranean foundations, with influences that reach much farther: Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and Latin flavors all find room on the table.
For Michael Nguyen, the chef-owner, that range is not a marketing exercise or an attempt to make one dish represent an entire continent. It is a reflection of Orlando itself.
The Moderne is part of the latest chapter in Mills 50’s development as one of Orlando’s most dynamic dining and nightlife districts. The neighborhood’s modern culinary identity began taking shape in the late 1970s, when Vietnamese refugees resettled in Central Florida after the fall of Saigon. Restaurants, bakeries, markets and other businesses opened around Mills Avenue and Colonial Drive, helping establish what became known as Orlando’s Little Vietnam.
Those businesses remain an important part of the area’s story, but they are not the whole story. Mills 50 has continued to change as new restaurants, bars and independent businesses have joined the neighborhood, creating the broad, culturally layered food destination it is today.
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Nguyen sees The Moderne as part of that continuing evolution. He wanted the restaurant to bring a high-energy, metropolitan atmosphere to a walkable district already known for nightlife and diverse dining.
The concept took time to arrive. The restaurant was planned during the pandemic and soft-opened toward the end of December 2022. Nguyen said the original idea leaned more heavily toward cocktails, but guests quickly treated The Moderne like a restaurant. The business adapted, eventually settling into a roughly equal emphasis on drinks and food.
Chef and Owner Michael Nguyen (News 6 WKMG CSD)
Nguyen’s route to the restaurant industry was just as unconventional as the menu. He was studying pharmacy when his Vietnamese immigrant parents entered an investment partnership to open a restaurant with a local restaurateur. During construction, that partnership fell apart, leaving the family with a choice: finish the project themselves or lose what they had already invested.
His father’s response, Nguyen recalled, was characteristically optimistic.
“My dad was like, ‘How hard could a restaurant be?’ And then, yeah, nine years later, here we are.”
Nguyen’s father started the restaurant, but within a couple of weeks, the family needed help. His parents could manage much of the back-of-house work, he said, but running the front of the house was more difficult because of the language barrier. Nguyen stepped away from school to help. Over time, the temporary solution became a career.
He did not attend culinary school. Instead, he learned by working, testing, tasting and paying attention to what did not work. That persistence shows up most clearly in The Moderne’s Korean fried chicken, a dish that took about six months to develop.
“I spent six months just cranking out wings, and I ate fried chicken almost every day,” Nguyen said. “Even my failures, I would just eat it, dissect it, and learn from it.”
A menu shaped by Orlando
Nguyen grew up in Orlando, surrounded by people from different backgrounds and a wide range of culinary traditions.
“I grew up in Orlando, and obviously Florida is a huge melting pot of cultures,” he said. “Growing up, I was surrounded by all types of ethnic groups and nationalities.”
That experience informs the way he thinks about authenticity. He is not dismissing tradition, and he is not suggesting that every cuisine can be treated as interchangeable. But he also does not want his food confined to one rigid definition of what it is allowed to be.
“I wanted to try to tie in all of that and create something that was fun, exciting, didn’t fit the rigid mold of authenticity—just have fun with it,” Nguyen said.
“That’s why you see flavors from all over. We have some Latin influence, Chinese, Japanese, and me being Vietnamese, I try to sprinkle that in wherever I can.”
At The Moderne, those combinations feel less like novelty for novelty’s sake and more like the natural result of growing up in a multicultural city. The dishes respect their inspirations while making room for a different kind of personal expression—one shaped by the foods, people and restaurants Nguyen encountered in Orlando.
Tuna Kobachi at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
The menu’s boldness is easiest to understand one plate at a time. The Tuna Kobachi ($18) starts fresh and bright, with spicy cubed tuna, creamy avocado and Japanese-marinated cucumber. Ponzu brings acidity, while scallions, red tobiko and micro cilantro add lift and texture. The avocado softens the heat, keeping the dish balanced rather than simply spicy.
Beef Bulgogi with scallion pancakes at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
The Beef Bulgogi ($25) arrives sizzling on a hot skillet, with onions, fried garlic and sesame seeds adding fragrance to the Korean-marinated beef. Served alongside scallion pancakes, it becomes a playful hands-on dish: diners can tuck the beef and onions inside the pancakes, creating Nguyen’s own version of a taco.
Miso Cream Noodle at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
The Miso Cream Noodle ($18) takes Japanese ingredients and slow-braised pork chashu in an Italian direction. Miso gives the thin pasta a deeply savory, silky sauce, while mushrooms, Parmesan and scallions build richness. Toasted breadcrumbs and fried garlic keep the dish from becoming one-note, adding the crunch it needs against the creamy noodles.
Korean Vodka Pasta at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
The Korean Vodka Pasta ($18) pushes that idea even further. Pork chorizo and gochujang cream bring sweetness, heat and a touch of smokiness to rigatoni. Parmesan, scallions and toasted breadcrumbs add familiar pasta comfort and contrasting texture. It is a confident example of Nguyen refusing to stay inside a single culinary category.
Korean Fried Chicken at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
Then there are the Korean Fried Chicken wings ($14), six double-fried pieces coated in a sweet gochujang glaze. The sauce brings heat and sweetness, but the lasting impression is the texture Nguyen worked so hard to achieve: crisp on the outside, juicy within. Even after the glaze settles in, the crunch holds on.
Together, the dishes share an appetite for contrast—richness against acidity, sweetness alongside spice, and soft textures interrupted by garlic, breadcrumbs or crisped edges. But each plate has its own character. The common thread is not a single flavor profile; it is Nguyen’s willingness to keep testing what belongs together.
The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
The Moderne’s connection to Orlando also extends beyond the kitchen. Throughout the year, its cocktail program introduces limited-time drinks tied to local causes and organizations. Selected cocktails support the featured nonprofit through a portion of the proceeds, giving guests a way to try something new while contributing to the community around them.
It is a natural extension of the restaurant’s broader philosophy. Orlando shaped Nguyen’s understanding of culture as something lived, shared and constantly changing. The Moderne now uses its platform to participate in the same community that helped shape its point of view.
That may be the best way to understand the restaurant as a whole. The Moderne is glamorous without being stiff, ambitious without taking itself too seriously, and inventive without pretending that its influences appeared from nowhere. Its cocktails are theatrical, its food is designed for sharing, and its atmosphere feels built for a long night.
Like Mills 50 and Orlando itself, The Moderne is multicultural, constantly evolving and difficult to define with one label. Its food makes a persuasive case that respecting your roots does not require turning them into creative boundaries.
For diners looking to explore more of The Moderne’s menu for less, the restaurant offers a special “Date Night” menu every Tuesday. The choose-your-own-adventure experience includes five courses and costs $80 for two people or $140 for four, making it an approachable way to share several dishes with a date or group. Reference the linked menu image below for the current course options and selections.
Date Night menu at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)Double Date night menu at The Moderne (News 6 WKMG CSD)
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