{"id":223928,"date":"2026-04-08T21:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223928\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:25:08","slug":"amare-at-disneys-swan-reserve-makes-modern-mediterranean-the-new-luxury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223928\/","title":{"rendered":"Amare at Disney\u2019s Swan Reserve makes modern Mediterranean the new luxury"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Am<\/a>are is the Swan Reserve\u2019s<\/a> signature dining outlet, and the tone is upscale without acting like it. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be pretentious,\u201d executive chef Devin Queen told me. \u201cWe really try not to take ourselves too seriously. Because it\u2019s still food.\u201d<\/p>\n

That philosophy shows up in the restaurant\u2019s Mediterranean approach: bright flavors, shareable plates and dishes that feel indulgent without leaving you weighed down.Queen said the team didn\u2019t want to \u201cpigeonhole\u201d Amare into a single corner of Mediterranean cooking. Instead, the menu pulls notes from Greece and Italy, Northern Africa and Israel plus approachable favorites that make sense for Central Florida diners.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big geographic idea, but the experience is grounded in a simple promise: food made with obvious care, served by people who want you to have fun.<\/p>\n

The first thing I tried was Amare\u2019s signature showpiece: the Ishka Bubble.<\/p>\n

Yes, the name is made up. That\u2019s part of the charm.<\/p>\n

In the kitchen, I watched the process start with a house-made dough (including flours, za\u2019atar, garlic and onion powder). It\u2019s rolled, set on a tray and sent into a roughly 600-degree oven. The heat builds steam inside the dough, and the bread puffs into a big balloon.<\/p>\n

Amare’s “Ishkabubble” Bread in the oven (News 6 WKMG CSD)<\/p>\n

At the end, the bread is brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and dusted with za\u2019atar, that earthy, toasty herb-and-sesame blend. Then it comes out to the table with an instruction I loved: stab it to let the steam out.<\/p>\n

I was, in fact, extremely excited to stab it.<\/p>\n

Three dips, one bread, and a very happy \u201csauce girl\u201d<\/p>\n

Amare serves the bubble bread with a flight of dips, which is basically my love language.<\/p>\n

One was a smoky roasted red pepper-walnut dip with pomegranate sweetness (a romesco-style vibe). Another leaned bright and herb-forward, a green chile condiment built for dipping without overwhelming heat. The third was a creamy garlic-yogurt option \u2014 tangy, balanced and the kind of sauce that makes you immediately go back for seconds.<\/p>\n

This is the kind of shared starter that turns a table into a group project: tear, dip, argue about favorites, repeat.<\/p>\n

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Exclusive membership newsletter for News 6 Insiders.<\/p>\n

Fried chicken hummus shouldn\u2019t work \u2014 but it does<\/p>\n

Then came a dish that made me do a double take: fried chicken hummus.<\/p>\n

The hummus is made daily, I learned, because chilling can change the texture. It\u2019s whipped with lemon, cumin, olive oil and tahini (plus a key detail: ice, to keep it smooth and airy). On top: za\u2019atar-spiced crispy chicken, tomato jam and toasted sesame.<\/p>\n

The result is sweet-salty crunch over something creamy and bright. It\u2019s playful, and it makes a surprisingly solid case for \u201cwhy not?\u201d as a culinary strategy.<\/p>\n

Amare’s Fried Chicken Hummus (News 6 WKMG CSD)The vegetable plates are not an afterthought<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest: brussels sprouts and I don\u2019t always get along.<\/p>\n

At Amare, they did.<\/p>\n

The fried brussels sprouts are tossed in a hot honey herb sauce with citrus, then finished with pomegranate seeds for crunch. Bitter was the flavor I expected; it never showed up.<\/p>\n

The grilled asparagus comes with a pistachio gremolata-style topping and Meyer lemon notes. It\u2019s bright, textured and cooked with restraint \u2014 tender, not tired.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re the person who usually waves off vegetables \u201cfor the table,\u201d you might want to rethink that here.<\/p>\n

Amare’s Grilled Asparagus (News 6 WKMG CSD)Parchment-baked sea bass brings the tableside \u201cwow\u201d<\/p>\n

Amare\u2019s sea bass is served in a parchment pouch and opened tableside, a little theater with a practical payoff.<\/p>\n

The fish cooks with layers of flavor sealed inside \u2014 white wine, aromatics, kale, tomatoes, olives, shaved garlic, potatoes and thin lemon slices meant to be eaten, not used as garnish. The staff finishes the dish with a lemon-forward sauce.<\/p>\n

Queen told me the sea bass took serious testing because, once it\u2019s sealed in parchment, \u201cthere\u2019s no real way to know what it\u2019s going to be like when it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the table, the payoff is delicate fish that tastes clean and citrusy, with the kind of lightness that makes you want another bite instead of a nap.<\/p>\n

A steakhouse moment, Mediterranean-style<\/p>\n

For meat lovers, Amare doesn\u2019t make you choose between \u201cfresh\u201d and \u201csatisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried a Black Angus ribeye served medium with chimichurri, plus blue cheese potatoes and a bright arugula-forward salad underneath. A black garlic element added depth without harshness.<\/p>\n

It was the rare steak course that still felt connected to the menu\u2019s bigger theme: bold flavor from herbs and balance, not heaviness.<\/p>\n

Swordfish that eats like \u201cthe steak of the sea\u201d<\/p>\n

I also tried swordfish, which I\u2019d never eaten before. The kitchen described it as the \u201cmeatiest\u201d fish \u2014 more steak-like in texture than flaky.<\/p>\n

It arrived over a saffron risotto-style rice cake, topped with a bright, crunchy salad and pomegranate seeds. The whole plate leaned fresh, not fishy, and it matched what I kept coming back to all night: ingredients that taste alive.<\/p>\n

Why Amare stands out at the Swan Reserve<\/p>\n

Queen said what separates Amare isn\u2019t only the food \u2014 it\u2019s also the service and the way guests are welcomed.<\/p>\n

That tracked with my night. Between the tableside reveals, the kitchen\u2019s willingness to explain the \u201cwhy,\u201d and the menu\u2019s across-the-Mediterranean ambition, Amare felt less like a generic hotel restaurant and more like a destination.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for upscale Mediterranean food in Orlando \u2014 especially near Walt Disney World \u2014 Amare\u2019s biggest flex might be how modern its luxury feels: flavor that\u2019s fresh and balanced, and a meal that leaves you happy and grateful.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Amare is the Swan Reserve\u2019s signature dining outlet, and the tone is upscale without acting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[101315,101314,28,46086,2158,1335,139,141,140,8064],"class_list":["post-223928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-amare","tag-disney-restaurants","tag-florida","tag-florida-foodie","tag-insider","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-walt-disney-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}