An around-the-world dining experience in downtown Winter Garden

WINTER GARDEN Diners soon will have an around-the-world dining experience right in downtown Winter Garden.

With several new ethnic restaurants coming to Plant Street, the options will vary from Asian cuisine to classic French cooking.

Selera Singapore

126 W. Plant St., Winter Garden

WEBSITE: selerasingapore.com

EXPECTED OPENING DATE: Saturday, July 22

DETAILS: Zai Albino, a native of Singapore, always dreamed of opening her own restaurant. For years, she cooked iconic Singaporean dishes for friends and family, many of them urging her to go into the business. So when she and her husband stumbled on a vacancy in downtown Winter Garden, they jumped at the opportunity.

“Winter Garden just fell into our lap,” said Zai’s husband, Marc. “We just really saw the vision and thought it was great. I think it blends into the community really well.”

The food, which is all homemade, is a variety of Singaporean tapas, and, once the restaurant is in full swing, will feature both a lunch and dinner menu.

SIGNATURE DISHES: Roti parata and the beef or chicken satay. Roti Parata is a Singaporean-style flaky flatbread. It is served with a curry dipping sauce. 

4 Locos Tacos

360 W. Plant St., Winter Garden

WEBSITE: 4locostacos.com

EXPECTED OPENING DATE: End of the year

DETAILS: Adrian Galvan and his brother got their start in the restaurant business while growing up in Mexico. After moving to the United States, the brothers decided to go into business together, opening up 4 Locos Tacos in downtown Winter Garden. Their restaurant will be located in the building currently under construction next door to Plant Street Market.

The food at 4 Locos Tacos will be a variety of traditional Mexican cuisine using farm-fresh ingredients.

SIGNATURE DISH: Tacos al pastor. The pork is cooked on a vertical grill with cilantro and onions before getting shaved off and served in handmade tortillas. 

Rosallie

141 W. Plant St., Winter Garden

Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays

WEBSITE: rosallie.com

EXPECTED OPENING DATE: Monday, July 24

DETAILS: Back in 1983, Jonathan Pluvinet’s parents opened Rosallie in the south of France. After moving to the United States several years ago, Pluvinet decided to follow in his parent’s footsteps by opening his own Rosallie bakery in Las Vegas. But having visited Winter Garden once before, he always thought about opening a second location in the Winter Garden area.

“It’s really beautiful,” he said about downtown Winter Garden. “It really touched my heart, so I always kept my eye open for a place that would be available.”

His restaurant boasts a variety of handmade pastries, sandwiches, salads, quiches and desserts.

“It’s a variety of everything,” he said.

SIGNATURE DISHES: The almond croissant and the smoked salmon sandwich with a homemade tartar spread. And the lattes are pretty popular, too, Pluvinet said.

The Whole Enchilada

129 W. Plant St., Winter Garden

WEBSITE: twefreshmex.com

EXPECTED OPENING DATE: Dec. 1

DETAILS: This family-owned and -operated restaurant originally got its start in Fort Lauderdale and now has three locations in south Florida and a fourth set to open in downtown Winter Garden. Construction on the new building began in March, and the family expects to have operations running by the end of the year.

The Winter Garden location will be operated by Drew Cardaci, and it’s all about fresh food in a fast-casual environment.

“What makes us really unique is that we have fast-casual prices in a fast-casual environment, but many of our items are cooked to order,” Vanessa Cardaci said. “We have a from-scratch kitchen, so you’re getting a full dining dish.”

The restaurant will also have a rooftop bar and patio.

SIGNATURE DISHES: Skrimp tacos and fish tacos. The fish tacos are served with fresh mahi-mahi, cabbage, jack and cheddar cheese, avacado, diced tomato and a cilantro sauce. The skrimp tacos come with shrimp cabbage, jack and cheddar cheese, avacado and a cilantro sauce.

Thai Blossom

99 W. Plant St., Winter Garden

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays

WEBSITE: mythaiblossom.com

DETAILS: A longtime staple of downtown Winter Garden, Thai Blossom has been in business for many years offering a variety of Thai dishes, from egg rolls and wontons to noodle bowls and fried rice.

“You don’t see any other Asian restaurants here, so people think it’s special,” said Yumi Springer, a server at the restaurant. “A lot of people really love Thai foods.”

SIGNATURE DISH: Pad Thai. This dish includes thin rice noodles pan fried in a special sauce, egg, bean sprouts, green onion and ground peanut.

Contact Brittany Gaines at [email protected].