Restaurant in Winter Park, United States
Winter Park's only Michelin-starred tasting menu.
Ômo by Jônt is Winter Park's only Michelin-starred restaurant (1 star, 2025), run by chef Ryan Ratino as a contemporary Japanese tasting menu. At $$$$ per head with a serious 250-selection wine program, it is the area's clearest answer for a special occasion dinner. Book four to six weeks out minimum — the room is small and the star will tighten availability.
Book Ômo by Jônt if you want the most technically serious dinner in Winter Park. This is a Michelin-starred contemporary Japanese tasting menu from chef Ryan Ratino, priced at $$$+ per head, in a city where that level of ambition is scarce. If you are celebrating something, this is the clearest answer in the area. If you are looking for a casual drop-in or a quick weeknight dinner, look elsewhere.
Ômo by Jônt sits at 115 E Lyman Ave in Winter Park, Florida, and earned its first Michelin star in 2025, making it one of the very few starred addresses in the Orlando metro. The restaurant operates as a tasting menu format under chef and owner Ryan Ratino, whose flagship Jônt in Washington D.C. also holds Michelin recognition. That lineage matters when you are deciding whether a $$$+ dinner in Winter Park is credible: this is not an Orlando restaurant that happens to have a Japanese menu. It is a serious tasting menu operation that happens to be located here.
The room matters for a special occasion decision. The visual setting on East Lyman Avenue places you in one of Winter Park's quieter, more composed blocks, a deliberate contrast to the busier Park Avenue strip. What you walk into is designed to signal that the meal is the event, not the surroundings. For a date night, anniversary, or a client dinner where the venue needs to do some of the work, that framing is useful. The room communicates intent before the first course arrives.
The wine program is a genuine strength and worth factoring into your total budget. Sommelier Juan Valencia oversees a list of approximately 250 selections with 530 bottles in inventory. The list skews toward California and France, with many bottles above $100. Corkage is $100 if you bring your own, which is on the higher end and reflects that the house list is where they expect you to spend. If wine is central to your occasion, budget accordingly. The wine pricing is $$$, which means the full evening at Ômo can move well past the base tasting menu price once you account for a thoughtful pairing or a bottle from the French section.
On the question of whether the food travels well for takeout or delivery: it does not, and that is not a criticism. A contemporary Japanese tasting menu built around precise temperature, texture, and sequencing is designed to be eaten in the room, in order, as served. Ômo is not a delivery option and should not be evaluated as one. If you need food from this caliber of kitchen in a format that travels, you are in the wrong category. What Ômo offers is an in-room experience where the occasion, the service, and the progression of the meal are inseparable. General Manager Tracy Grady oversees front-of-house, and at this price point, service coordination matters. A Michelin-starred kitchen at this level is staffed to execute the full experience, not a component of it.
Booking is hard. With only 87 Google reviews at a 4.7 average, the room is clearly small and the covers per night are limited. A Michelin star earned in 2025 will tighten availability further as the recognition spreads. Expect to plan four to six weeks out for a weekend table, and further in advance for milestone occasions. If you are trying to book for a specific date, treat it like a reservation at a D.C. or New York tasting counter, not a Florida restaurant. Ratino's background gives Ômo a national-tier demand profile that its Central Florida zip code does not fully telegraph.
For context on how Ômo sits relative to comparable tasting formats nationally: it occupies the tier below destination venues like The French Laundry in Napa or Alinea in Chicago, but the Michelin credential puts it in the same conversation as Lazy Bear in San Francisco or Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg in terms of ambition and execution standard. For contemporary tasting menus with strong wine programs, Le Bernardin in New York City remains the reference point for service precision at this price tier, and Jungsik in Seoul shows how a contemporary format can anchor an entire city's fine dining identity. Ômo is doing something analogous for Winter Park: it is the address that makes the city worth flying into for dinner.
One practical note for first-timers: the address is Central Florida, which means the surrounding dining scene does not match the ambition of what is inside. Do not anchor your expectations to the neighbourhood. Judge Ômo against its Michelin peer set, not against what else is on East Lyman Avenue.
Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2025) | $$$$+ | Contemporary Japanese tasting menu | Dinner only | Wine list: 250 selections, 530 inventory, California and France strengths | Sommelier: Juan Valencia | Chef/Owner: Ryan Ratino | GM: Tracy Grady | Corkage: $100 | Book 4–6 weeks out minimum.
See the comparison section below for how Ômo sits against Soseki, AVA MediterrAegean, and other Winter Park options at different price points.
For a broader view of what is available in the area, see our full Winter Park restaurants guide, our full Winter Park bars guide, our full Winter Park hotels guide, our full Winter Park wineries guide, and our full Winter Park experiences guide.
Yes, if contemporary Japanese tasting menus are a format you value. The Michelin star earned in 2025 confirms the kitchen is executing at a level that justifies the $$$+ price. For the Orlando metro, there is no direct comparison at this technical level. If you are already spending at this price tier in cities like D.C. or New York, Ômo will meet your expectations. If tasting menus are not your preferred format, it will not.
It depends on the format. Tasting menu counters are generally well-suited for solo diners, and if Ômo operates a counter configuration (common for Japanese tasting formats), going alone is a reasonable choice. The price per head is fixed regardless of party size, so solo dining carries no financial penalty. For solo dining in Winter Park at a lower price point, Prato at $$ is a more casual option. For a solo special occasion meal, Ômo is a defensible choice.
Ômo operates as a tasting menu, so ordering is not a factor in the conventional sense. The kitchen sets the progression. The wine pairing or a bottle from the California or French sections of Juan Valencia's list is the primary decision point. With 250 selections and significant inventory, there is depth to explore. Let the sommelier guide you based on budget, and ask specifically about the French section if that is your preference.
Treat the booking like a New York or D.C. tasting counter, not a Florida restaurant. Plan four to six weeks ahead at minimum. The price tier is $$$$+, meaning the full evening with wine will likely exceed what most Winter Park dining costs by a significant margin. The format is a set tasting menu, so come with time and appetite. Dress expectations at this level lean toward smart casual to formal, though specific dress code details are not confirmed. Chef Ryan Ratino's D.C. background means the kitchen operates to a national standard regardless of the Florida postcode.
For a special occasion in Winter Park, yes. The Michelin star is the clearest external validation available, and there is no comparable tasting menu experience in the immediate area. Against national peers, Ômo is priced in line with one-star counterparts in larger markets. If you are price-sensitive, Chuan Fu at $$ or Prato at $$ offer strong meals at a fraction of the cost. But for the specific experience of a serious tasting menu, nothing else in Winter Park competes.
It is the clearest answer in Winter Park for a celebration dinner. The Michelin star, the tasting menu format, the serious wine program, and the intentional room design all point toward occasion dining rather than casual meals. An anniversary, milestone birthday, or significant client dinner all fit well here. For a lower-investment special occasion that still feels intentional, AVA MediterrAegean at $$$$ is the closest alternative in terms of ambiance, though the food format is entirely different.
For a comparable price tier with a very different cuisine, Soseki (Fusion, $$$$) and AVA MediterrAegean (Greek, $$$$) are the closest peers on price. Neither holds a Michelin star, which matters if credentials are your benchmark. For significantly less spend, Prato (Italian, $$) and Chuan Fu (Chinese, $$) are strong options. The Wine Room on Park Avenue is worth considering if wine is the primary focus of your evening. See our full Winter Park restaurants guide for a complete view.
Four to six weeks minimum for a weekend table. The 2025 Michelin star will drive increased demand as awareness builds, so booking earlier is safer than later for any fixed date. For New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, or other peak celebration dates, aim for eight weeks or more. The room is small based on the review volume, which means availability is limited at any time of year. Treat this like booking a counter seat at a starred restaurant in a major city.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ômo by Jônt | $$$$ | Hard | — |
| Soseki | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| AVA MediterrAegean | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Chuan Fu | $$ | Unknown | — |
| Prato | $$ | Unknown | — |
| The Wine Room on Park Avenue | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Winter Park for this tier.
Yes, with the caveat that you need to be committed to the tasting-menu format. Ômo earned a Michelin star in 2025, which is external validation that the kitchen is operating at a serious level. At $$$$ pricing with a $100 corkage fee and a 250-selection wine list weighted toward California and France, the full bill can climb fast — but for a special-occasion dinner in Central Florida, there is no comparable alternative at this tier.
It is a strong solo option. Tasting-menu counter formats are typically designed for single diners, and a Michelin-starred omakase experience is one of the formats where dining alone is genuinely comfortable rather than awkward. If solo seating is available, the counter at Ômo by Jônt is likely the right call — confirm availability when booking since counter seats can be limited.
Ômo by Jônt operates as a tasting menu, so there is no à la carte ordering — you commit to the full progression. On wine, sommelier Juan Valencia oversees a 530-bottle inventory with depth in California and France; if you are not bringing your own bottle (corkage is $100), ask for a pairing rather than ordering blind from the list.
This is a structured tasting menu dinner from chef and owner Ryan Ratino, not a casual drop-in restaurant. Pricing sits at $$$$ and dinner is the only service offered. The wine list runs $$$, meaning bottles skew toward $100+. Plan for a multi-hour experience and factor in wine spend from the outset — the $100 corkage fee makes BYO viable if you have a strong bottle.
For the Winter Park and broader Orlando market, yes. A Michelin star awarded in 2025 places Ômo by Jônt in a very small group of credentialed fine dining addresses in Florida. At $$$$ you are paying for technical precision from a chef-owner team rather than a hotel restaurant or franchise operation. If you are comparing against a trip to New York or Chicago for a similar tier, Ômo is the more practical choice for Florida residents.
It is one of the clearest special-occasion cases in Central Florida. The Michelin star gives it credibility beyond local reputation, the tasting-menu format naturally creates a dedicated multi-course event, and the $$$$ price point signals that the occasion is being taken seriously. For anniversaries, milestone birthdays, or any dinner where the experience itself is the point, Ômo by Jônt is the right call in this market.
Soseki is the closest competitor in format — also a tasting-menu-led experience in the Orlando area. AVA MediterrAegean on Park Avenue offers a higher-energy, shareable-plates format at a lower price point if the tasting-menu commitment feels too structured. Prato suits a mid-range Italian dinner without the formality; The Wine Room on Park Avenue is the right call if the priority is wine-by-the-glass rather than food.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
