UPDATE 01/09/21: We’ve been meaning to update this post for a couple of weeks now, since we drove by this location and noticed, well…Due Amici is no more. There is now an Anthony’s in its place (more on that later). RIP, Due Amici.
We love a good Italian place. Spaghetti and meatballs? Yes, please! 👋🏼 Chicken Parmesan? Today and every day. 🙌🏼 Meatball sub? Duh. 👏🏼 So, when we were actually craving the very first mentioned here recently we decided to check out this relatively new restaurant located on the south end of Edgewater Drive in College Park.
Due Amici sits on the corner of Princeton and Edgewater, across the street from Orange Cycle Bike Shop. You might have been stopped at the traffic light many times before but have never even really noticed anything to be there.
It was a wonderfully cool evening when we stopped in, and this spot has the flexibility to open up doors to allow in the fresh air, and it even ends up creating a much larger feel for the tiny space on the corner of the street.
Let us first say the food was quite good. But more on that in just a bit. We’ll say the space itself has a very nice vibe – quaint with a “neighborhood feel.” Aside from two other small parties enjoying meals in the dining room, we were the only other folks in the restaurant.
Our party popped in to place an order to go, so we knew we wouldn’t be long. Or so we thought. The length of time we waited for our food to be prepared and packaged up, ready to go was the major problem here. Most definitely a big opportunity to improve upon. We waited for well over half an hour for some (what we thought) relatively dishes. And the oddest part is there never was any real acknowledgement from anyone on staff about the long wait. So, with all that we ended up finally getting our food.
What we ordered was fairly delicious. Now, once we got it back home to our destination of dining we realized the dishes weren’t really that photogenic, so in all transparency we snagged the images above from Due Amici’s website. Even still, you get a pretty good idea of what the food looks like. Our order consisted of:
🍴 Garlic Knots. Did we (k)need them? Does anyone ever really need little round pieces of bread drowning in garlic and oil glaze with oregano seasoning? Ummm…YES! So we ordered several. One really strange thing about these delicious eats is they’re sold separately. For one dollar, as you’ll note on the Due Amici menu. Perhaps some patrons might just want to order one for their individual meal?
🍴 Meatballs. The homemade meatballs come in an order of three (3), and they were certainly just as tasty as what appears in the photo above. Just the perfect amount of flavor, and not too dry (didn’t want to use that “m” word). To note: This is what held up our order, so suppose it was all worth it.
🍴 Wings. We know what you’re thinking. Wings? At an Italian restaurant? We thought so, too.
🍴 Pasta. This is what we ultimately came to Due Amici for, if you recall. Chicken Parmesan was the craving. And while we’ve certainly had better at other Central Florida restaurants and beyond – the dish most certainly fit the bill. The chicken was “m” inside and the outer crusted flavoring quite basic, but the pasta side was less-than-flavorful (but no big deal).
All-in-all the College Park neighborhood joint is definitely a contender to keep in the mix for Italian food options in the area. But they’re really going to have to step up their service game for us moving forward if we’re going to keep them in mind.
Location deets:
Due Amici
2124 Edgewater Drive
Orlando, FL 32804
407.730.7747
Have you had an opportunity to pay a visit to Due Amici in College Park yet? If so, what was your experience like?
Looks like a really lovely place for a date night, wish you had more positive things to share though about your experience there. Hopefully with time they use the feedback to improve. Adding to our list to try one day.
I know. Always, always willing to give a place at least two tries before totally writing them off. After all – I’m the biggest advocate for supporting small businesses. Do you frequent the College Park area often? What part of Central Florida do you live in?