MenuSpy / City reports / Orlando, FL
Market snapshot · October 2026
Orlando, FL restaurant market snapshot
What local menus charge, which weeks fill the town, and which rules change the math, for operators in Orlando, FL. Every number links to the page it came from.
In Orlando, FL (checked October 2026), we read 8 prices from 4 local menus. Restaurant meals are taxed at 6.5%, the minimum wage is $15.00 per hour ($11.98 tipped cash wage), and 3 events have published dates in the next twelve months.
Visitors (Visit Orlando): 76,663,200 visitors (70,325,600 domestic and 6,337,600 international) (2025) source
Population and income: US Census QuickFacts.
Observed menu prices
8 prices read from 4 independent menus on October 1, 2026, from the restaurants' own websites or first-party ordering pages. Delivery-app prices are excluded. A median is shown only when three or more observations exist. This is a small sample; use it as a range check, not a rule.
| Benchmark item | Observations | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taco plate (3 tacos) | 3 | $4.75 | $4.75 | $16.99 |
| Large cheese pizza | 1 | $11.00 | n too small | $11.00 |
| Wings (10 or closest count) | 1 | $13.00 | n too small | $13.00 |
| Cuban sandwich | 1 | $11.00 | n too small | $11.00 |
| Entree salad with protein | 1 | $14.50 | n too small | $14.50 |
| Fountain soda | 1 | $2.50 | n too small | $2.50 |
Part of the MenuSpy Menu Price Index. Restaurant names are kept in our source file and not published; a paid report names them and links each menu.
The next 12 months
Dates come from organizer or official pages opened on October 1, 2026. An event with a published 2026 or 2027 date is marked confirmed. Everything else is a recurring pattern with its date not yet announced, listed so you can watch for it, not staff for it.
Confirmed dates
EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival
August 27 to November 21, 2026 · Walt Disney World Resort
Three-month food-focused festival draws culinary tourists to the theme-park corridor through the fall.
EDC Orlando
November 6-8, 2026 | Tinker Field · Insomniac
Three-night electronic music festival at Tinker Field brings tens of thousands of out-of-town attendees to downtown Orlando.
Florida Blue Florida Classic (FAMU vs. Bethune-Cookman)
Nov. 21, 2026 at Camping World Stadium · Florida Classic Consortium / Florida Citrus Sports
HBCU rivalry weekend fills downtown and Parramore hotels and restaurants around Camping World Stadium.
Recurring, dates not yet announced
Orlando Magic 2026-27 home season (Kia Center)
Schedule page did not render; dates unconfirmed · Orlando Magic / NBA
41 regular-season home dates downtown drive pre- and post-game dining on Church Street and in the Kia Center district.
Citrus Bowl / Pop-Tarts Bowl (Camping World Stadium)
Florida Citrus Sports homepage references both bowls but shows no 2026-27 dates · Florida Citrus Sports
Back-to-back late-December/New Year's bowl games bring visiting college fan bases to downtown Orlando.
Rules that hit the P&L
Minimum wage: $15.00 per hour, tipped cash wage $11.98
Effective September 30, 2026. The tipped cash wage and the fixed $3.02 tip credit are confirmed by the Florida Constitution, Art. X, Sec. 24; the 2026 poster PDF itself was not reachable when checked.
Sales tax on restaurant meals: 6.5%
6% Florida state sales tax + 0.5% Orange County discretionary sales surtax (DR-15DSS, Calendar Year 2025 form) The DOR 'current' DR-15DSS form fetched was labeled Calendar Year 2025; the 2026 edition was blocked by robots.txt.
Food service license
Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels and Restaurants. Annual renewal on a district schedule; new locations need a satisfactory opening inspection.
Local signals
Recent local reporting on the Orlando restaurant scene. One article is a signal, not a trend; a trend needs two independent publishers.
Japanese wet-aged sushi spot comes to the North Quarter
Orlando Weekly reports the 12-seat Aoba Omakase opens Oct. 20, 2026 in the former Natsu Omakase space with chef Kenny Sze behind the counter.
The 23 hottest new restaurants opening in Orlando this fall
Orlando Weekly's fall 2026 preview says long-anticipated food halls, sports bars, omakase concepts and Lao flavors are on the way; a companion roundup notes DiVino by Grappolo taking the ex-Pizza Bruno spot, Koa Sushi in the former Grilled Cheezus space, Reeves Sports Bar soft-opening in the old Swiggs space and Nep Sai Gon BBQ & Hot Pot opening in a former Moe's.
New year, new spots: What's opening and closing in Orlando
ORLtoday lists 2026 openings including Van Goghblin Cafe, Mecatos Bakery and Cafe (Winter Park), Raine's Pizzeria (Curry Ford Road) and Olea Taverna (Edgewater Drive), alongside closures of Tanqueray's Bar after 37 years, Arden wine bar, Colibri Mexican Restaurant after 20 years and the airport Chili's.
ORLtoday (6AM City), 2026 (exact publication date not shown on page)
Coverage and limits
This is a dated snapshot built from public pages opened on October 1, 2026. It is not a sales forecast, legal advice or a site approval. Menus, calendars and rules change; open the linked source before acting.
Not confirmed when this page was checked:
- Official FloridaCommerce minimum wage page returned 403; see wage note.
- Florida DOR DR-15DSS fetched was Calendar Year 2025 edition.
- Orlando Magic schedule page did not render dates; Orlando Wine Festival site returned 521; Citrus Bowl/Pop-Tarts Bowl dates not on Florida Citrus Sports homepage.
- No price observations for items 1 (cheeseburger), 2 (chicken sandwich), 7 (breakfast plate), 9 (draft beer); fountain soda only as bottled soda. Burger/pub sites probed (Beth's Burger Bar, Johnny's Fillin' Station, Teak, Graffiti Junktion, Hammered Lamb, Ollie's, Beefy King, Se7en Bites) are JS-rendered with no readable prices.
- Lazy Moon whole large cheese pie price not listed on web menu; only slice deals captured.
- Black Bean Deli and Lazy Moon menu lines were read via curl (server-rendered HTML) after WebFetch returned only partial content.
Questions operators ask
What is the sales tax on restaurant meals in Orlando, FL?
6.5%. 6% Florida state sales tax + 0.5% Orange County discretionary sales surtax.
What is the minimum wage for restaurant workers in Orlando?
$15.00 per hour, with a tipped cash wage of $11.98, effective September 30, 2026. The tipped cash wage and the fixed $3.02 tip credit are confirmed by the Florida Constitution, Art. X, Sec. 24; the 2026 poster PDF itself was not reachable when checked.
Want this for one restaurant in Orlando?
A one-time $79 report names the nearby menus, links every price, lists a year of local dates and the rules that apply to your address. Sources linked. No account.
Related: all city reports · menu price index · restaurant pricing strategy guide