Out and About: A Tasting of The Hall On The Yard in Ivanhoe Village .. #TheHallOnTheYard #DiningReview #OrlandoFoodHalls #OrlandoDining

- Michelle Snow

The Hall On The Yard

We were recently invited to check out the menu offerings at The Hall On The Yard, a new food hall located in Ivanhoe Village.

The venue houses nine different restaurants all serving up specialized menus from Asian to American, from seafood and gigantic burgers to vegetarian and vegan. The open kitchens are all on the ground floor of the two-story building, and include: Chef & I, Daily Bread Bakers, Fork & Hen, Huli Bowl, Humbl, Pasión, Spice Affair, True Island Cuisine, and Wabi Sabi.

But what sets The Hall On The Yard apart from other Orlando-area food halls is that it is a full service hall. You are sat at a table by a server who takes your order and brings you the food.

Seating is available in main room on the floor, seats at 3 bars (one outdoors), and two rooms on the second floor that can house private groups as well as offer more general seating when the first floor gets packed (which it was on both of my visits so far).

The Hall On The Yard

Our menu tasting took place upstairs in what I’m calling the White Room, which featured portrait photos of musicians along with other eclectic art.

We first heard from several of the chefs, as well as venue owner Jamal Wilson, who explained the concept and took questions from the media present. When I asked why he chose to open in Ivanhoe Village, Wilson said when he was shown the property, he liked the vibe of the neighborhood and its proximity to downtown Orlando.

The Hall On The Yard

But you want to know about the food, right? I will start by saying everything I tried was delicious, and I loved the wide variety of options offered by the nine kitchens.

We didn’t try every single dish available, but each kitchen offered two to three samples for everyone to try.

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Here are some of my favorite dishes you will find at The Hall On The Yard:

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Three of my favorites came from the Spice Affair kitchen: Butter Chicken, Samosas, and what looked like a Masala. The dishes were so richly flavored with spices and complemented each other so well. I would definitely order these again.

The Hall On The Yard - Spice Affair

The Hall On The Yard - Spice Affair

The Hall On The Yard - Spice Affair

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The Tijunana Birria Short Rib Ramen from the Wabi Sabi kitchen was a delicious blend of Mexican and Japan ingredients. The huge bowl (mine was just a sampler) features a five chili shoyu broth topped with street corn, kewpie aioli, bamboo shoots, baby bok choy, sliced jalapeno, a shoyu egg, and noodles, along with a huge piece of short rib and a some chicharron.

The Hall On The Yard - Wabi Sabi

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The Humbl kitchen 16-layer lasagna was an amazing dish. The many layers of pasta, Italian sausage, a rustic meat sauce, Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Parmesan Cheeses just really gave it a depth of flavor I don’t taste in a lot of restaurant lasagna. Definitely another favorite.

The Hall On The Yard - Humbl

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The Chef & I kitchen served up a lovely vegetarian dish with caramelized cauliflower, pistachio pesto, local honey, candied pecans, and whipped goat cheese on a garlic focaccia. The sweet and savory flavors really went well together and was a nice break from the meat dishes I had been trying.

The Hall On The Yard - Chef & I

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As a burger lover, I have to say the Fork & Hen kitchen really knocked it out of the park with The Hit Man. This burger is just stacked high with a variety of flavors, starting with the huge wedge of crunchy fried mozzarella on the bottom bun, followed by a burger blend, pimento cheese, bacon, some house made pickles, and the top bun. This thing is massive and I ended up splitting it, but it really satisfied my burger craving.

The Hall On The Yard - Fork & Hen

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Finally, I have to give a nod to the Huli Bowl and their coconut-lime creme brulee, a new take on the traditional dessert that offers a mix of familiar and new flavors in every luscious bite.

The Hall On The Yard - Huli Bowl

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I wish I could have tried everything, but unfortunately due to allergies, some dishes I just couldn’t. But I did poll some of the other media present, and here are some other dishes they enjoyed:

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Huli Bowl & Rotisserie also delighted with its Poke Nachos that featured ahi tuna, sesame-ginger poke, wakame (an edible seaweed), ginger tomato, avocado puree, spicy aioli, crispy garlic, and scallion on sesame crackers. It had a bit of a spicy kick but not enough to overpower the other ingredients.

The Hall On The Yard - Huli Bowl

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Chef & I served up a twist on the chicken and waffles dish that featured slices of crispy skin duck, duck fat sage waffles, and macerated blackberry maple syrup. I’m not a fan of duck but others just loved the dish.

The Hall On The Yard - Chef & I

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Humbl also wowed with its vegan Truffle Flatbread pizza that was topped with a truffle alfredo sauce, oat milk shredded mozzarella, and plenty of herb-roasted mushrooms.

The Hall On The Yard - Humbl

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True Island Cuisine served up several Caribbean dishes that were enjoyed by many in attendance, too.

The Hall On The Yard - True Island Cuisine

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Overall, I would say The Hall on the Yard would be a great place to dine if you’re not quite sure what you’re in the mood for because there are so many different and delicious options. It would also be a great place to meet up with friends, since you don’t have to all decide on the same thing to eat, and they do offer cocktails and more to drink. There’s also an outdoor draft beer wall with TVs to watch sports.

The Hall On The Yard - cocktails

I didn’t get a chance to check out the main floor from my initial visit on opening day last November, but I can happily report the slippery chairs have been replaced. I wasn’t able to check their replacement since the dining area was full of customers. From what I can tell, the management has been very responsive to the bumps along the way that come with opening a new venue.

The Hall on the Yard is located at 1460 Alden Road in The Yard at Ivanhoe apartment complex. You can find them online at thehallontheyard.com, though the site doesn’t have any of the menus up.

Disclaimer: CSO was invited to a media tasting. As always, my opinions are honest, and my own.

 

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