Family Restaurants Near International Drive

Beyond the I-Drive Chain Restaurants

International Drive is packed with restaurants. Most of them are chains. Olive Garden, TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze. They are fine for what they are, but when you are on vacation with your family and you want a meal everyone will actually remember, you need something different. You need a restaurant where the food is made by hand and the owner might stop by your table to say hello.

Ciao Italia Ristorante is about just 2 minutes from International Drive, tucked away on Westwood Boulevard. The Navarra family has owned and operated it since 1991. The pasta is handmade daily. The seafood is fresh. The kids menu is $13 and comes with gelato. And there is free self-parking, which any parent navigating Orlando traffic will appreciate more than they expect.

Why Families Choose Ciao Italia Over the Chains

Chain restaurants near I-Drive serve reheated food from a corporate kitchen. Ciao Italia serves food made from scratch by a family that has been cooking Italian food for over three decades. The Chicken Marsala is prepared with real marsala wine and fresh mushrooms. The Sacchetti pasta is folded by hand. The tiramisu is made in the restaurant, not shipped in from a factory.

For families, the difference matters. Kids taste real food and discover they actually like it. Parents get a meal worth the money they spent. And everyone leaves feeling like they had a genuine experience, not a mass-produced one. That is the Ciao Italia difference, and it is just 2 minutes from your I-Drive hotel.

Easy to Reach from I-Drive

Ciao Italia is located at 6149 Westwood Blvd, Orlando, FL 32821. From International Drive, it is 2 minutes west, about five minutes depending on traffic. The restaurant is also close to SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center. Free self-parking makes arrival stress-free.

The restaurant is open seven days a week from 5 PM to 10 PM, including holidays. Whether your family is wrapping up a day at the theme parks or looking for a real dinner on a rest day, Ciao Italia fits perfectly into your I-Drive vacation. Call (407) 354-0770 to reserve a table for your family.

About Dining Near I-Drive

International Drive is the heart of Orlando's tourist corridor. Stretching over 11 miles through the center of the city, I-Drive is home to theme parks, attractions, outlet malls, and hundreds of restaurants. Millions of visitors walk this strip every year looking for somewhere to eat after a long day.

The problem with dining on International Drive is that most of the restaurants are chains. The same menus you can find in any airport or shopping mall. The food is predictable, the service is rushed, and the experience is forgettable. Visitors deserve better than that.

Ciao Italia Ristorante sits just off International Drive on Westwood Boulevard, where the Navarra family has been cooking authentic Italian food since 1991. The pasta is handmade daily. The sauces are made from scratch. The bread is baked fresh every evening. It is a fundamentally different dining experience than anything on the main strip.

Whether you are staying at one of the I-Drive hotels, visiting SeaWorld or Aquatica, or spending the day at the outlets, Ciao Italia is 2 minutes from the action. Free parking, walk-ins welcome, and open every night from 5 to 10 PM.

How to Get to Ciao Italia from I-Drive

From International Drive, take Westwood Boulevard south. Ciao Italia is at 6149 Westwood Blvd, on the right side, with a free parking lot directly in front. It is 2 minutes from I-Drive and on the same road as SeaWorld's main entrance.

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