DaFoodie

Consistent. I really don’t have a lot of consistency in my life. I have teenaged daughters, so you can probably imagine that each day when I wake up my sole wish is NOT to have a fun (or not-so-funny) “surprise” spring up. The good news is that a little oasis of consistency exists at Oh! Que Bueno, a fantastic Colombian restaurant on South Semoran Boulevard just north of Curry Ford Road. Oh! Que Bueno is a casual establishment that has been added to over the years. Starting out as a simple restaurant, the owners have put on a deck and additional seating in the back as well as a large, open room with a bar in the front. There are murals painted on the walls which contain scenes of Colombia, and there are flat-screen TVs mounted throughout the restaurant playing various soccer games.

The awesome wait staff is bilingual and furthermore, they don’t laugh at me when this gabacha completely butchers the names of the menu items. Always super-friendly and kind, they happily walk you through any menu questions you might have and suggest substitutions and different combinations that are exactly what you’re hungry for. My youngest regularly creates her own entrees from side dishes, which are served with no confusion or hedging at all as is so common in other restaurants who don’t care to take an extra step for their guests. What a refreshing change of pace. Start out with a water with lime, a delicious yogurt smoothie, alcoholic beverage, or a variety of Latin and American sodas. Their wine list isn’t extensive, and it will be brought to you in a single-serve bottle. They serve sodas in the can, which I love, but also give you a glass with ice to pour it over. The menu is traditionally Colombian, with huge platters of bandeja paisa and bandeja campesina, both national dishes. Another fantastic item is their steak, which is done in a variety of ways. The bistec apanada is breaded and lightly fried, and the churrasco steak (flank), entrana, and the punta de anca are all grilled to perfection. Other entrees include a wide variety of fish, such as red snapper and tilapia, and also shrimp platters, chicken done in a variety of ways (bone in and breasts), and pork.

[churrasco steak with fries]

[arepitas with warm butter]

Appetizers are plentiful and delicious, from beef empanadas to arepitas (small corn meal patties that you can dip in warm butter sauce; I wake up in the middle of the night craving these, I’m not going to lie to you). If you’re in the mood for something larger than an appetizer but not as plentiful as the enormous bandeja paisa/campesina platters, you can try a rice, pork, and bean bowl (garnishes with fried potato sticks - YUM!) or some mofongo (mashed green plantains fried up with pork and seasonings … something else I crave at 3am).

[red beans, rice, and pork bowl]

I would like to stop at this point and revisit the bandeja paisa. This dish is a MONSTER. For just a little over $10, this bad boy easily breaks down into two meals (three, if you’re more of a dainty eater). It comes with a huge scoop of white rice, an egg sunny side up, a HUGE piece of grilled steak (tender and lightly seasoned), red beans in sauce, chicharrón (fried pork back - almost a meal in itself), chorizo (seasoned pork sausage), morcilla (YUM - blood sausage with rice), one or two arepitas, fried sweet plantains, and a slice of both an avocado and tomato. I honestly wonder how all of this meaty goodness can fit on one single platter…

[I love you, my bandeja paisa]

A strange phenomenon I have yet to get to the bottom of is the fact that the bandeja paisa tastes JUST AS GOOD REHEATED IN A MICROWAVE. How is that even possible? I’m not complaining or anything, but it’s not going to help me break my addiction anytime soon. If you’ve got any room left after your entree, try their delicious tres leche dessert or some flan (either vanilla or cheese). If you like figs, try the brevas con arequipe. Consistent, fast, family-friendly service and consistently low prices make Oh! Que Bueno a must-stop on my list. Thank me later when you’ve gone into a meat coma after the bandeja paisa!

Oh! Que Bueno 
1125 S Semoran Blvd., Orlando, FL 32807 
Tel: (407) 447-5026 
Hours: 11a-9p Monday-Thursday; 11a-11p Friday-Saturday; 11a-9p Sunday 
Accepts major credit cards.