Why Capa matters.
Capa is a Spanish-influenced rooftop steakhouse where Golden Oak's secluded resort landscape meets Basque culinary traditions, wood-fired American beef and the development of MICHELIN-recognized fine dining within Walt Disney World.
Set along Dream Tree Boulevard near the entrance to Four Seasons Resort Orlando and a short drive from the resort's connection to Bonnet Creek Parkway, the restaurant occupies the seventeenth floor above Golden Oak's landscaped residential enclave, overlooking lakes, woodland and the surrounding golf course. Two outdoor terraces extend from the principal dining areas, providing elevated views across the resort landscape and distant evening fireworks. San Francisco's Puccini Group designed the original interiors around dark wood, crimson upholstery and contemporary furnishings, with a suspended red paper sculpture by Dutch artist Peter Gentenaar providing a focal point above the dining room. A decorative installation incorporating antique Spanish coins distinguishes the bar, and the lounge features velvet seating, brass detailing and sculptural lighting. The result is a rooftop restaurant whose elevated terraces, Spanish-inspired interiors and theatrical artwork establish a distinctive architectural setting within Central Florida's luxury hospitality landscape.
What defines Capa.
Capa is best known for becoming one of Orlando's first MICHELIN-starred restaurants in 2022, bringing international recognition to a Spanish-inspired steakhouse established during the expansion of luxury hospitality at Walt Disney World. The restaurant opened on October 20, 2014, shortly after the completion of Four Seasons Resort Orlando, which introduced the brand's first Central Florida property within the privately developed Golden Oak community. Its original culinary direction came from Tim Dacey, a Florida-born chef whose professional background included Reynard in Brooklyn, the NoMad in Manhattan and the Setai in New York. Dacey had previously worked with Four Seasons executive chef Fabrizio Schenardi at Pelagia Trattoria in Tampa, establishing a professional connection that preceded the Orlando project. The opening menu drew particularly upon the Basque Country, incorporating tapas, cured meats and seafood preparations into the established traditions of an American steakhouse. Schenardi directed the resort's broader culinary operations, developing Capa's position as its principal destination restaurant. Wine Enthusiast included the establishment among America's 100 Best Wine Restaurants in 2016, recognizing a beverage program distinguished by Spanish producers and international selections. The restaurant's professional standing advanced in June 2022 when Florida's inaugural MICHELIN Guide awarded Capa one star, placing it among the first Orlando establishments to receive the distinction. Malyna Si assumed leadership as restaurant chef that October after five years in the kitchen, progressing from cook through sous-chef before taking responsibility for its culinary direction. Her appointment placed a woman at the head of one of Florida's MICHELIN-starred kitchens, an uncommon distinction within the state's fine-dining industry. Si developed relationships with regional producers, including Clermont's Lé Koopé and SugarTop Micro-Greens, incorporating their ingredients into preparations associated with the restaurant's Spanish culinary foundations. The restaurant retained its MICHELIN star in 2023 and 2024, extending the recognition through successive editions of the Florida guide. Chris Edwards subsequently assumed leadership of the kitchen, working alongside Schenardi and executive pastry chef Rabii Saber. In April 2025, Capa received its fourth consecutive MICHELIN star during a ceremony hosted at Four Seasons Resort Orlando, connecting the restaurant's professional recognition with the property's role in Florida's developing gastronomic industry. That year also brought recognition through Spain's Restaurants from Spain certification program, acknowledging the restaurant's commitment to Spanish ingredients, wines and culinary traditions. The successive appointments and distinctions established Capa as an enduring component of Orlando's fine-dining development beyond the city's longstanding association with theme-park tourism.
Chris Edwards' kitchen centers on the relationship between Spanish tapas, carefully selected seafood and substantial cuts of beef prepared over a wood-burning grill. The meal develops through smaller dishes that establish the aromatic foundations of Spanish cooking before progressing toward the concentrated flavors of grilled meat. Gambas combine shrimp with garlic and smoked paprika, allowing the shellfish's natural sweetness to develop against the warmth of the seasoning. Sherry-braised mushrooms introduce a deeper savory character, with dried cherries contributing acidity and sweetness to the concentrated cooking liquid. The kitchen's Ibérico pluma draws upon acorn-fed pork from Extremadura, a region closely associated with Spain's traditional dehesa landscape and the production of premium Ibérico meat. Grilling develops a browned exterior around the pork's richly marbled flesh, concentrating its flavor through direct heat. Marcona almond romesco contributes roasted nuttiness, and Valencia orange introduces citrus acidity that balances the meat's fat. The preparation connects the restaurant's wood-fired cooking with ingredients associated with distinct Spanish agricultural regions. Prime American beef extends the same technique through substantial cuts, including a thirty-two-ounce porterhouse sourced from Creekstone Farms in Kansas. The steak's thickness allows the grill to produce a deeply browned exterior and a tender interior, with resting preserving the meat's juices before service. A thirty-day dry-aged ribeye from Demkota Ranch develops a different concentration of flavor through controlled maturation, which intensifies the beef's savory character. A5 Miyazaki wagyu provides a contrasting expression of richness through its extensive intramuscular marbling and delicate texture. Seafood receives equal attention through the mariscada, a selection of oysters, crab salad, cocktail shrimp and tuna crudo that introduces the freshness of the raw bar. Dessert develops lighter combinations after the richer savory courses, including gazpacho de melón with green apple sorbet, saffron meringue and candied celery. The melon contributes delicate sweetness, and the sorbet introduces refreshing acidity against the aromatic character of saffron. Spanish wines form an important component of the beverage program, supported by selections from established international regions. The Capa GinTonic combines Caorunn gin with Mediterranean tonic, apple, juniper and citrus, extending the botanical character of the drink through carefully selected garnishes. The kitchen's distinctive culinary character develops through the progression from garlic-scented seafood and Spanish pork to wood-grilled beef, preserving the relationship between regional Spanish ingredients and the technical foundations of a contemporary American steakhouse.
How Capa fits.
Capa works as the culinary centerpiece for an Orlando itinerary connecting the conservation of Central Florida's native landscapes, the architectural development of Walt Disney World and the transportation innovations that shaped the region's international tourism industry.
Begin at Disney's Wilderness Preserve, a conservation property south of Walt Disney World established through an agreement involving The Nature Conservancy, the Walt Disney Company and regional environmental authorities. The preserve protects more than 11,000 acres of Central Florida habitat, including pine flatwoods, freshwater marshes and wetlands associated with the Upper Everglades watershed. Its establishment during the 1990s accompanied environmental mitigation efforts connected with resort development. Longleaf pine restoration, prescribed burning and invasive-species management support native ecological communities. Walking trails introduce the landscape that characterized much of inland Central Florida before the expansion of metropolitan Orlando. Continue to Disney's Contemporary Resort, among the two hotels that opened alongside Magic Kingdom in October 1971. Designed by Welton Becket & Associates, its A-frame structure became an important example of the futuristic architecture associated with Walt Disney World's original development. The building's prefabricated guest-room modules were inserted into the structural frame during construction, demonstrating an ambitious application of industrialized building techniques. The resort's interior concourse accommodates the Walt Disney World Monorail System, whose trains pass directly through the building. Mary Blair's immense ceramic mural introduces a major work of modern decorative art into the transportation-centered interior. Conclude at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, which opened in 1988 as a Victorian-inspired counterpart to the resort's earlier modernist hotels. Its architectural design draws upon the grand seaside hotels of nineteenth-century Florida, incorporating a red-roofed central building, broad verandas and a multi-story lobby. The property's development accompanied Walt Disney World's expansion into a more extensive collection of themed hospitality environments. Its position along Seven Seas Lagoon connects the architecture with the resort's original waterway and monorail transportation systems. The progression moves from the protected ecological landscape of Central Florida through the experimental modernism of Walt Disney World's original resort architecture and culminates in the Victorian revival design that accompanied its later hospitality expansion.
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