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As the sun set, I found myself sitting at the , a dark and delightfully gothy bar with dozens of flavours of house-made mead on tap. Mead is not typically my (or anyone’s) drink of choice. But as I sat sipping samples of expertly prepared honey wine, tasting of rich purple ube, mango lassi and sake, I became a quick convert.

As much as it feels like a clandestine European speakeasy, Zymarium isn’t in Berlin or Paris. My day of culinary surprises took place in the most unlikely of places: Orlando, Fla., a.k.a. .

“This is the real Orlando,” Joe Leigh, Zymarium’s co-owner and mead maker, says with a grin. As I took another sip of his Endless Dark Ritual blend with flavours of deep red fruit, it occurred to me that, like many Canadians searching for warm winter diversions, I’d taken family trips to Orlando to hit Universal and Disney but had never stepped foot in any part of the city beyond the parks and nearby hotels and chain restaurants. Clearly, I’d been missing out.

A similar scene played out at , a short walk from Zymarium — both are in Orlando’s , a hip and culturally rich zone in urban Orlando, known for its robust Vietnamese population and the city’s most concentrated collection of Michelin-recognized restaurants.

Kaya itself doesn’t technically have one of Michelin’s classic stars, though it can claim the coveted, sustainability-related Michelin Green Star. Its modern Filipino cuisine and chef Lordfer Lalicon’s skills certainly hit Michelin standards, though the restaurant skips fine-dining stuffiness in favour of more familial Filipino hospitality.

This is part of the magic of Orlando: places like Kaya and nearby Mills 50 standout restaurants like or aren’t necessarily expected to attract tourists, so it feels like a bonus when visitors realize there’s more to Orlando than they assumed.

Part of the reason that many park-bound tourists miss Mills 50 and other urban neighbourhoods is Orlando’s physical layout. Thanks to a mass of freeways, lakes dotted throughout the city and the sheer real estate taken up by the theme parks, Orlando is severely segmented. Most tourists are likely to shuttle straight from the airport to the hotels surrounding the parks, circumventing the rest of the city, with no chance of accidentally stumbling on spots that give Orlando its unique character.

“The parks are great, but there is so much more to Orlando,” says Seth Daniels, proprietor of , a leather store in , a business-heavy community just north of downtown Orlando. “Areas like College Park, and the Mills 50 district started to pop up over the years, all being driven by very artisanal business owners.”

Michelin-level tasting menus and hipster meaderies may be too niche for some, but Orlando neighbourhoods like the upscale offer more tourist-friendly breathers. Further north of downtown, Winter Park’s charming main drag is lined with shops, restaurants and a lively green space, and it’s also home to the , which features the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Boat and kayak tours of the neighbourhood’s mansion-lined Chain of Lakes are also available.

Then, for some arts and culture right in the heart of downtown Orlando, the magnificent  for the Performing Arts presents everything from Broadway-style productions to boozy blues brunches in its multiple state-of-the-art theatre venues.

This is not to say that you should skip Disney or Universal on your next Orlando trip — realistically, are still going to be the main attraction for the vast majority of vacationers. But do take a day or two to step out of the manufactured hoopla and into Orlando’s day-to-day reality — you’ll find a surprising amount of soul.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth travelled as a guest of Visit Orlando, which did not review or approve this article.