Permanent Vacation

The new Orlando bar that’s to die for, literally.

When I told Jeremy I wanted to go to the new spot that opened called Permanent Vacation, he said, “Isn’t that what they call death?” He isn’t wrong. And I get the impression from the atmosphere at Permanent Vacation that was sort of the vibe they are going for.

I first became aware of this new hot spot in Orlando after a lot of people I follow on social media started posting about their experience. When the influences start banging down the door to get in, you know they’ve got to have something good.

We visited during a long weekend trip to Orlando, making our reservations about a week and a half ahead of time. At the time we visited they were releasing their reservations at noon on the Wednesdays the week and a half before. I know that’s kind of confusing, but they post it really clearly on their Instagram.

I loved being able to make a reservation at a specific time, it really cuts down on the anxiety of showing up and being turned away. When a new places opens with so much buzz, it can become a mad house trying to get in, and my social anxiety meter is too high for that.

When we arrived we snuck in through The Copper Rocket, while they were playing trivia, we found the door labeled Permanent Vacation, which really gives the bar a speakeasy element. We were greeted by a host who explained how the menu works, and also let us know they were still in their soft opening phase. Photos of the menu at the time of our visit located at the bottom of this article.

The Drinks

The drink menu is laid out by the strength of the drinks, and the server goes over all the options with you. They have the placebos, which are no alcohol, calmatives, sedatives, and tranquillizers, building in strength with each category. This is about the time where you want to rock, paper, scissors for who is going to be your designated driver.

The glasses are all specially picked to enhance the drinks vibe. Jeremy selected the “Fallen Coconut” which was literally served in a coconut. It had a strong rum taste, and included a shot of mamajuana, which is a spiced mixture of rum, red wine, and honey with tree bark and herbs, sorry no THC. I got a “Painkiller” which also had a tropical vibe with pineapple, orange and coconut. These drinks were good.

Strong.

Clearly hand-crafted, it was definitely an elevation from your typical tiki bar menu, and really shows the attention to detail in menu and recipe planning. At the end of the dinner we ordered “The Cure” off the placebo menu, it was sweet and tangy, really tasted like a craft mocktail that was well designed. As people who don’t drink a whole lot, we would probably stick to the calmatives or placebos next time. But if you are a rum connoisseur, this menu will be very appealing.

The Menu

The food menu has 3 different sections, Bites, Ka-bobs, and Flatbreads. You could easily make a meal out of your visit, or have a few late night snackies. We started with the “Cthulhu”, a fried calamari. The menu did not warn that this dish was spicy, so it was much to our surprise when it came out with fried shishito peppers, or something equally spicy. I’m a whimp with spice so I let Jeremy finish those off.

We also got a “Where’s Wilbur?” flat bread, which was pulled pork, pineapple and smoked gouda. This was delicious. It was real pineapple on pizza vibes, and that’s a win for me. And to finish up we got the “S.S. Minnows” kabab, with a rum glazed shrimp and more pineapple. Because they were in the soft opening, our server asked for real honest feedback, so we let them know about the spicy calamari, but everything else was really enjoyable.

The Atmosphere

When you arrive the host is going to ensure that you are okay with any strobing or flashing lights, as this will happen throughout your time at the bar. I’m not sure if its random, or triggered by a specific drink order, but throughout the evening different shows that would play. The lights would flash, music would play, and you become fully immersed in the scene. In addition to the individual shows, the bar is fully immersive in its décor. When you walk in, the lights are dim, and the attention to detail fully transports you to another place.

As their menu says, “Make sure your affairs are in order, and join us on a Permanent Vacation.”

_{All opinions are our own. We paid full price for our meal and were not invited by the restaurant to write this article.}