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20 Best Things to Do, Eat, and Drink in Ocoee, Florida

  • Writer: VU Window Treatments
    VU Window Treatments
  • Aug 6
  • 5 min read

Ocoee gets called a lot of things. A Disney commuter town. The place with the mall. The exit before Winter Garden.


Spend an actual weekend here, though, and a different city shows up.

There's a lakefront park that hosts a 20,000-person music festival, a blueberry farm in the middle of a neighborhood, a craft brewery anchoring a downtown that keeps adding storefronts, and a restaurant scene that quietly outgrew its chain-heavy reputation years ago.


We've been making window treatments in this corner of Central Florida since 1984, so we've watched most of these places open, grow, and become the reasons people love living here. Consider this our hometown list. Twenty spots, in three courses.


Things to Do in Ocoee


1. Spend an evening at Bill Breeze Park on Starke Lake

If Ocoee has a living room, this is it. The one-acre lakefront park next to City Hall hosts the Community Market on the first Thursday of every month, free movie nights, holiday events, and just about every city celebration worth attending. Come for an event, stay for the sunset over Starke Lake.


Formerly Founders' Day, this two-day festival at Bill Breeze Park has pulled headliners like Bret Michaels, Brothers Osborne, and Los Lonely Boys, all with free admission. Add the carnival, car show, 5K, and food trucks, and it's the biggest weekend on the city calendar by a mile.


3. Pick your own blueberries at Tom West Blueberries

A working farm sitting right in downtown Ocoee, family owned since 1954. U-pick season runs roughly March through June, and the farm stand carries peaches, muffins, popsicles, and jams when the bushes are picked clean. Locals check the farm's Facebook page for crop updates before heading over, and you should too.


4. Stock up at Lake Meadow Naturals

Chef Scott Osborne's farm on Mark Adam Road supplies some of Orlando's best restaurants, and the on-site farm store sells the same cage-free eggs, pastured meats, and raw honey directly to you. Kids love seeing the chickens and ducks. Your fridge will thank you.


5. Ride the West Orange Trail

Twenty-two paved miles running through Ocoee, Winter Garden, and Apopka, shaded by oaks for long stretches and dotted with rest stops. Walk it, run it, or ride it. If you don't own a bike, downtown Ocoee has you covered (see number 10).



6. Make a night of it at GameTime Ocoee

Twenty-five thousand square feet of arcade at West Oaks Mall, with more than 120 games, eight lanes of mini bowling, a full restaurant, and a sports bar with over 50 TVs. Ten Buck Tuesday and Thursday timed-play deals make it one of the cheapest big nights out in West Orange County.


7. See a movie at West Orange Cinema

Family owned since 1989, with ticket prices that make the big chains blush. There's even a designated viewing room for parents with babies. Dinner and a movie in Ocoee still exists, and it costs less than parking at some Orlando venues.


8. Play a round at Forest Lake Golf Club

More than 200 acres of rolling fairways on the north edge of town, with no houses lining the course. Five sets of tees keep it honest for every handicap, and the Rusty Niblick pub handles the nineteenth hole. A genuine locals' favorite.


9. Walk past the Withers-Maguire House

Built in 1888 and restored by the city, this is Ocoee's grandest piece of standing history. Pair it with a stroll through the surrounding historic district and you'll see the town the citrus barons built before the expressways arrived.


10. Gear up at Bike Life Bicycles

A full-service bike shop on McKey Street that shares DNA (and a wall) with one of the best cafés in town. Get a tune-up, rent some wheels, and roll straight onto the trail network. Downtown Ocoee's one-stop cycling headquarters.


11. Fish or paddle Starke Lake

The public boat ramp by City Hall puts you on one of West Orange's most reliable bass lakes. Kayaks and paddleboards do just as well here on calm mornings. Bring coffee, launch early, and watch the town wake up from the water.


Best Places to Eat in Ocoee


The city's flagship restaurant, now settled into its home on Amazing Way. Chef-driven New American food, hand-cut steaks, a wine list that has earned Wine Spectator recognition, and a happy hour that runs twice daily. If you're introducing someone to Ocoee dining, start here.


Schnitzel, gulasch, and apple strudel on Maguire Road, from a kitchen that makes nearly everything in-house, sourdough to stocks, plus an in-house dry-aging program. It feels like an upscale Alpine lodge dropped into West Orange County, and the neighborhood has embraced it fast.


Family owned since 2008 and about as authentic as Mexican food gets around here. Beyond tacos, the menu runs to huaraches, tortas, and regional dishes the staff will happily walk you through. Grab a Mexican Coke and settle in.


The beloved family taco truck that earned itself a brick-and-mortar spot on McKey Street. Street-style tacos and Mexican snacks in the middle of downtown's growing restaurant row. Proof that Ocoee supports its own.


Paninis, flatbreads, smoothies, and proper coffee inside a working bike shop. Renata and the team run it like a neighborhood kitchen, and the Thursday pickleball crowd treats it like one. Breakfast through late lunch, Tuesday to Saturday.



Small-batch, hand-rolled, hand-decorated doughnuts that once earned Yelp's nod for best doughnut in Florida. The apple fritter is the size of a catcher's mitt. Get there early, because when they sell out, they close.


More than a hundred flavors of feather-soft shaved ice, run by a local couple (one of them teaches at Ocoee Middle School) right next door to DG Doughnuts. Doughnuts in the morning, snoballs at night. Downtown Ocoee figured out the perfect daily rhythm.


Best Places to Drink in Ocoee


Ocoee's first craft brewery and the anchor of the McKey Street revival. Award-winning house beers (the red ale Shamrocks and Shenanigans has a devoted following), 20 taps, trivia nights, food trucks, live music, and a dog-friendly patio. All roads really do lead here.


The wine bar the Bike Life Café crew opened next door, pouring unique wines by the ounce so you can explore without committing to a bottle. Small plates, a family-friendly room, and Wine Down Wednesdays. Downtown Ocoee's most relaxing hour.


Made in Ocoee, Just Like Us

Every place on this list has something in common with us. We're all proof that you don't need an Orlando zip code to build something people love. VU Window Treatments has been manufacturing custom blinds, shades, and shutters in Central Florida since 1984, and after four decades we still believe the best work comes from people who live where they build.


So next time you're picking blueberries at Tom West or grabbing a pint at Toll Road, remember your windows can be just as local. Visit our showroom or request a free quote and see what 40 years of hometown craftsmanship looks like.


 
 
 

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