Hannibal’s on the Square

If there was an option for no stars this place would get it. Six of us came for dinner mostly to hear the band tonight. Sat down at 730. There were only 2 tables taken at that time. We ordered nothing complicated. Salad with salmon, ahi burger, salad with chicken etc etc. nothing time consuming. We got our food at 920. Almost 2 hrs after we sat down. I could get over it if the food was worth the wait. But it was horrible. We asked for the manager and was told they don’t have a manager on duty but they would send someone over. No one ever came. The waiter never never offered explanation or came over to us when we tried to inquire. Only offered explanation when he came to pickup the dirty plates. He brought 2 crem brûlée s on the house for the long wait. They were lumpy and cold. Also the salmon on the salad was broken up on top so it would look like a lot but really was only about 4oz. Very small amount. The ahi burger was bland and tasteless. I would never go back here. I also feel the same about chez Vincent which is owned by the same family. I have eaten there several years ago. Dropped a lot of money than had to go out to get something to eat. But that is another story. There is no care to the food or service at Hannibals. One good thing– the band tonight was great. Now I just need to find out where else they play.

Went on a regular date night here. The dining room was practically empty and we got sat next to the door way leading into the lounge. Besides the floor squeaking each time our server walked over it, the ambiance was quaint and the décor was nice. We ordered escargot in a delious savory pastry for the appetizer so things were looking good so far… I ordered the venison here since rarely have it. I figured I might as well since this is supposed to be fine dining. Huge mistake! The venison was old and dry! Sure, I should have known since NO ONE was eating inside something may be wrong but, I was already starving. How dissapointing! Please don’t own a restaurant if you have zero pride or respect for food. Why would you serve old frozen food to anyone for any price? I do not recommend this place.

What can I say about Hannibal’s? Certainly nothing negative! I’ve dined at Hannibal’s on multiple occasions for multiple reasons. The food is always top notch and the ambiance is great.
Hannibal’s is the lounge-​like half of Chez Vincent. It boasts a nice bar setup and an intimate table setting. You’ll be dining in pretty close quarters with others (the tables are close together) but that’s never bothered me. On Friday and Saturday night Hannibal’s has live music. I’ve actually been here several times to watch a friend sing.
The food is fantastic! Great French cuisine. If you’re a seafood lover like me, their fish entrees are delish and super fresh. Some of my favorites: the salmon with a raspberry sauce and the grouper provencale. A nice wine selection, too, and great cocktails.
Hannibal’s also has a wine cellar downstairs which I’ve had the privilege to dine in twice now — once for a Christmas party and again for a wedding rehearsal dinner. When you drop the dollars to rent that cellar out you definitely get what you pay for. Multiple courses of incredible food and non-​stop awesome service. My wine glass was never empty. ;)
Hannibal’s is one of my favorite restaurants in Hannibal Square. I actually prefer it over its sister restaurant, Chez Vincent. The same awesome food but with a much more modern and trendy atmosphere. Great for date night, birthdays or whenever. :)

My dining experience was great! Our server was friendly and knowlegable and she helped us pick a great bottle of wine. The food was incredible and exceeded the value of Magical Dining. The escargot was phenomenal! The table of «fake» women complaining about everything was quite distracting. You could tell from the moment they walked in that all they wanted was attention and a discount. I will be back and absolutely recommend this to anyone!

We were celebrating my friend’s birthday tonight and decided to go to Hannibal’s for dinner. Hannibal’s has the worse food I have ever had in my life. I ordered the scallops and they were disgusting. The entire dish tasted like it had been tossed around in a dirty pond of dead fish. The bread was hard and the tuna my friend ordered looked like the pink goop they use to make McDonald chicken nuggets. Very pricy restaurant with very low quality food. My experience at Hannibal’s was horrible, I will be contacting health inspectors, Hannibal’s is dirty, and by the taste and smell of our food tonight, I am certain their food poses a health threat. I will never go there again and I wouldn’t recommend anyone else to either.

Oh, where to begin… This restaurant is aesthetically pleasing to the eye but don’t be fooled by it! I came here for a birthday dinner. Upon my arrival my party wasn’t here, so I chose to sit at the bar and while I waited for 20 minutes, not one single person came to ask me if I would like anything to drink. Once our party arrived, it took another 20 minutes to be seated. Mind you, the restaurant was not full. By this time, I could have taken my shoe off and eaten it, I was that hungry and it took another 20 minutes to get menus. I ordered a Caesar Salad with Shrimp and Seared Blackened Tuna. When our dinner came, I looked down at the Seared Blackened Tuna and it looked like my 3 year old got ahold of a knife to slice the tuna. The presentation was awful! In addition, the tuna smelled like it was sun bathing for the last 8 hours and it wasn’t seared, but rather over cooked. The Shrimp Ceasar Salad tasted like a TGI Fridays Ceasar salad and out of the 7 people at my table, 6 returned their dinner. All complained that their food had no flavor and tasted worse than a microwavable dinner! Thank God I brought birthday cupcakes, if not we’d all would have starved! This restaurant is lucky to even get one star! The staff was extremely rude and made our dining experience quite unpleasant! I asked if we could speak to a Manager or Owner and our waitress said, «He is very aware of what’s going on». But no one came to our table to talk to us. The bathrooms also smelled like urine and you could smell the kitchen as you walked to the bathrooms and the smell was awful. It’s a very dirty restaurant and extremely overpriced for such poor quality of food. I would have been happy eating a fish sandwich from McDonalds than eating here! Never again!

Went here for Sunday brunch last weekend and the service was awful! The server didn’t know the menu, he forgot drink orders and although he was available, he didn’t shut up about his life story. $ 10 for a single mimosa that’s mostly OJ and cheap Asti wasn’t worth it. The beef crêpe was over cooked, too salty, and very small in portion size. It was like eating beef jerky smothered in Heinz 57 and wrapped in a pancake. My wife’s smoked Salmon and poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce had multiple egg shell pieces, and BOTH dishes were cold. I will NEVER be going back here again. A better Sunday brunch place can easily be found for a better value and ambiance

This was a very disappointing experience. It was supposed to be a date night treat, on the patio, and we were told we would be able to hear the special musical guest from inside, over the outdoor speakers. We could not hear the music, there was nothing over the speakers, and the food was atrocious. We both ordered burgers and fries. The burger meat was old, chewy, and had an unpleasant odor. The fries were reminiscent of elementary school lunch room fries – limp, greasy, and an insult to good potatoes. They were at least seasoned with herbs, but the taste, texture, and presentation made them inedible. Neither of us ate more than a fry and a small bite of our burgers and we sent it all back. No one came out to speak to us about the food quality or the situation. We thankfully weren’t charged for the meals, but paid full price for the wine. Hard to believe a chef is overseeing this quality of output, and willing to stake his name and reputation on it. We were initially excited to see a brunch menu, but after tasting the lackluster ingredients and experiencing the lame service, we won’t go back to this place under any circumstances.

Very beautiful lounge. another Bry and I date night dessert delight– crème Brulee and the peanut butter and chocolate pie with mojitos. Very sophisticated environment, great bartenders and conversation. Discovered a cool new place.

Bad food, rude staff, never again.

What a night! My boyfriend and I were looking for a romantic dinner and stumbled upon Hannibal’s here on Unilocal — the reviews were good, and we were drawn in by the extensive wine cellar and selection of exotic meats.
My boyfriend had the filet mignon and I ordered the tenderloin… it was DELICIOUS. It was moist, flavorful, and very unique-​tasting. The owner made his rounds, checking on the diners’ experiences — and I complimented him on the incredible meal.
«Tenderloin of what, by the way?» I asked conversationally. «It didn’t say on the menu.»
«Jerry.»
“What?”
“Pork. Tenderloin of pork. I definitely said pork.“
I’ve got to say, the owner was incredibly charming — he was able to identify the brand of my perfume from across the room! My boyfriend got a little jealous and made a couple of rude remarks, which I could tell the owner did not appreciate. But I must say that he was a complete gentleman to me, and a man of very refined tastes. «Come back as soon as you can,» he purred in a Europeany accent. «It is always a pleasure to have new friends for dinner.»
All in all, it was a five-​star experience. My boyfriend has been missing for a week now, but I will always remember our special night at Hannibal’s.

Hannibal’s has the best bartenders, the service is out of this world, love the atmosphere, great music, terrific place to socialize and catch a game… and lot’s not forget about the food; it’s AMAZING! Chez Vincent the owner is there on site to meet his customers and deliver an over the top experience. It’s the place to be!
Thanks for the great experience time and time again, Michelle Pae

I love chez Vincent, and I love Hannibals, but I wouldn’t go to Hannibals to have dinner, even though the menu is basically the same – just in English. I wouldn’t go to Chez Vincent for drinks either, because it’s a restuarant. Hannibals is not really set up to be a restaurant, any more than Chez Vincent is set up to be a bar. It’s a lounge, but they serve French food from the attached Chez Vincent. It’s better for drinks and dessert than dining. The chairs, as people have mentioned are comfy, but not the best for sitting in to eat a full meal. The food at Chez Vincent is excellent, as is the service, so I suggest going there for dinner and going to Hannibals for cocktails. They have amazing desserts, and the soufflé will blow your mind. It has very modern décor, flattering lighting, and they often have a piano player. They have a nice bar, and my experience with the bartenders has always been excellent. It’s funny that people complain about the price of the food, but I think that is because they are eating in the lounge. If you are in the restaurant, their prices are reasonable for French food.
Sometimes, you just want to go to a nice place to have some drinks where you can hear the person you are talking to. I like Park ave, but it can be crowded and loud. You can always head a block up, and you are right on Park Ave.

This is a very nice location but I will never return due to their terrible customer service at the bar. After spending the evening on New England Ave, I never thought I would meet a bar tender in Hannibal Square with such little regard for paying customers. If you should ever have an issue with your drink, don’t think it will be received well here. In fact, the bartender I met Friday night actually told me and my friends that he did not care. This is not what I expect when I frequent this street.

This review is sponsored by wine. I stopped in here with a group of girlfriends for a drink after an event on Park Ave. The atmosphere was nice, the wine was good (is there bad wine, though?), and the real kicker was the guy singing. He had a great personality and really indulged our requests for Boyz II Men and Adam Sandler. I can’t comment on the food but I recommend it for drinks.

Fellow Unilocalers,
Being in the mood for French cuisine for me is like waking up in the morning with a high libido; it happens every day. Therefore, this is one offer I seldom turn down and was more than pleased (all libido puns aside) to have been invited to dinner at this charming establishment that I have strolled past on sundry occasions, but never wandered in.
From the outside looking in, Hannibal’s is very reminiscent of an attractive little European, or more appropriately, French restaurant. It sort of architecturally reeks of pompousness and its interior is reflective of what could only be apropos for its type of cuisine; pretentious décor. Not to be misunderstood, these are two things which I thoroughly enjoy and it isn’t at all in my opinion negative traits, but rather in accordance with my expectations hence my loving of it all.
The restaurant is adjoined by Chez Vincent which its décor is a far cry from Hannibal’s Lounge. It is analogous to having a [very clean] 1990s Kia dealership sharing a connected hotel room with a 2000s BMW dealership. I don’t know about you, but that seemed like an accurate comparison at the time. The Lounge offers a beautiful bar that is inviting of great conversations and cocktails. However, since it is so far from the main drag at Park Avenue, it lacks a bit in human traffic which could be a plus for some. At first glance, it seemed like most of its clientele were return customers or friends of the Chef. The available seating ranges from regular chairs, to therapist like love chairs and interesting chairs that forces one to maintain good posture due to the lacking proximity of any back cushion. All extremely charming.
So aside from expecting to have my order taken by a therapist while I lied down and vented my day’s frustrations, we were greeted by a nice hostess who proceeded to tells us about the specials and hand us the cocktail and wine lists. Also, bread is served with a small variety of special butters that are made in house.
Service was extremely prompt and courteous. No issues were had there, there were two gentlemen providing covers of famous 90s songs which was a nice surprise. Although at times it seemed to be a bit loud for the rather confined area of the restaurant, it was fine overall and actually entertaining.
Right away glasses of wine were ordered and the mention of a foie gras appetizer immediately caught my attention. In other words, it was ordered in haste. It arrived beautifully set up (and in good timing) as it can be seen in my photo of it. The foie gras tasted great and the texture was very good as well, not extremely fatty either which was nice. Coupled with the apples and the reduction sauce it made for a marvelous intro to what came next.
My main entrée was also another special, after mentally wrestling with wanting Venison, the Veal Chop was the clear winner when the tummy bell rang. It was a nice piece covered by a peppercorn cognac sauce accompanied by mashed potatoes and some vegetables (see my photo). Overall, a very great dish.
I would definitely recommend this place for a nice romantic date or business dinner and drinks. Far away enough from the crowds on Park Avenue, it makes for a good place to actually chat without having to scream over other patrons and the bar is just so darn gorgeous that it’s worth a visit. So make your way down and venture out of the main area of Winter Park and stroll down NE Ave. for a nice quiet and tastefully loud surprise!
Au revoir!

Horrible service & business practices! Would not honor their own coupon even after they admitted they should because the coupon was not printed out. Even though the issuer (
) said it did not have to be printed (they supply a confirmation number instead). Since the manager/​owner was not there (apparently no one else could help me). I was advised to call him the next day. I did and he was not there. I tried the next day, he was not there again. The owner was suppose to call me back, that was 4 days ago, i have yet to hear from him.
I loved Hannibal’s before this incident and recommended this place as a hidden gem to many people. However, I am sad to say, I will never go there again. I can not support dishonest and misleading business practices.

Like Jeff, this place is kind of hard to pick a valid rating. The food i would actually lean towards 2 star but style and décor 4… so guess what? 3 IT IS!
The décor is cool, the bar is huge and light up marble. The tv in the mirror is bad ass. The chairs are really loungy stylee. I liked them, felt like a King waiting for his food. Ana, my better half, LOVED them. It did make eating a bit hunched over to reach the table. I am a fan of elephants, don’t ask me why, i just like em. So the elephant heads on the wall were an interesting yet fun touch.
The service was great. Ana loved Mr. Frenchy Frenchaccent McFrencherson. He was soooo dreamy. Not to be outdone, i pulled out my best british accent for much of the evening to regain my dominance over Frenchy (btw, guy was very imformative, super nice, can’t really hate on him). Having real frenchmen at a french restaraunt was great.
The food is my real issue. The mussel app in cream wine sauce was tasty. VERY small mussels though… no biggy (no pun intended). The escargot were awesome, very tender and garlicy, not even a tad rubbery. Well done. The lamb rack meal Ana had was ok, she asked for it close to medium, but her first piece was quite rare. The rest was cooked pretty good. I had the degustation from the sea. So it was 5 different kinds of fish, with 5 unique sauces. Amazing right?! Wrong. It just wasn’t very good. Only ONE of the 5 did i say, this is good, i like it. The rest was more of me forcing myself to eat it then really enjoy it. It was like being at a relatives house, and the foods not that good, but you know they worked their butts off to make it, so you try to eat the whole thing. and for $ 32 bucks for it, i left the place totally empty and emotionless. It has been a LONG time since i ordered fish at a restaurant, and unfortunately now its going to be a REAL long time before i do again.
Go for app and drinks if you have the cash to blow. Otherwise might want to find yourself a different elephant themed eatery.

I’m struggling with the star rating here. Should it be 2 stars or 3?
I mean, the place is interesting. It looks pretty cool, and I remember thinking that I’d like to come back for a drink sometime and just sit at the bar.
We were seated in the corner where there were two fancy highback chairs. They were so soft and spongy that we had to take the pillows (yes, they had pillows on them) and put them in position as a lumbar support. They also made reaching the table a bit awkward. Whatever, I’m an easy-​going guy. The food is the most important part.
The food was okay, although certainly nothing to write home about. And normally, if the food isn’t offensive, that should be worth at least three stars I would think.
Well, no.
We decided to try the seared quail appetizer to start.
I don’t know what I expected, but for $ 11 we got a cooked bird the size of a petite woman’s fist with a drizzle of raspberry sauce on it. The only thing keeping someone from just popping the whole thing into their mouth is the fact that it’s mostly bones, and they might be expected to share with those in their party. But definitely because of the bones.
Since we came for lunch, we didn’t want the rack of lamb or the filet mignon or anything like that. For my lunch, I ordered the $ 17 (!) marinated steak sandwich. Turns out it was just that, a steak sandwich. It was neither particularly better nor worse than many of the steak sandwiches I’ve had. And yet, it cost as much as two of them anywhere else.
Even after the $ 25 certificate, our two lunches and that little Mini-​Me quail thing cost quite a bit more than they were worth. I think that’s what seals the 2 stars for me.
Word to the wise: You want to charge $ 17 for a sandwich, it had better be widely known and independently verified by some sandwich rating institution as the best sandwich in… let’s say at least Orange County.
Maybe Seminole County too.

I’d never been to this place before and was very pleasantly surprised. The share a kitchen and chef with Chez Vincent next door and offer up relatively blue collar fare next to extraordinary menu offerings. I had the Ahi Tuna Burger and a Blue Point beer, which is from New Jersey and «toasted», the server told me. The burger was great — I like it rare — served on a white bun with tomato, onion, lettuce and a salad. Just a tad spicy, that burger — and a nice flavor and texture sensation.
For appetizer, a spinach dip which was heavy on cheese and served piping hot. Very good, with just enough chips to make the dip last (verily encouraging huge gobbing chipfuls.) The room atmosphere was nice — Winter Park upscale with art on the walls, a marbly underlit bar and some mellow live music.
Our friend, who was celebrating a birthday, has been coming to this place for three years and wanted to share it with us. We’re glad she did.