Most food bloggers call the fried chicken at Gate 240 legit
Cask & Larder sits in Terminal C’s airside concourse near Gate 240 and actually feels like Orlando’s food scene made it through TSA. It’s one of the few chef-driven spots at MCO, with a Southern menu that goes way beyond generic burgers and wings. Rating clocks in at 29 on airport.flights, which tracks with how often frequent flyers name-drop it as their go-to in Terminal C.
Hours usually run from early breakfast through late-night departures, roughly 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., but the kitchen can wind down closer to the last C-gate bank, so don’t bank on a 9:55 p.m. sit-down. It’s firmly post-security in Terminal C, so only plan on it if you’re flying out of, or connecting through, those C gates; you can’t easily hop over from A or B once you’re screened.
Menu standouts: fried chicken plates around the mid-$20s, shrimp and grits in the same range, and solid local drafts by the pint for about $8–$10. There’s a full bar, so an Old Fashioned or bourbon pour is easy to get, though doubles add up fast. If you’re tight on time, skip anything that looks like a big shared appetizer spread and stick to mains or sandwiches, which usually hit the table in under 20 minutes during normal traffic.
Seating is split between bar stools and standard tables, roughly 80–100 seats visible from the concourse, so it can fill fast during the 5:00 p.m. bank of C-gate departures. Service pace is fine for a 60–90 minute layover, but feels tight on a 35-minute turn. You can usually grab a bar seat solo faster than waiting in the host line for a four-top.
Tip: If your boarding pass shows a C gate above C230, aim to sit closer to the bar side facing 235–240 so you can watch your gate screens without leaving your drink.