Where to eat at Universal Orlando including menus...UPDATED REGULARLY

[babesboo99]

We will be arriving on Oct 25th- Oct 30th then over to Disney. My question is I would love to have a character meal for my kids and we are staying at the HRH. I was wondering what kind of characters have they had there and is it only dinner that have the character meals at the hotels and is there another place where they have them?

 

[RedSox68]

We will be arriving on Oct 25th- Oct 30th then over to Disney. My question is I would love to have a character meal for my kids and we are staying at the HRH. I was wondering what kind of characters have they had there and is it only dinner that have the character meals at the hotels and is there another place where they have them?

Just a few weeks ago they had one listed at Royal Pacific for breakfast, and now it's gone. I called and the only resort character meals now are dinner; the only breakfast one is at Jake's at RP but only on Sundays! There is one in the park at La Bamba's called the superstar breakfast and is supposed to have a lot of characters, including ones from Nickelodeon and Despicable Me.

 

[mrsbmacdonald]

We are coming to USO from October 11-15th. I am feeling very lost in choosing restaurants. I know that pre-planning isn't as required (or even available) compared to Disney but for my own peace of mind (and budget planning) I'd like to have a better idea of where we are eating.

We are staying at Royal Pacific and arriving mid-afternoon on the 11th. 7 in our party- 4 adults, 2 6 year old boys and an 8 yr old girl. Some adventurous eaters but some really picky ones (including 1 grown up!)

Here are some specific things I'm wondering:
1. We will have had a large brunch late in the morning of the 11th so could probably handle something lighter for the evening of our arrival. Suggestions outside of the parks?

2. Is there anywhere either at Royal Pacific, on the way to each park or at each park to grab a quick breakfast or breakfast type foods (muffins, coffee, bagels, etc.)?

3. Your one "must always go" restaurant is …………?

4. What are your best budget saving tips? (from what I've seen so far things looks fairly $$$)

All in all we are probably looking at 4 dinners, 2 lunches and 3 quick breakfasts and 1 sit down breakfast/lunch. I'm not opposed to eating at the same place more than once and we are not necessarily looking for one sit down per day. If this was your vacation what would it look like???

Thanks in advance!

 

[helenb]

With kids that age, you might be interested in one of the character meals. There is a brunch at Cafe La Bamba with characters from Nickleodeon and Decpicable Me.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Re...os-Florida/superstar-character-breakfast.aspx

We're not really breakfast people, so I can't help you much on that. We stop at the grocery store before arriving and give the kids cereal bars and a bottle of milk while we wait for early entry rope drop. But every time we go to Universal Studios we have to go to Mythos. It's a fun place, nicely located (close to WWoHP) and has a lot of variety on the menu for picky palates. We also like Confisco Grille, which has standard Italian and American fare, and is usually a quick 'in and out'.

Be careful with the Harry Potter eating. The food is very 'British pub' and if your'e not into that, you may not enjoy it so much.

A lot of people like Finnegan's, but the menu doesn't appeal to us, or Margaritaville, but we're not drinkers, so we haven't tried those.

You can find menus in the sticky post at the top of this forum. Take a look and see what works for you!

ETA If you have a AAA membership, make sure to bring your card! We find that almost all of the eateries at Universal offer a AAA discount.

 

[Metro West]

Merging with the food sticky.

 

[ybeshsm77]

We are staying at Portofino Bay at the end of August for 5 nights. The places I want to try for a family of two adults, a 7 year old girl and 11 year old boy are:

Mythos
Lomards Seafood Grill
Margaritaville

Not sure about other nights. Might just do pizza one night but I would like to try another sit down restaurant too. Maybe a character dinner at one of the hotels? Or Hard Rock, or Finnagans, or other ideas? Can be a more expensive restaurant. What do you think my 4th choice should be? Also want to do one breakfast at a restaurant one morning too (not character breakfast). Was thinking of trying room service for a breakfast too as a treat. Can't find many room service menus to know what that would cost. Does anyone know? Also how much should I budget on food. $800, or more, or less? Will be packing peanut butter, jelly, bread, pop tarts, snacks, drinks to bring to hotel, cereal, and juice. Trying to get away with eating lunch and breakfast in room some of the time. Don't want to do any fast food type places. Just 4 sit down restaurants.

 

[BurleyGirl]

For breakfast, I heartily recommend PBH's Trattoria del Porto. Albeit, it's been six years since we stayed there, but that was one of my favorite meals (including our Disney stay)...I can't wait to eat there again when we finally get to return in November!!

 

[toystory1130]

Both look pretty good to me, menu wise. How fancy are these places? We will have on our regular park clothes and wondered if we would need to go back and change before dinner??
If you have been to both ~which one do you prefer and why.

 

[mrsabbott]

I have not eaten at either, however... We were walking past and considered eating at Emeril's. Then, we noticed the white tablecloths and breakable wine glasses on the tables and decided that was too nice a place to bring our rowdy kids too!

Our kiddos are younger and it didn't appear all hat kid friendly from the outside looking in. I could be wrong though. That said, the menu does look good and I would like to try it sometime!

 

[damo]

You can wear park clothing. Men can't wear sleeveless shirts.

The restaurants are very different. Emeril's is more of a steakhouse and Tchoup Chop is Asian fusion.

 

[katerach]

We love both of them. Back in the day, Tchoup Chop was our favorite place to eat anywhere. Interesting food, beautiful surroundings, excellent service, it was really something special and while expensive, well worth it. Then the recession hit and I got the sense this restaurant was especially impacted. So much so that we quit going. I understand, they now have a new executive chef, although the menu still looks about the same. We will be staying at the Portofino in July and will be dining at Tchoup Chop for old times sakes. We really loved this restaurant, and I hope it is back up to speed. As far as Emeril's in City walk is concerned, the previous post is spot on in that some degree of decorum is needed. However it is a great place to have lunch and people watch and they have what they call a "Big Easy" three course lunch selection which has an appetizer (usually gumbo, one of my favorites especially if Emeril is behind it) an entrée ( I usually get the fish dish which varies) and a desert (either Emeril's famous bread pudding or their sorbet trio, both excellent). Honestly, it may be the best $22 meal on the planet. In sum, if you are going for diner, give Tchoup Chop a shot. It was once spectacular and may be again. For lunch Emeril's is fabulous and the people watching is pretty entertaining too. Also, you get an annual pass discount at Emeril's and the meal would be well worth it even without it.

 

[stefplus3]

Title says it all I'm looking for a list of the quick dining places at Universal, we bought the dining plan for our 1 day visit in July. They said it's one meal and a snack and a beveredge? Is that right? I was a little confused a to what it really provides but figured for $20 pp it had to be worth at least that much.

 

[patster734]

Hello. My responses are below in red.

We are coming to USO from October 11-15th. I am feeling very lost in choosing restaurants. I know that pre-planning isn't as required (or even available) compared to Disney but for my own peace of mind (and budget planning) I'd like to have a better idea of where we are eating.

We are staying at Royal Pacific and arriving mid-afternoon on the 11th. 7 in our party- 4 adults, 2 6 year old boys and an 8 yr old girl. Some adventurous eaters but some really picky ones (including 1 grown up!)

Here are some specific things I'm wondering:
1. We will have had a large brunch late in the morning of the 11th so could probably handle something lighter for the evening of our arrival. Suggestions outside of the parks?

My suggestion is to order appetizers to share for a light dinner. If you're at RPR during dinner time, Jake's American Bar is a great place to share appetizers. If you're at Citywalk, I suggest the appetizers at Margaritaville.

2. Is there anywhere either at Royal Pacific, on the way to each park or at each park to grab a quick breakfast or breakfast type foods (muffins, coffee, bagels, etc.)?

Yes. At RPR, continental breakfast is available at the Orchid Court Lounge. Several options exist for Ciywalk: Whopper Bar, Starbucks, and Cinnabon. For the parks, you have Croissant Moon Bakery in IOA, and Beverly Hills Boulangerie at USF.

3. Your one "must always go" restaurant is …………?

Margaritaville, primarily for the drinks and atmosphere.

4. What are your best budget saving tips? (from what I've seen so far things looks fairly $$$)

Bring your AAA card if you're a member. Most restaurants have a AAA discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks.

All in all we are probably looking at 4 dinners, 2 lunches and 3 quick breakfasts and 1 sit down breakfast/lunch. I'm not opposed to eating at the same place more than once and we are not necessarily looking for one sit down per day. If this was your vacation what would it look like???

Thanks in advance!

 

[damo]

Here ya go! Click on this link for locations.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Images/pdf_Universal_Dining_Plan_tcm13-36926.pdf


Snacks:
Churros
Pretzels
Regular Size Popcorn
Fruit Cup
Whole Fruit
Vegetable Tray
Fruit Bites
Applesauce
Novelty Ice Cream Bar
Soft Serve (regular cup or cone)
Regular Size Cotton Candy
Slice of Cake / Individual Pastries
Cookie
Butterbeer

Beverages:
Fountain Soda – Regular size only
vitaminwater®
Powerade®
Bottled Soda
Coffee
Bottled Water - Nestle®, Keeper Springs or Perrier™
Milk
Juice
Hot Cocoa
Hot Tea
Starbucks – Coffee (tall)
Starbucks – Tea (tall)
Starbucks – Hot Chocolate (tall)

 

[mrsbmacdonald]

Hello. My responses are below in red.

Thank you so much! Your response was incredibly helpful.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I'm planning a special 11th birthday at Universal for my Harry Potter fanatic in June 2015. Way too far to make real plans, but we are dreaming and budgeting.

I'm thinking a birthday dinner at Three Broomsticks would be good. We've never eaten there. DD loves roast chicken. Can anyone tell me about the Feast for four? Would it be plenty for four hardy eaters and one petite seven-year-old little sister? How much chicken is there? Are the ribs mild or spicy?

Are reservations just for breakfast? I'm too used to Disney and can't imagine just walking up at 5 p.m. to a themed restaurant.

Dessert recommendations? Or is there somewhere nearby where we can get something resembling a birthday cake?

 

[Metro West]

I'm going to move this thread into the food sticky so we can keep everything together.

 

[hermionesnape]

I'm planning a special 11th birthday at Universal for my Harry Potter fanatic in June 2015. Way too far to make real plans, but we are dreaming and budgeting. I'm thinking a birthday dinner at Three Broomsticks would be good. We've never eaten there. DD loves roast chicken. Can anyone tell me about the Feast for four? Would it be plenty for four hardy eaters and one petite seven-year-old little sister? How much chicken is there? Are the ribs mild or spicy? Are reservations just for breakfast? I'm too used to Disney and can't imagine just walking up at 5 p.m. to a themed restaurant. Dessert recommendations? Or is there somewhere nearby where we can get something resembling a birthday cake?

Reservation are only for breakfast and only with the HP package.

Three Broomsticks is counter service not full service. You just walk in and order your food cafeteria style and follow a team member to your table once you have your tray of food.

 

[stefplus3]

thanks so much!!!!

So do they get 1 meal and then a separate snack and a separate drink too?

 

[damo]

thanks so much!!!!

So do they get 1 meal and then a separate snack and a separate drink too?

Yes!