A Disney Food Reunion! (May 2021 Reviews from F&G, Disney, Universal, & More) Completed 7/16

[Raeven]

Jake's American Bar

We've now moved onto some Universal dining! This morning we weren't super hungry and it was raining so we decided to head to Jake's since it was in our hotel. We've been to Jake's many times and love it. It's usually not too crowded so we've always been able to get a seat, and since Islands only serves breakfast and dinner, Jake's is perfect for lunch. (They serve lunch and dinner).

Josh got the:

Chicken Caesar Salad
Focaccia Croutons, Parmesan, Caesar Dressing



He wanted something light for now so he could devour steak later on.

I got the:

Jake's Cheese Fries
French Fries, White Cheddar Cheese Fondue Sauce, Pico de Gallo, Jalapeno



Guys, the fries are finally back!



I mentioned that I get the fry appetizer every time we go to Jake's and it's like nacho toppings on fries basically, and in my last TR someone let me know they had taken it off the menu shortly after the last time I ate there in 2019, but it's back! However it's a little different now. It took me a minute to figure it out, but it used to have beef too. I think that was an important component because that made it more nacho-like, and the cheese kind of needs something else in my opinion. I do think they're a little cheaper now though, and it's still a good cheese fry dish, but they did make some changes since the last time it was on the menu.

Our meal was about $30 with tip, and it was a nice, light lunch.

I also stopped at Tuk Tuk Market on the way back to our room to grab a pastry. Tuk Tuk was new since the last time I was there, and I loved having the little store in the resort. A lot of the pastries looked really good (including the cheesecake pops that they serve in Today Show Cafe too). None of the pastries had labels so I had to ask what they were (and the person working didn't seem completely sure what they all were). But I decided to get this little chocolate mousse cake thing.



This was pretty good, and a decent size. (It was about $10), but I don't think I'd run back there to get it again.
​

 

[Raeven]

Shula's Steakhouse

Because the Universal parks were closing kind of early-ish this night, I scheduled our dinner at Shula's for around 9pm. Shula's is at the Dolphin resort over at Disney so we had to Uber over. Shula's is part of a steakhouse chain, and was established by football coach Don Shula. There's football memorabilia around, in the past there were menus on a football; but other than that it looks like a typical upscale steakhouse. (And usually it's very dark in there, but we got lucky this trip and where we were seated wasn't too dark so we were able to get better pictures of the food). Shula's is our favorite steakhouse to go to on vacation, and we go almost every trip because we always have great food and great service. We've tried The Palm, STK, and Yachtsman too, but Shula's is still our favorite.

We started with some bread.

They brought me the Sourdough bread:



I didn't used to like the bread here that much, but I have to say either I started liking Sourdough or they changed something about it in the last few years, because I thought it was delicious this time. It was hot & crispy.

Josh's gluten free bread:



For an appetizer I decided to get:

French Onion Soup
Caramelized Onions and Croutons in a Rich Beef Broth with Gruyère and Provolone Cheese



I've had this before, and it was very good. It was really chilly in the restaurant so I thought this might warm me up. I will say every time I order soup at a restaurant I wonder how anyone ever finishes it because it just seems like they're bottomless to me!



(Also after the cheese is gone, french onion soup just isn't the same).



Josh got the:

The Wedge Salad
Iceberg Lettuce, Tomatoes, Bacon Jam, and Blue Cheese Dressing



Josh said this was good, although I thought it looked complicated to eat. It looks good, but I'm not sure I'd like whatever bacon jam is.

For our entrees I got the:

10-oz Filet Mignon with Bernaise sauce



As usual this was tender and delicious. These steaks are always cooked perfectly, and the filet melts in your mouth. The Bernaise sauce gives it a nice buttery kind of flavor/texture too.

Josh got the:

22-oz Cowboy Ribeye



He always loves to get and devour this steak.

We also got a side of mashed potatoes.

We never finish two sides so I convinced Josh we should share a side. I do think the mashed potatoes are on the garlic-y side, but they're very good and reminded me a lot of the ones my grandma used to make.


Josh also sampled two different Scotch drinks throughout the meal.

Overall we had another great meal at Shula's, and I highly recommend going. I think they have the best steak anywhere on Disney (or Universal) property. Our meal came to around $238 with tip so it was definitely a splurge meal on our trip, but it was worth every penny. ​

 

[auntfrannie]

The next time you're at Shula's you HAVE to get the chocolate souffle. It is delicious. Most signature restaurants are lacking in the desserts but this one is really good!

 

[Raeven]

The next time you're at Shula's you HAVE to get the chocolate souffle. It is delicious. Most signature restaurants are lacking in the desserts but this one is really good!

I’ve had it before! It’s really good I usually end up too full for dessert there though haha​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

You guys have me sold on Shulas!

 

[Raeven]

You guys have me sold on Shulas!

​

 

[Eastern]

Bartaco

For our first meal in Tampa, I chose Bartaco. I'd heard a lot of good things about Bartaco. There's one in Orlando too. And I'd been meaning to try it so I thought it'd be easier to just go to the one in Tampa since I didn't have a long list of restaurants I wanted to try there and I do in Orlando. (We were there on Mother's Day so most reservations were booked, and the next day we were in Tampa was a Monday which a lot of restaurants seemed to be closed for. We were also seeing comedy shows both nights that left us with kind of weird times to get dinner).

Shortly after we got to Tampa I decided to join a wait list for the restaurant. (The wait was like 45+ mins). We got there during our time window, but I guess the wait list was just to get on the actual wait list so the wait was another 40 mins.

View attachment 580606

I didn't really understand this model and thought they should probably just offer reservations. We didn't want to cut it too close to the comedy show, but also knew nothing else would be available besides fast food. Finally we got in, (and luckily we did make it right on time).

The restaurant was a little different than I expected. Basically, once you're seated you order food on a tablet. (I'm not sure if this was always the case or if this is a newer safety measure). And the food comes out asap.

I decided to order an app to split since I wasn't sure how big the portion sizes were.

guac
hand-mashed avocado, lime juice, serrano chiles, onions, cilantro

This was okay. Not bad, but nothing special. I also did kind of expect it to come with chips that would've been easier for dipping and there weren’t many of these.

I got three tacos the:

falafel
herbed chickpea fritter w/ traditional greek-style tzatziki + sriracha

spiced chicken verde
chile + herb marinade w/ aguacate salsa

portobello w/ queso fresco
roasted w/ poblano peppers + garlic
​

We went to the Bar Taco in Dr. Phillips. I thought it was really good but I agree that the serving sizes were small. Tacos were about $3-3.75 and I would probably get at least 4 if I went again. The margarita was very good.

 

[Raeven]

We went to the Bar Taco in Dr. Phillips. I thought it was really good but I agree that the serving sizes were small. Tacos were about $3-3.75 and I would probably get at least 4 if I went again. The margarita was very good.

I’m glad your food was good! I should’ve tried a margarita.​

 

[Raeven]

Today Show Cafe/Voodoo Doughnut

This morning we were also looking for a light meal since we had dinner at Bice later that night. I was able to mobile order a treat from Voodoo Doughnut (which was very convenient I just picked it up from a cart outside on the way into the parks), but I was having trouble mobile ordering for Today Show Cafe. Luckily when we walked in there was a table open, and we were able to order at the counter.

I really like the revamp this place got into the Today Show Cafe. I like the menu options better, and I feel like it's very bright and seems open and airy now. (The bird that flew in while we were eating would agree ). The only cons I have is that the theming doesn't really excite me, and I'd rather hear background music than a talk show/the news playing all the time.

We ordered the:

Cheese Platter for 2
selection of cheeses accompanied by grapes and crackers



This was $20 and I'm not sure if it's enough cheese to be worth that price, but cheese boards can be kind of pricey. There weren't any grapes either, but there was a strawberry which was even better. And we were both decently full from eating this. The cheese from left to right is: boursin cheese (which I love), the stick cheese was delicious (but we have no idea what kind it is), the triangles are smoked cheddar (surprisingly my least favorite, I think because of the smoky taste), and finally we have pepperjack cubes.

I also got the Churro Stand donut which was the special donut for the opening of Velocicoaster.



It was okay, but the caramel inside of it wasn't creamy just really thick, and it was a little on the heavy side. It also didn't really taste like a churro, mostly just caramel.

All in all it was a pretty good little lunch. I definitely would like to try more items at the Today Show Cafe in the future (including some of those delicious looking pastries), and I look forward to trying more speciality donuts from Voodoo Doughnut. ​

 

[Raeven]

Bice Ristorante

Ever since we discovered Bice a couple of years ago, it's been one of our favorite restaurants. The first time we went the waiter told us the restaurant started in Italy, and there's only a few of them. The food and service are amazing, and Portofino Bay is a gorgeous resort. (And we'll get to stay there again in Sep!).



We've also eaten at the other Italian restaurant at Portofino Bay called Mama Della's where we had a good experience and a really bad one. (We haven't been back there since the bad experience). But I would definitely say I prefer Bice. (Also I'm Italian, and we live in an area that's heavy on Italian places so it has to be pretty good to impress us). I also feel like it's kind of a hidden gem, because I don't hear people talk about it a lot so I'm going to spread the word.


I just love the fact that Josh is so intently studying the menu, with his Indiana Jones hat on that little hat rack next to the table.



The restaurant has a lot of gluten free options for Josh including gluten free pasta.

First they brought out the bread, which comes with oils and balsamic vinegar to dip it in.
For an appetizer I got the:

La Caprese Classica
Fresh burrata Mozzarella, Vine ripened Tomatoes, Basil Pesto



This was so good! The mozzarella was so fresh and creamy. This dish changed slightly since the last time I went (I feel like there's less tomatoes and more mozzarella which is always a good thing. And the basil pesto was new too). I actually prefer to use the bread from the basket, and the balsamic vinegar with this, but either way it was delicious.

Josh got the:

Insalata di Spinaci
Spinach Salad, Goat Cheese,Pancetta,Red Berries Citronette



He ate his appetizers so fast that I almost didn't get a picture so I assume he really enjoyed them.

He also got the:

Carpaccio di manzo
Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio, pickled Onions,crispy Capers, Truffle Aioli
He gets this every time we go, and loves it.

For an entree I got the:

Pappardelle al Telefono
Pappardelle,Mozzarella,, fresh Basil, Tomato Cream Sauce



This is an amazing pasta dish. I love the creamy mozzarella, and the papperdelle noodles. (They also add parmesan cheese on top). And it's a really good portion size.

Josh got the:

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
Tagliatelle, slow braised Bolognese ragu’,Marinara



He loves this too, and says this is the best bolognese he's ever had.

Josh ended his meal with a cappuccino.



And I ended mine with some chocolate gelato:



It didn't have a very strong chocolate taste so I probably wouldn't get it again, but it was a nice and light dessert. And I'm going to guess it's more authentic gelato than what I had at Vivoli Il Gelato earlier in the trip.

Our meal at Bice was another "treat yourself" kind of meal and came to about $132.



It's a little on the pricy side, but I actually feel like we got quite a lot of food for that price. The pasta dishes are probably the most expensive part, but well worth it. I highly recommend Bice, and think it's worth every penny, and we'll definitely be back again in September when we stay at Portofino Bay. ​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I'm one of those just discovering Bice. Was not on my radar at all previously but saw another review recently and it's high on my want to try list. Everything looks and sounds delicious. And Portofino Bay looks beautiful. I'm not a big thrill ride person and haven't spent a ton of time over at Universal. I need to get myself over there to check things out.

 

[starousse]

Loving your review so far. We're staying at Portofino in August and I actually booked our last dinner at Mama Della? Would you recommend moving it to Bice instead? I'm wondering what and how bad, your bad experience was

 

[Raeven]

I'm one of those just discovering Bice. Was not on my radar at all previously but saw another review recently and it's high on my want to try list. Everything looks and sounds delicious. And Portofino Bay looks beautiful. I'm not a big thrill ride person and haven't spent a ton of time over at Universal. I need to get myself over there to check things out.

Everything we had really was delicious! & I love the hotel. I'm not a big thrill rider myself, but I love Universal lol.

Loving your review so far. We're staying at Portofino in August and I actually booked our last dinner at Mama Della? Would you recommend moving it to Bice instead? I'm wondering what and how bad, your bad experience was

Thank you! I'd recommend Bice over Mama Della's. Even if we didn't have a bad experience I think the food is better overall. Our bad experience was a few years back, but basically when we didn't order an appetizer or wine our level of service immediately declined (we pretty much only saw our server again when the check was brought out, he didn't even bring the food to our table). They didn't bring any gluten free bread for Josh (like they had the earlier time we'd gone), and when the server was at the table he only talked to him and not me (he even addressed him by my last name because that was what was on the reservation). Josh still liked his food, but my chicken parm looked like it had been sitting out and didn't taste great. (Honestly the one at Vivo was better than the one I got that time). Even if you have a good experience there, I still think the food and service at Bice are going to be better. ​

 

[cajunfan]

Wow! I really should not have starting reading this right before my lunchtime! Loving all these reviews! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Raeven]

Wow! I really should not have starting reading this right before my lunchtime! Loving all these reviews! Thanks for sharing!

Haha reading about Disney food will make you hungry for sure Thank you for reading! ​

 

[Raeven]

Islands Dining Room

Sadly today was the last day of our trip.



Since breakfast is served until noon on weekends, and we hadn't really done breakfast this trip we made a last minute reservation at Islands in our hotel. We probably didn't really need to make the reservation because it was kind of empty. On another trip we went there and got the breakfast buffet, which it doesn't look like they currently have due to Covid. I know after our trip the breakfast buffets started coming back to some of the Universal hotels, but I don't know if Royal Pacific is one of them.

These first two pictures aren't mine, but here's a look at the restaurant:



It's very bright and spacious looking, but depending on where you're sitting you will get a view of some frog butts.



I was so excited for breakfast food, and I couldn't decide what to get so we got it all!



First we shared these gluten free pancakes with berries. There's a french toast dish on the menu that comes with cinnamon butter, and if you get one of the other pancake dishes you can ask them for some!



We also each got a custom omelet.

I got mine with tomatoes, peppers, and cheddar.
It was a big omelet! And the pieces in it were a little on the thicker side, but it was really good. The potatoes were too and had peppers and onions mixed in with them.

Josh got sausage, bacon and cheddar in his omelet.



He really liked it!


I also got POG juice which I haven't had in forever and I was so excited that it was on the menu.

I always think mini condiments are adorable



It was a really good (and filling) breakfast! (Which was good because it was our last meal at Universal ). Later on I grabbed a sub in the airport, but I didn't bother to take any pictures of that.

This isn't the last post though, I'll be back next week with a wrap up/best and worst of the trip post. ​

 

[KathyM2]

I do think they're a little cheaper now though, and it's still a good cheese fry dish, but they did make some changes since the last time it was on the menu.

Those looked pretty good!!! But have you had the cheese fries at Shake Shack? After having those..I compare every other rendition of cheese fries to that and haven't found too many that measure up!!

I will say every time I order soup at a restaurant I wonder how anyone ever finishes it because it just seems like they're bottomless to me!

I agree!! To me it's hard to have this as an appetizer because it's filling...but alone you want more...I will often order french onion soup with a salad or other app instead of an entree.

 

[Raeven]

Those looked pretty good!!! But have you had the cheese fries at Shake Shack? After having those..I compare every other rendition of cheese fries to that and haven't found too many that measure up!!

Yeah, I've had those before. They're pretty good! I agree sometimes the cheese on cheese fries just isn't that good, but I do like what they use on these.

I agree!! To me it's hard to have this as an appetizer because it's filling...but alone you want more...I will often order french onion soup with a salad or other app instead of an entree.

Yeah apps can be very filling! Sometimes I just want an app and dessert ​

 

[Raeven]

Wrap Up aka The Best & Worst Food of Our Trip

We'll start with...


The Best Meal of the Trip Overall


Bice & Shula's Steakhouse





Bice and Shula's were delicious as always, but we had a lot of good meals this trip so it was hard to just choose a few.

Runner Ups: Oxford Exchange & Antojitos
& Brown Derby was really good too!


Worst Overall Meal: Bartaco
I was really disappointed by the quality and taste of the food at Bartaco, and probably wouldn't go back there.

Best Fries: The Daily Poutine & Splitsville



The Daily Poutine is always good, but the fries at Splitsville really surprised me too. We had so many good fries that trip, but I think those were some of the best.

Best Appetizer: The Oxford Exchange-Avocado wedges
Bice-Caprese salad
Three Bridges Bar & Grill-Manchego dip




Best Dessert: Banana Cabana-Bread pudding



Best Universal Snack: Today Show Cafe-Cheeseboard



This cheeseboard was really good! A little pricey for a snack, but we enjoyed it.

Best F&G Snack: Fried Cinnamon Roll Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Bacon & The Taco Vampiro


Worst F&G Snack: Popsicle Trio: Honeydew, Raspberry-Mint, and Coconut-Lime


Best Service: Shula's & Bice

Worst Service: Banana Cabana or Splitsville

We had really slow service at Splitsville, and overall once we sat to eat the Banana Cabana service wasn't bad. But prior to being seated at Banana Cabana it seemed like they didn't want to seat us, and I felt like the guy was a little rude to us and was trying to put off seating us so we couldn't order before the storm.

Best Drink: Froot Loops Shake or Violet Lemonade





Coolest Restaurant: The Oxford Exchange
The Oxford Exchange was really unique looking & had a lot of different little photo spots.

Best Breakfast/Brunch: Islands Dining Room



This was pretty much the only breakfast/brunch we had, but it was also delicious!

Most disappointing: Three Bridges Bar & Grill & Bartaco

Bartaco overall just wasn't what we expected, but Three Bridges was actually really good aside from the burger. I had expected it to be an amazing burger though, so that's why it made this category.

Most surprising (in a good way): Antojitos & Cosmic Ray's

After our meal there last time I wasn't expecting to have such a good meal, but it ended up being one of the best meals of our trip.



Cosmis Ray's ended up having a really good spicy chicken sandwich which also surprised me.



So that wraps up this DTR!
It was really nice to be back at Disney and Universal after not being able to travel there in 2020. We got to do a lot of old favorites and try some new places. For the most part almost all of our meals were amazing, and I can't wait to try more Disney/Universal food on our next trip.

My PTR for our next trip is here:

A 2021 PTR: HHN 30 & More

We're going back in 8 weeks for some Disney & HHN time! I'm really excited for this trip so follow along there for updates. ​

 

[disneyAndi14]

I really enjoyed all your dining reviews!
I love bread pudding and will be staying at the Riviera so I may have to check out this treat!
We are staying at Portofino in September, thanks for the reviews on Bice and Antojitos both are on our list now!
We have tried to eat at Antojitos several times but they don’t open until 4pm and it just didn’t work for us.