Detailed Review of Emeril's!

[Esmeralda]

Emeril’s (in CityWalk)
We had an 11:30 lunch PS at Emeril’s. Background:

My Mom (50s) – likes practically everything but is the best at knowing what’s good and what isn’t. Favorites are Italian and seafood.
My dad (50s) – extremely picky! Favorites are Barbecue, Italian and seafood.
Myself (30) - always told I was a picky eater but compared to my dad, I’m not! Favorites are Asian food and seafood.
My daughter (5-1/2) – doesn’t like “traditional” kid’s foods like mac and cheese, etc. Has developed a gourmet taste already! Favorites are pasta, crab legs, salmon and ribs.
We are all major dessert lovers.
Our rating system is yucky, so-so, good, very good, and excellent.

We ate here 3 years ago and decided it was our favorite meal from that trip. Our expectations were high and, sadly, unfulfilled.

We ordered 2 appetizers: Crab cheesecake and oyster stew. The cheesecake was disappointing in flavor (cream cheese overwhelmed everything else) but we still rated it “good.” My mom rated the oyster stew “very good” but I didn’t like it. (Probably because I don’t like oysters!)

I ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes Salad with Shrimp. It was “good,” but not nearly what I was expecting from Emeril. I’ve had much better.

My mom ordered the Texas Redfish and rated it “very good” except for the accompanying eggplant which was hard (like somebody forgot to actually cook it).

My dad ordered the Goat Cheese and Shrimp Pizza. I thought it was “very good” but only because I love goat cheese. They put and excessive amount on it and both my parents called it “so-so.”

My daughter ordered the pizza off the kid’s menu. She said it was “OK.” They have a great menu for kids that turns into a chef’s hat. I took a picture of my daughter in it standing next to Emeril’s picture on the wall and it’s so cute!

For dessert we ordered the Banana Cream Pie which was “very good,” dropping from “excellent” 3 years ago (I swear it was taller last time), and the White Chocolate Crème Brulee which was “excellent.” My daughter ordered the Kicked Up Banana Split with Homemade Ice Cream from the kid’s menu and “loved it.” I have the kid’s menu with me if anyone wants to know specifics.

Service was excellent. My only complaint was that, out of all the restaurants we ate at for 2 weeks, this was the only one that charged for refills on soda!!! And another funny thing, they have the smallest glasses we saw anywhere! Don’t they know, nobody charges for refills anymore – how cheap!

We probably will not eat here on our next trip to the Universal area (except maybe pop in for desserts!), just stick with Tchoup Tchoup. Oh, heck, maybe we’ll give it another chance.

Check out my other Universal restaurant reviews on this board including: Mythos, Confisco Grille, Latin Quarter, Mamma Della’s, The Kitchen & Tchoup Chop, as well as my Disney restaurant reviews on the Disney Restaurants board!

 

[Selina]

Thanks for taking time to tell us about all these restaurants. We never went to Emerils - price! - and most say it hasn't lived up to their expectations.

 

[highlander447]

Sadly this place is getting worse reviews I think it says more for other restaurants they are raising their standards whereas Emerils seem to be resting on their laurels

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Thank you for sharing. Sorry it did not live up to your expectations. That seems to be the common thing lately.