Detailed Review of The Kitchen!

[Esmeralda]

The Kitchen (in the Hard Rock Hotel)
We had a 6:30 p.m. dinner PS at The Kitchen. 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.

This was a character meal and we were visited by Scooby Doo and Woody Woodpecker (both wearing cool leather jackets!). We were disappointed that there were only 2 characters. There is also a play area for the kids while they’re waiting for their food.

I ordered the Thai chicken lettuce wraps. They were “excellent.”

My mom ordered the seafood chowder and rated it “excellent.”

My dad ordered the crabcakes (one of his favorites, ordered many times throughout our 2-week vacation) and rated them “very good.”

My daughter ordered the chicken and mashed potatoes off the kid’s menu. She said it was “very good.” It was served in an adorable separated tray with broccoli and a cookie.

For dessert, my dad ordered his favorite, key lime pie. I left but my parents said it was “very good.”

I really like the atmosphere here – it is newly redecorated. It’s airy and open and one wall is almost entirely windows facing the gorgeous pool area.

Note: The Kitchen does NOT accept the AAA or Universal Fan Club cards as discounts.

We will eat at The Kitchen again if we stay at the Hard Rock Hotel again on our next trip to the Universal area.

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

 

[damo]

What were the prices like? It sounds like a good place to try.

 

[mouseclick1]

Thanks for the review! We will be staying at HRH in December and are looking forward to trying this restaurant.

 

[Selina]

Thanks for the review. I remember the downstairs restaurant well - that's where we had the lovely breakfasts. Looking forward to trying "the kitchen"....did you see any famous cooks?!

 

[highlander447]

Will need to add to my list thanks for the review

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Thank you for the review. We will be staying at HRH in Dec. and are looking forward to eating at the Kitchen.

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Great report! Any celebs there? Also, do they give any discounts like Annual pass holders?

 

[essmom]

What about priority seating?

 

[mouseclick1]

Another question, if you don't mind! Is The Kitchen open for B-fast, lunch, and dinner?

 

[Esmeralda]

Uh-oh, I don't have answers for a lot of your questions, but here goes:

damo - I didn't bring a menu home so I can't say for sure. (I don't look at prices when I'm not buying!) Not overly expensive - middle of the road.

Selina & SpideyHulk24 - Unfortunately, no celebs spotted! Also, I don't know about the discounts but it'd be easy to find out with a phone call.

essmom - We had a PS. You can make them 30 days in advance. We changed our time, however, the day before and had no problems.

mouseclick1 - I'm not sure about breakfast and lunch. You'd have to call.