fantasia73
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2000
- Messages
- 183
We just got back from 5 wonderful days in Florida. Here's reviews on the restaurants that we visited in Universal. We also dined at WDW on two different nights and I will post those reviews in their appropriate category (Disney Restaurants).
Margaritaville - We arrived in Orlando at 11:30AM and having only been given 4 Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies on the plane, we were starving. We checked into the HRH and immediately hopped a water taxi over to Citywalk. Having eaten at the Margaritaville in Key West, we knew that's where we wanted to go for lunch. Lo and behold, it was Happy Hour at Margaritaville.
We ordered up a 2 for 1 round of frozen margaritas. The margaritas were good though we weren't sure how much tequila was actually in them, so we ordered another round to check! We opted to split a bunch of appetizers for a lunch (needed to save room for dinner at Tchoup Tchoup). The Peel N' Eat Shrimp were the best we'd ever had (and we're from the Ocean State so that's saying a lot). We also enjoyed the Jamaican Wings. The sauce was unique and very tasty with a bit of a kick to it. The only thing we didn't care for was the calamari. The sauce it was served with was delicious, but the calamari itself was bland and chewy.
Tchoup Tchoup - I turned 30 on this day and we were looking forward to celebrating. Our reservation was for 7:15 and we were seated immediately at a table right near the water feature. It was a gorgeous restaurant and we loved the atmosphere. For some reason, I thought there were fish swimming in the pool. There was a giant party in the restaurant being pretty loud. Luckily, they left pretty soon after we arrived. We ordered some wine off of the list (it was Riesling, but I can't remember much else about it.) It wasn't the cheapest wine on the menu, but not the most expensive either. The waiter took the opportunity to recommend a bottle of wine that was worth more than I am.
But we stuck with our original order. As we perused the menu, the waiter brought out the "chips" and peanut sauce. That sauce was great! Then he brought out four individual portions of smoked salmon salad, which was a nice treat. It was outstanding. We noticed he brought it out for all of the tables celebrating a birthday. That was a really nice touch. Lots of places do a free dessert . . . but smoked salmon salad?
For an appetizer, the four of us decided to split an order of calamari (served with a chile sauce and feta cheese). The calamari at Margaritaville wasn't any good, so we thought we'd try Emeril's version. The waiter insisted to us that this portion was for a single diner and that with four of us, we would only get a taste. That was fine with us, since we were enjoying the chips and peanut sauce. When he brought out the calamari, it was way more than we expected. If that is for one person, it must have been a very hungry one person. It was delicious. I loved the spiciness of the sauce and the feta cheese really added to the dish. The four of us had a hard time finishing this single portion, but we did manage to eat every bite.
For dinner, I had the kona coffee glazed duck. The duck was very, very good. I really enjoyed it. It came with a HUGE helping of stir fried noodles, veggies, and more duck. It was a lot of food! My mother had the salmon which really looked good and she said it was excellent and the best salmon she had ever had (until two days later we ate at the Flying Fish in WDW). My father had the double pork chop as recommended by the waiter (who claimed the short ribs were fatty and the most returned dish). It was mammoth and he proclaimed it to be very good. The pork chop came with some sweet potatoes that were out of this world! So good. My roommate had the stir fry pork and it was another mammoth portion. She didn't really care for it. I think the portion was too overwhelming.
When the dessert menu arrived, we were all stuffed. We found all of the portions to be huge and we're not known as light eaters!
The waiter did bring over a complimentary sorbet for my birthday with a candle in it. That was very nice and the sorbet was delicious. I wasn't hungry at all, but I managed to eat the whole thing!
We would definitely dine here again. The service was excellent. The waitstaff was attentive without being smothering. It wasn't a cheap meal, but the prices were in line with the quality and quantity of the food. I think I'd like to try a few of the appetizers next time and also dessert! The waiter took my father's business card and promised to write him a thank you note.
Mythos - We had wanted to dinner here, but the restaurant closed early on each day that were were in the parks. We had a 2:00 reservation, but by 1:30 we were starving and went to the restaurant hoping to be fit in early. The restaurant wasn't crowded, but we still had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. The atmosphere of the restaurant was amazing and we loved having a view of the Hulk! Unfortunately, our waitress was very sour about something. My father asked what kind of beer they had and she snapped at him like he was asking a dumb question. Hey, it wasn't posted on the menu, how else is he supposed to know? She snapped at me though too . . . how dare I want to know what the pizza of the day was?? O
Oh well, we were on vacation and we weren't going to let her get us down!
I was dying to have the chocolate banana gooey cake, so I ordered a light lunch to make sure that I had room! I had a caesar salad (that was good, but nothing spectacular) and the tortilla soup (which I loved). My dad had the lobster bisque and the pizza of the day (which was Phili Steak and was very very good). My mother and my roommate both had the grilled chicken club. They both enjoyed the sandwiches immensely.
Then, we got dessert!! That chocolate banana gooey cake is so, so, so good!! I had wished that I had just ordered two helpings of it for lunch. I practically licked the plate. It was that good.
I want to go back to Islands of Adventure just to have it!!!
Pat O'Brien's - We didn't actually eat here, but we had such a good time that it's worth mentioning. On Thursday night, we headed over to CityWalk for a little bar hopping and drinking. We walked around deciding where we wanted to go. (Side note: we're walking by Pat O'Brien's and there's this man yelling to us from their balcony. We're like "who knows who we are?" It was the man who had sat next to us on the plane. He was bombed out of his mind yelling and screaming to us. Even weirder, before we had boarded the plane, I had said that I wanted to sit next to him.) So, anywhow we decided to go in and try the famous Pat O'Brien's Hurricanes and sit at the piano bar for a while. It was so much fun! There were two extremely talented guys singing with everyone in the crowd singing along. It was jammed with people. I didn't think that the Hurricanes were very strong . . . until I stood up! Yikes. My face was numb. I don't remember much after that . . .
That's it! We ate a few more times at Margaritaville for lunch. Those frozen margaritas were sooo good after being soooo hot! We ate dinner one night at the Flying Fish at WDW's Boardwalk and then another night we at the California Grill at WDW's Contemporary (one of my all-time favorte restaurants!).
I'll again be happy to answer any questions that you have. Sorry this turned out to be so verbose!!
Margaritaville - We arrived in Orlando at 11:30AM and having only been given 4 Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies on the plane, we were starving. We checked into the HRH and immediately hopped a water taxi over to Citywalk. Having eaten at the Margaritaville in Key West, we knew that's where we wanted to go for lunch. Lo and behold, it was Happy Hour at Margaritaville.
We ordered up a 2 for 1 round of frozen margaritas. The margaritas were good though we weren't sure how much tequila was actually in them, so we ordered another round to check! We opted to split a bunch of appetizers for a lunch (needed to save room for dinner at Tchoup Tchoup). The Peel N' Eat Shrimp were the best we'd ever had (and we're from the Ocean State so that's saying a lot). We also enjoyed the Jamaican Wings. The sauce was unique and very tasty with a bit of a kick to it. The only thing we didn't care for was the calamari. The sauce it was served with was delicious, but the calamari itself was bland and chewy. Tchoup Tchoup - I turned 30 on this day and we were looking forward to celebrating. Our reservation was for 7:15 and we were seated immediately at a table right near the water feature. It was a gorgeous restaurant and we loved the atmosphere. For some reason, I thought there were fish swimming in the pool. There was a giant party in the restaurant being pretty loud. Luckily, they left pretty soon after we arrived. We ordered some wine off of the list (it was Riesling, but I can't remember much else about it.) It wasn't the cheapest wine on the menu, but not the most expensive either. The waiter took the opportunity to recommend a bottle of wine that was worth more than I am.
But we stuck with our original order. As we perused the menu, the waiter brought out the "chips" and peanut sauce. That sauce was great! Then he brought out four individual portions of smoked salmon salad, which was a nice treat. It was outstanding. We noticed he brought it out for all of the tables celebrating a birthday. That was a really nice touch. Lots of places do a free dessert . . . but smoked salmon salad? For an appetizer, the four of us decided to split an order of calamari (served with a chile sauce and feta cheese). The calamari at Margaritaville wasn't any good, so we thought we'd try Emeril's version. The waiter insisted to us that this portion was for a single diner and that with four of us, we would only get a taste. That was fine with us, since we were enjoying the chips and peanut sauce. When he brought out the calamari, it was way more than we expected. If that is for one person, it must have been a very hungry one person. It was delicious. I loved the spiciness of the sauce and the feta cheese really added to the dish. The four of us had a hard time finishing this single portion, but we did manage to eat every bite.
For dinner, I had the kona coffee glazed duck. The duck was very, very good. I really enjoyed it. It came with a HUGE helping of stir fried noodles, veggies, and more duck. It was a lot of food! My mother had the salmon which really looked good and she said it was excellent and the best salmon she had ever had (until two days later we ate at the Flying Fish in WDW). My father had the double pork chop as recommended by the waiter (who claimed the short ribs were fatty and the most returned dish). It was mammoth and he proclaimed it to be very good. The pork chop came with some sweet potatoes that were out of this world! So good. My roommate had the stir fry pork and it was another mammoth portion. She didn't really care for it. I think the portion was too overwhelming.
When the dessert menu arrived, we were all stuffed. We found all of the portions to be huge and we're not known as light eaters!
The waiter did bring over a complimentary sorbet for my birthday with a candle in it. That was very nice and the sorbet was delicious. I wasn't hungry at all, but I managed to eat the whole thing!We would definitely dine here again. The service was excellent. The waitstaff was attentive without being smothering. It wasn't a cheap meal, but the prices were in line with the quality and quantity of the food. I think I'd like to try a few of the appetizers next time and also dessert! The waiter took my father's business card and promised to write him a thank you note.
Mythos - We had wanted to dinner here, but the restaurant closed early on each day that were were in the parks. We had a 2:00 reservation, but by 1:30 we were starving and went to the restaurant hoping to be fit in early. The restaurant wasn't crowded, but we still had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. The atmosphere of the restaurant was amazing and we loved having a view of the Hulk! Unfortunately, our waitress was very sour about something. My father asked what kind of beer they had and she snapped at him like he was asking a dumb question. Hey, it wasn't posted on the menu, how else is he supposed to know? She snapped at me though too . . . how dare I want to know what the pizza of the day was?? O
Oh well, we were on vacation and we weren't going to let her get us down!I was dying to have the chocolate banana gooey cake, so I ordered a light lunch to make sure that I had room! I had a caesar salad (that was good, but nothing spectacular) and the tortilla soup (which I loved). My dad had the lobster bisque and the pizza of the day (which was Phili Steak and was very very good). My mother and my roommate both had the grilled chicken club. They both enjoyed the sandwiches immensely.
Then, we got dessert!! That chocolate banana gooey cake is so, so, so good!! I had wished that I had just ordered two helpings of it for lunch. I practically licked the plate. It was that good.
I want to go back to Islands of Adventure just to have it!!! Pat O'Brien's - We didn't actually eat here, but we had such a good time that it's worth mentioning. On Thursday night, we headed over to CityWalk for a little bar hopping and drinking. We walked around deciding where we wanted to go. (Side note: we're walking by Pat O'Brien's and there's this man yelling to us from their balcony. We're like "who knows who we are?" It was the man who had sat next to us on the plane. He was bombed out of his mind yelling and screaming to us. Even weirder, before we had boarded the plane, I had said that I wanted to sit next to him.) So, anywhow we decided to go in and try the famous Pat O'Brien's Hurricanes and sit at the piano bar for a while. It was so much fun! There were two extremely talented guys singing with everyone in the crowd singing along. It was jammed with people. I didn't think that the Hurricanes were very strong . . . until I stood up!
Yikes. My face was numb. I don't remember much after that . . . That's it! We ate a few more times at Margaritaville for lunch. Those frozen margaritas were sooo good after being soooo hot! We ate dinner one night at the Flying Fish at WDW's Boardwalk and then another night we at the California Grill at WDW's Contemporary (one of my all-time favorte restaurants!).
I'll again be happy to answer any questions that you have. Sorry this turned out to be so verbose!!
LOL! It is a fabulous dessert. Thanks for posting your foodie report.
