Tell me about patio dining please!

[DuskKodesh]

Going to UO Nov-1-6 to avoid the Halloween crowds (Here's hoping!) And we're big restaurant people. If I can sit down and relax at a meal I will be thrilled. Thing is we're trying to avoid indoor dining, haven't done it in a year and a half now aside from one small place where we know the owners and there's never more than three parties in the dining room. It's mostly the spouse, he's really nervous, had his shots but the anxiety is something I can't quiet in him. In the park we can mask, but while eating we can't and that's a big thing for him

I booked reservations at a ton of places but now I'm wondering what I should shift around. For example:
I know Cowfish has a patio upstairs so that's a keeper. Toothsome I've seen tables outside in videos, but I cannot find out whether some of these places have outdoor dining.
We have reservations for Cowfish, Mythos, Toothsome, Antojitos, Vivo, and NBC grill. I'm totally willing to move to other places if I have to.

Anyone have experience dining outside or requesting outdoor tables? Anything to note about the places I chose? Any recommendations? Really any info helps, I've tried searching around and mostly end up going to youtubers but they don't often even mention whether a patio was available if they are dining indoors.

 

[TommyJK]

Have a look at this write-up. Something you may have overlooked/not thought of are some of the resort restaurants which anyone can dine at (not just people staying at the specific resort).

https://whitegloveworld.com/best-outdoor-dining-at-universal-orlando/

 

[DuskKodesh]

Have a look at this write-up. Something you may have overlooked/not thought of are some of the resort restaurants which anyone can dine at (not just people staying at the specific resort).

https://whitegloveworld.com/best-outdoor-dining-at-universal-orlando/

Ahhh! Hadn't seen that! I checked out our resort but not others so that's super handy, thank you!

 

[lazer]

Exact same situation here. Our dates and restaurants are almost the same, too! So many reservations for our trip, but looking to change/delete them all to keep my vaccinated son happy and not stressed. Thanks for posting.

 

[snowpack]

Exact same situation here. Our dates and restaurants are almost the same, too! So many reservations for our trip, but looking to change/delete them all to keep my vaccinated son happy and not stressed. Thanks for posting.

Will be there the week after you. Would loved to here what restaurants you found to be the best options.

 

[DuskKodesh]

Will be there the week after you. Would loved to here what restaurants you found to be the best options.

ooh I'll make sure to post what I find in this topic. I'm most worried about Antojitos but that res is on the end of our trip so I suppose I have time to scope it out and cancel it if we see no outdoor spots.

 

[keishashadow]

FYI - Having taken several trips during the pandemic, be prepared to have a much longer wait for outdoor seating.

 

[Lewisc]

Eat early, if you can. If you get to the restaurant before the first "seating" a request for outdoor seating may be easily granted. Wait until "regular" dinner hours and a lot of guests will be ahead of you for outdoor dining.

eat late will probably also work.

 

[DuskKodesh]

Eat early, if you can. If you get to the restaurant before the first "seating" a request for outdoor seating may be easily granted. Wait until "regular" dinner hours and a lot of guests will be ahead of you for outdoor dining.

eat late will probably also work.

A good plan! Going to swing for 11am for lunches, snack, then do late dinner. I was just hoping to get park hours before I start shifting my times around a bit but park hours on the site right now only go through Oct. 3rd so I may have a wait...

Also made a note in our reservation for each place saying we would like outdoor seating, hoping the warning helps.

 

[nouvellefleur]

Going to UO Nov-1-6 to avoid the Halloween crowds (Here's hoping!) And we're big restaurant people. If I can sit down and relax at a meal I will be thrilled. Thing is we're trying to avoid indoor dining, haven't done it in a year and a half now aside from one small place where we know the owners and there's never more than three parties in the dining room. It's mostly the spouse, he's really nervous, had his shots but the anxiety is something I can't quiet in him. In the park we can mask, but while eating we can't and that's a big thing for him

I booked reservations at a ton of places but now I'm wondering what I should shift around. For example:
I know Cowfish has a patio upstairs so that's a keeper. Toothsome I've seen tables outside in videos, but I cannot find out whether some of these places have outdoor dining.
We have reservations for Cowfish, Mythos, Toothsome, Antojitos, Vivo, and NBC grill. I'm totally willing to move to other places if I have to.

Anyone have experience dining outside or requesting outdoor tables? Anything to note about the places I chose? Any recommendations? Really any info helps, I've tried searching around and mostly end up going to youtubers but they don't often even mention whether a patio was available if they are dining indoors.

I think basically all of the restaurants you mentioned have a modest to moderate number of outside tables available. Eating off peak is probably the best way to make sure you get an outside table - most of the CityWalk outside dining areas are on the smaller side iirc.

Personally, I do recall seeing outside dining at Mythos, Antojitos, NBC Grill, Toothsome, and Vivo (their outside dining is the patio under the Cowfish balcony dining). We only ate outside at Antojito's though because it was so incredibly hot during our visit (summer 2017).

 

[DuskKodesh]

I think basically all of the restaurants you mentioned have a modest to moderate number of outside tables available. Eating off peak is probably the best way to make sure you get an outside table - most of the CityWalk outside dining areas are on the smaller side iirc.

Personally, I do recall seeing outside dining at Mythos, Antojitos, NBC Grill, Toothsome, and Vivo (their outside dining is the patio under the Cowfish balcony dining). We only ate outside at Antojito's though because it was so incredibly hot during our visit (summer 2017).

Thank you a TON! Antojitos was a big question mark for me. None of the reviews I found mentioned the seating so it's great to hear!

 

[PantherPete]

A good plan! Going to swing for 11am for lunches, snack, then do late dinner. I was just hoping to get park hours before I start shifting my times around a bit but park hours on the site right now only go through Oct. 3rd so I may have a wait...

Also made a note in our reservation for each place saying we would like outdoor seating, hoping the warning helps.

Late dinner is the most crowded time because people are leaving the parks. Early dinner is much less crowded.

 

[Grumpy92]

NBC grill, Toothsome, Vivio and Cowfish. Most definitely have outdoor dining. I would drop Mythos it is average. You are better off at Leaky Cauldron or Three broomsticks

 

[DuskKodesh]

NBC grill, Toothsome, Vivio and Cowfish. Most definitely have outdoor dining. I would drop Mythos it is average. You are better off at Leaky Cauldron or Three broomsticks

I so cannot drop Mythos, the spouse has a classics degree and has a ton of stuff in his office devoted to the Greek gods. They are his favorite pantheon. The plan was to dine outdoors and then take a walkthrough to look at the place. I admit that reservation and Cowfish are more for him than me, was still planning on dropping by the Three Broomsticks at some point (Though not Leaky Cauldron. The mere idea of minted peas makes gag. XD)

I did reschedule all my dinners to 5:30pm, any lunches I have are 11am. Spouse said early dinner is better than late for him. Hopefully that's early enough and if we get hungry late we'll chase down a snack in Citywalk or at the hotel.

 

[kbelle8995]

I so cannot drop Mythos, the spouse has a classics degree and has a ton of stuff in his office devoted to the Greek gods. They are his favorite pantheon. The plan was to dine outdoors and then take a walkthrough to look at the place. I admit that reservation and Cowfish are more for him than me, was still planning on dropping by the Three Broomsticks at some point (Though not Leaky Cauldron. The mere idea of minted peas makes gag. XD)

I did reschedule all my dinners to 5:30pm, any lunches I have are 11am. Spouse said early dinner is better than late for him. Hopefully that's early enough and if we get hungry late we'll chase down a snack in Citywalk or at the hotel.

Give Leaky Cauldron a try. I hate peas and they have options without it. I have not ordered items due to the inclustion of peas