Toothsome Overhyped

[thevolcanogod]

Just finished our meal. Ambiance was great. Service was excellent. Appetizers were delish - especially the totchos and chocolate almond bread. That’s where it ended. 3 out of 4 entrees were a mess. I had the chocolate crusted pork tenderloin and it just didn’t work. I expected more savory but the sauce was very sweet. I’d also expect more for my $27 than 4 small bites of pork, 2 pieces od over steamed cauliflower and mashed unseasoned sweet potatoes.

My wife had the Chicken Brece and it was extremely dry with a weird cooking gas or warmer flavor and the Demi glacé was bitter. My daughter had the southern fried chicken sandwich and the chicken was over cooked so the coating was burned and the sandwich bread was dry to the point of being stale/crumbling.

Don’t get the hype at all. We dined here the first month it was open and felt it was very meh but was excited to try it again since I heard the me I had changed. It’s still a no for me. Portion sizes and food prep and bad choices of seasonings/presentation are killing an otherwise beautiful venue. Maybe I’m in the minority since the place was packed but yea.

 

[TotallyTink]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We are headed for our first trip to Universal in June. I know my kid is going to see this place and want to eat there, so I've made a reservation. But I have my doubts after reading quite a few underwhelming reviews. If she really wants to eat there, perhaps we will just get appetizers and then dessert instead of a full meal.

 

[Kit Jackson]

The food portion of the menu is hit or miss. The milkshakes and deserts are amazing.

 

[schumigirl]

I agree. Ironically the two thing you enjoyed were two of the things I hated......lol.....

Don`t get the hype at all. Food is mediocre at best and desserts/ice cream tasted artificial and fake.

My husband enjoyed his burger, but nothing you can`t get anywhere else, not somewhere we`ll be going back to.

But, yes, it`s always mobbed so some must enjoy it.

 

[PezRuth]

We loved the atmosphere and we had great service. The food was fine. Honestly I did not like the milkshake at all.

 

[reddog21]

I thought the food was good, atmosphere was good however the milkshakes were average at best

 

[ChrisM]

Went in 2019 and it was awful.

Was just there last week as my son demanded we go. I was dreading it, but I got the meatloaf and it was (to my surprise) very good! My son's flatbread was also above average. I think it's really a day by day, dish by dish sort of place and you never know what you're going to get.

As for the atmosphere and ambiance, I think the design is neat (and particularly appealing to kids) - but it's sort of boring as nothing really happens.

 

[georgina]

We went right at opening and had the brunch menu. Waffles and quiche were good. Place was pretty empty and we had our server all to ourselves for the first half hour. We also had drinks and shared a dessert. Never tried a milkshake there.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Toothsome was one of only three restaurants we truly enjoyed back in 2020.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The ambiance & appetizers are great! Loved the brussel sprouts, and the choc almond bread was very good also (to be fair, it's bread and that makes me easy to please).

Toothsome makes a mean waffle - I love the berries & cream waffle with its lemon curd.

Their desserts are huge and fine, but not wonderful. Ice cream at Florean Fortescue's is much better. Ice cream sundae at Lard Lad donut truck is also better.

 

[Heckah]

I suppose it's a personal choice. I really enjoyed Toothsome and thought Cowfish was severely overhyped.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We have a reservation next week. I'm OK with it being a one and done, but it's our first trip and I figured we would try it at least once.

Are there any items on the menu that are generally consistent? So far I'm hearing the meatloaf, brussel sprouts, and almond bread are generally good. Any others?

 

[thevolcanogod]

I suppose it's a personal choice. I really enjoyed Toothsome and thought Cowfish was severely overhyped.

We also changed opinions on cowfish from a 3 times a trip place to 0-1 times. Definitely changed from a few years ago. I hyped this place when we first went maybe 4 years ago. Now it’s just not a huge to-do. Prices have risen , portions dropped and they cheaped out on certain things like using a Parmesan sauce instead of the real stuff.

 

[thevolcanogod]

Thought the shrimp mac and cheese was good. It’s a little spicy tho.

We have a reservation next week. I'm OK with it being a one and done, but it's our first trip and I figured we would try it at least once.

Are there any items on the menu that are generally consistent? So far I'm hearing the meatloaf, brussel sprouts, and almond bread are generally good. Any others?

 

[Squirlz]

We've eaten there about 10 times since they opened. Never had a bad meal. Didn't care for the Totchos really. Our favorites have been the Pub it Up, the Blue Plate, May Contain Bacon and the Patty Melt. Never had dessert as we are always too full and the shakes don't really sound good.

 

[mamapenguin]

We just had two great visits one Friday and one Monday of this week. Good value, great food. We will book two reservations the next trip too.

 

[schumigirl]

We also changed opinions on cowfish from a 3 times a trip place to 0-1 times. Definitely changed from a few years ago. I hyped this place when we first went maybe 4 years ago. Now it’s just not a huge to-do. Prices have risen , portions dropped and they cheaped out on certain things like using a Parmesan sauce instead of the real stuff.

That`s not good to hear.....we haven`t been for a while but always enjoyed the burgers (wasn`t impressed with their sushi offerings) they were tasty and portions were large.

Such a shame if they have dropped quality and quantity.

 

[wdwrule]

We have a reservation next week. I'm OK with it being a one and done, but it's our first trip and I figured we would try it at least once.

Are there any items on the menu that are generally consistent? So far I'm hearing the meatloaf, brussel sprouts, and almond bread are generally good. Any others?

We visited here too on our first trip and so glad we did as the atmosphere is wonderful. I love the aesthetics in this place. Upstairs has a beautiful view of Citywalk. We don’t revisit here every trip but have been back a few times. We must’ve had good luck with our food because we never received anything bad… nothing stellar, but nothing bad. Service was always attentive and super friendly as well.

The items you listed were, in our opinion, very good. We have had some of their burgers as well, including the Tour de France burger and they are always cooked perfectly (we order medium rare). We rarely get their milkshakes and instead order a sundae which is completely shareable between 2-4 people. Sundaes are surprisingly cheaper than their milkshakes… maybe because milkshakes come in a plastic souvenir mug (we never kept the one we had ordered because you have to wash it out yourself and then lug it around).

 

[dtrain]

Amazing burgers and desserts, stick to those!

 

[RocketCityMama]

We have ate there twice, and love the atmosphere, the choc almond bread and personally I think the breakfast foods are best. We have had decent service even when understaffed, never have tried desserts, maybe this time!