20 Best Restaurants In Universal Studios | Best Places to Eat at Universal Orlando Theme Parks
Written By: Gail Clifford | Published By: Foodie Flashpacker | October 03, 2022
Theme park food has come a long way since the 1970s hamburgers and hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and soggy french fries. Though improved versions of each of those are available, some theme parks offer fine dining or good food at cafeteria-style locations where you’ll still take your old school tray to collect your order from the service area and return to your party at tables within the restaurant space.
Universal Orlando has distinguished itself with Mythos restaurant which has been named the best restaurant inside theme parks for multiple years. Here are some of my favorite places to visit at Universal Orlando.
20 Best Restaurants in Universal Studios
Mel’s Diner
6000 Universal Blvd // +14073638000
While you must be careful about how you enter and exit this ‘50s-style diner, you’ll appreciate the ‘50s fast-food individual items or combos served with fries and a milkshake. You can even order onion rings or chili cheese fries for a slightly higher charge than the French fries. Their platter options include barbecue brisket burger, bacon cheeseburger, chicken fingers, or grilled chicken sandwich.
Your choice of combo meal options is either served with fries, or with fries and a regular shake for the increased price. Their self-described healthier choices include a beyond burger, grilled chicken salad, and a plant-based chicken and avocado sandwich. I do recommend them cooked well done.
For drinks, they offer Coca-Cola products, juice, bottled water, milk, coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, or an ICEE. The Coke ICEEs are my favorite. They also serve beer; I noted Bud Light when I was there.
For dessert, they sell an old-fashioned root beer float or apple pie a la mode, and a plethora of shake combinations including chocolate, vanilla, or twist of the two, and toppings like sprinkles, strawberries, or Oreos. Definitely one of the best restaurants in Universal Studios.
Finnegan’s Bar and Grill
6000 Universal Blvd // +14073638000
Universal’s Irish Pub and second restaurant to offer sit-down service, it has much the same feel as a pub back in Dublin, therefore making it one of the best restaurants in Universal Studios. Their starters include Scotch eggs, which are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage and dusted with breadcrumbs, and then deep-fried, served with apple beet salad, Finnegan’s potato and onion web which are hand-dipped in beer batter and crisply fried golden brown, almost like a potato pancake.
Their Irish-loaded chips are topped with corned beef, Leicester cheese and a Killarney gravy that may make you feel like you’re transported to Emerald Isle. Reilly’s chicken wings are tossed in Buffalo sauce, as are their chicken stringers and chicken tenders. One of our friend’s favorites is the Guinness warm three-cheese dip which is served with a fresh-baked soft pretzel and a tangy mustard sauce.
You can purchase a very tasty housemade Misty Isle potato and leek, or split pea and ham soup. Their salads include an Irish Cobb, the leprechaun’s rainbow which is fresh fruit served with a strawberry sorbet and utterly delicious, the Celtic chicken club which includes julienned squash and is garnished with the Finnegan’s potato and onion web, or, my current favorite, the pistachio-crusted salmon.
I do ask for mine to be well done and it’s scrumptious served on a bed of baby greens, roasted root vegetables, tomatoes, onions, Havarti dill cheese, and a house-made mustard ale vinaigrette. Full disclosure, I do have them hold the vinaigrette and the cheese for me, and I still love it.
If you’re ready for a substantial meal since this is several blocks into the park, you may want to have the full meal grilled filet of salmon with garlic mashed potatoes, beef tenderloin, bangers, and mash, a Kilkenny pot pie, shepherd’s pie, Irish fish and chips which come from the North Atlantic, North Atlantic baked cod fish, the Guinness beef stew, Finnegan’s chicken, Finnegan’s pork loin, County Cork corned beef and cabbage, vegan sausage Wellington or one of six sandwiches including a Tipperary corned beef sandwich which tastes not at all like a French dip.
My favorite sandwich is probably the Dublin chicken sandwich which is a marinated grilled chicken breast and apple smoked bacon on a toasted bun with lettuce and tomato. I usually have them hold the cheddar cheese and pickle. I don’t really understand the point of a fried cod fish sandwich since it’s a battered fish on a bun, so it seems duplicative, but not as bad as getting one of those fish in a fish taco.
For some adult sustenance, check out their bar menu which includes a dozen types of Irish whiskey; three of them Jameson and then regular whiskeys, two Jack Daniels, and then Johnnie Walker Scotch is in their five Scotch selections. They also have three types of bourbon, including Jim Beam. They have nearly a dozen bottled beers—ask them about their mixed draughts, especially if you like the dark ales. I counted 9 draughts including Guinness while I was there.
Their selections include sparkling wine, white wine and red wine, in addition to signature cocktails, including some of my favorite traveling companions’ gin and tonics. It’s a garnish island gin, tonic water, raspberry, and rosemary which—some people tell me—can actually make the taste of the tonic water less bitter.
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