best high end and best lunch at Universal

[Pez01]

Evening all... I am staying at Portofino whilst at universal for one night - I want a nice meal in the evening and then cheaper lunch both days - I keep reading that the food in the parks at universal is pretty minging so my thoughts are... lunch the Panda place that does chinese, (although daughter not a massive fan), Mythos for lunch possibly? Day 2 maybe hard rock cafe for lunch as I have a voucher then thinking Buppa Gump for tea or one of the Italian restaurants in the hotel... any thoughts on eating at Universal and the hotels?

[Whitequeen]

Mythos is a definite for Lunch. Always had a good lunch there and it's won awards.
I personally, don't like Bubba Gumps! Too much Batter going on, there. I find it too heavy.
Citywalk has new restaurants now so I can't pass comment on them.

Hard Rock is very noisy but reasonably tasty food. Bit overpriced IMO.
Panda Express is fast food but I actually like it. The Orange Chicken is very, very nice and good value for money.

The only Hotel restaurant I've eaten at was in Royal Pacific Hotel which I found very nice.

[KRBarnard]

NBC Brew and Grill on Citywalk was brill. Food was great, service was spot on and atmosphere is laid back.

[Gill H]

The high end restaurant at Portofino Bay is Bice. We had a bad experience there personally (we found the pasta thick and tasteless, and the sauces gloopy bland wallpaper paste). We also found it incredibly noisy and the service was rather bizarre. However, other people have had great meals there - I have seen a review from Hannikins, who loved it.

We didn't get a chance to try Mamma Della's there, as it was relocated for refurb. However, we would like to try it next time. There are live singers who come to your table.

There is also a free 'Musica della Notte' show in the evenings outside - very nice to sit with a drink, watching the boats bob on the lagoon and listening to music.

In Royal Pacific Resort there is the jaw-droppingly beautiful Tchoup Chop, which we had a nice lunch at but would love to try dinner. You can find the menu online and it looks incredible.

The owner of Tchoup Chop is celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, who also owns Emeril's at CityWalk - another high end place where we celebrated our 15th anniversary.

These are probably the three poshest restaurants but there are lots of more budget-friendly options around too. We haven't eaten anywhere else on CityWalk or in the resorts (except for a lovely pizza at Sal's Deli in PBR). But we had a great lunch in Mythos, and also a good evening meal at Lombard's Seafood Grille where we did the Cinematic Spectacular dining package.

Yes, there is a lot of burger/pizza/hot dog etc food in the parks, but it's not all like that. Just depends what you want to eat.

I will say, however, that the two Harry Potter themed restaurants are probably more worth exploring for their theming than the food. It wasn't bad - but it wasn't great either.

[Tre85]

We have eaten at Fire Eaters Grill in IOA - this was nice and different options on the menu. On Citywalk we ate at Bubba Gumps which had great theming and the good wasn't bad and Cowfish which we loved - really laid back but very good quality food.

[Wobbles]

Originally Posted by KRBarnard

NBC Brew and Grill on Citywalk was brill. Food was great, service was spot on and atmosphere is laid back.

See more...

That is good to hear. We went to the soft opening... let's just say it's a good job they had a soft opening as people were walking out

[Wobbles]

I think the food at Universal has come a long way since being "mingling". City Walk has a great range of food from amazing hotdogs to Emril's.

The stuff in the parks is standard, we like Finnigans, Mythos and think HP can rival anything at Disney.

[Rescuer]

We found Mythos ok but really liked Lombards in the universal park.
We are 2 nights at Portofino bay as well. I was fancying the qs pizza at the hotel, Lombards and bubba gumps so far.

[DIBBadmin]

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