Blending original concepts with well-known chain restaurants from hot dogs to linguine and clams CityWalk at Universal Orlando has you covered for every power and price. Provided that the price isn’t very low with so many different options to choose from, you may need a helping hand in deciding where to spend your money within this popular dining district. In this article, we will outline our ranking of the top 10 best restaurants at Universal CityWalk.
Our ranking is based on a combination of our experiences, our friend’s experiences but we’ve also done heavy research of online reviews to make it as objective as possible. We do allow our ranking to be influenced quite a bit by a good value, which is why we have included a few quick-service choices in our ranking and we’ll be sure to emphasize the prices for all the restaurants on the list. Ranking restaurants is always tricky.
So without any further due, check out our CityWalk’s top 10 restaurants.
Vivo Italian Kitchen
Number one in our ranking is Vivo Italian Kitchen, one of the most popular Italian restaurants in Orlando, celebrates the beauty of Italian cuisine. This classy but relatively casual table service restaurant where the menu is filled with comfortingly Famiglia Italian dishes and features a sophisticated contemporary décor. It’s opened Expo kitchen allows you to glimpse piping hot pizzas emerging from the oven; watch the chef make fresh bread sauce mozzarella and pasta before your eyes.
Vivo’s wine bar also offers a variety of Italian-inspired cocktails and a full bar. This restaurant is situated near the center of CityWalk on the left-hand side with your back to the parking garages and next to Cowfish. Vivo is one of the cheaper table-service restaurants at CityWalk Orlando. Entrees will typically cost between fifteen and twenty-five dollars. A woodstove Pizza will range from fifteen to seventeen dollars. I would highly recommend that this squid-ink seafood which comes in at 21 dollars.
Those who enjoyed Vivo loved the tasty fresh Italian food .the friendly accommodating staff, the relaxed atmosphere from a Bali perspective. This is the best restaurant on the universal property, which helped it to take our top spot. Those that didn’t enjoy it often had bad experiences with the wait times, which can get a bit out of hand at busy times .so be sure to book a table in advance and lastly it can be quite loud at this restaurant with all the hard surfaces.
Breadbox Handcrafted Sandwiches
Breadbox Handcrafted Sandwiches are best in CityWalk. They have a quick-service chain but in our opinion significantly better. The menu has a wide selection of grilled cheeses, house-made soups, milkshakes, and various sandwiches that are fresh to order with quality meats and vegetables. Breadbox is a quick-service option located on the second level of CityWalk on the north side. The cost of a sandwich is typically range between ten and twelve dollars, but that would not include a side such as fries. Those who enjoyed the bread box appreciated that it provides a healthier choice than most other quick-service options.
In CityWalk providing fresh and flavorsome sandwiches within a lighten friendly atmosphere, in our opinion, easily the best quick service option for a quick bite to eat. Those, that didn’t enjoy breadbox, felt that by spending a little bit more you get a more substantial nail and finish city.
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar is a colorful east-meets-west fusion restaurant offering a cutting-edge fusion of sandwiches known as burger. She made with sushi stuff and sushi bill burger stock. This is certainly a place where you are encouraged to take a few culinary risks but there are some more familiar choices available if needed. The innovation isn’t limited to just the entrees. You can sip on milkshakes, premium Sokka’s beers, and exotic martinis. If you are prepared, be sure to make a reservation several days in advance for this extremely popular restaurant. At city wok, cowfish is located on the left-hand side of the walkway as you enter from the parking garages next to Vivo Italian kitchen.
In terms of cost, Cowfish is one of the cheaper table service restaurants in our ranking. Your appetizers range between eight and fifteen dollars and a typical entrée will cost you roughly sixteen to eighteen dollars. If you do decide on Cowfish don’t overlook the milkshake menu as many people head to cowfish solely files. Those who enjoy Cowfish tend to appreciate the bright and quirky atmosphere with its unique menu and fabulous presentation. Those who didn’t enjoy it typically struggle to handle the creative menu and some felt other portions could have been bigger.
Hard Rock Café
At number four is the forever popular Hard Rock Café, the largest of its kind around the world with large statuesque pillars. It’s loud majestically like a Roman Colosseum .they can get one of the main centerpieces of the CityWalk Orlando. Inside it serves American cuisine and features a Museum of rock. This freshman is located on the northwest side of the city wall sitting between the entrances to Universal Studios Florida and islands of adventure. Hard Rock Café is one of the more expensive restaurants in CityWalk Orlando. A typical burger entrée will cost around 20 dollars and the baby back ribs entrée costs are $30.
This restaurant is known for being a bit of a tourist trap and deservedly so we think it’s fair to say. It is extremely popular and many agree that it is very rare that you get a bad meal at a Hard Rock Café. Assuming you’re into American cuisine, the cool rock memorabilia is of course a huge draw to these establishments and a lot of fun to explore. Those that didn’t enjoy it were not appreciative of how incredibly busy and loud it can get. Another service can sometimes feel a little rushed and hectic .it is also definitely not the best-value choice in CityWalk.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
It has been entertaining guests since 1996 with a charming down-home style that’s been a hit around the globe serving up versatile seafood along with a host of southern favorites. From award-winning baby back ribs to fried chicken fresh fish dishes and homemade desserts with this restaurant being themed on the Bubba Gump character in the Forrest Gump movie you can browse movie-inspired merchandise and can expect to be tested on your knowledge of various aspects of the movie.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is impossible to miss with it being the first restaurant at these CityWalk entrance. This is one of the more expensive restaurants in the CityWalk. The calamari appetizer costs 1079 militia with entrees for between 20 and 30 dollars. Those that enjoy Bubba Gump raises the effort put into the thing which is a lot of fun and definitely helps if you’re a fan of the movie. Those that didn’t enjoy Bubba Gump’s often point to the long queues to get in at busy times, the occasionally rush to service, and the above-average prices for this kind of food. Also, some saying the quality of the seafood should be better given how close you are to the ocean.
Bigfire Restaurant
Well next is one of the CityWalk’s newest restaurants that welcome you with modern rustic inspiration drawn from the nostalgia of cooking over open flames during memorable family vacations making you feel as though you’ve entered Lakeside summer house. Open fire cooking is the center stage. We’re elevated American fare like steaks and freshwater cuisine are given the fire kiss treatment with pairings of different woods flavoring your meal with smoky goodness.
Bigfire Restaurant is situated in the middle of the CityWalk oppositely hard rock on the other side of the lagoon and next to the Margaritaville treasure. In terms of cost, big fire sits in the upper-middle-range the shareable appetizer will cost between 8 and 15 dollars and an entrée will cost between 20 and 30 dollars but the burgers are a bit cheaper at 16 to 17 dollars. I can personally recommend the bison burger here. Those that enjoyed big-fight appreciated the laid-back atmosphere and the lakeside thing. With an open fire kitchen somebody in the minority that didn’t enjoy big fire felt that some of the food was high on smokiness in the absence of seasoning although that is intentional .also weirdly I know a couple of friends that said that their steaks weren’t cooked the way they’d asked but could just be a coincidence.
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen
This steampunk and chocolate-themed eatery allow you to indulge in classic dishes like steak and seafood as well as an all-day brunch menu featuring crepes and quiches each with their own modern twist. The story of Toothsome Chocolate Emporium is brought to you by Professor Dr. Penelope turbo tinker toothsome who traveled the globe in the early 19th century learning different ways to infuse chocolate into all sorts of dishes. As a result, Penelope toothsome highly encourages you to save room for her highly Instagram herbal desserts ranging from gourmet chocolates artisanal milkshakes to sumptuous sundaes.
It is hard to miss in CityWalk with its giant smokestacks and other steam-powered machinery located in between islands of adventure and at Universal Studios. This restaurant is one of the more expensive restaurants in our ranking. The appetizers range between eight and fourteen dollars and the entrees range from 18 to $30. Burgers will cost around $15 and the milkshakes and sundaes cost between 13 and 15 dollars. Those, who enjoy, too love the Disney Caliber thing, the fun atmosphere, the wide selection of aesthetically pleasing food and desserts. Those who didn’t felt them whilst the thing is a lot of fun you can get the same quality food elsewhere.
For a little less we would say if you’re a fan of the Cheesecake Factory then we think you’ll get a lot out of this, which has a similar approach but of course much better thing a twosome.
Red Oven Pizza Bakery
Red Oven Pizza Bakery is a mix between table service and quick service restaurant. Two Neapolitan style pizzas which are ordered by the pie instead of the slice are cooked out in front of you. It’s 900 degrees stone-lined oven, which takes approximately 90 seconds to do the job and you can join one of these on the go if preferred with its takeout window. A fairly sizable wine menu helps add a touch of the old world to the proceedings. The red oven is located close to the entrance with your back to the parking garages on the left-hand side.
After Bubba comes in terms of pricing all the pizzas come in at around $15, which makes it a solid choice if you want to budget on a universal quality. Those that enjoyed red oven pizza bakery appreciated the decent value without cutting corners with quality. Those that didn’t often have a different idea of how a pizza should be made and someone described the service as having declined a tiny bit over the years.
Hot Dog Hall of Fame
An ammonite is the quick service Hot Dog Hall of Fame restaurant which aims to cover all bases with America’s most iconic hotdogs. Everything from a sauerkraut New York dog and poppy-seed buns from Chicago to authentic Milwaukee bratwurst and a relish covered Boston dollar. You can sit in the stadium-style seating walk on artificial turf and kick back in the bleachers, which contain some seats from former baseball stadiums .keep in mind that whilst the seating has shade and shelter in its outdoor only.
Hotdogs Hall of Fame is located on the south end of the city to walk on the left when facing taquitos. Most of the hotdogs come in around $10 and a side of fries will cost you $3. We would personally recommend the beach Chicago dog. Those who enjoyed it appreciated the authentic selection of different hot dogs and the variety of toppings the outdoor stadium feel. However, there were some who had different expectations for a hotdog and the price doesn’t help with these expectations.
Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food
Number 10 in our ranking is vibrantly colored with authentic Mexican food. Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food festive exterior and an equally colorful interior filled with birdcage booths and neon have drawn Lucha Libre caricatures which when combined with live mariachi music setting the tone provides a compelling Mexican theme. Hits translate as the Mexican equivalent of Spanish tapas, so the appetizers play a big part here. This restaurant is located on the south end of CityWalk next to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.
The toast is on the cheaper end of the restaurants in our ranking. An appetizer cost between eight and fifteen dollars but averaging around twelve dollars .the entrees range between $13 and $25. We’d personally recommend the Mary Tier, a house special. Those that enjoy and hits appreciate its energetic atmosphere, the extensive selection of custom cocktails, the creative interpretations of Mexican classics. Those that didn’t often refer to the occasionally sketchy service and some feel they’d been to better value Mexican restaurants elsewhere.
Conclusion
So this was out list for the best restaurants at CityWalk Orlando. We always try our best to provide you with the best information so you can take the best decision and make the most out of your vacation at Orlando. If there is any restaurant that you feel should be in the list but we missed it, do comment to let us know. We will be happy to add it in the list.
