We get asked all the time about the best food at Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s always fun to try "theme-tastic" foods when visiting theme parks. Universal Studios serves up a few unique dishes and dining locations inspired by favorite movies, television shows and local flavors. And now there's a toadally fun new restaurant in Super Nintendo World that you simply must visit. Hop along as we explore the tastiest meals (and a few snacks) to be found at the best Universal Studios Hollywood restaurants.
You can find full menus and prices in the Universal Studios Hollywood app. The app also marks vegan and vegetarian dishes. These changes are nice for people looking for choices that meet their dietary needs and budget.
Our Frog Family Favorite Universal Studios Hollywood Restaurants
All of the Universal Studios Hollywood restaurants are quick-service locations. (If you are looking for a table-service restaurant, there are many restaurants outside of the park at Universal CityWalk.) Each member of our frog squad has their own favorite places to eat in the park, so we tend to hop around to satisfy every frog’s taste buds. We’ll give you the scoop so you can dig in and make a dining plan that works for you!
Enjoy Food from Springfield U.S.A.
Our tween, Tad, enjoys the standard American food (with a "Simpsons" flair) in Springfield U.S.A. You can get your pizza, pasta or Caesar salad fix at Luigi’s. Eat your way through a giant doughnut at Lard Lad Doughnuts after enjoying a Krusty Burger and a mammal milkshake at Krusty Burger. Hop on down to Cletus’ Chicken Shack for some fried chicken, chicken and waffle sandwiches or chicken “thumbs.” (You know, chickens don’t have fingers either.) At Suds McDuff’s Hot Dog House, you can not only find hot dogs but tasty pretzels as well!
We all enjoy hopping by the Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck for the Mucho Macho Nachos with carnitas as well as its three kinds of tacos. I am not a beer drinker, but other guests and "The Simpsons" fans seem to love tossing back a cold glass of draft Duff beer in the beer garden. Another thrill for "Simpsons" fans is being able to drink Buzz soda in Springfield U.S.A.
At Moe’s Tavern, the whole family can enjoy the Flaming Moe, a nonalcoholic, fizzing orange drink that comes in a souvenir cup. It’s fun and will cause other park guests to stop you and ask you what it is! You can also find frozen Kwik-E-Mart Squishees throughout the land.
Need to cool down? Grab a cold sweet treat at Phineas Q. Butterfat’s Ice Cream Parlor! Tad’s favorite was the Ice Cream Conan with watermelon swirl!
Get a Taste of Nostalgia at Mel’s Diner in the Upper Lot
Tad also likes the kid-friendly American food at Mel’s Diner, a 1950s-themed quick-service “drive-in” diner with booths inside and vintage cars out front. He often gets a burger, fries and a shake or root beer float. The diner food never goes out of style. You can get a tuna melt, chili cheese dog, hot chicken sandwich, BBQ brisket sandwich and chicken tenders.
Feel Fine at Hollywood & Dine
This Upper Lot eatery with a punny LA name is full of flavor! Quench your thirst with a Coca-Cola Freestyle drink or Mango Blue Tea Boba while you snack on some pork ramen and tuna poke. Indulge your taste buds with chicken teriyaki or an Asian chicken salad! But it's the funnel cake dessert that tops our list of items to satisfy a sweet tooth. During select days in January and February, hop by for limited-time Asian dishes and drinks for Lunar New Year.
Dine on Costa Rican-Inspired Food at Jurassic Café in the Lower Lot
This location now serves breakfast until 11 a.m. on select days! You can get breakfast platters, a berries and cream waffle or breakfast burritos.
If you find yourself working up an appetite while riding the thrill rides in the Lower Lot, be sure to hop by the Jurassic Café. The food is creative and tasty. Leap and I like to indulge in these meals. With mouth-watering dishes such as the slow-roasted mojo pork (our favorite), citrus glazed chicken, tropical roasted chicken salad, burgers, BBQ brisket and more, you’ll find plenty to feed your crew. It doesn’t feel like typical theme park food, and the portion sizes are generous. Tadpoles can enjoy sliders or pulled pork with fruit and french fries.
For beverages, this location has a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine as well as a signature drink — the Pryoraptor Refresher. It is passionfruit and dragon fruit lemonade with mango popping boba.
You can hop upstairs for more tables — some have a view of the boats from Jurassic World – The Ride making a splash. It’s also fun to watch guests meet dinosaurs from up there.
Parents may want to enjoy tropical adult drinks from the Jurassic Cafe or Isla Nu-Bar just in front of Jurassic Café. Drinks are served in a souvenir tiki cup (one of three choices can be seen above with Jurassic Cafe food).
Also in the Lower Lot, you can get quick Chinese food at Panda Express or a corn dog at Mummy Eats. You’ll find a Starbucks and a Studio Scoop ice cream shop nearby if you want to partake.
Try Mexican Food at Cocina Mexicana in the Upper Lot
Craving some good Mexican food? You are in Southern California, so you should definitely enjoy some Mexican food while you are in town. We liked the tacos at Cocina Mexicana. You’ll find a taco salad, sopes, nachos, beef birria tacos and more. You can sip some frozen margaritas or indulge in desserts such as mini churro bites or chamoy pineapple spears as you watch guests meet their favorite characters in the area. This location has a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine.
Eat on the Go
Sometimes it doesn't feel like there's time to stop and sit down for a meal. If you want a quick bite that will sustain you and keep you hoppin', grab hot or cold items to go from the Studio Café in the Lower Lot and the Palace Deli & Market in the Upper Lot. You’ll find prepared salads, sandwiches, sushi and hot entrees (such as turkey legs), as well as fruit cups if you are just hopping through. Studio Café has breakfast burritos on select days. Grab cold salads, sandwiches, fruit and bakery items and yummy quiche from French Street Bistro in the Upper Lot.
The Universal Tower Snack Shop behind the box office has pretzels, turkey legs and hot dogs. There is a Nathan’s Hot Dog cart across the way in the New York scenery, of course. Down in the Lower Lot, you can grab that corn dog from Mummy Eats to nosh on while on your way to TRANSFORMERS: The Ride 3-D. Rather than skip meals when trying to maximize time at Universal Studios Hollywood, try eating at off-peak times when the lines are shorter.
Eat Like a Minion
What do Minions love? Bananas! The newest dining location is the re-themed Minion Cafe (from the former Gru’s Lab Café). Your little minions may find it to be the top banana at Super Silly Fun Land. Dig into loaded nachos, mac and cheese, rotisserie chicken, ramen and creative grilled cheese options, such as pulled pork grilled cheese with banana BBQ sauce, or classic grilled cheese with tomato soup. Yes, there are chicken tenders for less-adventurous eaters.
You'll want to save room for dessert. You'll find cupcakes, cookies, Nutella banana pudding and the Felonious Float. It is raspberry Icee, banana frozen yogurt, banana candy, whipped cream and a Minion swirly straw. Hop over to learn about other Minion and fun Universal treats.
Let’s move on to one of our family’s favorite Universal Studios Hollywood restaurants of all.
Enjoy an English Feast Like Harry Potter
One of the best of the Universal Studios Hollywood restaurants with the tastiest food is in the Wizarding World. Definitely hop into The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade for a meal. The menu includes the Great Feast (a feat made possible with the help of house elves, we presume) as well as other English favorites. You can find bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, ribs, fish and chips, herb-roasted chicken, salads Irish stew and more.
Our vegan and dairy-free friends are celebrating a new, vegan version of Butterbeer now available at the park! It's available in cold and frozen options with a vegan-friendly froth on top. You can also savor vegan Irish Stew and Shepherd's Pasty Pie in the Wizarding World.
The tadpoles can order chicken tenders or macaroni and cheese from the kids menu. The Great Feast feeds the entire family with chicken, ribs, corn, vegetables and potatoes. Have an even bigger crew? You can add additional servings per person to the feast or add a salad. We toadally love the desserts. The gooey Butterbeer Potted Crème and Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream are our top favorites.
You can get cozy in a booth or table that looks like it came out of an old English pub. The décor and music immerse you into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, while you enjoy the jolly good food. There are tasty seasonal offerings, including hot Butterbeer. Fishy Green Ale has recently made it to this location.
The Three Broomsticks is also a great spot to pick up breakfast in the park on select days. After riding Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey before the line gets long, you might realize your tummy is rumbling. Hop into the Three Broomsticks for an English breakfast!
At the other end of the restaurant is the Hog’s Head, which offers specialty beers such as Wizard’s Brew and Dragon Scale. Adults can also knock down some Fire Whiskey and other themed drinks. Both locations offer nonalcoholic Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice. You can now get Fishy Green Ale, which is not fishy at all and has blueberry popping pearls.
Power-Up with Themed Food and Sweets at Toadstool Café in Super Nintendo World
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and Three Broomsticks will always be my favorite, but the Toadstool Café is the most fun dining location of all! It's definitely a must-see and must-taste dining location at Universal Studios Hollywood, but it can be challenging to get in. You'll want to hop over to our post on how to access Super Nintendo World, so you can get in the land and access this dining location early in the day or get a reservation to come back.
You'll use your Power-Up Band to collect a present upon entering. Then Chef Toad greets you from screens. You'll order your food, and then a team member will seat you and bring your meal to you. While you dine, you can look out windows to see the Mushroom Kingdom or the mushroom chefs in the kitchen preparing your food. Watch out for Bowser's warship and Bullet Bills coming through to wreak havoc about every 15 minutes. Green warp pipes hang from the ceiling and the dining room is toadally cute. But enough about the location; let's talk food.
We have a whole post on Super Nintendo World food. It goes into detail on all the items available. The food served in this restaurant is themed according to the Super Mario video games and is almost too cute to eat, featuring printed designs or collectible props. You have starters such as soups (vegan Tomato Soup and vegetarian Super Mushroom Soup) that come in a mushroom bowl, salads and mushroom-shaped cheesy garlic knots with marinara dipping sauce.
Entrées include a braised short rib special, the Mario Burger (topped with bacon, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and cheese), the Luigi Pesto Burger (grilled chicken, bell pepper and basil pesto — Yum!) and Fire-Flower Spaghetti and Meatballs. Everything is really tasty and has personalized touches, many of which transition to free souvenirs for the tadpoles. The seasoned fries that come with the burgers are frogtastic! We loved dipping the fries in the basil-pesto sauce.
Kids meals are pretty generous. They each come with a coin cookie in a box. There is a cheeseburger with fries and veggies, or a vegetarian pasta with a Toadstool Garlic Knot.
To top off your meal, there are really cute desserts available. One offering is a Princess Peach Funfetti cupcake with a crown and a hidden raspberry filling. The Mt. Beanpole Cake is layered like Mt. Beanpole and has a Neapolitan mix of flavors with a green matcha frosting. My personal favorite is the "?" Block Tiramisu. For this dessert, printed cookies with question marks on them form a cube filled with tiramisu in the middle. It's a subtly sweet experience, but oh-so-tasty.
As for beverages, the Super Star Lemon Squash is the eatery's signature drink. It consists of honey lemon soda with mango stars and assorted tropical popping boba.
When the restaurant reaches capacity, you can get a reservation to come back to get in line and order. You'll definitely want to hit this spot early or get that reservation so you do not miss out.
Quench Your Thirst with Coca-Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cups
If you enjoy fountain drinks, here's a way to save money. You can purchase a souvenir cup for $17 (or two for $16 each) at participating locations. You'll get 100 drink choices and unlimited refills (one pour every 10 minutes) the day you purchase it. Making a repeat visit? You can purchase an extra day of refills for $11.
We hope you’ve found our guide to the best Universal Studios Hollywood restaurants hopful in planning your trip. Want to increase your food budget? If you are planning a trip to Universal Studios, be sure to get a jump on saving by purchasing discount Universal Studios tickets through Undercover Tourist!
Related: 10 Not-to-Miss Universal Studios Hollywood Attractions and Shows
Hoppy planning!
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