10 Best Places to Eat at CityWalk, Universal Orlando
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CityWalk is the dining and entertainment district between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. You do not need a park ticket to eat here, and most restaurants stay open until midnight.
1. Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savoury Feast Kitchen
🍴 Cuisine: American with global twists
💷 Price: $$$
👶 Kid factor: Build-your-own milkshakes & kids’ chocolate menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: Date nights and milkshake hunters
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium is the best all-round restaurant in CityWalk. This steampunk-themed restaurant is built around a fictional chocolate factory run by Penelope Toothsome. The cuisine is classic American which includes a range of steaks, burgers and seafood dishes.
However, the best thing about this restaurant is the milkshakes. These extravagant constructions are topped with cheesecake slices, doughnuts, or whole slices of cake. My personal favourite is the Confetti shake.
If you’re visiting during peak season then reserve a table as far in advance as you can, especially Friday and Saturday nights. If you just want to come for a milkshake then you may be able to get a walk-in seat at the bar instead.
Annual passholders get an automatic AP discount when booking through the Universal Orlando app. OpenTable does not show it on the bill.
2. Bigfire
🍴 Cuisine: American (wood-fired steaks, seafood, pizza)
💷 Price: $$
👶 Kid factor: Open wood-fire kitchen viewing, kids’ menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: Premium themed dining and date nights
Bigfire is a fantastic steak and seafood restaurant at CityWalk where everything is cooked over an open wood fire. The premium Angus 12oz New York strip ($58, or $88 Wagyu) is the most popular choice, with seafood platters at $50-$65 and a campfire S’mores plate that earns its place.
If you are visiting on a Friday or Saturday night, book ahead. Bigfire only opens for dinner from 4pm so it is a destination meal, not a lunch stop, and the wait without a reservation can easily be over an hour.
Sit at the chef’s counter facing the open kitchen for the dinner-as-theatre angle. Wait times for those seats are usually shorter than for a regular table.
3. Red Oven Pizza Bakery
🍴 Cuisine: Italian American (Neapolitan-style pizza)
💷 Price: $
👶 Kid factor: Kids’ pizza menu, lagoon-view seating
📅 Reservations: Walk-in only
🎯 Best for: Budget meals and a quick lunch
Red Oven is a great budget-friendly pizza spot at CityWalk where wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas land on the table in under 15 minutes. The outdoor terrace overlooks the CityWalk fountains and feels more like a holiday than a theme park lunch break.
Red Oven opens at 11am, earlier than most CityWalk sit-down options so if you’re only having half a day at the parks then this is a great choice.
4. Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar
🍴 Cuisine: Sushi and burgers (Burgushi)
💷 Price: $$
👶 Kid factor: Animation across the walls, kids’ menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: Adventurous eaters and groups
Cowfish is my favourite place to eat at CityWalk having eaten here more than 5 times in the past couple of years. However, the reason this restaurant isn’t number one on this list is due to the limited food offering of Burgushi, fusion plates that mix burger ingredients with sushi presentation.
The kitchen here is fantastic with allergens, with one of the best gluten-free menus in all of CityWalk. There’s only a limited number of seats here so if you’re arriving without a reservation, join the waitlist on the Universal Orlando app before you reach the property and wait at Toothsome’s bar with a milkshake.
The Burgushi rolls are best shared. One roll between two people with a burger or sushi side is ideal.
5. Voodoo Doughnut
🍴 Cuisine: Doughnuts and counter-service treats
💷 Price: $
👶 Kid factor: Quirky doughnut shapes, neon pink souvenir box
📅 Reservations: Walk-in only
🎯 Best for: Late-night cravings and a sweet souvenir
If you want a casual sweet treat at CityWalk then Voodoo Doughnut is the best place to visit. The doughnuts here are over the top and very photogenic.
However, with no indoor seating you’ll need to eat your doughnut on the move or back at the hotel. The queues here can get very long so consider a mobile order for collection if you want to be time efficient.
6. Hard Rock Café
🍴 Cuisine: American (burgers, ribs, salads)
💷 Price: $$
👶 Kid factor: Rock memorabilia photo ops, kids’ menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: First-time visitors and music fans
The Hard Rock Café is the largest in the world with 600 seats and one of the largest memorabilia collections in the chain which includes outfits worn by Elvis Presley and Prince.
Next door to the Hard Rock Café you’ll find Hard Rock Live, an on-site concert venue. If a concert is on the night you’re visiting expect the wait time at the Hard Rock Café to be longer and queues for the music venue to span the outside of the restaurant.
Ask about the dinner-plus-show package if you are catching a concert at Hard Rock Live next door. The combo is cheaper than buying the meal and ticket separately.
7. Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food
🍴 Cuisine: Mexican
💷 Price: $
👶 Kid factor: Hand-painted murals, evening mariachi, build-your-own quesadillas
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: Group dinners and tequila lovers
I’ve only eaten at Antojitos once on my trips to Universal Orlando. This visit was with the Universal PR team during my visit for Halloween Horror Nights in 2024 and as someone who loves Mexican food I was so excited.
Hand-painted murals cover every wall here and live mariachi plays most evenings. The food here is good, but the drinks are even better with more than 200 varieties of tequila including blanco, reposado, añejo, and extra añejo, plus a small mezcal selection.
8. Hot Dog Hall of Fame
🍴 Cuisine: American hot dogs
💷 Price: $
👶 Kid factor: Regional hot dog tour, kids’ menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in only
🎯 Best for: Quick budget meals (until July 2026)
Hot Dog Hall of Fame is a budget-friendly quick service restaurant where the menu tours ballpark-style hot dogs from across the United States. The Chicago dog is the standout for first-timers. It includes mustard, relish, onions, tomato, pickle spear, sport peppers, celery salt, and zero ketchup. Seating here is limited so order, take a buzzer, and grab a stool if you can.
9. Vivo Italian Kitchen
🍴 Cuisine: Italian
💷 Price: $$
👶 Kid factor: In-house pasta-making counter visible from dining room, kids’ menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: Sit-down pasta and casual Italian
I’ve eaten at Vivo Italian Kitchen twice now and both times been underwhelmed by the portion sizes (and that’s coming from someone from the UK who is used to smaller portions).
This is the most sophisticated and high-end restaurant at CityWalk where the pasta is made to order from an in-house pasta maker visible from the dining room.
However, the wood-fired pizzas offer the best value. They are more elaborate than Red Oven’s and bigger than the pasta portions, with toppings ranging from classic margherita to Italian sausage and broccoli rabe.
10. NBC Sports Grill & Brew
🍴 Cuisine: American sports bar (burgers, wings, nachos)
💷 Price: $$
👶 Kid factor: Nearly 100 HD screens, kids’ menu
📅 Reservations: Walk-in or OpenTable
🎯 Best for: Sports fans and large groups
NBC Sports Grill & Brew is a fantastic sports bar at CityWalk with nearly 100 HD screens showing live games across most US sports. It’s the incredible beer selection that sets NBC Sports apart. Around 100 beers on tap and in bottle, including local Florida craft options and rotating seasonal pours.
I ate here on my most recent visit to Universal Orlando (May 2026). We got the Crunch Time Nachos to share as a starter which worked well as a group of six. I then went with one of the burgers as a main which are all served with either french fries or tater tots.
We visited on a Sunday afternoon (around 1:30pm) but still needed to book a table and would have had to wait around 30 minutes otherwise. While this wasn’t during the NFL season it was the final day of the Premier League with some important matches that drew a large crowd and the F1 in Miami was due to follow a couple of hours later.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions readers ask me most often about dining at Universal CityWalk.
Do you need a park ticket to eat at CityWalk?
No, CityWalk is free to enter and you don’t need a Universal park ticket to dine at any of its restaurants. The district sits between the parking structure and the park entrances, so anyone can walk in for a meal. Parking at the main complex is $30 per day in 2026 and free for non-event guests after 6 PM.
What is the most popular restaurant at CityWalk Orlando?
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium is the most-talked-about CityWalk venue, known for its steampunk interior with 97-foot smokestacks and its signature milkshakes like Confetti, Red Velvet, and Cookie Jar. Mains run roughly $20 to $40 and milkshakes start around $17. We always book in advance, since walk-ins regularly wait 45 to 60 minutes on weekend evenings.
Can you get Butterbeer at CityWalk?
Yes, the expanded Universal Studios Store at CityWalk added a dedicated Butterbeer counter in May 2025, the first place to buy Butterbeer outside a theme park. Cold and frozen versions are around $8.99, with hot Butterbeer also available. No park ticket is needed, which makes it a fun stop before or after a meal.
Are there budget-friendly restaurants at CityWalk?
Yes, Red Oven Pizza Bakery is the most affordable sit-down option, with whole wood-fired pies starting around $16 in 2026 (note that prices rose after the March 2025 hike). Voodoo Doughnut has nearly all doughnuts at $4.75 or under, and the CityWalk food court area covers Moe’s Southwest Grill, Burger King, and Panda Express. Mobile ordering is supported at several of these venues through the Universal Orlando app.
What is replacing Hot Dog Hall of Fame at CityWalk?
Hot Dog Hall of Fame closes in July 2026 and will be rebranded as Joey Fatone’s Fat One’s Hot Dogs and Italian Ice, announced in May 2026. The new concept will continue serving regional hot dogs along with Italian ice. If you’re hoping to try the stadium-bleacher seating in its original form, plan a visit before July.
Does CityWalk Orlando take dining reservations?
Most table-service CityWalk restaurants accept reservations, including Toothsome, NBC Sports Grill and Brew, Hard Rock Cafe, and Bigfire. You can book through OpenTable or call Universal Dining on 407-224-FOOD. Quick-service spots like Red Oven, Voodoo, and the food court are walk-up only.
