Last weekend, I attended Taste of Universal with my family. It had been over a year since we were inside of Universal Studios and when we heard about this foodie event, we immediately bought tickets!
Prices for the tickets vary, depending on what day of the week you attend. Your ticket includes 5 food or beverage items (3 for kids). Not a bad deal considering most of the food items cost between $7-10.
Although all rides, shows, and attractions are currently closed, they do have some fun (socially distanced) photo opps!
All of the outdoor dining takes place on the Upper Lot of the theme park, inside of Springfield, U.S.A. (home of the Krusty Burger & Lard Lad Donuts), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (aka Three Broomsticks), the all-new Minion Café and Hollywood and Dine.
We made our way over to the Minion Café and picked out our items to try. I opted for the Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Mac ‘N Cheese. It was a little on the small size but the flavor really packed a punch!
My hubby ordered the Loaded Chicken Nachos. They were flavorful and a decent size. My kiddo got the Chicken Tenders and that seemed like a normal size entree (4 regular sized pieces).
From there, we headed on over to the Three Broomsticks inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It had been so long since we’d seen Hogwarts Castle…hello, old friend!
My favorite food of the event came from the Three Broomsticks. The Shepherd’s Pie may look small but the mashed potatoes, ground beef & vegetables were very filling. The Fish & Chips were good and the Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding (topped with a scoop of ice cream and toffee chips) was delicious!
Now it’s worth mentioning that you might want to pay for certain items instead of using your punch card because of the price point. For instance, my brother-in-law paid for his Butterbeer because it cost less than the personal pizza from Hollywood and Dine, which he got with his punch card.
Also, make sure you read the menus carefully. I was excited to try the BBQ Brisket Slider and then I saw the size. Waah, waah… In my mind, I thought they’d serve two sliders for the price point but alas, it was just one. It was very tasty though!
After several hours of eating, walking around, shopping inside the gift shops and taking photos, it was time to go home. We were so full that we used our last tickets at Hollywood and Dine to buy dinner to take home. My husband and daughter bought personal pizzas and I got the Hot Chicken Sandwich. It was a full-sized sammie with just the right amount of “heat” from the spicy hot sauce.
Overall we really enjoyed our time at Taste of Universal! It was nice to get out of the house and soak up the sun for a couple of hours. We felt safe and I was comforted by the fact that it wasn’t crowded inside the park since they only sell a limited amount of tickets. There was plenty of outdoor seating and touch-free hand sanitizing stations spread throughout the Upper Lot. Also, before you can enter the theme park, you have to go through a temperature check station that is located in the parking garage area.
I highly recommend this event, especially if you’re a foodie and/or Universal Studios theme park fan!
Things to know before you go:
- Taste of Universal runs through mid-April (Thursday-Sunday).
- Tickets are available to purchase online only.
- Adults: Range from $44-54 + tax
- Kids (3-9 years old): $25 + tax
- Universal/CityWalk recently changed their parking fees from FREE to $10.
Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. We purchased tickets to an event that was open to the public. Though a post was not required, I wanted to share my experience. All images & opinions are 100% my own.
All of these food looks so delicious.