FULL REVIEW: Bar Helios at Universal’s Helios Grand Hotel at Epic Universe

We are so excited about Universal Orlando’s new theme park, Epic Universe. We’ve already had a bit of a sneak peek at all five lands the new park will bring to Universal.

We’ve even had a sneak peek at two of the new hotels you’ll find near Epic Universe. However, we’re now going inside the hotel that’s actually INSIDE Epic Universe, Universal Helios Grand Hotel. We’re checking out Bar Helios while we’re there to get you a review.

Background

Bar Helios is MORE than just a bar, although you will find a circle bar with 360-degree views. There’s also a dining area and an al fresco area with views of Epic Universe. The bar area is gorgeous with a constellation map on the ceiling. We could probably stare at this ceiling for hours.

The bar is comfortable and stylish, with a variety of seating options. You can come from just a drink, or you can also enjoy some appetizers or desserts. There is something special about sipping a cocktail while enjoying a fantastic view of Epic Universe.

Atmosphere

We were seated outside on the terrace, and while the views of Epic Universe were gorgeous, we were eaten up by no-see-ums. While the bugs were a bit brutal, it was hard to beat the view. Most of the terrace is not covered, so definitely consider the weather before you sit outside. And if you are a bug magnet, inside might be your best bet.

There are windows up around the perimeter of the terrace so you can get a stunning view while enjoying Bar Helios.

Great views aren’t limited to just the outside seating though. You can get wonderful views of the park throughout Bar Helios.

Now that we have explored the restaurant a bit, we can’t wait to dive into the food and drinks!

Food and Drinks

We started off our dining experience with some cocktails. Beginning with the Athenian Milk Punch for $26. This drink features Angel’s Envy Helios Barrel Selection, Metaxa Ouzo, mint tea, lemon juice, cane syrup, and Greek yogurt syrup. This is the most expensive cocktail on the menu since it is a clarified cocktail, which is a time and labor-intensive process.

This cocktail includes a bourbon that was specifically bottled for the resort called Angel’s Envy Helios Barrel Selection. This bourbon was specifically selected from a distillery in Louisville.

Even though it is called a milk punch, this cocktail is completely clear due to the clarification. The drink was well balanced and tasted similar to mint ice cream. Not quite as sweet as mint ice cream, but it had the mint flavor with a creaminess to it. The prominent flavor was mint, with a hint of lemon juice. We did not pick up a lot of the Ouzo flavor.

Next, we tried the Greek God for $22. It is made with dill and olive oil infused Grey Goose, and Caper Infused Dry Vermouth. This drink is essentially a vodka martini with the flavors infused.

The drink was very caper forward, and you also tasted a lot of the vermouth. As we continued drinking, we were able to pick up the olive oil flavor, but it is definitely secondary to the caper and vermouth. You mostly smell the dill as you are drinking, so you do get a hint of that flavor as well. The drink tasted dry and was heavy on the vermouth, so if you prefer more vermouth in your vodka martini, you will likely love this drink.

Finally, we also got the Mount Olympus for $19. It is made with Hendrick’s Gin, St-German, lemon & lavender cordial, lime juice, mint, and Ferrari Brut. This one was highly recommended by our server, so we knew we had to give it a try. The lemon and lavender cordial is made in-house.

This was the sweetest cocktail we tried, but it still wasn’t super sweet. The sweetness was balanced well with the acid. The prominent flavor in this drink was the lemon, and you get a light flavor of herbaceous lavender. The lime juice and mint were also lighter flavors, but they really helped balance out the drink. So far, we are really enjoying the cocktails, and we would re-order all of the cocktails we tried.

Overall, the cocktails were very impressive here. You can tell a lot of work went into the menu creation and we loved that they are making a lot of their syrups in house, including cinnamon, cherry, honey, and fig syrup. As well as the lemon and lavender cordial. There is a lot of variety on the menu, and we think pretty much anyone would be able to find a drink that they loved.

Of course, we had to try some of the food with our cocktails! We grabbed the Spreads & Mezze for $23. This dish is marinated Mediterranean olives, taramosalata, za’atar, labneh, hummus, and grilled pita. We loved how shareable this was, and we also loved all the flavors.

You get a variety of toppings and dip for the grilled pita. The marinated olives were flavorful, and olive lovers will enjoy eating them. The taramosalata dip had fish roe on top and a seafood base. It had a fish taste to it, but not in a negative sense. It was a seafood forward taste, and we all agreed it was a unique flavor and very tasty.

The labneh was a yogurt dip that was dressed with olive oil. It was very tart with a creamy bite to it. It was also delicious, and we kept going back for more.

We also really enjoyed the hummus, it was a bit thinner than the hummus we got at Flora Taverna, but they were both tasty. Some of us preferred the one at Bar Helios while others preferred the one at Flora Taverna. Suffice to say, they were both tasty. Overall, everything on the plate was delicious and it was very shareable for the table.

We also tried the Farmer’s Cheese, which costs $25. It is whipped farmer’s cheese, honeycomb, citrus, local seasonal fruit, pistachio, and grilled focaccia. This dish was gorgeous.

There was a hefty serving of white farmer’s cheese that was drizzled with honey, and had chunks of honeycomb, blood orange, and fig. Everything was cut up into good sizes, so it was easy to get a good bite of flavor.

It was served with grilled bread that made it easy to scoop or pule on the cheese. It was rich and creamy, with a great balance of acid from the citrus and sweetness of the fig and honeycomb. We were impressed with the flavor and really enjoyed this dish.

We also got the Confit Pork Belly for $22. It comes with corn puree, finger lime, and chili. This dish comes with 3 pieces of pork belly, and each had a good 3-4 bites per piece.

The pork belly was served on top of a corn puree, with finger lime and chili. We definitely tasted the lime in the corn puree, but didn’t get much spice from the chili. The corn puree was sweet and balanced well with the acidity from the lime.

The pork belly were nice cuts, but we agreed that the meat was missing seasoning. There were some big pieces of seasoning on top, but it was hard to eat all as one bite and enjoy. However, we still ate it all and enjoyed it, but that would be our biggest complaint on this dish.

Finally, we also grabbed the Ora King Salmon for $27. It features serrano citrus sauce, and crispy leek. It is also gluten free. This was another standout dish for us, and it also looked beautiful on the plate.

The sauce was heavy on the basil, and with the serrano and citrus flavors, the sauce really packed a punch of flavor. There was serrano chili oil on top that gave you just a bit of heat. We couldn’t get enough of the sauce, and with the salmon dipped in it, we couldn’t stop eating it. This is definitely a dish we would order again and again.

We couldn’t leave without trying some of the desserts, though. We started with The Shattered Rose, which is an interactive dessert experience. It costs $32 and it is a babka bread pudding with cardamom gelato. This dessert is really about the show, and when your server brings it out on a cart with a red rose and liquid nitrogen.

Your server freezes the red rose with liquid nitrogen and then invites you to crumble the rose over the dessert. We described it as a sensual and sultry experience. We have to say, we have never crumbled a rose on our dessert before this, but we didn’t hate it. The dessert itself is rich, and you get a lot of the cardamom spice. The ice cream has a very strong cardamom flavor, and we found it was best to drag a bite of the bread pudding through the melted ice cream rather than getting a big bite of ice cream.

The babka bread pudding had a white sauce on the bottom. The dessert also had some chocolate cookie crumbles on it and some chocolate curls on top. It was a yummy experience, and the dessert wasn’t overly sweet. It felt sophisticated and well executed. It might be more of a one and done kind of dessert, but it was definitely tasty and a fun experience.

We also grabbed the Under Smoke for $17. It features chocolate mousse, chocolate soil, and caramel. This dessert also comes with a neat presentation. It is on a board under a cloche with smoke in it. The server lifts the cloche, and all the smoke comes out.

It was a dome with a shortbread cookie, chocolate mousse, and dark chocolate on top. There was a caramelized piece of candy with spun sugar on top. It also had more of the chocolate cookie crumbles on the side. This dessert was divisive for us. This dessert had a lot of smoke flavor in it, and we didn’t enjoy the amount of smoke. However, if you really enjoy smoke, this could be a great dessert for you.

That wraps up all our drinks and eats at Bar Helios!

Magic or Tragic?

Overall, this new bar was definitely magic. From the stunning views to the delicious cocktails and food, there isn’t much not to love. While some dishes weren’t as impressive as others, we thought almost everything was very tasty. Expect for the Under Smoke dessert, but it was just too much smoke for us — others may really enjoy that dessert. We could tell a lot of thought went into the menu creation and our service was fantastic. We are already planning when we will be able to make it back!

Check back with AllEars again soon for more!

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Are you heading to Epic Universe this year? Let us know in the comments!

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