REVIEW: Lotus Lagoon at Universal Helios Grand Hotel at Epic Universe

There’s nothing we love more than a relaxing meal by the pool, and Universal Orlando just opened another poolside restaurant, Lotus Lagoon.

The Universal Helios Grand Hotel opened EARLY on April 16th, and Epic Universe officially opens on May 22nd. While we’re ready to run to the new theme park, we’re ALSO ready to try out all of the new food and drink options available, so come with us to check out this new poolside restaurant!

The Helios Grand Hotel is one of the three new hotels that opened at Universal Orlando. Stella Nova and Terra Luna are both space-themed, and Helios Grand has some elegant space patterns and constellations, but has a more Mediterranean feel. The hotel is attached to Celestial Park at Epic Universe, where hotel guests have their own entrance to Epic Universe.

If you’re staying at Helios Grand, Lotus Lagoon might be a great place to take a mid-day break, refuel, and then head back into the parks.

Come on, and let’s try Lotus Lagoon!

Background

Lotus Lagoon is one of the new restaurants part of Universal Orlando’s expansion and is right by the pool at Helios Grand. They serve frozen cocktails, beer, and fountain drinks.

Snacks and appetizers can be ordered at the bar or right at your pool chair!

Atmosphere

We loved that this area is shaded and overlooks the pool, but isn’t right next to it, as it’s up a little level. There are multiple tables and chairs to sit at, as well as a round bar in the center of the structure, all of which are under a roof, which we appreciated.

Lotus Lagoon

We were also very impressed that this bar has its own cocktail menu — it’s not a repeat menu from Flora Taverna or Bar Helios. There are tons of options here, and we can’t get enough of the variety.

Food & Drinks

There are around 10 handcrafted cocktails here, including frozen options, and there are also 10 taps for beer. Our server gave fantastic recommendations for both the food and drink menus, and it’s clear the staff is very knowledgeable.

To drink, we grabbed the Wild Berry Sour Cocktail for $19, which is made with Grey Goose Vodka, Lemon Sour, Passion Fruit, Blackberries, and Club Soda. This was recommended to us by our server, and we see why! Our bartender first muddled some blackberries, which really added a great flavor throughout the drink.

The lemon sour adds a great acidic flavor to combat the sweetness of the berries, and then the club soda gives it just a hint of fizz that makes it a great drink for sitting outside. The pricing is a little steep for a cocktail, but we think it was worth it! We could see it being a refreshing drink to sip on during a hot day by the pool, so it gets two thumbs up from us!

We also tried the Prosecco Popsicle for $19, and this is made with Lunetta Prosecco and La Palette Gourmet Popsicle with your choice of flavors including mango, strawberry, pineapple, raspberry basil, wild berry and more — we got raspberry basil! This was a fun idea that we’ve seen before, mostly on some cruise lines — you essentially let the popsicle melt so the flavoring seeps into the prosecco, giving the drink more of a mimosa vibe.

These popsicles were DELICIOUS and we were told they’re made locally by a small business. They’re also on the dessert menu, so you can come by the restaurant and just grab a popsicle for a sweet treat if you don’t drink, or you’re just looking for something sweet. Creamy flavors like cookies and cream and nutella were also available, but we personally couldn’t see those mixing well with the prosecco. The raspberry basil was delicious — the herby nature of it made it a great mix of sweet and savory. There are 11 flavors in total of popsicle, and we totally recommend either grabbing one on its own, or trying it in this drink!

To start, we ordered the Chips and Dip for $19. This is Smashed avocado, Aleppo, Sunflower Seeds, EVOO, and Pita Chips, and this was also recommended by our server! This is a vegan dish, and while it’s essentially guacamole and chips, it was fantastic. This is a great light dish as an appetizer or a fun option if you’re looking for a lighter meal.

The pita was flavored beautifully, and it added so much to the dish. The Aleppo was a little hot on the spice side, but the avocado cools it down very well. However, the smashed avocado is not smooth, so if you’ve got texture sensitivities, it’s something to be aware of. We highly recommend this dish, especially because it’s easily shareable between 2–3 people!

Finally, it was time for the main lunch event, which was the The Goddess Burger for $25. This is made with a Double Black Angus Beef Patty, Herb Mayo, Cheddar Cheese, Caramelized Onion, Tomato, Bibb Lettuce, Bacon. This was ALSO recommended by our server as one of their favorite items on the menu, but you will also find it on the menu at Flora Taverna.

The herb mayo and caramelized onion add SO much flavor to this burger, and the mayo is pretty garlic heavy, so we recommend following the advice our server gave and order that on the side so you can control how much you have on your burger. Our only complaint is we would have liked a little bit of a sharper cheese, but otherwise, we were very impressed! It does come with your choice of sweet potato fries or regular fries, and we thought our sweet potato fries were good, but pretty standard. We think the price is worth it for this portion size and the quality, especially if you’re sharing between two people for an overall lighter lunch option.

Magic or Tragic?

We think this spot will totally be a Magic if:

You’re spending a day by the pool and need something delicious, fresh, and hearty to keep you fueled for your day
You’re not wanting a sit-down meal at Flora Taverna, as some of the items you can find on the menu are also located here
You enjoy trying different cocktails and specialty drinks

However, it may be a Tragic if:

You’re not staying at Helios Grand Hotel
You’re wanting a true sit-down meal that’s indoors and totally away from the elements
You’re looking for a menu with multiple food options to appease many different palettes

Make sure you keep following AllEars to stay up to date on everything new coming to Epic Universe at Universal Orlando.