REVIEW: If You’re Looking for REAL Italian Eats at Epic Universe, You Won’t Find Them Here

No matter how hard we try to stay away (which, admittedly, is not very hard), Epic Universe keeps pulling us back in!

The newest theme park at Universal Orlando Resort is home to FIVE different themed lands, and right now we’re headed to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD to see what they’re serving up at Toadstool Cafe!

Background

We’re at Toadstool Cafe checking out some of the most iconic eats on the menu here! We’ve dined at the Hollywood version of this restaurant before, but it’s time for us to see how its Orlando counterpart is!

Here’s what you need to know about dining here.

Atmosphere

This restaurant serves lunch and dinner menu items in a quick service style. The menu here is very themed to Mario character inspirations with a — you guessed it — heavy Italian and mushroom influence.

Here, you’ll find a heavily themed array of menu items made by Toad and his companions to keep you strong and capable through the rest of your gameplay (day). You might even get a peek at the back side of the kitchen staff with the help of a few cleverly placed screens!

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

We picked up the Bowser’s Fireball Challenge for $24.99. The price sounds steep, but it’s a LOT of food. You’ll get a one-pound meatball topped with mozzarella cheese, served with mushroom marinara sauce, Bowser puff pastry, parsley, and hot sauce on the side.

Holy moly, they are not kidding about that spice! While one of our reporters who tried this is typically pretty spice-averse, another one who was there during the review said it had a good amount of heat to it — and they LOVE spicy food. It’s HOT — so don’t discount that.

Otherwise, though, it was really, really dense — which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a one-pound hunk of meat, so yeah, it’s gonna be dense and filling. Luckily, that makes the price tag not so terrible. The flavor was slightly herbaceous, like there was some oregano and basil in the meatball or sauce, and we really liked the flaky puff pastry.

The sauce was your basic marinara with mushrooms, and we loved the blanket of cheese on top of the meatball. All in all, we’d definitely order this again to split with friends or family.

For dessert, we ordered the ? Block Tiramisu for $8.99. This is a tiramisu layered with coffee-soaked lady fingers, topped with cocoa powder and a chocolate Power-Up.

As for the question mark block tiramisu, we enjoyed it more than we thought we would after seeing how it was presented — which was perfectly adorable, albeit precarious.

The coffee flavor was not strong here at all, which means that if you prefer tiramisu because of that coffee flavor, you’re not going to be a fan because you’re gonna want more of that, but for folks who like just a hint of coffee — this is the dessert for you.

We were hoping for a bit more crunch, but the ladyfingers had already been fully soaked with the coffee, which might be preferable for some. The cookies surrounding the tiramisu were crunchy, but the flavor wasn’t super outstanding. The cake was light and moist, and had a subtle nuttiness from the coffee that helped keep it from being too sweet.

Magic or Tragic?

This restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re a huge NINTENDO or Super Mario Bros. fan and are looking for something quick to eat while you’re in this land.
• You love Italian-inspired eats and mushrooms!

You should skip this spot if…

• You’re looking for a more formal, sit-down meal.
• You don’t like loud environments with lots going on.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Epic Universe and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Universal news and more!

Are you planning a trip to Epic Universe? Tell us in the comments.

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