Universal's Epic Universe Wish List & Speculation

[Alicia]

I dunno about steak, but there’ll be barrels of sharpened stakes all around the dining room. You can never be too safe.

 

[Nico]

So will Darkmoor Tattoo be a sub-shop type thing in Oddities and Monstrosities or will the land have more than the one shop after all?

This is a good question.

 

[quinnmac000]

But a proper full service steakhouse is going to be out of a lot of people's price range.

I think that's not a big problem as you may think it will be especially if food quality is good.

If Epcot can have multiple restaurants that are $$$$... Epic having one isn't going to be a deal breaker.

 

[Mad Dog]

idk about a steakhouse in a park. Unless they are going for lower quality, it needs to be full service. But a proper full service steakhouse is going to be out of a lot of people's price range. I think by calling it stakehouse, they can pull off your cheese steaks, medallions and similar steak based foods.

Or maybe they serve you shish-kabob on a stake. That would work for park food and fit the theme.

Steak on a Stake....Kabob...... ....Copyright

 

[Casper Gutman]

I sorta just took the name as a cute pun and not particularly indicative of the actual food available. Thematically, German fare makes much more sense then steak.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think that's not a big problem as you may think it will be especially if food quality is good.

If Epcot can have multiple restaurants that are $$$$... Epic having one isn't going to be a deal breaker.

Well... Epcot is having some problems staffing its restaurants. They are lucky they have the college & international programs to back them up, Universal doesn't have that luxury.

It's understandable why Universal cut a few of the dining locations at Epic... anyone who has been to Uni in the last 2 years has seen just how bad staffing is at their dining outlets.

 

[USO92]

I sorta just took the name as a cute pun and not particularly indicative of the actual food available. Thematically, German fare makes much more sense then steak.

This would be a welcome addition in my book. The more variety in theme park food, the better.

 

[Alicia]

I sorta just took the name as a cute pun and not particularly indicative of the actual food available. Thematically, German fare makes much more sense then steak.

This may be more right than you realize.

 

[Loki]

Mmmmm... beer, bratwurst, sauerkraut, beer, weirnersnitzel

Custom well made beer steins with the monsters on them in various settings (mountains, castle, forests, swamps)

 

[quinnmac000]

Well Universal never has been known to be a place for foodies so I'm not surprised but I will say the lack of Table Service in the parks and next level super high quality in Citywalk really make it hard. (the food in the citywalk and finnegans and mythos is decent but where is your Takemi Tei, Tiffins, Yak and Yeti level dining)

I was hoping EU would fix that but I guess not

 

[Casper Gutman]

Well Universal never has been known to be a place for foodies so I'm not surprised but I will say the lack of Table Service in the parks and next level super high quality in Citywalk really make it hard. (the food in the citywalk and finnegans and mythos is decent but where is your Takemi Tei, Tiffins, Yak and Yeti level dining)

I was hoping EU would fix that but I guess not

I haven't really found Yak and Yeti better then Mythos, but I'm no connoisseur. I will say I really wish at least a couple of the lands had table service restaurants.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Well Universal never has been known to be a place for foodies so I'm not surprised but I will say the lack of Table Service in the parks and next level super high quality in Citywalk really make it hard. (the food in the citywalk and finnegans and mythos is decent but where is your Takemi Tei, Tiffins, Yak and Yeti level dining)

I was hoping EU would fix that but I guess not

As someone who wrote thousands of words on WDW vs UOR dining (with data!) this spring for TP I have some interesting insights.

For guest ratings, UOR actually is very competitive with WDW. This is based on a thumbs up/down rating from Unofficial Guide and TP readers.

These are the star ratings for the restaurants by the professional Unofficial Guide critic. Now, you can see UOR does lack the big, high-end dining like V&A, Cali Grill, Jiko, etc., BUT they still hit the same middle percentile that WDW does. BUT, you also see UOR doesn't hit the same lows at Disney does with some of their dining locations (Rix, Tony's, Rainforest, etc).

There are two dining locations that hit the high end, thought:

• The Palm at Hard Rock
• Bice at Portofino Bay

I think there are two things holding back UOR's dining: the pricing and the clientele.

UOR aims for a lower price point than Disney, and it's not even close. The average full-service entre at WDW is $29.57, and $23.80 at UOR. I think UOR's keeping their dining prices lower as a competitive advantage which while is great for us, it doesn't allow for more creativity or the attention fine dining requires.

Second, WDW just has more people and more people who will spend more money. Simple as that, they have a clientele that will pay for it. Just as why when WDW has two parks they couldn't do the same things they can now they have four, UOR just can't pull that yet.

So that leaves us with likely three new full service restaurants coming to UOR in 2025:

• Grand Helios water show side dining
• BBQ place
• other dining in the hub (location/theme escapes me sorry)

BBQ ain't going to be high end, I think the best bet is Grand Helios pushing dining up the next level. Even at Disney most of the fanciest restaurants are at hotels!

 

[Nico]

Isn’t the restaurant by the in park hotel table service?

Edit: Also the octagonal restaurant and maybe now the one outside of Monsters (because of the change with Cassini).

 

[Casper Gutman]

Isn’t the restaurant by the in park hotel table service?

Edit: Also the octagonal restaurant and maybe now the one outside of Monsters (because of the change with Cassini).

Their are several table service restaurants in the central area but none, I believe, in the IP lands. I may be entirely wrong, but it feels like a vestige of the plan to have individual admission to each land while the hub was open to the public.

 

[Mad Dog]

I do more table service at Universal (primarily hotel resorts and CityWalk) than Disney, primarily because Universal's pricing is so much better, and the difference in food quality fairly minimal. Plus the reservation situation.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Mmmmm... beer, bratwurst, sauerkraut, beer, weirnersnitzel

Custom well made beer steins with the monsters on them in various settings (mountains, castle, forests, swamps)

The GP, unfortunately, does not like German food (so I've been told).

 

[Jake S]

The GP, unfortunately, does not like German food (so I've been told).

recognizing this is a different subset of GP, but it seems to do just fine in Epcot!

 

[GAcoaster]

It does OK in Epcot, but anecdotally it’s not that popular since CMs are offered a 40% discount to get people in the place.

I LOVE German food, but I think it will be simple stuff— pretzels, sausage, schnitzel- all stuff that’s familiar to most people.

 

[quinnmac000]

The GP, unfortunately, does not like German food (so I've been told).

Generally speaking you are correct,

however popularity is derived from quality and adapting food to fit certain cultures...some of the most popular American dishes (Hamburgers, Pot Roast, Brisket, hot dogs) are all based on german cuisine with a twist.

But then again if Universal went with the most popular...majority of the park food would be Asian based on the stats...

Most popular ethnic cuisines in the United States | Statista

Chinese food was the most popular type of food in the United States in 2019, with 64 out of 100 points in a popularity scale based on Google Trends.

www.statista.com

StackPath

and i don't think that necessary fits the theming.

As long as the park focuses on making food that is really really good and fitting the american palate, I think there will be no issues.

 

[Heisenberg]

I don’t expect much authentic German or any Scandinavian food. I’m guessing Stakehouse will be the park’s burger place and Great Hall is ribs and chicken.