2025 Awards: Best Restaurants & Hotels Of Universal Orlando

Pulled Pork Sandwich at Oak & Star Tavern in Epic Universe. (photo by Mike Sperduto)
If there’s one rule of thumb about Orlando theme park food, it’s that their Italian food is usually poor. Louie’s Italian Restaurant in Universal Studios Florida bucks this trend with a menu of fresh pastas and pizzas. We don’t know how Universal has done it, but they’ve managed to create a good slice of pizza for a theme park. Louie’s menu changes seasonally throughout the year, depending on seasonal events, like 2025’s Halloween Horror Nights menu had Five Nights at Freddy’s inspired items.
Islands of Adventure’s food has improved over the years with upgrades at Thunder Falls Terrace, Circus McGurkis, and Green Eggs & Ham raising their ratings. This year “Doc” Sugrue’s Desert Kebab House stood out at the park with its fresh Greek cuisine featuring skewers, salads, and snacks. Doc Sugrue’s is located right outside the Wizarding World which makes it a great spot to escape the crowded land if Three Broomsticks has a line.
Epic Universe’s first year has a tie for best quick service meal: Le Gobelet Noir and Oak and Star Tavern! Le Gobelet Noir is a rustic tavern located in the back alleys of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic with a focus on Eastern European foods. The menu features sandwiches, hearty entrees like pork schnitzel and coq au vin, and desserts like black forest cake or baklava. Oak and Star Tavern is a personal favorite of mine and its focus is on fresh BBQ and bourbon. Platters and sandwiches are available full of pulled pork, roast chicken, brisket, and much more.
CityWalk’s Breadbox scores as the top quick-service location in the shopping and dining district. Located on the second floor near the Cinemark Theaters, Breadbox features classic sandwiches prepared fresh. It’s simple, inexpensive, not frequently busy, and delicious.
Full Service

It’s amazing what one year can do for a restaurant. In the past Lombard’s Seafood Grille was ranked rather low on our lists as it seems this opening day restaurant was largely forgotten about. But this year saw several menu updates, including seasonal items, that sent the approval rating up so much that it is now the #1 rated in-park restaurant of 2025! What!?! Lombard’s is a seafood restaurant located in the San Francisco portion of the park that features upscale entrees and an elevated atmosphere.
In Islands of Adventure we have a tie with both Confisco and Mythos is the top full service restaurant in the park. Confisco is located in the Port of Entry and offers an eclectic menu that spans American, Asian, Mediterranean, and Mexican options. Mythos in Lost Continent focuses on Mediterranean fusion cuisine, think lamb meatballs and seasonal risottos menu options.
Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant came ahead in Epic Universe with its menu of authentic and family-friendly Chinese dishes. Whether you sit down for a multi-course meal or simply split a bunch of apps, Blue Dragon hits the spot. We do want to note that Epic Universe’s full-service restaurants are ranked lower than other theme park restaurants and think it’s related to the growing pains of opening a new theme park. We will keep an eye out on ratings in 2026.
Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food is CityWalk’s sit-down Mexican restaurant and this year’s top restaurant. The large restaurant has an accessible menu full of tacos, burritos, tamales, and more. We’re a big fan of their table side guacamole service, where you can customize your guac add-ins, along with their margaritas.

Loews Portofino Bay two queen bed room.
Loews Portofino Bay Resort shines this year as both the Best Overall Hotel and Best Hotel Rooms as rated by our readers. Portofino Bay is a Signature Collection (read: fancy) hotel that is designed to look like the famous Italian harbor town of Portofino. The rooms were recently remodeled and are a spacious 450 to 490 square feet, with several featuring balconies. The hotel is also home to several restaurants, including the highly rated Bice and Mama Dellas. Oh, and did we mention you receive complementary Unlimited Express Pass with your stay?
Sapphire Falls pool seating.
Returning for another year as the best pool at Universal Orlando, Sapphire Falls pool is one of the best in Orlando. At a massive 16,000 square feet, it’s Universal Orlando’s largest pool but also has several cool features like two zero-entry points, a water slide, private cabana rentals, and even a “sand bar” in the middle, which lets guests cross the large pool quickly.

Your favorite hotel staff this year were at two new hotels: Universal’s Terra Luna and Helios Grand hotels! Both opened this year as companions to Epic Universe – Terra Luna across the street from the park and Helios Grand is located at the back of the park. These smaller hotels offer great guest-to-Team Member ratios which allows for high impact interactions and personalized service.

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