CityWalk Orlando for Dinner!

We were just at Universal Orlando last week (woo!) and spent three awesome days in the parks. We had dinner, though, every single night, in CityWalk.

Dinner in CityWalk just makes sense. Universal Orlando was not open very late at all when we were there. The Universal parks were only open until 6 (and the Disney parks, for example were open until 8 on the same week). We did not want to waste more precious park time than necessary eating! Restaurants throughout CityWalk were open as late as 10 or 11 pm, and there are plenty of interesting places to eat!

Our first night we ate at Margaritaville. I had actually never been to one before this point! I was honestly pleasantly surprised. The beachy theming is cute if you’re on vacation, but for music you’re either getting Jimmy Buffett, covers of Jimmy Buffett songs, or a live band. Tbh. The live band performing during our dinner was. Not that good.

Above is the Asiago Crab and Artichoke dip that we got as an appetizer. I loved this. I’m a big fan of crab dip and of artichoke dip, and combining them was actually a good idea. Below is the turkey burger- it’s super great when the turkey burger on the menu actually has something unique and interesting about it! Their’s had smoked gouda and pineapple salsa, which was super light and delish. I got it with sweet potato fries, because sweet potato fries are the best.

The next night we ate at Vivo, and we used a Universal gift card to pay! Most CityWalk restaurants accept Universal gift cards as well as the Universal Dining Plan- so there’s really no reason to eat your dinner in the parks! Enjoy more of your time at rides and attractions, and eat once the parks are closed. I have a feeling restaurants might be their busiest RIGHT after park close, and I’m sure this is more difficult to manage if you have young kids. But we felt pretty good about having a little snack while walking place-to-place in the late afternoon, and after park close going to either the hotel pool, the Hollywood Drive-In Mini Golf (highly recommend as well), or shopping, and having dinner a little bit later. One of the cheapest wines at Vivo was the Riesling, which is usually my favorite wine anyway. It was like a delicious white grape juice. 10/10. We didn’t order an appetizer here- the bread and olive oil was enough!

Here are our entrees. I had Chicken Parmigiano and Jon had Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. Both were lovely delicious pasta, as you’d expect! The parm was perfectly crispy and was super good leftover too.

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The last night we saw Blue Man Group, and had a reservation at Hard Rock Cafe! We ate here at CityWalk in Hollywood when we went last year, too. The Southwest Eggrolls are a must. Super super good (and totally not the least healthy choice available)!

I got the same entree I got last time- the California Cobb Salad. It’s really fresh and good! I got it without the pepitas this time. They were my least favorite part of the salad when I first got it. I liked it better without 🙂

We had a coupon for $10 off $50, and we were ALMOST there, so we added on a mini Oreo milkshake!

I will definitely continue to eat dinner in CityWalk when I visit Universal, unless a particular night I’d rather not eat out for whatever reason. I think, of these, Vivo was my favorite! The food and service were both awesome. It’s a pretty fancy place in terms of its own aesthetic, but people dining were dressed all along the spectrum of fanciness, from cocktail-party-ready heels and jackets to just-left-the-park athletic shorts and graphic tees.

CityWalk also has tons of fun entertainment, including Blue Man Group, shopping, Hollywood DriveIn Mini Golf (pictured below), a movie theater, and a dance club. It might even be worth it for some to spend a whole vacation day in CityWalk, not even bothering to get a park ticket!