GOOD:— Fresh food that tasted great! We appreciated the jackfruit option. The texture was perfect and the flavor was great.— Really groovy interiors with different sections themed after different, classic Universal movie sets. Really set the mood for this horror movie junkie!BAD:Similar to other Universal restaurants, while the mobile ordering via the resort’s companion app flawless, the actual picking up is awkward. The signage clearly designates where to pick up, but said sign hangs over a cashier focused on in person ordering. This leads to a crowd of guests holding up their “order is ready” notifications and not knowing what to do. I appreciate the effort and I hope to see separate queues in the future that equal the caliber of the awesome app.SUMMARY:— Mobile pickup troubles aside, this place ended up being one of our favorite restaurants on a recent and first visit to the parks. So nice we visited twice!
Speedrunner 3
Best place to eat in the park. Really good food and healthy options. You even get to choose your sides and deserts. The Classic monster theme is fantastic.Great place to get out of the sun and the heat and has a not busy restroom
Kerry Krivoshein
Food selection was limited and unique, but what they had tasted good. Served cafeteria style, the line went pretty fast and we had no trouble finding a seat. No refills on soft drinks, so if you drink a lot with your meal, be prepared to buy extra. The facility was clean and the atmosphere was, of course, SCAREY!!!
Jason Chapman
Chose to stop here for lunch during our day at Universal Studios, and was worried that it might be closed because of how few people were sitting at the tables inside. Turned out it was open, and for whatever reason there was just plenty of seating available despite it being prime lunch time, which is such a relief at a theme park like this where it can be an absolute pain to find a place to sit. Super cool classic monster movie decor throughout as well.Food was pretty outrageously priced (close to $100 for a family of 4 for lunch), but otherwise earns 4 stars for being pretty good portions, and really tasty food. Offers a variety of BBQ meats and sides, all of which tasted great.In a nutshell: great food, cool decorations, lots of seating, high prices.
Christa Stachura
We had plans to eat in the HP area but last minute decided to avoid the crowds and eat here. It was SO worth it. Food was phenomenal. We expected old dry brisket and it was some the most tender, fatty, juiciest we've ever had. The chicken was OK, but I didn't realize I got white meat and should have asked for dark. The cornbread and mac and cheese were good too. Nearly empty, worth the price. For $20 you get 2 meats, 2 sides and a dessert. Cool theme inside too.
Rachel548
Tasty meals, vegan options, no line, cool theme, huge portions. Negative: no kids menu. BUT: we still had a meal plan and since they didn't have a kids menu, they gave us adult portions for the kids and still only charged the quick service.
R Lin
Finding semi-decent places to eat in the Universal parks can be a real struggle. But I think Monsters Cafe does a solid ‘okay’!They serve a fairly simple menu, with rotisserie chicken, salad and a few other things. We got a half chicken and I was nervous it’d either be uncooked or dry as the Sahara desert (when you just mack your lips because it’s so dry- nasty). But it was neither, thank goodness! It might’ve been a tiny bit on the dry side, but if you’ve ever had fresh rotisserie chicken this is about on par, so it’s decent!You can get a couple sides with the chicken so we did fries and broccoli. Overall it was a pretty refreshing meal in that it wasn’t anything crazy or overdone, but was good in its simplicity and plainness.What makes eating here even more enjoyable, though, is the attention to decor. If you have even a slight interest in old horror movies, you have to check this one out. I honestly really have no interest in that genre but still found the setup to be super cool. Each room is themed differently and it’s a very quiet, dark restaurant which can be nice if you’ve walked around most of the day in the bright sun.
Alexander Bolkhovsky
Let's start with the positives. It was clean. Mac and cheese, salad, and fries were decent, but below average.However, I have to congratulate them for having the worst brisket I have ever tasted. It was tasteless and rubbery. Truly awful. The sausage had a nice spice, but otherwise pretty bad. Pulled pork had a strange flavor and was a bit off-putting.Would not recommend.
KChin
First place we went to that wasn't super crowded. The Brisket Mac n Cheese was good! It came with an apple cobbler that I think was delish but kinda overkill with the brown sugar. The cashier was very helpful to us tourists because we had no idea what the food came with (a side, drink, and dessert....depends which you order). She was very patient with us and assisted in getting our apple cobbler. Thanks much!
C V
Food was ok not great but not terrible. Lighting in the eating area was very dim. Cool stuff to look at all around you. Overall cool experience
Finding semi-decent places to eat in the Universal parks can be a real struggle. But I think Monsters Cafe does a solid 'okay'! They serve a fairly simple menu, with rotisserie chicken, salad and a few other things. We got a half chicken and I was nervous it'd either be uncooked or dry as the Sahara desert (when you just mack your lips because it's so dry- nasty). But it was neither, thank goodness! It might've been a tiny bit on the dry side, but if you've ever had fresh rotisserie chicken this is about on par, so it's decent! You can get a couple sides with the chicken so we did fries and broccoli. Overall it was a pretty refreshing meal in that it wasn't anything crazy or overdone, but was good in its simplicity and plainness. What makes eating here even more enjoyable, though, is the attention to decor. If you have even a slight interest in old horror movies, you have to check this one out. I honestly really have no interest in that genre but still found the setup to be super cool. Each room is themed differently and it's a very quiet, dark restaurant which can be nice if you've walked around most of the day in the bright sun.
Lucas BQ
The service of the restaurant is absolutely horrible. I used the universal app to look at the manu and it had a lot of entrees and a wide variety of sides. So I asked for a turkey leg with 2 sides, then she said "We don't have turkey leg here" very rudely. Then I was like ok I will pick something else, and for a vampire with Mac and cheese and she said rudely that she only had broccoli and fries even though it said on the menu in the store and on the app that there where a wide verity of sides. This would never happen at Disney.
jmeleeS
Great vegan option; pulled BBQ Jackfruit sandwich. Definitely healthier than a vegan burger (please people, we don't all like / most of us don't eat "faux" meat that much!!) My 6 yr old loved the cornbread and there was fresh pineapple as a "dessert" which I split with my kids. Very good option with cool decor for a quick lunch in the parks. We ate outside at ivy covered tables next to Transformers ride for a quite respite. Good option!!!
Gary R.
While strolling outside the Monster Cafe there is a little sausage brat stand. Someone should tell these folks that a brat is NOT an Italian Sausage. Which was served with onions and peppers with parmigiana cheese and marinara. To add insult to gross food the brat was a sliced in half of a half of brat. Not Sausage!!! So for your $12 you get a quarter sausage. Not to mention the long wait for your food. There are better options and I suggest anything but this stand. If my brat was a mistake make sure YOU ask for exactly what you want.
Scott D.
Amazing decor - food regrettably far less than desired But if only looking for ambiance Highly recommend
GOOD:— Fresh food that tasted great! We appreciated the jackfruit option. The texture was perfect and the flavor was great.— Really groovy interiors with different sections themed after different, classic Universal movie sets. Really set the mood for this horror movie junkie!BAD:Similar to other Universal restaurants, while the mobile ordering via the resort’s companion app flawless, the actual picking up is awkward. The signage clearly designates where to pick up, but said sign hangs over a cashier focused on in person ordering. This leads to a crowd of guests holding up their “order is ready” notifications and not knowing what to do. I appreciate the effort and I hope to see separate queues in the future that equal the caliber of the awesome app.SUMMARY:— Mobile pickup troubles aside, this place ended up being one of our favorite restaurants on a recent and first visit to the parks. So nice we visited twice!
Best place to eat in the park. Really good food and healthy options. You even get to choose your sides and deserts. The Classic monster theme is fantastic.Great place to get out of the sun and the heat and has a not busy restroom
Food selection was limited and unique, but what they had tasted good. Served cafeteria style, the line went pretty fast and we had no trouble finding a seat. No refills on soft drinks, so if you drink a lot with your meal, be prepared to buy extra. The facility was clean and the atmosphere was, of course, SCAREY!!!
Chose to stop here for lunch during our day at Universal Studios, and was worried that it might be closed because of how few people were sitting at the tables inside. Turned out it was open, and for whatever reason there was just plenty of seating available despite it being prime lunch time, which is such a relief at a theme park like this where it can be an absolute pain to find a place to sit. Super cool classic monster movie decor throughout as well.Food was pretty outrageously priced (close to $100 for a family of 4 for lunch), but otherwise earns 4 stars for being pretty good portions, and really tasty food. Offers a variety of BBQ meats and sides, all of which tasted great.In a nutshell: great food, cool decorations, lots of seating, high prices.
We had plans to eat in the HP area but last minute decided to avoid the crowds and eat here. It was SO worth it. Food was phenomenal. We expected old dry brisket and it was some the most tender, fatty, juiciest we've ever had. The chicken was OK, but I didn't realize I got white meat and should have asked for dark. The cornbread and mac and cheese were good too. Nearly empty, worth the price. For $20 you get 2 meats, 2 sides and a dessert. Cool theme inside too.
Tasty meals, vegan options, no line, cool theme, huge portions. Negative: no kids menu. BUT: we still had a meal plan and since they didn't have a kids menu, they gave us adult portions for the kids and still only charged the quick service.
Finding semi-decent places to eat in the Universal parks can be a real struggle. But I think Monsters Cafe does a solid ‘okay’!They serve a fairly simple menu, with rotisserie chicken, salad and a few other things. We got a half chicken and I was nervous it’d either be uncooked or dry as the Sahara desert (when you just mack your lips because it’s so dry- nasty). But it was neither, thank goodness! It might’ve been a tiny bit on the dry side, but if you’ve ever had fresh rotisserie chicken this is about on par, so it’s decent!You can get a couple sides with the chicken so we did fries and broccoli. Overall it was a pretty refreshing meal in that it wasn’t anything crazy or overdone, but was good in its simplicity and plainness.What makes eating here even more enjoyable, though, is the attention to decor. If you have even a slight interest in old horror movies, you have to check this one out. I honestly really have no interest in that genre but still found the setup to be super cool. Each room is themed differently and it’s a very quiet, dark restaurant which can be nice if you’ve walked around most of the day in the bright sun.
Let's start with the positives. It was clean. Mac and cheese, salad, and fries were decent, but below average.However, I have to congratulate them for having the worst brisket I have ever tasted. It was tasteless and rubbery. Truly awful. The sausage had a nice spice, but otherwise pretty bad. Pulled pork had a strange flavor and was a bit off-putting.Would not recommend.
First place we went to that wasn't super crowded. The Brisket Mac n Cheese was good! It came with an apple cobbler that I think was delish but kinda overkill with the brown sugar. The cashier was very helpful to us tourists because we had no idea what the food came with (a side, drink, and dessert....depends which you order). She was very patient with us and assisted in getting our apple cobbler. Thanks much!
Food was ok not great but not terrible. Lighting in the eating area was very dim. Cool stuff to look at all around you. Overall cool experience
Restaurantji Recommends
Finding semi-decent places to eat in the Universal parks can be a real struggle. But I think Monsters Cafe does a solid 'okay'! They serve a fairly simple menu, with rotisserie chicken, salad and a few other things. We got a half chicken and I was nervous it'd either be uncooked or dry as the Sahara desert (when you just mack your lips because it's so dry- nasty). But it was neither, thank goodness! It might've been a tiny bit on the dry side, but if you've ever had fresh rotisserie chicken this is about on par, so it's decent! You can get a couple sides with the chicken so we did fries and broccoli. Overall it was a pretty refreshing meal in that it wasn't anything crazy or overdone, but was good in its simplicity and plainness. What makes eating here even more enjoyable, though, is the attention to decor. If you have even a slight interest in old horror movies, you have to check this one out. I honestly really have no interest in that genre but still found the setup to be super cool. Each room is themed differently and it's a very quiet, dark restaurant which can be nice if you've walked around most of the day in the bright sun.
The service of the restaurant is absolutely horrible. I used the universal app to look at the manu and it had a lot of entrees and a wide variety of sides. So I asked for a turkey leg with 2 sides, then she said "We don't have turkey leg here" very rudely. Then I was like ok I will pick something else, and for a vampire with Mac and cheese and she said rudely that she only had broccoli and fries even though it said on the menu in the store and on the app that there where a wide verity of sides. This would never happen at Disney.
Great vegan option; pulled BBQ Jackfruit sandwich. Definitely healthier than a vegan burger (please people, we don't all like / most of us don't eat "faux" meat that much!!) My 6 yr old loved the cornbread and there was fresh pineapple as a "dessert" which I split with my kids. Very good option with cool decor for a quick lunch in the parks. We ate outside at ivy covered tables next to Transformers ride for a quite respite. Good option!!!
While strolling outside the Monster Cafe there is a little sausage brat stand. Someone should tell these folks that a brat is NOT an Italian Sausage. Which was served with onions and peppers with parmigiana cheese and marinara. To add insult to gross food the brat was a sliced in half of a half of brat. Not Sausage!!! So for your $12 you get a quarter sausage. Not to mention the long wait for your food. There are better options and I suggest anything but this stand. If my brat was a mistake make sure YOU ask for exactly what you want.
Amazing decor - food regrettably far less than desired But if only looking for ambiance Highly recommend