The Universal Orlando theme parks offer thrills and chills, but there is a fantastic food and beverage program throughout the parks. So with the help of my buddy Tim we developed the Universal Orlando Sips & Dips Tour, a full day of restaurant and lounge hopping around Universal Orlando! This tour will hit our favorite places to have a drink and a small bite at the two major theme parks, CityWalk, and the resorts.

What is Sips & Dips?

We love a long dinner with friends over a nice bottle of wine, but sometimes you just want to have a small snack and a pint. Or tapas and tots, guac and margs, white wine and mussels, or any other sort of mixes that float your boat – this is the tour for you. Our goal was to adapt our resort touring guide with some flair – instead of just touring the resorts we’ll drink and eat there! Most hotel lounges open at 4:00 pm, so we complemented some of our hotel options with theme park and CityWalk choices. All right, let’s go!

Theme Parks

Universal Orlando’s theme parks get slagged on for their food quality, and I get it, the counter service overall has lower quality at a higher price than at Walt Disney World. But there are many great dining locations at the parks, especially if you venture beyond the burgers and chicken tenders.

First up is Universal Studios Florida and Finnegan’s Bar and Grill (Blog), an Irish Pub inspired by the 1978 film The Brinks Job, that serves up classic pub food, a full bar, and imported draft beers. Pull up a seat at the bar with the iconic bartender Jan who has been at the park since opening. We suggest an order of the onion web (the chaotic twin of the true neutral Awesome Blossom) and a pint of Ireland’s finest, but the themed attrition cocktails are fun too. Don’t forget to pick up a shirt or hat from the gift shop across the street to pose with on your next grand adventure and post on the wall at the bar.

Islands of Adventure lacks the small bars at Universal Studios but still offers a great selection of drinks and snacks. Our suggestion for a sip and dips stop is at the counter service restaurant Thunder Falls Terrace (Blog) and mobile order two items – an Isla Nublar IPA and an order of their nachos. Thunder Falls rocks when it comes to their slow-cooked meat and the nachos come topped with that delicious slow-cooked pork with salsa, beans, and poblano white cheddar cheese. The Isla Nulbar IPA is one of the best craft beers at the resort with notes of grapefruit and citrus.

CityWalk

SPORTS! Look sometimes we just need the basics: starch, beer, and sports. NBC Sports Grill & Brew fulfills these requirements plus some with over six dozen TVs and the largest selection of draft beers at the resort. We suggest pulling up a seat at one of the two bars and ordering an 862 IPA (named after the project number given to the new restaurant) and the massive jumbo pretzel served with beer cheese and Bertman’s Ballpark Mustard (trust me this is important as an ex-pat Clevelander).

Antojitos is the first suggestion we are offering that opens at 4:00 pm, but they have one of our favorite appetizers around. The Table Side Guacamole service is clutch – you pick which ingredients to add as a Team Member smashes and mixes your perfectly prepared guac. What else to perfectly pair with your guac than a delicious margarita? The Antojitos bar is stocked with great tequilas picked by friends in Epcot and the mixed drinks are designed to highlight the best notes of the tequila.

There aren’t many places that are talked about in hushed, revered tones in the Matt household quite like Bigfire. My family and friends, years later, still talk about the steamed mussels. It’s my favorite appetizer at Universal: a hot skillet is brought out with freshly steamed mussels with a wine and butter sauce dramatically poured over the top. I always order a side of the hearthstone bread to soak up that delicious mussel juice. Bigfire offers a fantastic selection of bourbon, from well pours to $800 2 oz pours of Pappy 23 year (pricing rough as of September 2024), but we love the Smoked Old Fashioned that is served with a smoke-filled glass. Ok, I’m looking at flights to Orlando right now just for this…

Hotels

If Bigfire is my favorite CityWalk restaurant, then Strong Water Tavern is my favorite restaurant at all of Universal Orlando. Strong Water offers two amazing things I love – strong rum drinks and amazing Caribbean island cooking. Drinks ebb and flow on and off the menu, such as the Rum Lore that tasted like a chocolate-covered raspberry without a single chocolate or raspberry-flavored syrup, but we love the classic Grogg and Mai Tai. Food selections are amazing, from the vegan hot pot (not on the online menu, but it is there), goat curry with coconut rice, and even the best order of chicken tenders you’ll ever have.

Orchid Lounge is the lobby bar at the Royal Pacific Resort right next to Islands of Adventure. This is the only restaurant I have not eaten at I am recommending, but I have drunk there! Orchid offers a selection of fresh sushi and cocktails right in the middle of the gorgeous Royal Pacific lobby, seriously you overlook the amazing lobby water feature! So pull up a chair, grab a roll, cup of sake, and let the Pacific relaxation wash over you….

How about a bar on the 17th floor? Bar 17 at Aventura Hotel is our last stop, but not the last option for your sips and dips tour. Bar 17 is located at the top of the hotel and features 360-degree views of the theme parks, I-Drive, and Orlando. Since the top of the 17th-floor bar is quite windy, even with high glass windows, all the food and drinks are served in special barware that is either bottom-heavy or made of plastic. We love coming up here to have a drink and grab photos of the resort.

You ever do a Sips and Dips tour of Universal Orlando? Leave your vas in the comments below!