The Toadstool Cafe is an imaginative quick-service restaurant that serves Mario-themed food. This is a great spot to eat at Universal Hollywood, but can be tricky to get into. We were able to Power-Up and get a reservation to Toadstool Cafe and explore ourselves!
Our guide is going to dive into the details of eating at Toadstool Cafe, so keep reading. If you’re in the beginning stages of planning your next theme park vacation and need additional help or are looking for discounted theme park tickets, check out our trusted travel partner The Park Prodigy!
Toadstool Cafe at Universal Studios Hollywood
This quick-service restaurant is the only eatery within Super Nintendo World Hollywood, making it a hot option for guests. We were lucky enough to get a few reservations at Toadstool Cafe in Universal Hollywood and try nearly everything on the menu. Reservations typically sell out within minutes of land opening and securing our spot most likely was due to our purchasing of Early Entry to Super Nintendo World.
With that being said, during our first visit, we were one of the first parties sat of the day, with a 10:30AM reservation. It sounds early, but after starting in Super Nintendo World at 7AM with Early Entry, we were hungry. By the time we got our food and our table, is was closer to 11AM, which was perfect.
The second time we ate at Toadstool Cafe, we sat later in the day at around 3PM. Our opening reservation was better overall, as we felt the quality of the food was better prepared and cared for! This guide is going to cover the highlights of our dining experiences, along with out best tips at Universal Hollywood experts!
What is the Inside Like of Toadstool Cafe?
If you’re looking for immersion alone, you will not be disappointed in Toadstool Cafe. There are Mario details throughout, with Warp Pipes, Mushrooms, and familiar faces welcoming you during your meal. There are screens that play adorable scenes of Toads working in the kitchen or dealing with disaster in the Mushroom Kingdom!
Unfortunately, you cannot seat yourself, but most seats are perfectly positioned to see the action. There is also moments of lighting and sound effects, which add to the experience.
Related post: Complete Guide to Super Nintendo World Hollywood
Food at Toadstool Cafe
For theme park food, we enjoyed Toadstool Cafe and were impressed with what we got. Our group is a mix of what we prefer in our cuisine, with vegetarians and meat eaters among the group too. Between the four of us, we ordered nearly the entire menu, as well, so – in this next part, I am going to talk about the highlights and misses of our meal.
The highlights:
Princess Peach Cupcake – $9.99
Our whole group agreed, and across both visits, that the Princess Peach Cupcake was the best item we ate! A delicious, fluffy, and moist funfetti cupcake with raspberry jam and heaping buttercream frosting 👑💞✨ Beyond theme park quality when it comes to cupcakes, and truly delicious making you want to keep digging in for more.
Kudos to Pastry Chef Toad, because of edible glitter and all, this was a 10/10.
The Fries
Dare we say that the trip is worth the fries alone? Possibly, but we can say for sure that these fries are the most delicious we’ve had in a quick-service restaurant. The burgers that are paired with the fries are just okay, typical theme park burgers. But the fries have a garlic seasoning salt that, when served fresh, knock it out of the park.
We’re going to give them an 8.5/10 because the first time we had them they were perfect. The second time we had them, unfortunately, our meals were cold. The fries were still delicious though.
Short Rib (minus the Polenta and price of $25)
This main menu ticket item has a price tag of $25, and overall is a decent dish. We would not say that it is worth the $25, but if you want a more fancy item that tastes good, the meat of the short rib was really delicious. We do not recommend the polenta with the dish. The flavor and texture were off, therefore, you might leave hungry.
We would give the dish a 6.5/10, because we do think the meat is good, but for what you pay and what you’re able to eat, we don’t know if we’d pay that much again!
The misses:
- Garlic Cheesy Knots – The Garlic Cheesy knots were neither cheesy nor garlicky. They were also the only items consistently served cold with little flavor. They sound delicious, but skip them! They will disappoint you.
- Polenta on the Short Rib – The flavor and texture were somewhat of gloopy mashed potatoes. We did not find this to be near the quality polenta should be.
- Piranha Plant Caprese – You get what you order, which is a bunch of unseasoned vegetables and cheese, which were not my favorite.
Other menu items worth mentioning:
- Mt. Beanpole Cake – It was yummy having chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry in one dessert. We also really liked the matcha mousse, which made the cake refreshing and not too sweet!
- Super Star Lemon Squash – A little expensive at $10, but its cute and has delicious flavors that we enjoyed (Honey lemon soda with mango stars and assorted tropical bobas)
- Fire Flower Spaghetti & Meatballs – This was the safest option in our opinion. All of the food was perfectly okay. But it was just okay, with barely better than bland seasoning, but what you would expect at a theme park for food.
- Super Star Chicken Salad – We loved the creamy truffle dressing of the salad, but our chicken was slightly dry, and the parmesan Super Star was not edible. But it was fun, themed, and a solid choice overall.
Related post: Guide to Super Nintendo World Power Up Band Games
Should you go to Toadstool Cafe?
I would say a resounding yes, at least one time try Toadstool Cafe! The theming of the restaurant is unmatched from the outside building to the inside interactive screens. We loved watching the Toads “prepare our food” and then be stunned with a cartoonishly fantastic food spread.
Of course, you’re bound to be disappointed with price and quality when it comes to quick service at any theme park. But, I feel that my experience at Toadstool Cafe was pleasant, and all around enjoyable … and yummy!
Nik’s Best Toadstool Cafe Tip: “Get the Early Admission to Super Nintendo World! For someone who does not like the battle crowds on any level, this was a lifesaver. It was nearly a guaranteed spot in Toadstool Cafe, as we were ready with the virtual waitlist. Crowds were manageable with the rides and games in the morning, and by the time our reservation was ready, we were hungry for lunch!”
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