Several Universal CityWalk Orlando restaurants have revamped their menus. New items debuted at Toothsome, Antojitos, VIVO Italian Kitchen, Bigfire, Cowfish, Margaritaville, and NBC Sports Grill & Brew. The restaurants have removed some old menu items as well.
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen
The menu of The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen has been revamped, in its first major change since opening in September, 2016.
To the long-time lovers of Toothsome out there: Thank you for your loyalty, and we hope you’re still hungry! It’s high-time we tapped into Toothsome’s legacy as a French-inspired restaurant heavily influenced by chocolate. You’ve tasted hints of chocolate in some dishes here and there, but now, you’re about to witness a chocolate takeover where savory meets sweet with new flavors you can’t beat.
The Toothsome team highlighted three favorites from the updated menu.
Provence Totchos – $12.95
Toothsome chefs wanted to keep their popular Totchos appetizer while also finding a way for French cuisine to shine through, leading to the creation of the Provence Totchos ($12.95). This appetizer consists of crispy tater tots topped with truffled Brie fondue, Calabrian chili honey, fresh crumbled bacon, green onions, and a rim of roasted garlic aioli.
Burger Au Poivre – $19.95
The Burger Au Poivre is made with a peppercorn spiced burger patty, gruyère cheese, caramelized onions, arugula, chocolate brandy peppercorn sauce, and roasted garlic aioli topped with potato sticks and served on a pretzel bun. It’s Toothsome’s take on the classic French dish, steak au poivre, but finished with chocolate instead of butter.
Cocoa Coq Au Vin – $24.95
Cocoa Coq Au Vin was first available for National Chocolate Day, and now joins the menu permanently. It’s sous vide airline chicken breast in a red wine chocolate demi, served with gruyère mashed potatoes, baby carrots, and grilled cipollini onions.
Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food
Chef Margarita Mares and Chef Pedro Espino led the charge in updating the menu of Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food.
They were running the same menu for a while and then once Pedro and I joined the team — a new set of chefs, new ideas. My heritage comes from Mexico, so I would think it’s very personal to me to make sure that the dishes are as authentic as possible.
Chef Margarita Mares
Aguachile Verde
Aguachile Verde is a staple of Mexican cuisine and features chilled shrimp flavors poached in a simmering sauce made with fresh lime juice, chiles, cilantro, cucumbers, red onions, red radishes, and avocado. It comes with a side of crispy blue corn tostadas
“I think our goal as a team is to add Antojitos as part of a normal date night or dinner night for our local clientele,” said Chef Margarita. “We want Antojitos to be an option for when somebody wants to go out for Mexican dinner.”
Camarones a la Diabla
If you’d rather have grilled shrimp, Chef Margarita created Camarones a la Diabla for you. Grilled shrimp is dressed in a chipotle tomato sauce and topped with roasted corn summer slaw, lime crema, sliced avocado, micro cilantro, and house rice.
“I’m a little biased over the Camarones a la Diabla only because in my house, when we have parties and summer cookouts, that is the dish that we are eating,” said Chef Margarita. “My mother is the best cook on the planet … so when it made it on our menu and I had my mom try it at home, she gave me the stamp of approval. So it’s very personal to me that I feel like I’ve now mastered that tier where I can say that I can cook Camarones a la Diabla just as good as my older sister and just as good as my mother.”
Pollo a la Poblana
Chef Pedro created the Pollo a la Poblana dish. This grilled airline chicken is cooked in a creamy poblano sauce and served with roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted vegetables, and flour tortillas.
“We like to respect culture,” said Chef Pedro. “Since we joined the restaurant, we tried to teach our culinary people that they need to respect the culture. We worked so hard on the new menu getting products, working recipes, and getting the flavors that we needed to sell people quality. That’s what we want to express in our menu right now: We respect everything about Mexican culture.”
Abuela’s Cheesecake
For dessert is Abuela’s Cheesecake, a creamy cheesecake sitting on a sweet mazapán (compacted peanut and powdered sugar Mexican candy) crumble. It’s made with Mexican chocolate, goat milk cajeta, and fresh berries with a mint garnish. This is Chef Margarita’s favorite dessert on the new menu.
“Our goal is to get that perspective out there — that it is authentic. These are true flavors. These are true ingredients,” she said. “Pedro and I worked hard to source ingredients that we don’t carry on property and things from our childhood. Those actually make a difference as far as a home-cooked meal, you know, something that you can sit down and eat and remember a childhood experience from.”
VIVO Italian Kitchen
VIVO Italian Kitchen has swapped some dishes for new seasonal offerings.
Halibut
Finnegan’s Bar & Grill sous chef Miguel Ortiz collaborated with VIVO to create their new Halibut dish. This is fresh white fish served over a roasted corn hash made with broccolini and red and yellow peppers. It’s topped with roasted tomatoes on the vine and a Cape Verde sauce that adds a kick.
“It’s light, it’s fresh, and it looks like a work of art on the plate,” said Chef Miguel. “It took us a little bit to finally get it where we wanted it, but once we finally got our idea landed and what our final product was going to be … we thought that (the Halibut) would suit our personality and our reputation as part of the restaurant world.”
Pork Tenderloin
Chef Alexis DeMoss worked with her sous chef Isabel Thompson to create the Pork Tenderloin. The pork is seared and sous vide, served on a corn risotto, and topped with a tarragon beurre blanc blended with a little romesco (spicy red pepper sauce), and served with a side of rainbow cauliflower roasted in an herb oil.
“In the last year or so, VIVO has really tried to elevate not only the flavor complexity of our dishes, but also the visual appeal of them,” said Chef Alexis. “Any opportunity we have for the specialty items to present a little bit more of an elevated-style plate is definitely something we want. We want them to feel like they’re in a really nice, beautiful restaurant and not just having a theme park experience.”
Semi Freddo
The Semi Freddo is strawberry ice cream on a lady finger crust topped with a warm mixed berry compote made with fresh blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. It’s garnished with dried strawberries and pistachios.
Bigfire
The chefs of Bigfire had such a hard time picking their favorite new dishes, they narrowed their list down to six instead of three. Bigfire also now serves brunch on Sundays.
Bone-In Short Rib
The new Bone-In Short Rib is slathered in Carolina barbecue sauce and comes with grilled corn on the cob, vine tomatoes, cooling onions, and warm spicy maple glazed jalapeño cornbread.
Grilled Barbecue Pork Chop
The 12 oz.-bone-in Grilled Barbecue Pork Chop features a smoked honey carrot puree, green bean almondine, blistered vine tomatoes, caramelized onions, and a rich black cherry glaze.
Hot Honey Salmon
The Hot Honey Salmon features a smoked cauliflower puree, heirloom carrots, blistered vine tomatoes, and a fresh herb salad.
Wood Fire Grilled Scallops
The Wood Fire Grilled Scallops are served over popcorn risotto and corn relish while topped with a marcona almond gremolata.
Corn Bisque
The Corn Bisque appetizer is a smooth, creamy dish made with corn relish, popcorn, and chives.
Seasonal Stone Fruit Salad
The Seasonal Stone Fruit Salad consists of fresh stone fruit paired with heirloom tomatoes, red watercress, frisée, goat cheese, and candied pistachios while drizzled in champagne vinaigrette.
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar got creative with their new menu, said Chef Dania Alvarez-King.
Bacon-Donut Fusion
The new dishes include the Bacon-Donut Fusion — a plate that combines dessert and dinner. Cheddar cheese is melted onto a savory beef patty and topped with jalapeño, lime slaw, candied bacon, and sweet and spicy mayo between two sugary donut buns.
Midnight Munchies
Midnight Munchies is a milkshake made with a blend of vanilla ice cream, cocoa-hazelnut spread, chopped peanut-nougat-caramel milk chocolate bars and candy pieces, potato sticks, vanilla whipped cream, caramel topping, and chocolate popping candy.
Cheesecake Lumpia Rolls
Cheesecake Lumpia Rolls are back from New Year’s Eve 2024. This dessert features crispy wontons stuffed with vanilla cheesecake filling and fortune cookie crumbs, accompanied by white chocolate ube sauce and strawberry sauce.
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
Just after the grand return of the Hemisphere Dancer, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville has introduced a new menu.
Hemisphere Wings
With the Hemisphere Wings, guests can choose between bone-in or boneless chicken wings accompanied by tangy garlic buffalo sauce or spicy mango jerk sauce.
“It’s not your usual buffalo wing. It’s a lot of garlic — it’s kind of distinct,” said Margaritaville chef Javier Pareja. “The mango jerk goes really well with the theming of the restaurant being in the (Florida) Keys. Key West is kind of the capital of the Caribbean, so of course a mango jerk wing just seemed like such a natural fit.”
Cuban Meatloaf Sandwich
The Cuban Meatloaf Sandwich is a handheld overflowing with chorizo and beef meatloaf, Swiss cheese, and pickles with yellow mustard spread on fresh Cuban bread.
“Jimmy’s legacy plays a big role in the selection of the items that we have,” said Chef Javier. “We certainly want to honor his memory and just honor this great business that he’s built.”
Bacon Jam-boree Burger
The Bacon Jam-boree Burger features two caramelized patties topped with American cheese, house-made bacon jam, sliced jalapeños, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and lava lava sauce between two soft brioche buns.
Peel & Eat Shrimp
Last but not least is the Peel & Eat Shrimp, which makes for a bite-size snack or a full size meal. This is a pound of seasoned shrimp with sides of Key lime cocktail and lava lava sauce.
NBC Sports Grill & Brew
Visit NBC Sports Grill & Brew for a series of new sporty dishes.
Touchdown Tuna Nachos
The Touchdown Tuna Nachos is a bar snack consisting of spicy textured wonton chips and sweet sushi grade tuna, paired with creamy sriracha aioli and balanced by earthy notes of micro cilantro, sliced radish, and serrano, plush furikake and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls
The Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls are shaved beef steak, flash-fried light spring roll skin, and cherry pepper aioli.
“The light and crispy outer shell is packed with all the flavor of Philly,” said NBC Chef Robert Hainer. “The shaved ribeye and cheese balance each other well, and then the cherry pepper aioli brings a sweet heat that ties it all together.”
“DA” B.L.T
The classic B.L.T. has been revamped as “DA” B.L.T. This is made with NBC’s signature house-smoked brisket, stacked with sweet and spicy billion-dollar bacon, cowboy candy spread, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and dressed in harissa barbecue sauce. It’s all between two toasted pretzel buns.
“This sandwich is flavor incarnate,” said Chef Robert. “The pretzel bread carries the full brunt of the cowboy candy spread and harissa barbecue while the smoky heat balances well with the bacon and fresh brisket. To me, it’s more than a sandwich — it’s an experience.”
Are you excited to try some of these new CityWalk dishes? Let us know in the comments.
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