Help - didn't make restaurant reservations

[daf]

We're going to be in Universal/IOA for a weekend in April. I was only focusing on reserving restaurants at Disney, completely neglecting the Universal portion of our trip.
I was counting on a quick service restaurant inside the park for an early dinner (6-ish), but it turns out that IOA closes at 6 on that Saturday so the restaurants are all closed.
Almost all the restaurants in City Walk get bad reviews on Google. Only Hard Rock Cafe and Toothsome Chocolate Emporium get decent reviews, but they're fully booked on both Sunday and Saturday (at least from 4pm to 9pm).

We will be staying at the Hard Rock Hotel.

In addition, my kids are extremely picky So it needs to be a restaurant with many options.
What other options should I check for nice Saturday and Sunday dinners, without moving our car?

THANK YOU!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Red Oven Pizza is good and has the added benefit of being cost effective for a family. And you can mobile order.

Antojitos is good if the kids like Mexican.

Cowfish is good & might be a fun way to do "different" but still familiar food - ie, pulled pork made into sushi, a Big Mac made into sushi roll, etc. Or they have burgers. But would not surprise me if they are also booked up, IME they're 3rd or 4th to book up.

Have you looked at The Kitchen right at HRH? Or the Islands Dining at Royal Pacific?

 

[daf]

Red Oven Pizza is good and has the added benefit of being cost effective for a family. And you can mobile order.

Antojitos is good if the kids like Mexican.

Cowfish is good & might be a fun way to do "different" but still familiar food - ie, pulled pork made into sushi, a Big Mac made into sushi roll, etc. Or they have burgers. But would not surprise me if they are also booked up, IME they're 3rd or 4th to book up.

Have you looked at The Kitchen right at HRH? Or the Islands Dining at Royal Pacific?

Thank you! your suggestion are good, but my kids are so picky I can’t find anything they would both eat in any of these places (one of them won’t eat pizza, the other won’t eat meat ). Do you know if any of the restaurant on city walk do takeout?
No information about this online

 

[Skippyboo]

NBC Grill has a wide variety. Do you have park to park tickets? If so you have Studios side you can go to.

Aventura has a nice food court- pizza, build your own bowl Asian, grill station, salads.

There also a Moe’s/Burger King upstairs in City Walk.

Hard Rock hotel should have room service also.

 

[GreatAuntie]

Could you try to get a reservation at a restaurant inside IOA close to closing time? We ate at Mythos close to closing and enjoyed it.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You might consider doing a big sit down lunch (which is a nice AC break) and then a quicker dinner. Generally there's better availability for reservations during lunch.

What about Bubba Gump Shrimp? They have chicken & other options too.

Some places do take out - for sure Red Oven Pizza & Breadbox sandwiches (Breadbox is also quite tasty). I suspect most that offer mobile ordering offer takeout.

You'll have a car? Might want to bite the bullet & drive somewhere. Miller's Ale House is right nearby and has lots of options. There are so many places close by to chose from.

You could also Door Dash something to the hotel.

 

[daf]

It looks like Mythos does have some spots!
Do you know if they would let my 10 year old order from the kids menu?

 

[chad_1138]

Bread Box is an amazing quick serve at City Walk.

Also, Aventura was already mentioned. Their BBQ Chicken Pizza...

 

[princesscinderella]

Have crazy dinner and get Cinnabons or voodoo donuts. My kids always loved when we would do this. We eat it for breakfast why not for dinner.

 

[georgina]

Thank you! your suggestion are good, but my kids are so picky I can’t find anything they would both eat in any of these places (one of them won’t eat pizza, the other won’t eat meat ). Do you know if any of the restaurant on city walk do takeout?
No information about this online

Are they kids as in kids menus? Margaritaville has a large menu, it's not gourmet dining, and I don't know if they take reservations.

 

[Tink3815]

Red Oven Pizza is good and has the added benefit of being cost effective for a family. And you can mobile order.

Antojitos is good if the kids like Mexican.

Cowfish is good & might be a fun way to do "different" but still familiar food - ie, pulled pork made into sushi, a Big Mac made into sushi roll, etc. Or they have burgers. But would not surprise me if they are also booked up, IME they're 3rd or 4th to book up.

Have you looked at The Kitchen right at HRH? Or the Islands Dining at Royal Pacific?

We really enjoy the breafast Buffet at the Kitchen. Lots of choices.

 

[Tink3815]

Are they kids as in kids menus? Margaritaville has a large menu, it's not gourmet dining, and I don't know if they take reservations.

They do take reservations. We enjoy their food and they gave stilt walkers that make the kids ballon hats.

 

[GreatAuntie]

It looks like Mythos does have some spots!
Do you know if they would let my 10 year old order from the kids menu?

I don't know but I wouldn't expect it to be a problem.

 

[barb969]

It looks like Mythos does have some spots!
Do you know if they would let my 10 year old order from the kids menu?

Probably. I have gotten the kids hamburger and fries a couple of times.

 

[nighttowll]

My kids loved the atmosphere at Bubba Gump and Margarittaville, but no promises on service with either. I've not been impressed with any of the Citywalk restaurants the last couple of trips.

I think you said you already checked the Kitchen menu, and said nothing for your picky eaters. If not, check the menu out. The food there is great, and it was a favorite of my picky kids.

I also highly recommend the Aventura food court and think that might actually be your best option. It's quick service which is what you wanted to begin with, and there is a nice varied selection of options, so you should be able to find something for everyone. A lot of the entrees are create your own type where you choose the meat and veggies or sides, and they make it from scratch.

soup (you customize)
stir fry (noodles or rice) (you customize)
sushi
pizza
hamburgers
chicken sandwiches
salad (you customize)
mac and cheese
rotisserie chicken
salmon
streak
chicken wings
hot dog
grilled cheese
fries (regular and sweet potato)
onion rings

You can take the bus straight to Aventura or the boat to Sapphire and then walk over. When we were there, they were playing kids movies on a screen in the food court during dinner. Not sure if that is an every night thing or what, but might be something fun. The prices were reasonable and the food was very good.

 

[weather_lady]

Even if a restaurant looks fully booked on the app, it's worth walking up and double-checking, especially for the in-park restaurants. We've walked up to Mythos or Finnegan's right at noon, with the app showing them fully booked, and found them half-full and accepting walk-ups. Failing that, the resort restaurants (e.g., The Kitchen at Hard Rock where you're staying, Jake's American Bar at Royal Pacific, whatever's open at Portofino) are rarely full.

 

[Rory607]

It looks like Mythos does have some spots!
Do you know if they would let my 10 year old order from the kids menu?

Just throwing it out there that my 13 year old has ordered off the kids menu at several Universal restaurants recently. She looks young, but definitely not 10, IMO. I can’t speak to Mythos specifically, but I don’t think anyone really cares.