Bigfire is now officially open at Universal's CityWalk Orlando.
Bigfire officially opens at CityWalk Orlando | Inside Universal
Bigfire officially opens at CityWalk Orlando | Inside Universal
Bigfire Restaurant
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- Dec 21, 2016
- 1,342
- 2,373
Yes, Please!
That menu :eat:
and it won't break the bank! I'm there.
That menu :eat:
and it won't break the bank! I'm there.
- Jun 17, 2019
- 18
- 27
I went there last night and just got the S’mores dessert. It was a little expensive for what it was ($18 for two people), but it was very fun.
That price point for S'mores hurts to think about...
At least it’s the only thing that’s really pricey. And given that you’re paying for the experience I get it.
- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,742
- 5,461
Psst. Hey, over here.. $7.95 for these at Cabana Bay.. sticks included. Tell them UNIrd sent ya.
I just go to the DVC resorts and it’s free.Psst. Hey, over here.. $7.95 for these at Cabana Bay.. sticks included. Tell them UNIrd sent ya.
VERY convenient when you’re staying onsite at universal. Thanks for the Pro-Tip.
Living in Austin, cafes here are big on the make your own smores. It's the exact same setup minus the different types of marshmallow. $18 is ridiculously high but its for tourists so its kind of expected. They are $7 here for two people and a bigger setup for 4 people is $12. It is fun to do. Is this not something people usually see in other cities?
- Aug 7, 2018
- 7,094
- 9,069
Incredible prices for the food we seem to be getting here. Cant wait to check it out this January!
Finally made it last night. The main entrees are great for the price. Unfortunately, little else really worked for me, making this more of a double than a home run.
Called but no reservations yet, so just showed up around 8:30. The front desk was a zoo, but they told us 20 minutes for a table for two, ended up getting a text on the dot 20 minutes later. After again negotiating the slammed front desk area, we were seated upstairs in what I'm sure used to be a private dining room when it was Emerils. This room was just beige walls and faux hardwood floors/tables. Not attempt at decor or atmosphere--it felt like a corporate cafeteria. Walking through downstairs there's a little more decor--stuck around the things from Emerils they just left intact--but tables are packed together tightly and it felt very loud. I get a sense this was maybe a rush job? Lacks the place-making feel of a Toothsome or an Antojitos.
Started with a blackberry old-fashioned and some Titos/lemonade specialty. Both were quite good, but both priced like I'd expect at a reasonable theme park restaurant. On our server's recommendation, tried the spinach/artichoke dip, which also has kale in it apparently for no other reason than to seem hipster. It was good tho not significantly better than anything you could get at your local Tipsy McStumblys clone.
But then the steaks came. Remarkable. While obviously not the same quality meat as a Boathouse/STK/Ruth's Chris, they were cooked to perfection. The smoke just added the perfect amount of flavor. A surprising stand-out were the grilled root vegetables--still slightly crisp, the smoke flavor just elevates them to something divine. I had the crispy smashed potatoes which I expected to be the standard cutesy named mashed potatoes, but these were unique--like fingerling potatoes turned into french fries whole. Also good but next time I'd be sorely tempted to double up on veggies. That shocks me.
Bolding this for when I inevitably get called a hater: The best steak dinner I've had at that price point in Orlando. Meaning compared to Outback or Longhorn or Logan's, this is far and away the winner judged strictly on food.
Finished off with the s'mores because it's an eye-catching gimmick. Overpriced--although apparently it's all you can eat? that wasn't clear until we were already on a sugar rush--but belies the server's initial comment that everything is made in-house. Other than the marshmallows (which I suspect are from Sugar Rush) this was stuff off the shelf at any local store. Still, it's clearly gimmicky, would like to try the more traditional desserts which looked a lot nicer.
Service was ... not good. From the host to the server to the food runner, everyone felt overwhelmed and rushing. Just little things, too, like not bringing a glass for my bottle of beer--outside your local dive bar that's just not acceptable. Hoping that's all opening week jitters than can be worked out.
So anyway, the steaks are a great deal--I'd go so far as to say a bargain ($27 filet before my AP discount). Not much else to recommend it tho. Maybe every other place UOR has opened the past couple years has set the bar too high, but for tourists, I'd recommend other more memorable spots around CityWalk over this.
Called but no reservations yet, so just showed up around 8:30. The front desk was a zoo, but they told us 20 minutes for a table for two, ended up getting a text on the dot 20 minutes later. After again negotiating the slammed front desk area, we were seated upstairs in what I'm sure used to be a private dining room when it was Emerils. This room was just beige walls and faux hardwood floors/tables. Not attempt at decor or atmosphere--it felt like a corporate cafeteria. Walking through downstairs there's a little more decor--stuck around the things from Emerils they just left intact--but tables are packed together tightly and it felt very loud. I get a sense this was maybe a rush job? Lacks the place-making feel of a Toothsome or an Antojitos.
Started with a blackberry old-fashioned and some Titos/lemonade specialty. Both were quite good, but both priced like I'd expect at a reasonable theme park restaurant. On our server's recommendation, tried the spinach/artichoke dip, which also has kale in it apparently for no other reason than to seem hipster. It was good tho not significantly better than anything you could get at your local Tipsy McStumblys clone.
But then the steaks came. Remarkable. While obviously not the same quality meat as a Boathouse/STK/Ruth's Chris, they were cooked to perfection. The smoke just added the perfect amount of flavor. A surprising stand-out were the grilled root vegetables--still slightly crisp, the smoke flavor just elevates them to something divine. I had the crispy smashed potatoes which I expected to be the standard cutesy named mashed potatoes, but these were unique--like fingerling potatoes turned into french fries whole. Also good but next time I'd be sorely tempted to double up on veggies. That shocks me.
Bolding this for when I inevitably get called a hater: The best steak dinner I've had at that price point in Orlando. Meaning compared to Outback or Longhorn or Logan's, this is far and away the winner judged strictly on food.
Finished off with the s'mores because it's an eye-catching gimmick. Overpriced--although apparently it's all you can eat? that wasn't clear until we were already on a sugar rush--but belies the server's initial comment that everything is made in-house. Other than the marshmallows (which I suspect are from Sugar Rush) this was stuff off the shelf at any local store. Still, it's clearly gimmicky, would like to try the more traditional desserts which looked a lot nicer.
Service was ... not good. From the host to the server to the food runner, everyone felt overwhelmed and rushing. Just little things, too, like not bringing a glass for my bottle of beer--outside your local dive bar that's just not acceptable. Hoping that's all opening week jitters than can be worked out.
So anyway, the steaks are a great deal--I'd go so far as to say a bargain ($27 filet before my AP discount). Not much else to recommend it tho. Maybe every other place UOR has opened the past couple years has set the bar too high, but for tourists, I'd recommend other more memorable spots around CityWalk over this.
- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,742
- 5,461
I had a GREAT meal here last night. Our server Dasan was seriously one of the best I've had on property. We started with the bread and some brussell sprouts.. super small portions.. so more of a side than a true sharing appetizer. Luckily, my friends aren't brussell sprout fans like I am.
We shared a bunch of entrees.. the Cobb salad is one of the best I've had. Chicken, pork belly, sweet potato, egg, almonds.. so good. I'd have it again right now if I could. I had the Cowboy Ribeye... it was good but not mindblowing. The fried chicken was really good and well seasoned. Sides were all good.. but the surprising winner here was the pork chops. None of us are pork chop people but we asked the server for a recommendation for the last entree for us to share. We weren't excited about it but wow. It ended up being all of our favorites.
I'd come back here to try something new or get the Cobb again for sure. I'll be back.
We shared a bunch of entrees.. the Cobb salad is one of the best I've had. Chicken, pork belly, sweet potato, egg, almonds.. so good. I'd have it again right now if I could. I had the Cowboy Ribeye... it was good but not mindblowing. The fried chicken was really good and well seasoned. Sides were all good.. but the surprising winner here was the pork chops. None of us are pork chop people but we asked the server for a recommendation for the last entree for us to share. We weren't excited about it but wow. It ended up being all of our favorites.
I'd come back here to try something new or get the Cobb again for sure. I'll be back.
How many trains were they running?
- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,742
- 5,461
It had a good bite to it. Definitely not chewy.
Ate there Monday night, and I cannot recall a worse dining experience in my life. We were shown to our table by a host that was quieter than a mouse. She walked us up to an area with four open tables and just stood there like we were supposed to know which one table 95 was. Our server arrived and we placed an order for drinks and an appetizer, and everything came out pretty quickly.
The gruyere spinach and artichoke dip appetizer was putrid. It was flavorless, and completely watery. Growing up, my Dad was a chef so going out to eat was often embarrassing with him sending anything and everything back. Because of this, I've literally never sent anything back at a restauraunt... until that night.
The waiter was kind enough to swap us out for the chili appetizer, which is just a bowl of chili with a block of cornbread plopped in the middle, with truly bad cast iron simulation plates to serve it on. The chili was pretty tasty, but it was just odd as an appetizer.
For the entree, I wanted to do the duroc pork chop, and I asked the waiter if it'd be possible to swap the coleslaw out for a different side, as I have an aversion to cabbage. He informed me no substitutions were possible because coleslaw is a garnish and not a side, despite it being on their list of sides. Plan B was the signature bison burger, which I ordered medium rare. The ingredients all had good flavor, but the burger itself was bordering blue rare. One of the other people in my group ordered the fried chicken, and said it was the blandest fried chicken she'd ever tasted. At the end, our waiter had a fit about us splitting the check, to the point that he lied and said the computers couldn't do it.
All in all, it may have just been a bad night, but I truly think this place is a loooooong way away from being a must-have restuaraunt stop.
The gruyere spinach and artichoke dip appetizer was putrid. It was flavorless, and completely watery. Growing up, my Dad was a chef so going out to eat was often embarrassing with him sending anything and everything back. Because of this, I've literally never sent anything back at a restauraunt... until that night.
The waiter was kind enough to swap us out for the chili appetizer, which is just a bowl of chili with a block of cornbread plopped in the middle, with truly bad cast iron simulation plates to serve it on. The chili was pretty tasty, but it was just odd as an appetizer.
For the entree, I wanted to do the duroc pork chop, and I asked the waiter if it'd be possible to swap the coleslaw out for a different side, as I have an aversion to cabbage. He informed me no substitutions were possible because coleslaw is a garnish and not a side, despite it being on their list of sides. Plan B was the signature bison burger, which I ordered medium rare. The ingredients all had good flavor, but the burger itself was bordering blue rare. One of the other people in my group ordered the fried chicken, and said it was the blandest fried chicken she'd ever tasted. At the end, our waiter had a fit about us splitting the check, to the point that he lied and said the computers couldn't do it.
All in all, it may have just been a bad night, but I truly think this place is a loooooong way away from being a must-have restuaraunt stop.
That’s unfortunate. Sounds like you had a terrible server that lied to you at least twice. I’d be pretty upset. Every restaurant since the invention of money can split a check. And I’m sure they could’ve swapped out a “garnish” for you if they cared.
- Sep 18, 2015
- 1,706
- 1,335
I believe that was the last happy hour left at CW. A big reason for universal pushing for mostly their own branded restaurants is monopolizing alcohol sales and prices. It's a good business move just sucks as a guest. They also don't really need to entice anyone to come since the parks do that on their own these days.
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