It's a Great Day for the Today Cafe!
Rebecca Jones
5/25/21
Often times, when you think of theme park dining, mostly not-so-healthy items come to mind: French fries, hamburgers, milkshakes, soda, cotton candy, pretzels. You get the idea. This is why I was so happy to find The Today Café at Universal Studios Florida. Their combination of salads, unique sandwiches, and pastries was exactly what I was looking for.
Located immediately to the right upon entering the park, The Today Café is a bright spot among fried food options. It offers healthier choices for breakfast and lunch, including the Bagel Toast sandwich, whose description of almond butter, Nutella cream cheese, bananas, strawberries, chia seeds, toasted almonds and semi-sweet chocolate chips sounds heavenly first thing in the morning! Breakfast offerings also include overnight oats and an acai bowl topped with strawberries, bananas, toasted coconut, and organic granola.
I had the pleasure of dining here for lunch in December 2020. Upon arrival to the restaurant, my friends and I were asked to wait in line while the door attendant assured the line of guests was socially distanced. When it was our turn to enter, we drooled over the sample dishes in the display cases, and I decided to try the Little Italy Caprese Platter. This sandwich was warm mozzarella, oven roasted tomatoes, and basil aioli on a warm ciabatta bun. It was also served with a cup of fresh fruit.
After ordering, we were assigned to a table number, again to ensure social distancing. After about ten minutes, our food was delivered to our table, and I was able to dig in! The sandwich was delicious, and I appreciate its warmth on a cooler Orlando day.
My friend ordered the Big Apple Cheese Platter, which was a multi-cheese (think cheddar, Swiss, and pepper jack) grilled sandwich with red apples and roasted tomatoes, served on white bread. She loved it! Said it had a bit of a kick due to the pepper jack, but that she might try putting apples on her grilled cheese sandwiches at home. Her order took quite a bit longer to come to the table, but the restaurant management apologized profusely and made up for it by giving her snack credits to use with her dining plan later in the stay. She appreciated their attentiveness and acceptance of their mistake and immediate correction of the issue.
We also tried one of the holiday offerings at The Today Café – vanilla wreath cake. It was very light, with a minty taste to the frosting. I definitely enjoyed it but have my eye on the chocolate cream puff for my next visit! This restaurant also offers hot and cold beverages, from coffee and tea to beer and wine.
You can use mobile ordering in the Universal Orlando Resort app, as well as this location accepts the Universal Dining Plan. Ultimately, I’d say The Today Café is one of my new favorite dining locations at Universal Studios Florida.
If you are interested in a complimentary quote on your next Universal vacation, please contact your favorite Wishes agent. If you don’t have one, I’d love to assist you! I can be reached at (325) 733-8399 or at Rebecca@wishesfamilytravel.com. I hope to hear from you soon!