Are the Restaurants in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley Expensive & Overrated or Good Food Reasonably Priced?
Revised 4/2021
Since
my visit to Universal Orlando is to celebrate my 60th birthday—huge deal for a woman—I didn’t
want to miss a thing. Since I’m also a
Potter Head, I wanted to immerse myself in all things Harry Potter. Therefore, it
follows that I’d have to sample the food and, of course, the Butterbeer of the
Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Diagon Alley. I expected the food to be much overpriced and
barely eatable. What I found was a mixed
bag.
Note: Follow CDC and park guidelines when visiting. Always wear your face mask when in public.
The Leaky Cauldron
Fans will undoubtedly recognize this restaurant as Harry’s first glimpse into the Wizarding world and one that he visits often. After all, the only way into Diagon Alley from the Muggle world is through The Leaky Cauldron. Universal’s version is very similar in appearance and feel, except for all the darn Muggles. And the long lines.
Long,
wooden family-style tables placed on—what appears to be—stone floors inside a
large, dark, stone/plaster walled room contribute to the feel of complete
Diagon-Alley immersion. Pictures of witches and wizards line the walls. The
ceiling is high above us, adorned with large wooden beams. It’s like it popped magically out of one of the
Harry Potter movies.
Note: Don’t
miss the “Have you seen this wizard” moving picture wanted poster as you
exit.
Lunch
and Dinner menus offer choices such as:
- Bangers & Mash $14
- Fish & Chips $17
- Toad in a Hole or Chicken Sandwich with Fries $12 each
- Banger Pub-style sandwich $13
- Cottage or Fisherman’s pie ($16-$17)
- Guinness stew $16
- Ploughman’s platter $22 (enough for two diners).
Wizardly beverage choices:
Fishy Green Ale, Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice, Tongue Tying Lemon Squash, Peachtree Fizzing Tea each for roughly $5.49.
Gillywater
and Pumpkin Juice is $5-5.50
Beer
choices $10.50.
The
drink most fans must try, besides Pumpkin Juice, is Butterbeer for which there
are two choices: frozen and fizzy $8.
Fishy
Green Ale is a rather interesting misty-green minty beverage with blueberry
flavored “fish eggs” settled at the bottom of the cup. The exceptionally wide straw helps to access
those less than attractive eggs, which are, surprisingly, blueberry-flavored
gelatin balls that burst as they enter your mouth. It is refreshing and tastes good. I found it better tasting than the
Butterbeer.
Like
many in Diagon Alley, the queue winds around thickly, but this one is in a tiny
rock-walled waiting room. We chose to
visit during a non-typical mealtime, so our queue was less than ten
minutes.
Note: Wait
times vary due to Covid. Check the
website often for updates and always socially distance.
Once
it was our turn, we are directed to the next open register (there are
several). Here we order, pay, receive a
large candle with our number, receive our drinks and then we are directed to a
table. It was very cozy and clean.
I
ordered a Toad in a Hole, while my travel buddy-husband went with the chicken sandwich $13 each. He chose to pair his meal with a Peachtree
Fizzing Tea $5.49. I chose to go with
just water and was quite happy about it.
I really didn’t want a beer and everything else just seemed too
sweet.
Both
of our dishes were delicious! The toad
is sausage (yum) baked inside Yorkshire pudding, which is remarkably similar to
popovers. (Recipe)
His was a juicy, perfectly grilled piece of chicken with crispy bacon
and an apple butter aioli, served with crispy wedge fries. We were both quite happy with our choices and
considered the portion ample, although many would not. The Toad in the Hole is not huge. In my opinion, this lunch was a good value,
except for the drink prices. They are a
tad expensive.
Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor
While
reading—yet again—Prisoner of Azkaban, I so dearly wanted to join Harry while
he sat eating his many servings of luscious ice cream at Fortescue’s. Of course, he sat outside and that isn’t
possible here—no outdoor seating. What
is possible, though, is getting my hands on some yummy creamy delights, such as
Butterbeer and Salted Caramel Blondie (my favorite) ice cream. The many flavors are available soft serve or
hard-packed at $6 in a cup, $7 in a cone, $$8.50 in a souvenir ice cream
dish. Considering I’d have to carry the
dish all day, I decided against it.
The
price of ice cream at Fortescue’s is just slightly higher than purchasing it in
other ice cream establishments.
Note:
Trying ice cream at Fortescue’s is a must-do for Potter Heads. However, I found the ice cream at Ben &
Jerry’s in the New York area of the park to be much better—Chocolate Therapy,
baby.
If
Fortescue’s is too busy and you need your Butterbeer ice cream fix, walk right
around the corner to the Fountain of Fair Fortune. There’s rarely a line.
Tucked
away at the end of Carkitt Market, (to the right of Gringotts) this walkup-counter
rarely has much of a line and serves a limited menu of drinks (the same as The Leaky Cauldron)
and light snacks (Cornish Pasties $9.99 & a variety of Golden Wonder Potato
Crisps $3.49). In my opinion, it is the
best place to get a Butterbeer.
There’s
a relaxing seating area out front of the counter as well. It’s a great place to rest after a long
morning shopping for Wizarding supplies.
Note: It
may be a safer place to eat due to Covid and socially distancing.
Eternelle’s Elixir of Refreshment Cart
Not
far from the Hopping Pot is the Eternelle’s Elixir of Refreshment cart, which
sells four types of magical elixir for the witch or wizard for $5-7 each. These elixirs remind me of the Felix Felicis
elixir Harry Potter took to give him “bottled luck” in the movie/book “The
Half-Blood Prince”.
A
bit different from the movie or book, these elixirs are added to a $6 bottle of
Gilly Water (normal tap water in a decorative bottle). The resulting drink tastes like flavored
water priced over $10. However, it could
protect the wizard or witch from fire.
I’ve yet to test that theory.
Note: Eternelle’s
is temporarily closed due to Covid.
Prices may be different once they reopen. There is an ap available for download. Check it out.
Fountain of Fair Fortune
It
is tiny, but chockfull of Wizardly ambiance created by its dark wood walls and
giant kegs against the wall facing the doors. Similarly, to the Hopping Pot,
this watering hole serves a limited menu of beverages and Butterbeer ice
cream. Three types of beer are available
Dragon Scale, Draught and Wizard’s Brew all for less than $10. Non-alcohol choices are Gilly water, Fishy
Green Ale and both types of Butterbeer (frozen and fizzy) for $5-8 each.
In Conclusion
Even
if the food was a bit pricy, the experience was priceless. That isn’t to say that it is logical to
purchase all your meals in Diagon Alley—expensive! Nevertheless, we found that we ate and drank
without emptying our wallets. If dining
at the Leaky Cauldron, order a glass of water.
It’s free. Also at the Leaky
Cauldron the Toad in a Hole and their delicious chicken sandwich with fries are
both $13. Both dishes satiated our
hunger. Share a Salted Caramel Blondie
ice cream from Fortescue’s for $6 and it is the best day ever!
Exploring Diagon Alley Universal Orlando
Comments
Post a Comment