Eating delicious snacks and meals is one of the BEST things about going to a theme park, in our humble opinion.

From iconic treats like Butterbeer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to trying out the latest eats at Central Park Crepes (read our review here!), we love dining in the parks!

While we love eating anything and everything, we were super excited when one of our favorite spots, The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, finally re-opened at Universal City Walk! We decided to head there for dinner and enjoy a little sushi, a little burger, and a lot of flavor!

The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar

Location, Hours, and Reservations

The Cowfish is located in CityWalk, Universal Orlando’s dining and entertainment district, meaning you don’t need a park ticket to enjoy it.

Currently they are open limited hours — only Thursday through Sunday from 4PM to 10PM. The Cowfish doesn’t take reservations, so we recommend getting there early to put your name on the list. The host team will give you an estimated wait, and they’ll text you when it’s your turn to eat.

Decor and Atmosphere

Once inside, you’ll find that there is indoor, outdoor, and bar seating. The bar — pictured above — is a modern centerpiece in white and gradients of color.

The decor overall is colorful and a little industrial, with metal chairs, exposed ductwork, and concrete floors.

At present, seating is heavily spaced to allow for physical distancing. And check out the awesome and expansive views from the patio!

The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar Menu

Taking a peak at the menu, you’ll find just what the restaurant name suggests: — Burgers, Sushi, and Specialty Cocktails! While the menu is slightly limited right now, there are still fan favorites such as Burgooshi, a burger-sushi hybrid. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Drinks

The Cowfish has a full bar, plus an extensive beer list, with plenty of choices for you to toast the end of a day at Universal Orlando!

I tried the Buffalos and Bacon signature cocktail — which is their twist on an Old-Fashioned made with Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Cherry Liqueur, topped with a piece of candied bacon! It was smooth, with just the right balance of sweet and smoky.

Appetizers

We then turned our sights to appetizers and couldn’t resist sampling a few!

First up: the crab rangoon dip ($14). This creamy dip is a twist on the classic Chinese take-out side dish — made with cream cheese and crab and topped with panko bread crumbs. It’s served with wonton chips that are drizzled with a sweet chili and chive glaze.

The dip itself was very creamy and you could taste the crab — but it wasn’t overwhelmingly “fishy” or salty.

The crips were light and the chili sauce added a perfect amount of sweetness and zest, but it wasn’t too hot for the heat adverse.

Overall, this was incredible. I wanted to fall into the bowl and had to actively make myself share with others. Granted, I love Crab Rangoons; they are 95% of the reason I order Chinese take-out. But it was a unique bite and a winner for everyone at the table, not just the rangoon-obsessed.

We also tried the Parmesan Bacon Truffle Fries ($10), which are house fries with chunks of bacon, chives, parmesan cheese, and a truffle sauce.

These were also tasty — with a strong truffle flavor coming through. They were slightly heavier than the dip, but another  great choice for a shareable starter (especially if you have someone in the group who doesn’t enjoy seafood).

We couldn’t resist sampling some of the sushi at a (part) sushi bar, and we know why it’s a staple of the menu! The Spicy Tuna Roll was fresh, with big chunks of quality tuna. It was bigger than we expected as well!

The Philadelphia Roll was also tasty — perfect ratio of smoked salmon to cream cheese to avocado.

Both of these rolls were $11, which we thought was fair given the size and quality. (And remembering we are in the land of theme park prices.)

Entrees

So far, the “fish” part had been delightful — but how about the “cow”?

Our server told us the best and most popular burgers were the C.B.C.L.T., the Texas Longhorn, and the Jalapeno Popper Show-Stopper. He had me at “jalapeno”.

This half-pound angus patty was topped with jalapeño-infused cream cheese, jalapeño bacon, fried jalapeños, jalapeño citrus aioli, lettuce, tomato, and fresh sliced jalapeños on a brioche bun ($15).

It was truly one of the best burgers I have ever had — partly because the beef itself was high quality and cooked perfectly medium rare (as requested), but also because the toppings were excellently matched. The cream cheese was particularly tasty, and I was living for the fresh jalapenos. Now, it was certainly spicy (a rarity for theme park food), so I wouldn’t recommend this one if you’re not a fan of heat.

Another diner at our table grabbed the C.B.C.L.T burger, which is basically Cowfish’s version of a standard burger with the acronym standing for Cheddar, Bacon, Cowfish Sauce, Lettuce, and Tomato. If you like to keep your burgers simple and classic, this is definitely the way to go.

And last but not least, we had to try the Burgooshi. I mean, cheeseburger and sushi put together?! Did Cowfish read my dream journal?

The All-American Bacon Double Cheeseburgooshi is basically a cheeseburger in sushi form. Bacon, potato strings, and soy paper wrap beef and cheddar cheese before being flash-fried. It’s then topped with pickles, onion, and tomato with Cowfish sauce, ketchup, and mustard drizzled on top ($17).

Final Thoughts