Welcome to Universal’s new resort, Stella Nova!

Universal Orlando is going through a major expansion in 2025! The brand-new theme park, Epic Universe, opens on May 22nd, 2025, and with that comes three brand-new hotels. Today, we’re checking out the first of these new spots at the Stella Nova Resort.

The Stella Nova Hotel is giving us a sneak peek inside the brand-new hotel, and we couldn’t be more excited! This new hotel opens on January 21st, 2025, with walking paths to Epic Universe, galaxy-themed resort rooms, and new dining options. Today, we are exploring it all, but right now, we’re focused on dining!

There are three new dining options at this resort, as well as pizza delivery. The first of the options is the Cosmos Cafe and Market! 

There are a few important things to know about this spot. First of all, the menu will feature American classics like burgers, salads, paninis, fried chicken, ice cream, and pasta. This is a quick-service dining location with a selection of grab-and-go items for all three meals. This is the most expansive option for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Here’s a note for our coffee fans — while this isn’t a full Starbucks location, the Market has a coffee counter that serves Starbucks coffee (including Starbucks teas and refreshers!!).

During our visit, we got to sample five items. We tried the:

• Honey Honey Chicken Pizza — Chicken, Grilled Corn, Caramelized Onions, Hot Chili Oil Drizzle, and Garlic Cream
• Gooey Monkey Bread — Chocolate, Cinnamon, Walnuts, Sweet Glaze
• Banana-Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes — Caramelized Bananas, Chopped Walnuts
• Mixed Berry Buttermilk Pancakes
• Stuffed Croissant — Mixed Berries, Cream Cheese, Cornflake Crust

 

First, let’s talk about the Banana-Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes. While the pancakes were a little on the chewy side, we’re gonna chalk that up to opening day kinks because, overall, these were GREAT! The toppings were incredible — especially the bananas. This dish was sweet, caramelly, and filled with big chunks of bananas. There were crunchy bits of caramelized sugar that just melted in our mouths. It was divine.

The Gooey Monkey Bread was awesome, too! It was so cinnamony and moist — just like you want your Monkey Bread to be. There were a few bites that were missing some of that creamy cinnamon sugar ripple, but overall this was a great dish.

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the croissant was a miss for us. It had an overwhelming amount of cream cheese and jam filling, so you really have to love cream cheese pastries to love this croissant. We’re not kidding — it was a lot of cream cheese. But hey — that could be a perk for some people; they were certainly very generous with the filling. 

Finally, there’s the Honey Honey Chicken Pizza. This was so fun! We were picking up on a buffalo flavor, but it wasn’t super spicy or overwhelming. There’s not a traditional red sauce on this; instead, there’s a garlic cream sauce that totally elevates the pizza. That said, there’s a lot going on with this pizza, so it might not be a universal fan-favorite. 

But, if you like chicken, garlic, corn, and caramelized onions, this could be a standout winner! We have to give Universal some props for trying something new.

Next up is the Galaxy Grill and Galaxy Bar! If you’re relaxing by the pool and taking a break from the parks, this is your spot.

Galaxy Bar is a full-service bar that serves classic beer and wines. If you’re looking for a refreshing drink, you can try The Orion cocktail, with vodka, Mandarin orange syrup, citrus-sour juice, and orange juice. There’s also a drink called The Calypso, which is made with a frozen blend of tequila and tropical fruits.

Galaxy Grill is a separate grill with a menu that features burgers, salads, quesadillas, and salads. The menu features some fun snacks and poolside drinks. We spotted a Hottie Chicken Sandwich, Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, and Southwestern Salad Bowl on the menu.

Not by the pool, but want a drink? Nova Bar has got you covered! This bar is in the lobby of the new resort. The Nova Bar has a selection of space-themed cocktails, like The Super Nova (whiskey, cherry-infused Campari, served smoked over a large ice cube) and The Nebula (Mezcal shaken with strawberry-rose syrup and topped with tonic and soda). There are also plenty of classic cocktails, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks.

Classic cocktails will be available, as well as beer and wine, so almost everyone can find a little something here.

None of these cover your bases? You can also order pizza delivery straight to your room, which sounds like the perfect “treat yourself” moment after a long park day.

That’s just a quick glance at all the dining options you can find at Universal’s newest resort hotel!

See Everything We Know About The Stella Nova Resort Right Here! 

Tell us in the comments which spot you’re stopping at first! 

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Universal Orlando Resort to attend their media preview of the Stella Nova Resort. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ