It’s certainly no secret that there’s plenty to see, eat, drink, and do at the brand-new Epic Universe theme park at Universal Orlando Resort.

We’ve made our way around the five themed lands, and Dark Universe might just be our favorite of them all. Here, visitors will “encounter everything from the experiments of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein to the shadowy landscape where monsters roam in a world of myth and mystery.” And that includes checking out the Burning Blade Tavern!

Atmosphere

Found in Dark Universe, The Burning Blade Tavern is a quick-service restaurant that pays homage to the iconic windmill from Universal’s 1931 classic, Frankenstein! The Tavern gives diners the chance to eat in an “old mill which Darkmoor Village’s monster hunters have transformed into their hangout.”

But don’t be SCARED… Instead of monsters being portrayed as heroes (as will be the case at Das Stakehaus), The Burning Blade Tavern shines the spotlight on hunters who protect regular folk from these legendary beasts.

Since this is a quick-service restaurant, you can order from the bartenders or Epic Universe team members stationed at the counters, but you can also mobile order and pick up your food from a nearby pickup window.

Surrounded by trophy heads of conquered monsters, diners will be able to enjoy a menu of burgers, pretzels (including the “Hunter’s Garlic Stake”), and specialty beverages while they listen to tales of victory from the hunters themselves!

In addition to indoor seating, there’s also a section of outside seating should you prefer being able to actually see what you’re eating!

But enough about the restaurant — what’s on the menu here?!

Menu

At the Burning Blade Tavern, you’ll find a selection of specialty drinks (like the Monocane and the Pure of Heart) and draft beer (like the Reaper’s Reserve brown ale and the Darkthorne Mead). But, you can also get some enticing eats like a burger, loaded potato, grilled chicken, and some other fun bites.

And now, onto the main event — the food!

Eats

To kick things off, we grabbed the Hunter’s Garlic Stake for $8.99. This is a crispy garlic butter pretzel with garlic dipping sauce — which is essentially music to our ears.

We had high hopes for the garlic stake, but it was a little too tame for us. It’s definitely got garlic on it — but not as much as you might expect. The garlic was strong in flavor, but there was less of it than what you might get on garlic knots from your local pizza joint. Same goes for the butter — it was there, but there could have been more. The pretzel itself had a decent flavor, but it was a bit on the tough side — we would have liked it to be more pillowy.

The garlic dipping sauce was tangy and buttery and definitely helped elevate this snack a bit.

We also grabbed the Burning Cheddar Bites for $11.99, which are described as crispy fried poppers with sriracha ranch.

These cheddar cheese bites are incredible and definitely shareable. If you love Taco Bell, this is your dish. The burnt cheddar bites have a cheddar cheese consistency similar to what Taco Bell uses in their quesadillas, or at least that’s what it reminded us of. There’s definitely some heat to these that sneaks up on you if you’re not careful.

The sriracha ranch sauce is also reminiscent of what Taco Bell uses in their quesadillas. These were warm, cheesy, and poppable. We could have eaten 300 of them, probably

For the main event, we picked up the Burning Blade Burger made from a 4-oz. black angus patty with American cheese, caramelized onions, jalapeño bacon on a potato bun for $12.99.

This wasn’t the best burger we’ve ever had — even by theme park standards. This one was more of a medium or medium-well consistency, and it had some charred or grilled flavor going on with the patty, which we really enjoyed. The cheese was great — nice and melty, and the bacon had a crunchy consistency while still having some chew to it.

The onions were nice and caramelized, but there weren’t many of them. The black bun was a bit hard to get over at first, but it kind of looked purple on the inside when you actually cut into it. Luckily, it was a normal potato bun that wasn’t anything to write home about. The chips served on the side were also quite familiar; they tasted like Lays Potato Chips (and probably were) so they weren’t too exciting, but they did the job.

Enough about the food, we’ve gotta wash it all down with something right?!

Drinks

To wash everything down, we grabbed the Darkthorne Mead for $14. This is a blackcurrant-boysenberry session mead infused with pink peppercorn.

The Darkthorne Mead might be our new favorite drink of all time — for real! We almost wish it wasn’t alcoholic because we could chug this stuff, no joke. It’s got a grape-like flavor, and it’s kind of a fluorescent bluish purple, like an indigo. It’s got a great presentation and is served to you cold. This drink is a 10 out of 10, and we wish we could give it way, way, way more points.

Nosh or Not

This Epic Universe restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You love all things Universal Monsters and want to experience all of Dark Universe.
• You’re looking for specialty drinks or beers.
• You’re in the mood for a snack while you’re in Darkmoor.

You should skip this Epic Universe spot if…

• You’re looking for a sit-down meal.
• You’re really hungry and want a wide selection of eats.
• You want to be able to see what you’re eating while still being inside.

Overall

We were really impressed with Burning Blade Tavern! To us, this seems like a spot that is best for drinks and light bites while you’re still making your way around Epic Universe. It’s relatively quick — at least when we visited — which makes it a great pit stop for sustenance before you continue your day. We didn’t love the burger, but the mead, cheddar bites, and garlic stake were worth making another trip!

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Epic Universe, Universal Orlando Resort, and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest theme park news and more!

A Definitive Ranking of Everything To Do in Dark Universe

Have you eaten at this Epic Universe restaurant before? Tell us in the comments!