Restaurant review: Sharks Underwater Grill at SeaWorld Orlando

From Joshua Counsil on June 3, 2009 at 8:37 PM
So ... is there even one exceptional theme park restaurant? Mythos and Brown Derby got average reviews, and Le Cellier and Shark's got poor reviews.

From James Rao on June 3, 2009 at 9:07 PM
NBA City, Josh, it never fails to please!

I am actually a little bummed about SUG getting a somewhat poor grade. It was one of a few sit down restaurants targeted for my 2010 Orlando trip. It may still be worth it for the ambiance, but I will have to think long and hard about forking over that kind of ca$h for mediocre food.

Pecos Bill's, here I come!

From Susan Muir on June 4, 2009 at 5:26 AM
I think Sharks is a great place to eat. Especially in the bar. I love watching the little fish swim under my plate as I am eating. I always make sure I am not eating fish.

From Eric Malone on June 4, 2009 at 8:07 AM
While I may not have visited all of these restaurants, I love the reviews. I hope Scott reads these comments, because these give me great ideas on where to take friends and family in July. Thanks, Scott!

From Robert Niles on June 4, 2009 at 9:44 AM
I hope that the message the parks hear from these reviews, and reader comments, is that there is a hunger out there (literal and metaphoric) for high-quality dining within a themed entertainment experience.

Frankly, upgrading the food and service in a restaurant is the most cost-effective and swiftest way for a park to create a premium entertainment experience. It takes months, even years, to build a world-class attraction. Shows can take weeks, or months, and require significant stagecraft investment.

Hire a top-quality chef and front-of-the-house help, then procure some high-quality ingredients, and you're good to go on a restaurant. The expense is minimal compared with even an off-the-shelf ride and the returns can be spectacular.

I don't want Mythos to rest on its laurels. I want Sharks to step up and provide the caliber of food that I know darn well BEC can provide. Those are two of the reasons I asked Scott to do these reviews and why I am commenting now. Let's keep the parks' feet to the fire and demand the best in food and service that they can provide, as we've demand the best in rides and shows in the past.

From Allan Loyd on June 4, 2009 at 8:56 PM
I am one of the Chefs at Sharks Underwater Grill. We strive each and every day to provide the best quality food to our guests. Being a company that is concerned with over fishing, we only serve IQF certified seafood, meaning that each product we use is certified to be sustainable at the current seafood harvest rates. There is a limited number of seafood products that are certified at present and in developing those products into our menu has taken many many hours of testing and tasting to meet our intended flavor profiles. As more certified products become available, be certain that we will be testing and bringing to market a quality product for our guests. Thank you. DJ Loyd

From Robert Niles on June 4, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Hi Allan,

Welcome to Theme Park Insider! Please keep us up-to-date on any changes at the restaurant. You've got a lot of potential fans here.

From Rob P on June 5, 2009 at 2:07 AM
It's great to get the views and opinions of people, like Allan, who actually work in the places we can only discuss from the customer's perspective.
So thanks again Allan.

I agree also that good quality, high profile dining is an important feature at the Parks and one that can be achieved relatively cheaply. I'm not suggesting that food retail within the Parks should try to achieve this at the expense of counter service outlets but in addition to them.

I would imagine that the outlets offering faster , cheaper fare represent the greater share of the food turnover and rightly so. Lots of them offer really good food too. Like Flame Tree BBQ to name but one.

But every Park should also be able to offer it's guests the option of at least one decent eatery with good quality food , excellent service and, equally importantly, imaginative themeing.

That's why places like Mythos and Shark's Grill need to succeed in an otherwise fast food environment.

From Joshua Counsil on June 5, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Alan -

Where do you get your seafood from?

From Anthony Murphy on June 8, 2009 at 2:17 PM
Good stuff!