Food and Drinks in theme parks

[pushbutton]

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread dedicated to food and drink options in the parks. It would be great to see what people think of the current offerings at various parks, and also to hear peoples ideas on how this could be improved.

 

To start it off, I visited the Dirty Harry bar at Movie World today and, whilst I do think $22 is very expensive for lunch (and that didn't include my drink) the "make your own" burritos did look tempting so I thought I'd treat myself and try the beef ones.

It was great to be able to order a beer with my meal, as I never drink soft drinks and the only other option in most theme parks is water. I don't mind drinking water if it's free, but I do if it's $4 or even more!

My mistake, I suppose, was ordering the beer at the same time as I ordered the food. I just thought it would be slightly more convenient to pay for both at once. I was given a pager which went off when my food was ready, so there is no reason why staff couldn't have served my drink to me at the same time. However they served it as soon as I had paid, leaving me (in their intention) to carry a drink around until my food was ready. I didn't. I left it on the bar. One woman behind the bar kept telling me "that's your drink", and seemed quite surly about it. Poor woman seemed to hate her job!

Anyway, the pager went off and I collected a very nicely presented meal, and the beer which was still sitting on the bar for me. The first thing I noticed is the steak looked very undercooked. Granted this is a matter of opinion, and everyone has their preference on how well done steak should be.

Not to be put off so easily, I sat down at a table and proceeded to make my own burrito! The portion size was pretty much just right. The inclusions were all very good, and it was a welcome change from the usual burgers or fish that until recently seemed to be about the only thing for lunch at any Gold Coast theme park!

So my opinion:

- Idea = Great

- Steak = Probably would have been very good, but was just TOO undercooked for my liking.

- Burritos = Felt and tasted stale, which detracted from the overall enjoyability of the meal.

- Price / value for money = Mediocre at best in my opinion, especially as the $22 didn't include my drink. Sea World does a similar priced meal at Dockside Tavern which DOES include a beer. I am sure the same could apply here, even with steak burritos.

 

Whilst I'd love to say I've found a new food addiction and will be having this new lunch offering regularly from now on, I don't feel I got a quality meal or good value for money, so sadly I won't be back to Dirty Harrys any time soon. Again though, great to see them trying new things, and hopefully it will continue to improve. Perhaps I'll give it another go when they've had more time to iron out the "teething issues"!

Edited January 22, 2016 by pushbutton

[LaurenHope]

Honesty the food options in all the parks are pretty poor.

I am ceoliac and there is honestly barely any options excluding saladsz (which are normally pretty awful)

I have tried burgers from the batman store at MW and they have gotten worse over time, the meat they use tastes pretty awful.

[Reanimated35]

So we've seen this photo posted a few times here,

 

What's to stop you asking for it to be 'well done' or however you prefer it cooked? Could you not have also asked for it to be cooked longer when it came out? 

Also with the drink, could you not have asked them to wait? How are they to know you only want it with your food? What about the people who want to have a beer before the meal to keep them occupied while they wait? 

Edited January 22, 2016 by reanimated35
Poor spelling

[grrofunger]

54 minutes ago, pushbutton said:

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread dedicated to food and drink options in the parks. It would be great to see what people think of the current offerings at various parks, and also to hear peoples ideas on how this could be improved.

 

To start it off, I visited the Dirty Harry bar at Movie World today and, whilst I do think $22 is very expensive for lunch (and that didn't include my drink) the "make your own" burritos did look tempting so I thought I'd treat myself and try the beef ones.

It was great to be able to order a beer with my meal, as I never drink soft drinks and the only other option in most theme parks is water. I don't mind drinking water if it's free, but I do if it's $4 or even more!

My mistake, I suppose, was ordering the beer at the same time as I ordered the food. I just thought it would be slightly more convenient to pay for both at once. I was given a pager which went off when my food was ready, so there is no reason why staff couldn't have served my drink to me at the same time. However they served it as soon as I had paid, leaving me (in their intention) to carry a drink around until my food was ready. I didn't. I left it on the bar. One woman behind the bar kept telling me "that's your drink", and seemed quite surly about it. Poor woman seemed to hate her job!

Anyway, the pager went off and I collected a very nicely presented meal, and the beer which was still sitting on the bar for me. The first thing I noticed is the steak looked very undercooked. Granted this is a matter of opinion, and everyone has their preference on how well done steak should be.

Not to be put off so easily, I sat down at a table and proceeded to make my own burrito! The portion size was pretty much just right. The inclusions were all very good, and it was a welcome change from the usual burgers or fish that until recently seemed to be about the only thing for lunch at any Gold Coast theme park!

So my opinion:

- Idea = Great

- Steak = Probably would have been very good, but was just TOO undercooked for my liking.

- Burritos = Felt and tasted stale, which detracted from the overall enjoyability of the meal.

- Price / value for money = Mediocre at best in my opinion, especially as the $22 didn't include my drink. Sea World does a similar priced meal at Dockside Tavern which DOES include a beer. I am sure the same could apply here, even with steak burritos.

 

Whilst I'd love to say I've found a new food addiction and will be having this new lunch offering regularly from now on, I don't feel I got a quality meal or good value for money, so sadly I won't be back to Dirty Harrys any time soon. Again though, great to see them trying new things, and hopefully it will continue to improve. Perhaps I'll give it another go when they've had more time to iron out the "teething issues"!

Steak needed to be darker...

They should also make Dirty Harry's darker, need more dark attractions.

[Brad2912]

I'm boycotting!

#ThemeParkSoLight

[pushbutton]

Why should Dirty Harrys be darker?

[Brad2912]

Don't you think Will Smith would have been a great Dirty Harry?

#HarrySoWhite

[Slick]

This will probably interest you - http://ourworlds.co/dirty-harry-grill-review/

I personally really liked the new Dirty Harry Bar and find it pretty solid bang for buck wise, especially when you're comparing it to the likes of GYG. If it were sub-par ground beef, thing tortillas and lacklustre filler i'd take issue at the price but it's the polar opposite, the beef steaks they use are nothing but quality that's not seen anywhere else. When you match that with the dirty fries they make are a pretty rare if not unique offering in terms of not just theme parks but south east queensland as a whole. In fact, it's why I liked Carnivale so much - where else do you get actual clam chowder to go or a seafood boil that's just insanely spicy and addictive?

[xRazzBerryx]

The last time I visited the parks we did half a day at Movie World then half a day at Sea World. Instead of buying food at the park, on the way to Sea World we stopped off for a quick burger at Obsessions on Chevron. The burger was $16.50 and was very tasty. When ordering my burger, I always ask for Medium Rare as that's how I like my meat cooked. You should always ask them to cook it how you want it cooked because it isnt always going to be cooked how you like it.

I really would love to sit down at one of the parks and have a nice burger, however the burgers at the parks at the moment aren't all that great. I remember a few years back when we ate burgers from Movie World we used to joke around saying they used ibis meat in their burgers ?. If I had to choose between paying ~$15 for a burger meal at Movie World or travel to get a ~$15 burger & chips meal at a burger joint, I would travel. If the parks brought in a decent juicy burger for a price between $15 - $25 I'd happily stay at the park & eat there. 

 

[joz]

The chips in a pointless metal basket thing needs to die.  And wtf they served the whole thing on a pan?

 

I haven't tried Village's new 'gourmet' offerings, but I did enjoy Dreamworld's improved expensive options last time I was at the park.  Also IMHO Gothem burgers aren't really that bad, they're just not worth the typical slow moving queue that tends to exsist there.

Edited January 23, 2016 by joz

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Personally, i think Dirty Harry's needs more theming... and you need to be able to walk through the kitchen... they also need to blackout those windows.

Drinks are always served at the time of ordering. that's so you finish it before your meal is served, and order another one to wash down the meal. it's called making money.

It's why places like Lone Star serve you free peanuts, or free corn chips - they're salty, and they make you thirsty, so you drink more.

Quite frankly, if you expected that your drink would be served at the same time as your meal, you should have gone to McDonald's.

[pushbutton]

I like the chips in a metal basket thing. I think it's quite cool. It also results in noticeably better quality chips compared to when they're served in a disposable cardboard container. 

[joz]

What's cool about it?  It's not like they used that basket to cook your chips in, it's just a pretentious way of serving chips.  Also what a great idea, having them stacked on top of each other in an open air basket so they can get cold quicker.  Genius!  What a load of crap, and what's more, idiots think it's fancy and places feel like they can get away with charging an extra $5 for chips.  What's wrong with plates?  The ONLY time a basket is acceptable is when you get a meal where the plate is quite full, and they give you a basket to keep shit organised.  Apart from that it's a needless trend designed to fool people into thinking their having something fancy, when really what they're having is a burger and chips.

 

Also fwiw if I ordered a drink when I ordered food and they didn't give it to me straight away I'd be pissed off.  The lady probably didn't hate her job, but was annoyed that a customer had decided to boycott the drink they'd been served, and left it on the bar cluttering the place without saying why.

 

Nothing personal here, I just hate metal baskets.

[Reanimated35]

[pushbutton]

1 hour ago, joz said:

What's cool about it?  It's not like they used that basket to cook your chips in, it's just a pretentious way of serving chips.  Also what a great idea, having them stacked on top of each other in an open air basket so they can get cold quicker.  Genius!  What a load of crap, and what's more, idiots think it's fancy and places feel like they can get away with charging an extra $5 for chips.  What's wrong with plates?  The ONLY time a basket is acceptable is when you get a meal where the plate is quite full, and they give you a basket to keep shit organised.  Apart from that it's a needless trend designed to fool people into thinking their having something fancy, when really what they're having is a burger and chips.

 

Also fwiw if I ordered a drink when I ordered food and they didn't give it to me straight away I'd be pissed off.  The lady probably didn't hate her job, but was annoyed that a customer had decided to boycott the drink they'd been served, and left it on the bar cluttering the place without saying why.

 

Nothing personal here, I just hate metal baskets.

You have a point there lol!

I'm converted. Dreamworld. We want plates!

You too McDonald's!

[xRazzBerryx]

3 hours ago, joz said:

The chips in a pointless metal basket thing needs to die.  And wtf they served the whole thing on a pan?

 

I haven't tried Village's new 'gourmet' offerings, but I did enjoy Dreamworld's improved expensive options last time I was at the park.  Also IMHO Gothem burgers really that bad, they're just not worth the typical slow moving queue that tends to exsist there.

Haha yeah I guess it is a bit pointless in the metal basket. They also had regular fries in the basket & sweet potato fries in the basket which I thought was kind of weird. Other burger places I've been to you can choose if you want regular or sweet potato. Also.. they didn't even serve sauce with the chips  Anyway, the burger was the main part of the meal and it didn't disappoint! 

I haven't tried Dreamworlds burgers lately so I must do that when I go next  

 

[Brad2912]

Unless you're 10 years old and eating at a pub, fries don't Come with ketchup on the side as standard.. 

[Spotty]

If you want a good burger on the Gold Coast, try Brooklyn Depot at the coach terminal. Amazing food at a great price.

I went to Dreamworld yesterday and tried the fried chicken from "The Grid", it wasn't bad but overall it wasn't the best i've had and honestly KFC is better. However, I had the loaded fries from them and they were WELL worth the $9.50 I paid for them. I got a boat sized serving of chips like they serve the meals in with a heap of cheese, salsa and pulled pork in it. Easily enough to be considered a meal. Much better than the McDonalds offering, and about the same price too! Wouldn't mind trying one of the burgers from them one day.

[xRazzBerryx]

30 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Unless you're 10 years old and eating at a pub, fries don't Come with ketchup on the side as standard.. 

No they don't come with ketchup, they come with all different kinds of sauces. 

From Chur Burger & Ze Pickles Menu. 

 

 

Some me places chips must be purchased as a side and some other places they come with the burger. 

Edited January 23, 2016 by xRazzBerryx

[rappa]

Meh

Brooklyn Depot is the most overrated restaurant on the Gold Coast and there is nothing American about their 'American style' menu. 

 

If if you want a decent burger head to Longboards at Q1

 

Back on topic, both the burger offerings at Movie World and Dreamorld are now pretty good. They just cost appropriately. 

[Levithian]

15 hours ago, Spotty said:

If you want a good burger on the Gold Coast, try Brooklyn Depot at the coach terminal. Amazing food at a great price.

One of, if not the best, burger places on the gold coast is across from harbour town.

https://www.zomato.com/gold-coast-qld/burger-bro-biggera-waters

No pretentious bullshit, just really tasty, juicy burgers without fat and oil smearing your hands and mouth.

If you can find a better burger under $14 that comes with a serve of proper chips, id invest in the store.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Levithian

[xRazzBerryx]

9 hours ago, Levithian said:

One of, if not the best, burger places on the gold coast is across from harbour town.

https://www.zomato.com/gold-coast-qld/burger-bro-biggera-waters

Yes! Have been there and it was well worth it ??

I went to The Flying Cock last night in Fortitude Valley. It came with a massive serve of chips & sauce. $18 for the lot. @joz This is what the chips should look like ??

 

[westical]

Those aren't chips.

[pin142]

Those look like your standard fries from a place like maccas. Proper chips are thick cut and if the place really gives a shit they do them from scrach.

[Gazza]

There's also a shipping container long boards at that Night Quarter market at Westfield Helensvale, though with a smaller menu.

Agree that Brooklyn Depot was overrated..I tend to be a bit dismissive of a lot of those places that have popped up in recent years with those dry industrial sounding names, like "General Burger Co." Or whatever.

And yes I hate it when they do American incorrectly. like, when you buy wings they should have that sharp vinegary taste and your fingers should be orange by the end....A part of me dies when you get these things coated in weak BBQ sauce. 

Other general burger points.

-A Schnitz opened at Pac Fair...There seem to be a few around Melbourne and Sydney.....Imagine a Grilld with schnitzel instead of burger meat. Again, a bit meh, and the special seasoning they promote on their chips was clearly Maggi chicken powder.

-MOS burger have taken the beef teriyaki burger off the menu. Devastated

- It seems like Maccas have stopped doing the mini fryer baskets, and now you get them in a fancy paper cup.

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2016 by Gazza