Regarding theme park dining at Universal Orlando Resort, some places are viewed as “white whales.” These “white whales” look more challenging to find than for Ahab to defeat the white whale in the Melville literary classic. Yet, like Captain Ahab, theme park guests become obsessed with these places. In former years, the Green Eggs and Ham Café and Wimpy’s Burgers were rarely open. Now, those are open daily, but one “white whale remained, Café La Bamba. Starting today, everyone can dine at Café La Bamba in Universal Studios, Florida.
*updated* The new menu is posted at the bottom of the article.
In recent years, you needed VIP clout to eat at Cafe La Bamba. You needed to be on a VIP tour during Halloween Horror Nights, a RIP tour. However, starting any day now, Café La Bamba will open for all guests with a menu resembling counter service style burritos like Chipotle or Qdoba. A few test runs were completed with this menu style during private events before the planned was rumored to be opening on Jan. 10, but it hasn’t happened yet. In the test runs, this menu mainly drew praise.
Café La Bamba should be open for lunch and dinner each day. The menu contains burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads. The usually expected toppings of cheese, pico de gallo, rice, and beans can be found here. Universal Orlando presents some variety with several protein options for your food choices. These include pork, carne asada, shrimp, and chicken. For vegan diners, Cafe La Bamba offers portabella mushrooms and vegan chorizo.
In addition to the main entrees, guests can enjoy some other offerings. Based on menu theming, chips, queso, and guacamole will be for sale. Kid’s meals with expected taco or quesadilla can be purchased. Dessert here will involve cinnamon chicharrones, similar to the ones served during Halloween Horror Nights 2022, and a style of vanilla and horchata cake.
At this point, we have yet to get any official details from Universal Orlando about this rarely open-to-the-public dining location opening. For example, as of the time of writing, the Universal Orlando mobile app indicates Café La Bamba will not open, and no mention of any menu offerings like the ones listed above.
With Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck selling a similar style of food in the same theme park, time will tell if this unexpected new dining option works well for Universal Studios Florida. As always, eat like you mean it!
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