Hi goofyfordisney,
Sounds like we might be related.
DW and I just came back from a great stay at PBH. We didn't try that many restaurants at the hotels but I am writing up a trip report and restaurant reviews now, so I'll post what I have already written on PBH/Citywalk restaurants. (Generally speaking, the Citywalk restaurants are so close to HRH that they could almost qualify as hotel restaurants!) We also enjoyed the Hard Rock Cafe, which I think at least your 13 year old might really like.
Have fun!!
Sal's (Portofino Bay Hotel, dinner; we saw people walking around the HRH with pizza boxes, so I think they might have an equivalent place): This pizza shop, market, and deli was a real surprise that I would recommend to anyone staying at the Portofino Bay Hotel. We spent the second half of our vacation at this beautiful resort, which gave us a complimentary bottle of red (as Loew's Club card members) upon check-in. During our second night at the hotel, we stopped at Sal's and ordered a delicious Pizza Americana (served with mushrooms, sausage, and pepperoni) and a bottle of sparkling Pellegrino to go . Once we got back to our room, we opened the shades to our window reveal a beautiful view of the hotels bays (complete with a water taxis shuttling by every so often) and turned on a television channel that continuously played Italian opera music. This was one our most unplanned meals on the trip as well as one of the nicest and most romantic. Highly recommended.
Overall rating: 9.5/10
Emeril's (Universal CityWalk, diner): Emeril's was one of the biggest disappointments of our vacation. We arrived fifteen minute early for our 8:30 pm reservations but were not seated until about 9pm. At one point the maitre d' stopped over to apologize for the long wait (which we though was nice) and were told that we would be the next to be seated. After two more parties, we were finally shown to our seats. (I guess that they dont have as many accomodations for parties of two). We were placed in a fairly small side room which kind of resembled a glass-enclosed patio. While Emeril's tends to be a very noisy restaurant anyway, we were positioned between two large and very festive dinner parties. The noise was made even worse by all the glass and confined space. DW and I decided, rather quickly, that at these costs (and having made reservation as far in advance as possible) we would also want to speak at a comfortable level to each other during dinner. So, we asked to be moved into the main dining room. At this point, I was half hoping that would be able to accommodate us and we could leave. However, they were able to find better seats fairly quickly. DW and I both like Cajun food and both like fish so, for us, the big reason for trying this restaurant was the andouille crusted Texas redfish. The dish was very good but costly and didn't quite live up to our expectations. (The andouille was "dusted on" and I couldn't really taste it.) DW had the gumbo of the day (chicken and andouille, I think) and I had the soup of the day (carmelized onion and mushroom?), but both were just average. The service was "professional" acting but I wouldn't say it way very good. According to our bill, our server was called something like "Team 6." What this translated into was that you had a group of servers but none of them seemed to know what the other was doing. Two different people came to take our drink orders, for instance, but it seemed to take an eternity (and a reminder) to actually get them. After we actually received our food, we definitely felt rushed. I'm pretty sure that we spent more time waiting for a table and waiting to be moved than actually dining. At one point, my DW put down her fork and a member of "Team 6" came and whisked away her plate. Luckily, he was able to call to him before it was too late. When we actually finished our meals, another member of "Team 6" came by to make a big deal about we must have REALLY liked the food since we finished our main course. (Is this uncommon enough to really be that much of a surprise?) I tried to remark politely but all I could think of was how I really did not enjoy the atmosphere and how I wish we had stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel that evening, ordered pizza again and watched the movie that they show there poolside.
Overall rating: 5/10; While my low rating includes value for the dollar, I don't think that we would go back if the meal were free.
Hope these reviews help!
. Nachos are huge!
