Dinner Diaries: The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen
Choco-holics are you ready for a dream come true? Universal City Walk has opened their doors to a brand new themed dining experience with their new restaurant, The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen.
This brand new restaurant on the famed Universal City Walk is both innovative and fueled by a fantastical re-imagination of Victorian Steampunk decor. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium serves as an anchor on Universal CityWalk as this destination prepares for milestone 30th anniversary celebration.
This new restaurant serves an extensive menu of brunch, lunch and dinner items along with sumptuous milkshakes, desserts and delectable confectionary treats, and is hosted by character ambassadors and world travelers Penelope and Jacques, to deliver an entirely new take on culinary inspirations for the entire family. The retaurant even boasts a milshake order counter that has a to-go window feature if you want to snag one of their outrageously divine milkshakes on your way to the park. Milkshakes to-go? Yes please!
The restaurant’s design is an experience in and of itself, its interior is adorned with a collection from Penelope’s archives of chocolate research and various steampunk gadgetry and inventions complete with L.A.-based artisans’ paintings of steampunk airships journeying through the sky atop the interior dome. The dynamic exterior façade features a giant clockwork marquee and towering 97-foot smokestacks. Inside there is a Candy Smith counter where you can experience a cornucopia of sweet treats, including 30 different flavors of macarons! There are many other confections to pick from but, we still find ourselves still drooling over the absolute beauty and magic that the macarons were, chef’s kiss.
Universal hosted a fun preview night ahead of opening their doors to the public and it was so much fun. We had a bit of everything to try from their menu à la buffet style for the evening and for us, the shrimp mac and cheese is a must, as is their chocolate rub roast pork. For dessert we werent able to keep our hands off of their bread pudding.
Universal has put alot of thought into this restaurant, they have created an entire story to focus the lore of it for visitors. Toothsome is more than just an eclectic restaurant, The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen features an entertaining backstory whose origins are as enticing as the food. Unlike most dining establishments, the eatery is hosted by two highly regarded steampunk ambassadors, Penelope and Jacques. As the story goes…the love of chocolate is at the core of Penelope’s family. Penelope, an innovator at heart, created Jacques, her trusty robot and confidant, to travel and explore the world. Upon returning to her small cottage home in London, England, after an extended trip abroad, Penelope discovered that her parents ventured out on a quest to find her, leaving a simple message – “We have set out to join you in your adventures. Surely the world isn’t so big that we can’t find you. We shall look for you wherever chocolate can be found.” Thus, Penelope knew what she had to do. Armed with the insight she had on all things chocolate, Penelope created The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. Her mission to share her passion and love of the sweet treat with the world was also grounded in the hope that one day her parents would find her. Spectacularly dressed in Steampunk attire, Penelope and Jacques frequent The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen to await her parents’ arrival and to share their adventures and innovations with guests.
Reservations can be made by visiting the website, and valet parking validation is available for diners. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen is exclusive to Universal Parks & Resorts and is one of three worldwide locations, including Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Beijing Resort. The arrival of the restaurant coincides with the 30th anniversary of Universal CityWalk
