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My family recently had the pleasure of staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. This is a wonderful luxury hotel at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. The hotel has a lot of great perks (it’s within walking distance of Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios theme parks, you get free unlimited express pass, etc.).
But one of the reasons I was excited about visiting here is that there are some great dining options here. My family tried some of the dining options here. Our favorite was Jake’s American Bar.
So today I am going to review this bistro and bar and tell you all about it. And then I will tell you how you can save money at your next trip to the Universal Orlando Resort!
Jake’s American Bar Location
Jake’s American Bar is located at the Royal Pacific Resort. It is really convenient to visit if you are staying at the Royal Pacific Resort, which my family was. You just take an elevator to the first floor. It is close to the hotel’s pool and the boat dock.
But if you are not staying here, you can easily get there if you want to come here for dinner or lunch. You can take a boat to Royal Pacific and then take a boat back to Universal.
Royal Pacific is also a short walk to Islands of Adventure. So you can take the Garden Walk walking path to the restaurant.
This can be great on a multiple-day trip to Universal Orlando if you want more sit-down dining experiences since most restaurants at both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are quick-service.
Jake’s American Bar: Story, Atmosphere & Decor
One of the things I love about Jake’s American Bar is its innovative storyline (assuming, you know, this is a storyline and not a true story, of course!). Jake McNally is a fabled South Seas explorer whose seaplane mysteriously disappeared. But if you want to see it, don’t worry; the boat actually floats in the lagoon onsite at the hotel!
Anyway, the whole restaurant is a tribute to him. If you have time before your food arrives, check out the memorabilia up around the restaurant. It really is creative and neat. I loved the letters from his Hollywood girlfriend, the pictures, etc. It really helps the story come alive, and I am a sucker for restaurants with detailed storytelling.
All the decor at the whole restaurant really sets the mood, down to the smallest detail like how the fans on the ceiling look like propellers of planes.
The music playing also helped add to the atmosphere. It really gives you a 1930s feel.
In addition to the theming, you can get some wonderful views of the resort from this restaurant, too. Royal Pacific really is one of the prettiest Universal hotels, and that is on full display here.
Bar
As you might expect since bar is in their name, Jake’s is a great place to go if you like drinks. Jake’s is a full-service bar.
They have great island-inspired cocktails and craft beer.
They have a lot of Florida local brews like:
- Funky Buddha from Oakland Park, Florida
- Crooked Can from Winter Garden, Florida
- Big Top from Sarasota, Florida
- Bold City from Jacksonville, Florida
- First Magnitude from Gainesville, Florida
- Islamorada from Fort Pierce, Florida
- Ivanhoe Park from Orlando, Florida
So if you are looking for a great drink after a day at the theme parks, this is your place.
Food
But Jake’s doesn’t only serve drinks. My family had lunch here, and we absolutely loved our food.
I’ll start with my favorite menu item. And that is the Prosciutto And Goat Cheese Flatbread.
This is a flatbread with, of course, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese along with Roasted Tomato, Arugula, Pesto, and a Balsamic Glaze. I had actually never eaten anything like this, though I have enjoyed a lot of these ingredients in other meals. I wasn’t sure honestly if I was going to enjoy it but I took a chance and ordered it.
And boy am I glad I did! Because it was absolutely delicious. The flavors blended perfectly together. I loved every bite.
Another great menu item is the B-1 Bomber Burger.
It is a burger that comes with tomato, lettuce, onions, a pickle, and bacon. It normally comes with cheddar cheese. But we asked if they could switch it to Swiss cheese, and they happily did. I thought that was good, since not every restaurant is accommodating when you want to switch ingredients. Additionally, they were not shy with the swiss cheese, which made the burger way better. The burger was really good.
You had a choice of fries with this meal. Pictured here are the sweet potato fries, which were absolutely delicious!
Another fries that was delicious was the Parmesan fries. They came with the Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich.
This was another delicious menu item. The Fries in particular were especially delicious. I like French Fries normally, but I thought these were even better than just regular French Fries.
Jake’s has some great lighter menu items, too, if you don’t want a heavy lunch. Pictured here is one of those menu items.
It appears on the “Take Off” part of the menu. It is tomato soup with a side of a grilled cheese sandwich. And this was delicious, too!
Conclusion
Jake’s American Bar is a great themed restaurant with delicious food and a wonderful selection of craft beer and cocktails. It is especially a great restaurant to visit if you are staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort. But it is also a great restaurant if you are visiting Universal Orlando because you can walk there from the parks or get there by boat, and it is one of the best sit-down restaurants at the Universal Orlando Resort.
Additional Info: How to Save at Universal Orlando
I am sure you didn’t forget that I said earlier I would tell you how to save money at Universal Orlando!
Well, if after reading this blog entry you want to visit Royal Pacific (you will love it, I am sure), click here. You can get a great rate at the hotel on this website.
Do you want to also save money on Universal Orlando theme park tickets? Then click here for some discounted tickets!
