If you click on the links in this post, we may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post, at no extra cost to you. You can read the full disclaimer here.
My family had a chillingly wonderful time at Das Stakehaus when we visited Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe last week, and I wanted to tell you guys about our experience in this review.
I must say, I had high expectations for Das Stakehaus. When Epic Universe first started announcing its dining options, I was excited about trying numerous restaurants, but perhaps none as much as Das Stakehaus. Das Stakehaus sounded like the perfect addition to one of Epic Universe’s five universes, the Dark Universe. I loved the premise of the restaurant, with it being set on top of ancient catacombs where vampires reside.
But did the restaurant live up to my expectations? Thankfully, I can say yes. You can see why in this review. I’ll tell you about the restaurant’s atmosphere and decor. I’ll review the food. And I’ll also tell you whether or not it is appropriate for children.
Das Stakehaus Atmosphere, Decor & Theming
Das Stakehouse really nailed the atmosphere, decor, and theming. It really felt like you were in the catacombs, so you could be completely immersed in the experience.
A big reason why is the incredible attention to detail. It felt as if everything in the restaurant was chosen for a reason, and that was to help emphasize the theming and mood of the restaurant.
Like there are stakes coming down from the ceiling.
The artwork was perfect. There was artwork of what in a Dark Universe world would constitute as happy memories, but were often dark occurrences.
The lighting of the restaurant would add to the mood and the artwork as well. When the lights would flash, you could see red in the paintings representing blood.
The uses of color were perfect, especially the red. I loved the red chandeliers.
There were so many small features, too, that you may not even notice, like the bats on the chairs.
Perhaps one of the best representations of the attention of detail is the maximum occupancy sign. You’ll see a maximum occupancy sign in restaurants, but instead of a standard one, this is Das Stakehaus’ maximum occupancy sign.
I thought “Maximum Occupancy: 287 Souls” was perfect.
The restaurant has many rooms, and each room is perfectly decorated.
No matter where you are seated, I encourage you to walk through the whole restaurant. It’s the kind of restaurant where you can eat a bunch of times and keep discovering new things every time. These are my favorite kind of restaurants, personally. Because it takes it from just a meal to an experience.
A live violinist even walked through at one point, playing a haunting tune that helped fit the mood of the restaurant.
Speaking of the mood, I would say that overall the restaurant had a true gothic mood to it.
Is Das Stakehaus Suitable For Kids?
For that reason, I think it is okay to bring kids to it. The gothic and dark theming could be disturbing to your kid, and obviously, you know your child better than anyone. But there aren’t actors dressed as vampires jumping out at every turn. So if you are bringing your children to Epic Universe and you want to bring your children here, you should be fine as long as your kid doesn’t scare too easily.
Das Stakehaus Food Review
So I’ve been talking a lot about how great the theming is. And that extends to the menu.
While some restaurants may have great theming but standard theme park food fare for the menu, that is absolutely not the case for Das Stakehaus. The food is unique and not what you’d expect to get at a theme park. Additionally, the food was chosen to reflect the theming of the restaurant, and I think they did a great job.
For example, a lot of the menu items have food on stakes, which is absolutely perfect for the theming. They use a lot of red food to demonstrate blood. It’s just really creative.
And the food is good, too. For example, take the Carved Staked Steak.
First of all, it has the perfect name. And while it has stuff you might expect with a steak, like vegetables and mashed potatoes, it has that extra touch. Its crispy maitake mushrooms has a “bloody” jus and a the steak has a “hint of blood”. The presentation is just great.
The steak was really good. While it wasn’t the most tender steak we’ve ever eaten, it was still tender and very good. The sauce that represented blood worked well with the dish.
Another food that works well representing blood is beets, and as someone who loves beets I was excited to find a salad with beets on the menu.
This menu item is the Forager Salad, which along with red beets has bibb lettuce, blue cheese, crispy maitake mushrooms, arugula, acorn squash, and a blueberry pomegranate dressing. Oh, and of course, it has a grilled chicken stake in the salad!
I thought this salad was really delicious. The beets were chopped up well so that they blended in well with the salad without being overpowering. In fact, the entire salad was a wonderful blend of tastes. with the dressing being a wonderful complement to the tastes. Though I must say, the blue cheese bits were the best part.
The squash was really good. I was not familiar with acorn squash, but I now know I really like it! I was also not familiar with crispy maitake mushrooms. I was more neutral about this menu item (didn’t love it, didn’t hate it). It blended in well with the salad.
Oh, and the chicken on the stake was more than just fun. It was also very well cooked!
That wasn’t the only food on a stake we tried. We also tried the Bird on a Stake.
The bird here refers to the grilled dry-rubbed chicken tenderloin with red chimichurri. It also comes with charred green onion mashed potatoes, acorn squash, roasted baby carrots, and crispy maitake mushrooms.
We liked the chicken and the chimichurri sauce, but did not care for the seasoning on the baby carrots. Not all bites of the carrots were good.
The potatoes, on the other hand, were great. Every dish we tried that had those mashed potatoes was good. It had a good garlic taste to it (which is perfect for that restaurant, don’t you think?).
Speaking of another dish we tried, we also tried the Fish on a Stake. This meal came with a blackened salmon “stake” with similar sides: the aforementioned charred green onion mashed potatoes, acorn squash, and crispy maitake mushrooms.
We were a bit mixed on the salmon. Some parts of the salmon were good, some parts not as good. I’m not sure it is worth the extra cost to get the salmon versus say getting the chicken.
Price
Speaking of cost, I would say pleasantly surprised by the cost of this restaurant. Now, it is by no means cheap. Some entrees (like the salmon) cost over $20.
However, for the experience, and the fact you are in a theme park in Orlando, it is a good price. It is a quick service, so there’s no tip. And you can get the refillable souvenir mug for your drink. And like a lot of things at Epic Universe, even the refillable mug machines fit in with the theming.
Conclusion
Visiting Das Stakehaus is an amazing experience. It’s the kind of place where you visit once, and you’ll want to keep coming back over and over. It has a wonderful theme with great decor, an atmosphere, and artwork that makes you feel like you are on top of catacombs among vampires. It has a great gothic feel but not overly scary to where kids can’t enjoy the experience (as in there are no vampires jumping out to scare you).
The food is also really good, unique from other theme park restaurants, and fits the theming. It isn’t incredibly expensive as well.
For all of these reasons, we at Green Vacation Deals highly recommend this restaurant when you visit Epic Universe.
And speaking of visiting Epic Universe, you can find out how to get discounted Epic Universe tickets here.