Bigfire is the newest table service restaurant to open at Universal’s City Walk. The restaurant, which opened earlier this year, replaced Emeril’s Orlando after it closed back in July 2018.
Bigfire describes itself as the following:
Open fire cooking is center-stage, where elevated American fare like steaks and freshwater cuisine are given the fire-kissed treatment with pairings of different woods, flavoring your meal with smoky goodness.
The restaurant definitely has a very warm and cozy feel too it. With lots of exposed wood framing and large storefront windows, it feels almost like dining in one of the Wilderness lodge’s lakeside cabins.
The restaurant does a good job of feeling upscale, but not stuffy.
The booths along the wall all have power outlets for charging your phones with which in convenient.
The center of the restaurant features and on stage kitchen where you can see the flame grilled cooking in action.
The menu at Bigfire features various steaks, burgers, poultry and seafood. There area a few vegetarian options as well such as a cauliflower steak or sauteed vegetables.
In terms of cost, Bigfire is moderately priced. It features several quality steaks ranging from $28 – $38, which is cheaper than most high end steakhouses. The $30 8 oz filet mignon is a particularly attractive option.
There is a fairly extensive drink menu as well which can be viewed here.
One thing we didn’t love, is that bread service is not included in the meal. Instead, the freshly baked bread is served with a variety of butters and peach preserves at a $4 upcharge. That being said, it is fantastic bread and all of the toppings are delicious as well.
The bread was hot and fresh out of the oven with delicious char on the crispy exterior and a nice soft center. The peach preserves offered a nice sweet contrast to the bitter char on the bread. In terms of butter choices, the herb butter in the center is a home run!
For our entrees, we first tried the $16 Bigfire Signature Burger. The burger is a 1/2 lb. of black angus beef, cheddar, beefsteak tomato and had a nice aoli on it. The Bigfire branded bun is a fun touch. This was a very solid option. The burger was juicy and flavorful with high quality toppings. The potato wedge fries were seasoned nicely and were served hot and crispy. This is the best burger we’ve had on Universal property, although we have never tried Cowfish.
Next, we have the $30 8 oz Filet Mignon, served with a potato au gratin, and roasted veggies. It doesn’t indicate it on the menu, but our server informed us that the meat was 28 day dry aged. While we can’t confirm that other than taking his word, this was a high quality piece of meat.
The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was absolutely full of flavor. At $$30, its a bargain when compared to similar cuts at expensive steakhouses going for $50 and up. The sides are also included when compared to steakhouses which usually offer family sized sides ala carte.
For dessert, we tried the Baked Alaska: Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, meringue, torched tableside, based on our servers recommendation.
As it says above, alcohol is poured over top and set on fire tableside by your servers. This is meant to burn off all of the alcohol making it safe for kids to enjoy.
On this particular day, the lighter was not working so after the first bit of alcohol was poured, the server had to go and get a replacement lighter. He poured a 2nd bit of alcohol and torched it creating the cool effect seen in these photos. The problem was, since the first alcohol was not burned off right away, it soaked into the cake part of the dessert and was not burned off. This gave the whole dessert a very boozy taste, which I actually liked, but meant my 11 year old niece could not enjoy it aside from the ice cream in the center.
Still, this was a really great dessert! At $9, its an absolute bargain and is big enough to split between two people.
Overall, we really enjoyed Bigfire and are sure to return. The restaurant offers high quality food at reasonable prices. The atmosphere feels upscale, while remaining warm and inviting. It’s good enough that I would considering visiting one night even while staying at Walt Disney World. Parking is free for City Walk after 6 pm and there are plenty of things to do there to have a nice night out during your trip!
If you are already staying at, or visiting Universal Orlando, Bigfire is a no brainer! It’s better than anything you will find within the parks and cheaper too. We look forward to dining here again in the near future!
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