CityWalk restaurants, Universal

CityWalk is exciting and beautiful at night! This is the restaurant and entertainment area  that you walk through in order to get to Universal Studios theme park or Islands of Adventure theme park. CityWalk is Universal's version of Disney Springs. 

There are plenty of upscale chain restaurants to choose from. A favorite with kids is Bubba Gump, where they get blue jello with their kids meal, and their chicken nuggets served in a cardboard boat. Make sure you ask to sit at the tables by the windows because there's an unpleasant dungeon-like area downstairs. Toothsome Chocolate Emporium has food, not just sweets. Hard Rock Cafe is always a nice option for a meal. There's NBC Sports Grill with 100 TV screens- from some seats you can look down on the kitchen! And a delicious option with homemade ravioli- Vivo Italian Kitchen (both inside and outside seating are very nice). Cowfish Sushi is popular, and there is another sushi option, Fusion Bistro. Antojito's Mexican restaurant and Bigfire Steakhouse are other options.
Some restaurants have live music in the evening around dinnertime, such as Margaritaville (which also has a tiki bar area called Lone Palm) and Bob Marley Caribbean restaurant. 
There are fast options such as Moe's, Red Oven Pizza, Bread Box Sandwiches, and Hot Dog Hall of Fame. Sweets to be had include VooDoo Doughnuts, Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, and Menchie's frozen yogurt.
You can make reservations online if you want to make sure you don't have to wait for a table, or you want to make sure a restaurant isn't closed for a party (Bob Marley often is). Otherwise, come at 5pm and you should be fine (parking isn't free until 6pm, so this option is only good if you've already paid for parking). 
At night the splash pad looks great, lit up with LED lights, and kids love to run around in it.
Around 7pm or later, you can see a few short fireworks that are a part of the fountain show at Universal Studios.
Around 9pm, CityWalk turns into an aged 21+ venue, with cover charges (around $7) to enter places like Bob Marley and hear their live music. Pat O'Brien's has dueling pianos plus Cajun food and a torch and fountain combination for decor. Red Coconut Club has an excellent live band and DJ playing all the favorite hits, and no cover charge until 10pm. Fat Tuesday has frozen, sweet drinks. The Groove is a dance club with a good DJ on Saturdays. Rising Star is a fantastic idea- a karaoke place with a live band backing you (18+ on Sun-Thurs, 21+ on Fri and Sat)!
At night, it's fun to try out Hollywood Drive-In Mini-Golf, which is lit up with neon lights. The two courses have a horror and alien theme.
It's wonderful to take a romantic stroll along the water. The walkway is recessed and has a nice feel to it, with lampposts and all the lights reflecting on the shimmering water. Sometimes they have great songs playing from the speakers, such as the Beatles! Don't miss out on this stroll while you're at CityWalk!
An entertaining night can be had at Blue Man Group, a show at CityWalk. This show combines music, cool lighting and props, potty humor jokes (kids like this), and some surprises that feel magical. You DEFINITELY need ear plugs at this show- you can buy Mack's small size for women and kids online.
There is also a movie theater at CityWalk, called Cinemark!
It's fun to explore the Universal hotels from CityWalk, or to stay at one of the hotels for easy access to the parks and restaurants. If you take the path near the spinning Universal globe, you can take a short walk to Hard Rock Hotel and check out their tropical landscaping with bamboo groves galore. Continue on to Loews Portofino Bay with its colorful Italian architecture. Their pool has wonderful trees around it. It is a lovely 0.8 mile walk around a lake to get here from the globe.
From behind Margaritaville, you can walk 0.4 miles past lush landscaping to Loews Royal Pacific Resort. Continue on to Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, a 0.7 mile walk. From there you can walk just a little further to Aventura Hotel with its Bar 17 Bistro, a family-friendly 17th floor rooftop bar with incredible views.
You can catch one of the free ferries from CityWalk to Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. Each hotel has its own dedicated ferry that runs every fifteen minutes starting 30 minutes before park opening. You don't have to be staying at the hotel, except if you catch the ferry late at night.

Directions

CityWalk is located at  6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819. Follow the many, clear signs to get to the right spot.
Parking at CityWalk costs $25 but is free after 6pm.
It is a long walk from the parking to the restaurants (0.4 miles at most), so wear good shoes. You also have to go through metal detectors to enter.

Click on map for interactive view