Taste Test & Review: The Wicked Good and the Scary Bad

Halloween Horror Nights is an annual Halloween event at Universal Studios in Orlando and Hollywood, running on select nights from late August to early November. The immersive haunted houses, each themed after original stories, iconic horror movies, and TV shows, are the main attractions. But don’t be tricked—the food is just as big a treat at the event!

This year, I visited Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and sampled nearly all the special event foods. Some bites were wickedly good, while others were frightfully disappointing. Here’s the scoop on which treats are worth your money—and which ones you should ghost!

The Good

Spinal Column Pinchos ($10.99)

The Spinal Column Pinchos were inspired by the haunted house calledMonstruos:The Monsters of Latin America. This plate featured grilled chicken tenders on a skewer covered in red chimichurri.

The chicken was perfectly cooked and super moist, and the chimichurri had just the right amount of tanginess to keep me coming back for another bite.

Theme park food has the reputation of being low-quality and heavy, but these chicken skewers prove you can fuel up with a light, well-made protein during your park day. I think the $11 price tag on this dish is excessive, but I guess that’s to be expected in theme parks.

Ropa Vieja Walking Taco ($13.99)

Walking Tacos are a returning favorite at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. If you’ve never had one, a walking taco consists of some sort of chip (in this case, Nacho Cheese Doritos) along with all the fixings you’d find on a taco.

The portable, walking-friendly nature of this snack makes it ideal for theme park eating. It features ropa vieja, which is a super flavorful stewed beef, plus salsa roja, lettuce, sour cream, and Monterey jack cheese.

This is one of the more filling options on my list, so grab it at the beginning of the event if you plan on staying until the park closes at 2 a.m. There’s also a vegan version of the Walking Taco made with Fritos and vegan chili.

Into the Fog Fish & Chips ($16.99)

The Into the Fog Fish & Chips were inspired by the Halloween Horror Nights house called Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines. This classic British dish is made with crispy beer-battered cod nuggets, pub fries, and a malt vinegar aioli for dipping.

There were four fairly large cod nuggets, each of which was perfectly crispy and not overly oily.

This dish is a must-try for the malt vinegar aioli alone. I’d buy a jar of this stuff if Universal sold it. This is another filling dish that will keep you energized for the long night of frights ahead.

Poison Apple ($6.49)

It might look like a candy apple, but this dessert is actually caramel mousse with an apple pie filling and streusel cake.

The streusel cake on the bottom seemed more like a shortbread cookie to me, but it was delicious, nonetheless.

The apple filling was the star of the show. It reminded me of a mix of apple pie and cheesecake. For presentation’s sake, there’s some cookie crumble “dirt” and a gummy centipede on the side. Cute or creepy? Maybe a little bit of both.

Eggs in the Further ($11.99)

This dish is a reimagining of eggs in purgatory mixed with a classic egg in the hole. It features a hearty slice of jalapeno brioche bread topped with a poached egg, zesty tomato sauce, and feta cheese.

The balance between the rich egg, salty feta, and herby tomato sauce made for the perfect bite. The slice of bread is thick and nicely toasted, so it stays crunchy even after the sauce goes on.

Just like a handful of others on my “best of” list, this is a fairly filling snack that can keep you full for a while or can be easily split.

The Bad

Mini Stay-Puft S’more ($6.99)

This Ghostbusters-inspired Mini Stay-Puft S’more was probably my most-anticipated food item when I visited Universal, but I found it to be a huge letdown.

The marshmallow was torched to give it that golden-brown appearance, but that ended up burning the chocolate and the graham cracker.

The whole thing had a slight charcoal taste that almost reminded me of lighter fluid – or at least, what I’d assume lighter fluid would taste like.

I give credit for the super cute design and concept, but between the unmelted chocolate, the charred graham cracker, and the chemical-tasting marshmallow, I’d recommend passing on this treat.

Frozen Death Chill ($11.99)

The Frozen Death Chill is another dessert from the Ghostbusters food booth that disappointed me. This treat is made of a Korean corn dog-dipped mint cheesecake covered in Bugles and glitter. If you think that sounds like an odd combination, you are absolutely correct.

The two friends I attended the event with loved this corn dog concoction, but it completely missed the mark for me.

The cheesecake was oddly warm, and there was way too much corn dog batter – so much that I’d get bites of pure batter without any of the cheesecake.

The mix of salty Bugles plus the savory batter and minty cheesecake just didn’t work with my taste buds. Bonus points for edible glitter, though.

Forbidden Falafel ($10.99)

Unfortunately, this falafel was just as lackluster in taste as in appearance. It’s served inside a warm pita with tomato and cucumber salad and tzatziki.

The falafel was super dry and a little bit stale. The pita bread was bland and didn’t add anything to the dish.

I enjoyed the tangy tzatziki and cucumber tomato salad, but there wasn’t enough of either to make up for the pita and falafel, which should have been the stars of the dish.

The Bride’s Cake ($6.99)

As fun as this Bride of Frankenstein-inspired cake was, the taste just wasn’t there. It’s a three-tier miniature vanilla cake filled with raspberry jam and covered in a thin coat of chocolate.

The raspberry jam was delicious, but I wish there had been more of it. The vanilla cake was pretty dry and crumbly, and the black chocolate coating on top didn’t add anything flavor-wise.

The white detailing around the outside of the cake tasted like Cool Whip. Overall, there was nothing exciting about the cake besides the bit of raspberry jam in the middle.

Chocolate Tres Leches ($5.99)

I love tres leches cake, so I’d been excited to try this Chocolate Tres Leches for months. It’s said to be soaked in milk and topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. It wasn’t inedible or gross by any means, but it was severely underwhelming.

The cake wasn’t rich and didn’t have nearly the amount of moisture I’d expect from a tres leches cake – it tasted more like a grocery store brownie to me.

The whipped topping had an artificial flavor to it, and I think using real whipped cream could have elevated it.