Opening on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood earlier in the year, the new Power Up Cafe is a companion to Super Nintendo World in the theme park’s lower lot.
The “cafe” sits in the New York strip, taking inspiration from the “real life” Mario universe you saw featured in the billion-dollar making Super Mario Bros. Movie.
There are four key items on their menu.
Perhaps the most photogenic of the entries are their Calzones shaped like Mushrooms.
The red “Super Mushroom Calzone” comes with pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce – while the green vegetarian “1-Up Mushroom Calzone” comes with spinach, green pepper, mushroom, mozzarella cheese and basil pesto. I tried the meat eaters option, and found it desperate for some more cheese – but I enjoyed the flavour. And they truly go above and beyond in terms of presentation.
Pictured with the Calzones above you’ll see the “Fizz” drink, which strongly ticks both boxes in terms of presentation and quality, giving an experience with every drink. I can’t impress this enough: this is one of the best non-alcoholic drinks I’ve ever tasted.
The basic premise is you get a lemon lime soda, with “popping pearls” of four varying flavours, to which you then add a “Power Up” to. This is a ball of sugar and flavour presented in a Mario question mark box, that you throw in, stir around and watch the flavour and sparkles swirl around. Which is a surprisingly fun activity while you walk around the Upper Lot of the iconic theme park.
The Super Mushroom Fizz comes with strawberry popping pearls and a strawberry Super Mushroom Power Up; the 1-Up Mushroom Fizz comes with green apple popping pearls and a lime 1-Up Mushroom Power Up; the Super Star Fizz comes with lemon popping pearls and a mango pineapple Super Star Power Up.
I was recommended the Fire Flower Fizz with the orange popping pearls and a mango habanero Fire Flower Power Up. I was honestly floored by how good these flavours were. What is in essence a 7-Up/Sprite on steroids, the engineers of this particular drink and created what may just be the best soda I’ve ever tasted. A perfect level of sweetness with a kick from the power up that isn’t “spicy” per say, but helps balance the flavours nonetheless. And the pearls really do have a perfect pop to them. You will want to eat each and every one.
And yes, just getting to put all the pieces together and take the ? box home is worth the price of admission.
The Cafe also serves Super Star Popcorn, which is delicious butter popcorn served with edible glitter (seriously!). You can get it in a cup or a collectable popcorn bucket. And to round off the menu, there’s a Pretzel shaped as a “Fire Flower” (not unlike the Power Up for my drink), served with chipotle cheese, mustard, and white queso dipping sauces. It was the only item I didn’t try on the menu, but I was assured it was a tasty time.
You can see the full menu of the Power Up Cafe, HERE.
For more details about Universal Studios Hollywood, head to their official website.
The author visited Universal Studios Hollywood as part of IPW 2024. Photos by the author unless otherwise mentioned.
