REVIEW: Booze for Breakfast? Okay, Epic Universe, We’re SOLD.

We have been ALL over Epic Universe and have enjoyed seeing the five new lands in Universal Orlando’s new theme park.

Celestial Park in Epic Universe

We’ve been on the rides, we’ve checked out the character meet and greets, and we’ve enjoyed the vibe of each land. However, most importantly, we’ve been checking out the FOOD, so we’re coming back at you with a NEW review, this time of a bar called The Plastered Owl (okay, is that not the COOLEST bar name ever?). So here are our honest thoughts.

You’ll find The Plastered Owl connected to The Oak & Star Tavern, and the vibe is pretty much the same. Lots of wood-inspired colors. The bar gets its name from a “comical celestial owl,” who apparently spent a lot of time plastered (seriously, we love this bar’s name). You’ll even see some of the adventures of the owl in question on the wall carvings.

Oak & Star Tavern

The menu features ales on tap, fun cocktails, a mocktail, wine, and beer. We decided to give the mocktail a try. It’s called Enchanted Oak Sap and it costs $7. It’s made with Ginger purée, lime juice, rosemary-infused simple syrup, club soda with an orange wheel. Just a warning that the ginger flavor is STRONG — it’s the first flavor you’ll get.

Enchanted Oak Sap

The orange comes in second, though, so you get ginger then orange, and we’re not sure that’s a great combination. However, for being a mocktail, the flavor profile is similar to what you’d expect from a drink with alcohol. You’ll have to appreciate those flavors to appreciate this drink, though.

Orange slices in the drink

For the boozy side of things, we also tried the Witty Wolf’s Breakfast Sour for $19. It’s made with Rattlesnake Rosie’s Maple Bacon Whiskey, DeKuyper orange Curação, Grade A maple syrup, lemon juice, orange juice, and Angostura bitters, with an applewood-smoked bacon strip. Yep, bacon on a drink. Who would’ve thunk it? So it’s basically a twist on a whiskey sour, but with some additional breakfast flavors thrown in.

Witty Wolf’s Breakfast Sour

We think this adds to the whole whiskey sour thing — the breakfast flavors like the orange juice add some nice freshness that mellows it out. They also put the bacon flat on top, so when you’re sipping the drink, you’re getting the aromatics of the bacon, which adds a nice smokiness. This is really interesting and makes for a great first drink of the day in Epic Universe. Plus, you get some nice crispy bacon to eat after.