Inside the luxurious Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, you’ll find Jake’s American Bar on the first floor of the lobby with a full lunch and dinner menu plus a wide selection of cocktails and draft beer. Themed to legendary Royal Pacific Airlines Pilot, Jake’s hideout is set in the 1930’s and is reminiscent of “Rick’s Cafe” in Casablanca. Exclusive to the Halloween Horror Nights season, Jake’s has been converted to the Laguna Lounge, a tiki bar for Universal Monsters like Creature, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein.
- Beverages
- Blood Moon Spritzer – Lunetta Prosecco, syringe with Campari Liqueur, garnished with a dehydrated blood orange – $18
- Black Sand Margarita – Milagro Silver Tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice, orange juice, agave syrup, black food coloring, garnished with a black sugar rim and a dehydrated blood orange – $18
- Spiced Island Spirit Mule – Absolute Vodka, fresh lime juice, Fever-Tree Ginger Beer, pumpkin spice syrup, garnished with a dehydrated lime and cinnamon stick – $18
- Food
- Devil’s Volcanic Egg – six deviled eggs made with jalapeños and pimento – $12
- Haunted Hideaway Buffalo Dip – smoked cheddar, green onion, blue cheese cream, served with tortilla chips – $18
- Cursed Luau Burger – Muenster cheese, strawberry BBQ sauce, crispy onion straws, served on a black sesame bun – $25
Each of Universal’s hotels are decorated for the Halloween season and every lobby bar features at least one themed cocktail, however, Jake’s American Bar definitively has the most theming and largest menu. Jake’s/ the Laguna Lounge takes reservations via Resy or Open Table or you can try for walk-up availability. The restaurant is quite large and we had no problem securing a table on a Thursday evening!
Among the decorations is tiki art and totems of familiar faces like the “delightful little freak” Ygor from Dark Universe inside Epic Universe.
When you first walk-in look for The Mummy enjoying a martini and The Invisible Man shaking up cocktails. The Laguna Lounge has a decorative menu of tiki drinks in monster-inspired mugs like the Laguna Bowl. Unfortunately, this is all display and we wish these were real menu items. We so would have bought a souvenir monster tiki mug!
Catch the Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Dracula, and Wolf Man providing entertainment as the “Crypt Crooners” in the main dining room.
The special Halloween Horror Nights menu for the Laguna Lounge consists of three specialty cocktails and four food items. You of course can also order off the regular Jake’s American Bar menu.
Beverages
Blood Moon Spritzer – Lunetta Prosecco, syringe with Campari Liqueur, garnished with a dehydrated blood orange – $18
If you don’t love sweet cocktails, the Blood Moon Spritzer is for you! Because of the Campari, this is very similar to an Aperol Spritz. While the presentation is fun, it’s a little overpriced for the serving size and simple ingredients.
Black Sand Margarita – Milagro Silver Tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice, orange juice, agave syrup, black food coloring, garnished with a black sugar rim and a dehydrated blood orange – $18
The Black Sand Margarita is a classic margarita in a spooky black color.The margarita is fresh and well-balanced. This is a fun way to get in the Halloween spirit without having too wild of a cocktail.
Spiced Island Spirit Mule – Absolute Vodka, fresh lime juice, Fever-Tree Ginger Beer, pumpkin spice syrup, garnished with a dehydrated lime and cinnamon stick – $18
The spice in the Spice Island Spirit Mule is pretty subtle and the pumpkin spice syrup is strong in sweetness and pumpkin flavor. This is the most unique of the Halloween cocktails and tastes like fall!
Food
Devil’s Volcanic Egg – six deviled eggs made with jalapeños and pimento – $12
If you’re a deviled egg connoisseur, you’ll be happy with the Devil’s Volcanic Egg! These taste like your grandma’s recipe with a subtle level of spice on the back-end.
Haunted Hideaway Buffalo Dip – smoked cheddar, green onion, blue cheese cream, served with tortilla chips – $18
The Haunted Hideaway Buffalo Dip is some of the best I’ve had and would rival any game day party! The dip is super creamy and loaded with chicken and cream cheese. The spice level of the buffalo sauce is just right and there’s plenty dip. This is a must-have if visiting during the Laguna Lounge lay-over.
Cursed Luau Burger – Muenster cheese, strawberry BBQ sauce, crispy onion straws, served on a black sesame bun – $25
The burger is quite substantial with a fluffy bun, double Muenster cheese, and plenty of crunchy onion straws. The sweet strawberry is a surprisingly nice pairing with the smoky BBQ sauce. This would have been the perfect burger except the patty was served dry and overcooked with virtually no seasoning. You do get to pick the temperature of the burger but this medium patty was one of the most well-done burgers I’ve ever had. Some small changes would make the Cursed Luau Burger a menu stand-out.
The theming alone is well worth the visit to Royal Pacific this Halloween! As a non-hotel guest, you can have your parking validated with a receipt from dining at Jake’s American Bar. If you’re heading to Halloween Horror Nights after, simply park in the regular theme park parking and take the water craft or walk from CityWalk.
