SEAWORLD ORLANDO | Light Snack
Posted on Monday, December 12, 2016
Counter Service (quick service)
American
Wine, Beer, Spirits or Beverages
$7-19 per entree**
You really can't go wrong with Pretzels and Beer in a theme park. SeaWorld Orlando's "Mama's Pretzel Kitchen" manages to do one better by stuffing pretzels with things like meatballs, bratwurst, and pepperoni pizza ingredients. Not only that, there's at least a half dozen craft, IPA, (and/or domestic) beers available as a flight or individually, because well… beer and pretzels simply belong together.
The cute little Mama's Pretzel building is about as far from the front gate as you can get, but it's actually well worth the walk. The format is fairly standard for SeaWorld… you go in one door, pick out what you want, and then pay for your selections at a register just outside the exit door. The system can get a bit stressed when there's a ton of people around, but honestly, it's not any better or worse than the "pay first, pick up your food next" system. If there's a line of people out the door, go back in 10 or 15 minutes, trust me… you'll spend most of your time standing around in a line instead of enjoying your hot pretzel and cold beer.
The best time to visit Mama's Pretzel Kitchen is actually when there's a show going on in the nearby Shamu Stadium. Once that show lets out, there's so much foot traffic around, you'll have a hard time even crossing the walkway to get to the place.
Seating comes in form of umbrella covered tables, but there is some covered seating available fairly close. If you're facing Mama's Pretzel Kitchen, take a left 30 or 40 steps, and you should run into a covered seating area (which is supposed to be for a coffee and ice cream stand). Here again though, if a show just let out, your chances of grabbing a seat aren't going to be very good.
The pretzels at Mama's are fresh, warm, proper pretzels, (with a good chewable exterior and a soft interior). One of our favorite "stuffed" pretzels at Mama's is an old favorite, the Bratwurst Pretzel Dog. While that one is totally enjoyable without any of the extra "dipping sauces", I still end up wanting a cup of mustard, if only to add another layer of flavor.
The signature "Mama's Meatball Pretzel Twist" features three meatballs placed in a twisted pretzel. This one, while being good, really does need the Marinara dipping sauce. It was a little dry and honestly, the meatballs aren't going to win any true Italian culinary awards. The Marinara sauce unlocks the flavor and crave-ability for the entire meatball pretzel.
If there was anything to fault here, it is that $.89 add-on sauce. It makes a good stuffed pretzel, a great stuffed pretzel… so it should always be figured into the cost of getting one these entree style pretzels.
Believe it or not, Mama's Pretzel Kitchen is in our "top three best places to eat at SeaWorld" list. If you're going to grab a bite to eat somewhere at SeaWorld... this location, Voyager's Smokehouse, and the Expedition Cafe are the three go-to locations that I would most recommend.