There are so many options when it comes to dining while on vacation and it can be hard to know which restaurant is the best. You want to make sure that you get the most bang for your buck when dining out especially if you are traveling with kids. During our recent visit to Grapevine, Texas we stopped by the Rainforest Cafe for a bite to eat.
The Rainforest Cafe is located inside of the Grapevine Mills mall and as you can probably tell by the name it’s a jungle themed restaurant. Inside features animatronic animals such as monkeys, gorillas, tigers and elephants.
Depending on what time of the day you visit the wait can be long to get to a table. I would recommend visiting at off-peak times like after 1pm for lunch and around 5pm for dinner. This visit was actually are second time at The Rainforest Cafe. The first was a few years ago when my daughter was almost 4 and the experience was much different. She was actually petrified the entire time because of the life-like gorilla sitting right behind us. Every 20 minutes or so the animals will all “come to life” including the gorilla who can be quite frightening to a little one.
Now that she is a few years older she absolutely LOVES the place. It’s so mesmerizing and exciting for kids between the animals coming to life, the rainstorms and the lights on the ceiling. I managed to grab a short 15 second video so you can see what happens.
I’ll be honest the food at the Rainforest Cafe is pricey and you will find items such as hamburgers, salads, fish, chicken breast, and pasta. For the kids there are lot’s of kid friendly options such as pizza and chicken strips.
The quality of the food was ok but your not exactly dining at the Rainforest Cafe for the food, it’s more about the experience.
There is also a rather large gift shop that you have to go through when you enter and exit the restaurant. This is a good place to pick up souvenirs but they can be pricey as well.
Overall I give The Rainforest Cafe a 2 1/2 out of 4. The experience is incredible and that’s really what you are paying for. It’s fun for not only kids but adults as well. If you have younger kids who are easily scared I would definitely take this into consideration when visiting. Ask for a table away from the more “scarier” animals.
Have you ever been to the Rainforest Cafe? If so what did you think?