We stopped by the new Power Up Cafe at Universal Studios Hollywood to try some of their incredibly themed snacks and drinks. Power Up Cafe is located on the Upper Lot and opened to celebrate the one year anniversary of Super Nintendo World. The menu offers unique items you won’t find inside the land, so we decided to give a few of them a try.
Power Up Cafe Food and Drinks
Power Up Cafe offers snacks and drinks themed to the 4 different Power Ups. The menu is completely different from Toadstool Cafe. There’s a Super Mushroom Calzone, 1-Up Calzone, Fire Flower Pretzel, and Super Star Popcorn. There are also 4 different drinks, each with its own Power Up to change the color and flavor of the drink.
Super Mushroom Calzone – $13
Mushroom-shaped calzone filled with pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce
First up, the Super Mushroom Calzone! The calzones and pretzel are all served in packages themed to the question block boxes. One side of the box has a clear window so you can see your snack peeking out.
These calzones already gets bonus points for being so cute. The mozzarella circles on the top of the mushroom are a nice touch. It’s a little pricy at $13, but it’s a really nice sized snack.
Packed full of delicious pizza filling, this snack was one of our favorites! If you’ve ever had a Pizza Skull from Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, this is very similar. The filling goes all the way to the edges and throughout the entire calzone. Every bite is packed full of the pepperoni and sausage pizza filling. The Super Mushroom calzone is easy to eat on the go, so it’s an all-around winner.
1-Up Mushroom Calzone – $13
Mushroom-shaped calzone filled with spinach, green pepper, mushroom, mozzarella cheese, and basil pesto
The 1-Up green mushroom is filled with a mix of veggies. There’s a mix of spinach, green peppers, and mushrooms with basil pesto.
We couldn’t taste much besides the spinach, but it was delicious. The filling tastes like your typical spinach dip, served inside a very soft pastry. The mozzarella cheese on top of the calzone paired well with the spinach filling.
Just like the red Super Mushroom, the filling goes all the way to the edge of the calzone. At least you get a very hearty portion for the price.
Even though we preferred the pizza-filled calzone, this was a solid choice that we would order again. You can’t go wrong with either of these Power Up Cafe calzones.
Fire Flower Pretzel – $13
Fire Flower-shaped pretzel with chipotle cheese, mustard, and white queso dipping sauces
The Fire Flower-shaped pretzel is served in yellow question block packaging and comes with 3 different sauces on the side. The orange sauce is the chipotle cheese, the yellow sauce is mustard, and the white sauce is the queso.
The mustard was our least favorite of the trio, but it’s a nice option for those who don’t want cheese. If you like cheese, you may have a hard time choosing a favorite sauce between the chipotle cheese and the white queso. The white queso is smooth and creamy, similar to Moe’s queso. The chipotle cheese was more of a sauce consistency than cheese, and it had the most unique flavor of the three.
Our pretzel was soft and fresh. Overall, this was a delicious pretzel and it was nice to have all three sauces on the side. If you like pretzels, this is worth the visit to Power Up Cafe.
Super Star Power Up Fizz – $13
Lemon lime soda with lemon popping pearls and a mango pineapple Super Star power up
The Power Up fizzy drinks start off with a lemon lime soda base. Each is served in a plastic Power Up themed cup. The “Power Up” logo and question block are surrounded by the Super Mushroom, 1-Up, Super Star, and Fire Flower. Each drink comes with a matching paper straw and Power Up.
We couldn’t tell at first, but there’s actually a layer of popping pearls at the bottom. These are clear, so you may not spot them, but you will definitely taste them. The lemon lime soda with lemon popping pearls gets taken to the next level when you add the mango pineapple Super Star.
The drink comes with a tiny question block box on the side which contains your Power Up. The Super Star will change the color and flavor of the drink. Drop your Power Up in and start stirring. The color will change to yellow and there will be tons of edible glitter visible.
The pineapple and mango flavors were light, but very refreshing. Surprisingly, these drinks aren’t too sweet, despite dropping in what is essentially a sugar cube. The pineapple stands out the most, giving the drink a nice tropical feel. The price is a little high for these drinks, but we would still order them again for a special treat.
Fire Flower Power Up Fizz – $13
Lemon lime soda with orange popping pearls and a mango habanero Fire Flower Power Up
Next up, we gave the Fire Flower Power Up Fizz a try. This sounded like the most unique of the 4 drinks, so we were excited to try it. To match the drink, the straw is orange and has a Fire Flower icon.
The base of the drink is also a lemon lime soda, but the popping pearls in this drink are much more noticeable since they’re orange. The plastic cup, question block box, and the straw toppers make fun little souvenirs to keep when you’ve finished your drink.
The Fire Flower cube is the most detailed and colorful. The Fire Flower adds a mango habanero flavor to your drink.
The cube changes the drink to glittering orange and adds a bit of heat to the backend. The mango habanero flavor isn’t strong; it’s more of a lingering heat after you take a sip. This flavor wasn’t as impressive as we expected, but it is fun to mix up and drink. Of the two Power Up Fizz drinks we tried, the Super Star was our favorite.
Power Up Cafe does not require reservations and even offers Mobile Ordering. Will you be trying anything from Power Up Cafe on your next visit to the Universal Studios Hollywood? For more Super Nintendo World themed snacks and drinks, make sure you check out our full review of Toadstool Cafe.
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