Poll: Eating at the Zoo

[Zoofan15]

Introduction:

I’m curious to hear people’s views on eating at the zoo.

I’ve made this poll multiple choice as like me, you will likely fall into multiple categories.

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My response:

As a generalisation, food at Australasian zoos is overpriced so I typically take my own food when visiting, with two exceptions:

1) If I visit with my kids and they want an ice cream or a bouquet of hot chips - and yes that’s bouquet, not pot. Many zoo cafes I’ve been to stack the chips so that the pot looks brimming at the top, but is sparse underneath; while others serve them in a cone/funnel.

2) If someone else is paying. If they’re paying, I’m eating.

 

[Great Argus]

Typically I'll bring my own food as zoo food tends to be expensive. Two exceptions have been Six Flags DK and SeaWorld SD. Six Flags was meh but it was food. SeaWorld had a special running at the time of my visit that had the food included with the admission ticket for a slight up in price. You got two (maybe it was 3) full meals from any of the normal restaurants (meaning not the dine with orcas and such) and then every hour you could get a snack and a drink. The food proved to be far better than expected and we all considered it well worth the extra bit of money. Would 100% do that again if revisiting.

 

[birdsandbats]

I feel the poll options don't really depict what I do well.

Most of the time, when I visit a zoo, I don't eat at all - that's because most zoos I visit only take a few hours to see, so I don't feel the need to eat while I'm there. I never bring my own food to a zoo so if I'm at a larger, all-day zoo I will buy food, but these take up only a tiny portion of my zoo visits.

 

[Zoofan15]

I feel the poll options don't really depict what I do well.

Most of the time, when I visit a zoo, I don't eat at all - that's because most zoos I visit only take a few hours to see, so I don't feel the need to eat while I'm there. I never bring my own food to a zoo so if I'm at a larger, all-day zoo I will buy food, but these take up only a tiny portion of my zoo visits.

I’ve added an additional option for you:

It depends on the duration of my visit.

If you or anyone else wants additional options added, I can put them in depending on whether it’s within the time limit for editing polls.

 

[tigris115]

The food at the Bronx Zoo is way too expensive so I usually bring my own food. I'll buy a coke and later an ice cream. When I was working there for the summer, I'd buy snacks at a bodega across from the Southern Boulevard Entrance. Was rly cheap and they were nice people

 

[Ursus]

Finally, a new thread about food at the zoo.

I don't know how other ZooChatters feel about zoo gastronomy, but I myself absolutely HAVE to try at least a few items at each place I go. In general I am a very adventurous food enthusiast. I love trying anything I can get my hands on. I'm also a big fan of vegetarian/vegan options in zoos and always will try them out, just to see how they taste. So far I haven't been disliking a single veggie/vegan option!

I visited both Artis and Safari Park Beekse Bergen this week so I can give some fresh opinions, as well as frequenting Burgers' Zoo and having tried their entire menu, I am more then ready to give my deep fried oponions about food at the zoo!

First I'll talk about something many people find important; prices.
I often see people complain food at the zoo is expensive, and it is. That's just the truth. It is expensive to buy lunch or dine. However for a zoo this is one of the main money makers. So with sentiment I understand the prices. Being a solo-zoogoer also makes prices a lot more tolerable! Although I have to say that the 7 ice tea bottles I bought today did quite dent my wallet, but it was too hot to not have a drink with me. Each bottle being somewhat in the 3 euro price range. Normally I buy 1 or 2 drinks at a zoo but today was exceptionally warm and a lot of direct sunlight. I visited the Beekse Bergen.

Generally when I look at prices I also look at what quality I am receiving.

When I visited the Rotterdam Zoo not too long ago I got myself a summer special deal which was a large portion of fries with vegetarian (tofu) chicken with serundeng, baked crispy onions, spring onion and parsley as garnish.
Alongside it I got a pretty basic, and with that in my opinion a rather cheap, hamburger with some basic greenery on top and pickles.

Here's a photo I dug up from my camera roll of the food. I took one because I was generally speaking very excited about the fries, the hamburger less so.

Now these fries are still to this day one of the best foods I have had at a zoo. Absolutely loved them. The loaded fries with the spices and the tofu absolutely made my day a lot better. I had just found out that my camera battery was not fully charged at home and I only packed 1 with me, so I got a bit into a sad moment but the food made it better.
The hamburger I am avoiding intentionally because I find it to be a rather standard burger. It's not bad but nothing special either, it's just nice.
And just nice, is good for me as well.
I only found a convenient photo I took of the loaded fries sign (cause I wanted to remember the ingredients) and the price for the loaded fries is 7,15 euros.
Compared with Burgers' , which prices their fries around the 4-5 euro mark, they are more expensive, however you do get a rather generous portion, by far the largest I've had, and it's loaded with stuff!
Too bad this was a summer special and not a permanent item...


Now for my Artis experience;
At the restaurant adjecent to the Savanna is where I lunched, to my surprise they went with a more fast-food like approach in how you order your food. Instead of a self-service or ordering at a desk you got a few of these order screen television thingies. Technology.

Ofcourse this is not at Artis but the Mac Donalds. But you get the idea.
I quite like these as it makes ordering food less stressful as I do like taking my time to browse through all the items.
In the end I tried their vegetarian/vegan (? i'm not sure which of the two) burger.
I quite liked it, it had a bit of a spice mix to bring it to flavor, but it worked well. I'm not sure if I would prefer these burgers over the beyond meat burgers or such but they satisfy a hungry stumach, except for that of a real carnivore, I guess...
As a side I had a regular portion of salt-deprived fries and a bio-ketchup as well as a (homemade?) lemonade that was quite nice, but a very different experience compared to any other zoo I have been to. Particularly because Artis themselves made the change in all their gastronomy to only server vegetarian and vegan food items.
Something I feel that works rather well in a educational facility which displays endangered species because of habitat encroachment due to our need of food, often for meat industry.
However this might be a whole different debate of its own on whether or not zoos should serve vegetarian/vegan-only.
Pricewise Artis drained me of €16,65 for a lunch consisting of;
- Vegetarian hamburger
- Fries + ketchup
- Ice tea bottle to-go
- A refreshing lemonade

Not too bad if you ask me!
Could always be worse, much worse

Now for my Beekse Bergen experience;
I need to first come clean about a sin I comitted today. I didn't try much food due to a lack of hunger with all the heat from today.
So I only ended up with a portion of fries and chicken nuggets, which in my opinion were the most dreadful ones I've ever had... You could knock out a guineafowl with one of those rocks.
The fries were nice, the nuggets went down in the end, but it was definitely so far not my best zoo food experience. Previously I've found every place I ate at to be quite alright. Perhaps my standards are too low
One thing I do need to credit the Beekse Bergen for is the way they offer everything in multiple different foodtrucks scattered around a central seating area. I quite like this approach.
I did ofcourse look at their menu items, and they do offer a great variety of foods. There was a truck with ''African pizzas'', at a restaurant a assortment of sandwiches with pulled pork, grilled chicken and other stuff, on top of the basic fried stuff and burgers. So there's no lack in options at the zoo! Just unfortunate I couln't really get myself to eat something.
Prices did look pretty standard, so can't say it was really expensive or cheap compared to other places I've been before.

But the best place in my opinion in the Netherlands serving food at the zoo has to be Burgers'.
And yes, their namesake item is on the menu, and they slap.

At the Park Restaurant there's both beef burger and green-bean based veggie burgers available.
Both of them are great, though I personally am more fond of the veggie burger due to the mix of grilled vegetables that come with it. In the Safari restaurant there's fried chicken burgers.
Besides burgers and fries there's also a variaty in sandwiches suitable for breakfast, lunch or even afternoon. There's rich salads and homemade soups available for those seeking a more healthy option.
The price at Burgers however is a bit higher compared to other zoos I visited, however I do personally believe that the quality, which is higher compared to other places, most definitely justifies this.

Anyways I'll end it on this. Especially cause nobody really ever asked for this sloppy and greasy long post about food in Dutch Zoos....

But yes I do like spending money on zoo food, just to try new stuff and such.

Also I am incredibly lazy when it comes to packing my own lunches.....

 

[iluvwhales]

There are high end zoo restaurants? Could someone explain?

I usually buy food when I visit zoos, but I've found true variety both between zoos and within one large zoo to be rare. It's particularly hard for vegetarians such as myself and even harder for vegans. Pretzel, popcorn, meat burger, hot dog, chicken stuff, fries, ice cream, pizza, salads, and maybe a veggie burger seem the be the standard zoo food fare.

I recall seeing maybe three zoos with chain restaurants: Burger King at Fort Worth Zoo (found out the hard way Texans like mustard on their burgers more than my fellow New Yorkers), La Rosa's Pizza and Skyline Chili at Cincinnati Zoo, and carts for Starbuck's and Wendy's (Frosties only) at ZooTampa.

 

[Great Argus]

There are high end zoo restaurants? Could someone explain?

What's our definition of high end here, given that generally one has to purchase zoo admission to visit the restaurants within?

 

[Julio C Castro]

There are high end zoo restaurants? Could someone explain?

I usually buy food when I visit zoos, but I've found true variety both between zoos and within one large zoo to be rare. It's particularly hard for vegetarians such as myself and even harder for vegans. Pretzel, popcorn, meat burger, hot dog, chicken stuff, fries, ice cream, pizza, salads, and maybe a veggie burger seem the be the standard zoo food fare.

I recall seeing maybe three zoos with chain restaurants: Burger King at Fort Worth Zoo (found out the hard way Texans like mustard on their burgers more than my fellow New Yorkers), La Rosa's Pizza and Skyline Chili at Cincinnati Zoo, and carts for Starbuck's and Wendy's (Frosties only) at ZooTampa.

I think high end zoo restaurants would be like Albert’s Restaurant at the San Diego Zoo. It’s not the most luxurious restaurant compared others outside zoos but has better offerings and actually chef prepared dishes. The SDZ recently acquired a new chef this year and their dishes have been exquisite. Mushrooms raviolis topped with creamy pesto sauce and micro greens is a winner in my book.

 

[Pleistocene891]

I always bring my own food, usually some rice and some kind of curry. I just like cooking so I don't mind prepping the day before.

 

[Great Argus]

I think high end zoo restaurants would be like Albert’s Restaurant at the San Diego Zoo. It’s not the most luxurious restaurant compared others outside zoos but has better offerings and actually chef prepared dishes. The SDZ recently acquired a new chef this year and their dishes have been exquisite. Mushrooms raviolis topped with creamy pesto sauce and micro greens is a winner in my book.

Precisely the one I was thinking of as a high end; besides being multiple stories in the air! Definitely a step above the average, given you can make online reservations for a zoo restaurant.

 

[TinoPup]

Most places in the US don't really have a distinction between "regular" and "high end" food. Burgers get priced similarly to fancier options. I've only been to one zoo that had a more upscale dining area with waiters, etc as well as the more typical options, and that was Oregon Zoo. DWA has several upscale restaurants.

I feel the poll options don't really depict what I do well.

Most of the time, when I visit a zoo, I don't eat at all - that's because most zoos I visit only take a few hours to see, so I don't feel the need to eat while I'm there. I never bring my own food to a zoo so if I'm at a larger, all-day zoo I will buy food, but these take up only a tiny portion of my zoo visits.

This is what I do. If I'm really hungry and there for a while, I'll get food (if it isn't extremely overpriced). If it's not an all-day zoo, and especially if there's fast food options nearby, I'll wait. I don't pack my own food, too much to worry about. I buy drinks way more often than I buy food.

I also won't eat if it's complicated to order. Maritime Aquarium has order by QR code and their prices were up around $20 before adding in drinks, so we walked out of there without eating.

 

[Julio C Castro]

Precisely the one I was thinking of as a high end; besides being multiple stories in the air! Definitely a step above the average, given you can make online reservations for a zoo restaurant.

Exactly! I do try to eat there each time I visit, the staff have always been nice and I have gotten to known a few due to my visits If anyone ever gets the chance to make it to SDZ, I think making a reservation for Alberts should be on the list regards to having a good meal at the zoo

 

[TinoPup]

Restaurants at zoos that specialise in high-end cuisine. Search high-end cuisine and fine dining to bring up examples. In a worst case scenario, the portions would embarrass an orphanage, but for those who can justify spending the money and value taste and quality over quantity, they remain popular.

View attachment 570296

USA doesn't really do high end at zoos, that's a Europe thing.

 

[TinoPup]

There are high end zoo restaurants? Could someone explain?

I usually buy food when I visit zoos, but I've found true variety both between zoos and within one large zoo to be rare. It's particularly hard for vegetarians such as myself and even harder for vegans. Pretzel, popcorn, meat burger, hot dog, chicken stuff, fries, ice cream, pizza, salads, and maybe a veggie burger seem the be the standard zoo food fare.

I recall seeing maybe three zoos with chain restaurants: Burger King at Fort Worth Zoo (found out the hard way Texans like mustard on their burgers more than my fellow New Yorkers), La Rosa's Pizza and Skyline Chili at Cincinnati Zoo, and carts for Starbuck's and Wendy's (Frosties only) at ZooTampa.

It's mostly the major zoos that have chains. Columbus and Smithsonian both do, and Philly has a local pretzel chain.

 

[pachyderm pro]

It's mostly the major zoos that have chains. Columbus and Smithsonian both do, and Philly has a local pretzel chain.

Saint Louis has a Starbucks as well.

Exactly! I do try to eat there each time I visit, the staff have always been nice and I have gotten to known a few due to my visits If anyone ever gets the chance to make it to SDZ, I think making a reservation for Alberts should be on the list regards to having a good meal at the zoo

The San Diego parks have the best dining options out of any US zoo without a shadow of a doubt. Alberts is one of the few in-zoo eating establishments that could be described as high-end" and is excellent. I've mentioned this in the past, but one of my all time favorite zoo memories was enjoying an excellent lunch at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Salmon burgers, parmesan fries, and a cold drink enjoyed on a quaint patio overlooking a beautiful island for shoebill storks and other water birds. It was absolutely terrific and I plan on doing it again whenever I'm able to get back to the park (this time, unfortunately, without the company of shoebills ).

I made a thread about this topic many years ago and described this superb zoo meal in the opening post. I don't want to derail this thread as this is definitely a topic worth revisiting, but for anyone interested in additional discussion I'd suggest taking a look.

The Zoo Food Dilemma

Perhaps I should cancel "America's 100 Must-see Exhibits" and instead do "America's Must-eat Zoo Meals"

 

[birdsandbats]

Does any zoo have a McDonald's? I know there's the Starbucks at Saint Louis, and an Erbert and Gerbert's at Minnesota, and I know there's a Chick-fil-A somewhere (Atlanta?).

A few other US with zoos with what could be considered probably high-end dining (as well as more fast-food options) would be ASDM, Shedd, DAK (as well as The Seas at Epcot and the DAK Lodge), the SeaWorld parks, and Grant's Farm. DAK probably has the widest variety of food options at any zoo, ever.

 

[Astrotom3000]

Yeah, I too am bit baffled by the distinction between "regular cafe" and "high end" dining when it comes to American zoos. Almost every facility I have visited outside of animal theme parks like DAK and SeaWorld tend to have order-and-pickup cafes with casual comfort food. I may occasionally see something "fancy" on the menus, but the overall experience remains decidedly casual. Probably the closest I have seen to high-end in an American zoo outside of a theme park was the Georgia Aquarium's cafe, where they do have a hot bar that's only open for lunch, much to my disappointment. I have eaten at DAK's Tusker House and SeaWorld's Sharks Underwater Grill, both of which are about as fancy as you can get in any American facility.

I usually buy lunch at the zoo/aquarium I am visiting; unless it's a small facility like Greensboro or Greenville, I usually spend the entire day at the facility and like to take a lunch break to enjoy the atmosphere, review pictures I have taken, and just soak in the scenery. For me, bringing my own lunch would not only be impractical (I prefer to travel light with just my camera bag), but oftentimes not even allowed at the places I visit, and I really do NOT want to risk getting on any facilities bad side, no matter how small the risk.

If the place is small and can be exited/re-entered quickly, there is dining close to the facility, and the dining options at the facility are either underwhelming (Greensboro Science Center) or outright closed (NC Museum of Natural Sciences), then I may grab lunch outside the place.

This isn't really a thing I pay much mind to either way.

 

[cloudedleopard611]

I pretty much always eat at zoos, as my visits tend to be very long (I normally visit open-close). St. Louis Zoo having Starbucks is something I highly approve of. Most zoos I've been to have had good food, albeit overpriced. I do find though that the portions tend to be way too big to eat all at once and there's no way of saving it so that's pretty frustrating. I guess I understand it helps ensure everyone will get enough but I always feel horrible throwing it out.

 

[TinoPup]

Does any zoo have a McDonald's? I know there's the Starbucks at Saint Louis, and an Erbert and Gerbert's at Minnesota, and I know there's a Chick-fil-A somewhere (Atlanta?).

A few other US with zoos with what could be considered probably high-end dining (as well as more fast-food options) would be ASDM, Shedd, DAK (as well as The Seas at Epcot and the DAK Lodge), the SeaWorld parks, and Grant's Farm. DAK probably has the widest variety of food options at any zoo, ever.

I don't believe there's currently any McDonald's in USA zoos, at least. A few used to exist.