Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe is a very loud, expensive outing that parents must endure to make their children happy. The food is tasteless and overpriced. It might be a more delightful experience if you just went there for dessert or a kid's birthday party. Note: I did not drink any alcoholic beverages during my meal. It might have helped.

Rainforest Cafe is a noisy but fun restaurant for kids located inside Grapevine Mills Mall. The atmosphere is much better than the food, which is marginal at best. I had hoped that my experience at the restaurant would turn out better than the previous guide's review. Sadly, it did not.

My Dining Experience

I made a reservation for 6:15 p.m. and was told to show up 15 minutes early. Although there were only a few people in front of us, we stood in line for the entire 15 minutes waiting to be seated. The area that you must stand in to wait for a table is Rainforest Cafe Gift Shop. That's no coincidence.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Cheese Sticks. The lightly breaded mozzarella sticks were exactly like the box of frozen cheese sticks you get at the grocery store. There was nothing special at all about them.

For dinner, I ordered the Rasta Pasta: grilled chicken, penne pasta, walnut pesto, broccoli, red peppers and spinach tossed in a garlic Alfredo sauce. In theory, it sounded delicious. In reality, it tasted like frozen vegetables mixed with sauce from a jar served over pasta. It was overpriced and bland. On a positive note, it wasn't as salty as I had expected.

My daughter ordered "Rainforest Rascals." It was two mini cheeseburgers served with about two ounces of corn and a beverage for $5.99. The food was fine, but we had to ask for more corn as the mini cup didn't satisfy my 5-year-old's appetite for corn. My husband ordered a burger. That's usually a pretty safe bet. It was cooked to his specifics but unremarkable. I tasted it and it was much better than the pasta.

Overall, I was disappointed with the food and the wait. I think it's a good concept for a restaurant. Children will definitely want to come back and visit again. The gift shop is very nice. But it's a shame that it's not more parent-friendly.