Kings Island 2025 Food Reviews and Discussion

[Diamondback_Is_King]

I went to Enrique's for dinner, and they had both sides open. But, one side was clearly faster, and the other was hardly moving. The right side had supervisors and experienced staff, while the other side did not. They should try to balance it out better, because people in the slow line were waiting 10+ minutes longer than the people in the other line.

My food was good, although they didn't give me much chicken in my bowl. I mainly had rice and cheese in my chicken bowl. It was still good, but I could use more chicken.

[Orion-XL200]

On 4/18/2025 at 5:27 PM, chad_1138 said:

Just had the Pep & Chee.  That thing was amazing!  Very big pizza sub taste.  Their tomato soup base is the sauce in the sandwich.

The Pep and Chee was really good!! The only thing I wish they would have had was a bit more sauce on the sandwich. The taste was great! 



Friday, I left the park and went to try out Dolly's instead of standing in the lines. When my friend and I got back, the line for Skyline was still past the Dodgem entrance queue (as it was when we left). 

Saturday I had lunch at Miami River Brew House. Got the Pub Burger as I always do when visiting there. It was extremely greasy, but tasted great. Let me tell you, I really wish they'd give an option other than tots. I ate maybe half of the serving given...the potato of them....tasted just meh...but they were coated (and I mean coated) with salt. I'd rather have fries or some other side. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Did your Pub Burger come with any toppings? I've seen comments that Jukebox Diner removed their toppings bar, so the Brewhouse might be the only place in the park that someone can find lettuce for their hamburger now.

[Orion-XL200]

14 minutes ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Did your Pub Burger come with any toppings? I've seen comments that Jukebox Diner removed their toppings bar, so the Brewhouse might be the only place in the park that someone can find lettuce for their hamburger now.

It would have came with them, had I not asked for them to not be on the burger.

[Tr0y]

On 4/18/2025 at 9:59 PM, BB1 said:

I had lunch and dinner at the park:

Coney BBQ simply put felt like the park was not prepared for the event. They have one side open and only opened the other side when we got to the front exchange point.

To say I feel like the park needs to refine is an understatement. I MISS the tri tip, give me brisket give me something that is a BBQ standard. The fact we have chicken tenders makes no sense as we have a whole restaurant dedicated to chicken tenders. My issue is that sure I enjoy the burnt ends but I wish we had seasonal offerings that switched things up a bit. 
 

The burnt ends are decent, the potatoes were okay but not something I would get again. The portion sizes for the potatoes are small, the flavoring I felt was a decent stab at trying something different which tasted good but I feel like the other sides give you so much more. Would love to see collard greens come back but I’m unsure when that would ever come back.

I think my point here is that I hope the park gives the head chef the opportunity to use the Coney BBQ as a way to expand on the guest experience. There’s a lot of opportunities that I hope the park takes advantage of.

Almost all of the restaurants at the park sell tenders so families with picky eaters (kids) can eat together.

Last season Coney BBQ would at times have Ribs on the menu in lieu of Burnt ends. 

[disco2000]

1 hour ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Did your Pub Burger come with any toppings? I've seen comments that Jukebox Diner removed their toppings bar, so the Brewhouse might be the only place in the park that someone can find lettuce for their hamburger now.

Sadly Juke Box removed it late last year and hasn't made a reappearance.

[BB1]

20 hours ago, Tr0y said:

Almost all of the restaurants at the park sell tenders so families with picky eaters (kids) can eat together.

Last season Coney BBQ would at times have Ribs on the menu in lieu of Burnt ends. 

 

My issue is that I feel like the BBQ selection has been diluted. When we had Tri Tip, pulled pork, ribs and rotisserie chicken. We had a brilliant season with the first seasonal run, burnt ends just doesn't cut it for me in terms of BBQ quality. I found it funny that even Tower Topics is highlighting that there are so many locations with chicken tenders. 

I believe that yes, giving something for everyone is important; however I feel like this push really just rubbed me the wrong way. Put it in certain locations, Grain and Grill which is supposed to be fresh, Coney BBQ which is supposed to be BBQ items, should not be the venues for a fried product like chicken tenders. 

[Tr0y]

29 minutes ago, BB1 said:

My issue is that I feel like the BBQ selection has been diluted. When we had Tri Tip, pulled pork, ribs and rotisserie chicken. We had a brilliant season with the first seasonal run, burnt ends just doesn't cut it for me in terms of BBQ quality. I found it funny that even Tower Topics is highlighting that there are so many locations with chicken tenders. 

I believe that yes, giving something for everyone is important; however I feel like this push really just rubbed me the wrong way. Put it in certain locations, Grain and Grill which is supposed to be fresh, Coney BBQ which is supposed to be BBQ items, should not be the venues for a fried product like chicken tenders. 

I thought KI made improvements last year in the culinary experience although there is always room for improvement. The park is fine with offering tenders at every location. Again it adds convenience for parents. Jeff Ruby offers chicken tenders on their menu, and that’s a high end restaurant: https://www.jeffruby.com/menu/cincinnati-kids-menu

With that said, It hurts to see Chef Perez showcase a smoker with some mouthwatering looking brisket inside. Which takes hours to cook, only to be chopped up into cubes and covered with BBQ sauce (burnt ends). I’d wish they’d just pull it from the smoker, trim it and slice (no sauce).
https://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland/videos/kings-island-first-coney-bar-b-que-bites-of-2025/1773647226545755/

[Timchat2]

This might be old news but we noticed Coney BBQ lists rotisserie chicken and burnt ends as "premium" meats and they cost one dollar more than the other entrees.

Farmhouse and Grand Pavilion at Cedar Point have similar "premium" entrees but I don't remember seeing that at Kings Island before.

[Diamondback_Is_King]

2 hours ago, Timchat2 said:

This might be old news but we noticed Coney BBQ lists rotisserie chicken and burnt ends as "premium" meats and they cost one dollar more than the other entrees.

Farmhouse and Grand Pavilion at Cedar Point have similar "premium" entrees but I don't remember seeing that at Kings Island before.

That's news to me...so sad because the rotisserie chicken was my favorite! 

[Orion-XL200]

I believe they are still included in the dining plan. 

CP the premium entrees are included.

[Timchat2]

That's right, they are still included on the dining plan. The out-of-pocket price is $20.99 for the "premium" meats and $19.99 for the others, if I remember correctly.

[jdf21972]

One of the best food items on the dining plan is the Boom Boom Shrimp Po Boy at French Corner. You can get a side of Canun pasta salad (best option ) or homemade chips. This is the best hidden gem for the park as the wait time is usually minimal as many pass this location and it gives an enjoyable view of the Eiffel Tower and eating outside is like a small cafe in Paris. And if you time it out right you can listen to a show on the bandstand during the summer. A + for this location and food. I highly recommend it.


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[chad_1138]

56 minutes ago, jdf21972 said:

One of the best food items on the dining plan is the Boom Boom Shrimp Po Boy at French Corner. You can get a side of Canun pasta salad (best option ) or homemade chips. This is the best hidden gem for the park as the wait time is usually minimal as many pass this location and it gives an enjoyable view of the Eiffel Tower and eating outside is like a small cafe in Paris. And if you time it out right you can listen to a show on the bandstand during the summer. A + for this location and food. I highly recommend it.


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Dang straight.  Absolutely love this sandwich.  Plus, with the remodel of French Corner, it should actually be open this year!

[IndyGuy4KI]

On 4/20/2025 at 10:53 PM, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Did your Pub Burger come with any toppings? I've seen comments that Jukebox Diner removed their toppings bar, so the Brewhouse might be the only place in the park that someone can find lettuce for their hamburger now.

Mine did last Saturday. 

[Diamondback_Is_King]

I had two meals today, Enrique's and Coney BBQ. Both were good and the staff gave LOTS of food today. Highly unusual for me, but I'm all for more food!

[Stoan]

Had some coneys from Skyline yesterday, possible the most disappointing coney I've had in my entire life. Stale bun, cold dog, wads of cheese instead of shreds, and only half the coney had chili on it and it was half what it should have been.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Festhaus, Action Zone Refill, & I-Street LaRosa's Review 4/25/2025:

We went to the Festhaus some time between 7 to 8pm and were pleased to see plenty of clean, empty tables with a ton of personal space available between each group. Even with the rain, there were (relatively) not a lot of people in the Festhaus and I waited longer to get past a family than I did to get through the line and check out process.

I entered the Festhaus food line and made the split decision to get a Cheeseburger Platter (I forgot to get the menu price), and later found out that it had no cheese. While not a bad thing at all, I definitely grabbed it from the section marked "Cheeseburger". This might be a one-off mistake, but putting indistinguishable/fully wrapped items under the wrong label may cause more trouble for those who cannot have some ingredients than it's worth. As a whole I'd rate this experience at 4/5 Stars. The super tasty fries and Coca-Cola were what saved it from being a 3/5 meal. The plain burger was fine, albeit a little more juicy than I normally enjoy, and reminded me of the burger I got from Harmony Hall at Carowinds.

After leaving the Festhaus, I ventured over to the new Refresh Station by Action Zone and got myself a Coca-Cola. The line was nonexistent and the drinks were flowing with good syrup/carbonation/soda water mixes. The only complaint I had was that there didn't appear to be signs directing guests to exit via the side doors, so a lot of people were going back out the entrance. There is also a sink marked "BOTTLE WASHING ONLY", which was a nice touch. It's definitely now one of my more favorite Refresh Stations in the park!

Before leaving the park for the night, one of my group members agreed to use their meal plan to get me something from LaRosa's on International Street (they weren't hungry and didn't want to "waste" a meal plan opportunity). Through them I got two slices of Pepperoni Pizza and a breadstick (I didn't see the menu price), and enjoyed it as I ate it on my way home in the passenger seat. It seemed a little more fresh than my burger. As a whole I'd rate this experience at 5/5 Stars. The pizza tasted great, even after being out of the restaurant for longer than normal. 

 

So far, my overall 2025 Kings Island dining experience is rated at 4/5 Stars!