Kings Island 2026 Food Reviews and Discussion

[IndyGuy4KI]

Let's use this thread to discuss. Food plans, meal options and perk treats.

[KICP16]

So I’m just going too accept that this was due first day open, new employees, still learning, still fine tuning things. I got the chicken tenders are chicken shack the portion size was TINY TINY TINY. 3 of the smallest chicken tenders you’d ever seen pretty much 3 small chicken chunks wish I would’ve taken a picture.  I have all season meal plan so I didn’t care but if I were someone who didn’t have a meal plan and I paid $20 for this I would be throwing a fit. 
but I’m gonna accept it’s early and things will get better. Bbq sauce empty outside chicken shack too happened a lot last year so right back too it 

[Diamondback_Is_King]

3 minutes ago, KICP16 said:

So I’m just going too accept that this was due first day open, new employees, still learning, still fine tuning things. I got the chicken tenders are chicken shack the portion size was TINY TINY TINY. 3 of the smallest chicken tenders you’d ever seen pretty much 3 small chicken chunks wish I would’ve taken a picture.  I have all season meal plan so I didn’t care but if I were someone who didn’t have a meal plan and I paid $20 for this I would be throwing a fit. 
but I’m gonna accept it’s early and things will get better. Bbq sauce empty outside chicken shack too happened a lot last year so right back too it 

From every time I've ever gone to Chicken Shack they always load me up with chicken and fries. Probably was an opening day thing. Or maybe their cutting down on portion sizes again. We saw this with Panda Express, Enrique's, and i'm sure there were others too. Give it time. I don't really like going to KI during the first month or 2 of operation because of how packed and slow everything is. But I'll be there tomorrow so I'll have to check it out.

How were the food lines today? Normally they are pretty long in the first few opening weeks.

[KICP16]

1 minute ago, Diamondback_Is_King said:

From every time I've ever gone to Chicken Shack they always load me up with chicken and fries. Probably was an opening day thing. Or maybe their cutting down on portion sizes again. We saw this with Panda Express, Enrique's, and i'm sure there were others too. Give it time. I don't really like going to KI during the first month or 2 of operation because of how packed and slow everything is. But I'll be there tomorrow so I'll have to check it out.

How were the food lines today? Normally they are pretty long in the first few opening weeks.

Last year the portion sizes were very generous and I’ve heard rumors from other parks this year that portion sizes have shrunk dramatically so when I got that from chicken shack it worries me but we shall see. My other meal was the shrimp po boy so you can’t really adjust that portion size it’s always the same and it was delicious as always. 
food lines were very reasonable from what I saw around dinner time they got a little long but they seemed too be moving and not much slow downs. For first day open they probably did very well 

[brenthodge]

Burgundy beef. BAD replacement for soy glazed. Weird taste. Weird texture. Like a pasty stew with sad carrots. Definitely a step down. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

39 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Burgundy beef. BAD replacement for soy glazed. Weird taste. Weird texture. Like a pasty stew with sad carrots. Definitely a step down. 

I actually liked it. Sometimes the soy beef was very dry and this had a good taste and was very tender. The pork was very good today too.

[KICP16]

I had the shrimp po boy and pasta salad and chicken shack tenders today 

shrimp po boy and pasta same as last year very good hope this location is open more this year during the week it was mostly open weekends only last year. I kept going back and forth what I wanted for my second meal I wanted too try the new footlong hot dog with Mac and grippos at brewhouse but it was a pretty long line at dinner time so I decided too try too get that another day 

[BB1]

I had the burgundy beef today. I think it was way too salty for my tastes but had really good flavor. Which I feel as if is a detriment to the overall profile as the food itself was delicious but the salt just overpowered everything. Definitely way too hardy for a summer day but would be something I would enjoy in the fall. I hope the park sees value in a rotational menu and maybe starts doing a form of seasonal kitchen out of Grain and Grill as I feel like there is a lot more that can be had from that location. I just wish we had a lemon herb chicken or some form of white meat that isn't fried/processed beyond measure like the chicken tenders. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

2 hours ago, Diamondback_Is_King said:

How were the food lines today? Normally they are pretty long in the first few opening weeks.

The line for the Brewhouse was out of the front door around 3 as we were walking toward Potato Works. Then, we decided to ride the train before getting our food. When we got off of the train around 3:20, Brewhouse didn't have a line so we went inside and only waited about 10 minutes in line due to some register issues (which I witnessed while getting a drink from LaRosa's on I-Street as well). What we actually waited for was our food. We snagged a booth and proceeded to wait 30 minutes for a plain Pub Burger, a Mac & Cheese Dog, and a Hail Caesar Salad. The receipts still say "King's Island" with the wrong spelling and all. I swear it should be as easy as editing the name in a Settings menu, but it's not been done. For those who keep track like I do, the meal plan "price" is $11.00 per meal and the drink plan "price" is $2.00 per SP paper cup. I'm glad that the Brewhouse does still allow guests to refill their cups, but I wish they could find a way to reconfigure the guest flow and partially separate the register exit from the soda fountains. 

 

Now for my actual food review: I ordered a plain Pub Burger (no L, T, or O) and a Coke from the Miami River Brewhouse around 3:30PM today. It took about 10 minutes to get to the register due to POS system issues in front of us and about 30 minutes to get our food after ordering. We've waited that long before, but it's not a great experience when we could've just gone over to the Rivertown Potato Works and had our food out quicker. When our food did come out my burger was absolutely steaming hot (mmm yes SuperNintendo Chalmers, those were indeed steamed hams 🍔) and my tater tots — uh, I mean potato barrels — were cooked to perfection. The member of my group who got the Mac Dog received it without the Grippos despite requesting everything stay on it. It sounded like the salad was good as well. I was really close to joining the clean plate club, but I started to feel full right before I could get there. Overall, it was a really good meal!

[Swiftdrawer]

Skyline was the same as ever but they gave my sibling so little cheese while on mine, I got a little extra. Instead of often giving guests 2 packs of crackers a whole bunch as they did last year, they only gave one. Thats not a big deal but worth mentioning. Other than that, O tried the neopolitan ice cream sandwich at Sweet Spot. They prepare it fresh for you, having the ice cream stored in their big walk in freezer and everything. It was really good, cookies were warm and everything. The staff at Sweet Spot were awesome and caring and attentive yesterday.

[WoodVengeance]

I just stopped and got food at Coney BBQ. The portion sizes they were serving still seem to be rather generous. I’ve noticed they changed to waffle fries for this season, but they still use the same seasoning.

[disco2000]

^Interesting as they were not waffle fries yesterday.

[WoodVengeance]

Used my second meal at Grain & Grill. I wanted to get the roasted pork there, but they were out of it when I went, so I ended up just getting the chicken tenders with alfredo instead. I will advocate for Grain and Grill having the best chicken tenders in the park, though it's still chicken tenders at the end of the day. I do really appreciate the switch to alfredo, as it is one of my favorite pasta options and I'm glad it's now available at the park. I've seen some people upset that the alfredo replaced the macaroni and cheese that used to be served at Grain & Grill, but that's still being served at Coney BBQ so I can just get it there if I wanted it that much. I prefer it when the different restaurants have separate options from one another so you're not just getting the same thing.

I'm going back to the park tomorrow and I'll use my first meal at Grain & Grill to try and get that roasted pork.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I got the roasted pork at Grain and Grill for lunch today. They were out of alfredo so I got the potatos as my side. I'm surprised the alfredo is a side. Fettuchine Alfredo has always been a meal to me. 

For dinner, I got the smoked chicken with mac and cheese at Coney BBQ. I was very impressed with the chicken. It was pretty moist which is how I like it and it is a pretty good size piece of chicken. They ran out of the chicken right before me, but luckily they had more coming out right away so I was able to get it. I definitely would have a backup plan as it does look like the chicken will be very popular so it may be one that runs out a lot. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Earlier today I saw a photo of a meat (?) sandwich on a burger bun cut in half with a bowl of mac & cheese in between the two halves. Does anyone know what Kings Island food item that might be? It looked to be from French Corner, but it wasn't the shrimp po boy or the new crowaffle breakfast sandwich. It looked to be really nicely presented so I'm wondering if I should see about trying it.

I wish they would've kept some form of hot dog on the Brewhouse's menu instead of making it a Chef's Special item — though I do appreciate that the new hot dog is available for the meal plan.

In case anyone would like to see, here is the 2026 standard menu at the Miami River Brewhouse. As you can see, the prices now range from $13 to over $20 for the entrees. I also noticed that they don't have a price for fountain beverages listed anywhere, which would be nice to know if I didn't have the drink plan. Some of these prices are ridiculous, but I think most guests know to either buy a dining plan or eat outside of the park.

 

Speaking of the meal plan, do you like that the meal plan and drink plans are separate or do you wish the two were combined for a slightly higher price? I prefer them to be separate.

[disco2000]

31 minutes ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Earlier today I saw a photo of a meat (?) sandwich on a burger bun cut in half with a bowl of mac & cheese in between the two halves. Does anyone know what Kings Island food item that might be? It looked to be from French Corner, but it wasn't the shrimp po boy or the new crowaffle breakfast sandwich. It looked to be really nicely presented so I'm wondering if I should see about trying it.

 

You are talking about the Muffuletta sandwich and pasta salad that has been available at French Corner for the past 2 seasons or so.