Our Busch Gardens Vegan Burger review looks at taste, value, and the dining plan experience at Zagora Café. See if this plant-based option is worth it.
Dining at theme parks is an adventure in itself, but sometimes the ride takes an unexpected turn. On our latest visit to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, we decided to brave the Beyond Burger at Zagora Café. Let’s say, we got more of an adventure than we bargained for.
Opening Confusion at Zagora Café
The first hurdle came before we even placed our order. Zagora Café is supposed to open at 10:30 a.m., but our reporter found the doors still closed until 10:45 a.m. Not a massive delay, but when you’re trying to maximize a day at the park using the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, where you get a meal every 90 minutes, every minute counts. The confusion didn’t help either. Mobile ordering listed the restaurant as closed, even though nearly 30 people were already lined up. So much for digital accuracy.
Busch Gardens Vegan Burger: The All-Day Dining Plan Trap
Here’s where our mistake kicked in: ordering the Beyond Burger using the All-Day Dining Plan. Since entrees are included every 90 minutes, quick service is crucial to make the plan worthwhile. Unfortunately, Busch Gardens Vegan Burger, The Beyond Burger added an 11-minute wait time. That may not sound like much, but those minutes are valuable when you’re working the system. Yes, the burger was technically fresher because of the extra prep time, but the improvement was barely noticeable.
To complicate things further, the signage explaining the All-Day Dining Plan at Zagora Café was unclear, leading to lots of guest confusion in line. Add in changes to the dining plan itself that guests are still adjusting to, and the queue slowed down to a crawl.
The Busch Gardens Vegan Burger Breakdown
On paper, the Busch Gardens Vegan Burger, The Beyond Burger, sound promising. The menu board lists it at $18.49 before discounts or dining plans, and it comes with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Still, the reality fell flat. The patty looked unappetizing on arrival, with alt-meat cooked in a way that didn’t exactly inspire confidence. The tomato slice looked like it had given up on life, and the shredded lettuce wasn’t helping.
First bite? Better than it looked, but the standard peppery aftertaste of alt-meat that isn’t handled properly quickly followed. The cheese and tomato added little in the way of flavor. In fact, the tomato was so tough in one section we couldn’t bite through it. That’s not the kind of texture you want on a vegan-friendly burger.
The bun, on the other hand, was surprisingly decent, which is not always the case with theme park burgers. The fries were fine, though the portion looked smaller than usual compared to other Busch Gardens quick-service spots. The patty itself was a larger-than-standard size, but poor preparation dragged down what could have been a decent option.
Dining Atmosphere – Watch for Birds
Zagora Café does offer shaded outdoor seating, which is a plus. However, guests beware: the local bird population has claimed this area as their own. On another visit, one of our reporters had their entire burger snatched away mid-bite by a bold bird. So yes, you may want to guard your food like a falconer in training.
Popularity and Best Bets
Despite its flaws, Zagora Café remains a go-to stop. It’s the first major quick-service location you encounter when entering Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and it tends to stay open the longest. That explains why the line was so long during our visit.
Still, if you’re looking for a crowd favorite, skip the alt-meat and head straight for the Chicken Tenders — easily the most popular item here. The Beyond Burger, much like the Double Cheeseburger, seems to be a lower-demand option. There’s a reason for that.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Vegan Burger at Zagora Café
If you’re on the All-Day Dining Plan, think twice before ordering the Beyond Burger. The extra wait time isn’t worth the marginally fresher taste. The patty is oversized but underwhelming, and the toppings don’t add much value. While the bun held up surprisingly well, the overall experience left us wishing Busch Gardens would lean into the quality of alt-meat dishes found elsewhere, like TOMA at Orang Café.
Zagora Café remains a convenient, high-traffic dining spot, but the Beyond Burger is not its star. Unless you’re strictly avoiding meat, you may want to choose a more reliable entrée when stopping here. Also, for the love of all things theme park dining: watch out for the birds.
We publish theme park dining reviews every weekday at noon at MSM News. As always, eat like you mean it!
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