Rain Forest Food Pavilion

Disappointing real food. Expensive and bad fast food. I will try to bring food next time.

As far as Food Court/​Pavillions go at a place like the zoo, this place is da ‘bomb!
Where can you buy a giant icee (slushee) and get free refills on a hot day? Here!
Where can you find a variety of kids’ meals sure to please the pickiest of kids? Here!
Where can you find TONS of tables, with air conditioning, to eat even if you only brought your own food? Here!
Where can you get a variety of items from paninis to pizzas to waffle cut fries? Here!
So basically, I have never been to a better food courtish like option at a BUSY place like the zoo!
The floor to ceiling windows and tons of natural light let you see and enjoy everything happening around you.
The washrooms were plenty, clean, and had change tables!
And there were videos playing wtih animal facts — like did you know that Gorillas co-​sleep and breastfeed typically until around the age of 4!
LOVE love LOVED the Woodland Park Zoo and the Rain Forest Food Pavillion will definitely be my regular stop in the future :-)
See you later Alligator!
P. S. Yes, prices are high, it is the zoo… but definitely cheaper than say DisneyLand food ;-)
P. P. S. If you like garlic, try the garlic fries! SO Garlicy good! It will definitely keep the vampire bats away ;-)

The Rain Forest Food Pavilion is located in the middle of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. It is basically a cafeteria in amongst the exhibits on the west side of the zoo itself.
The Rain Forest Food Pavilion has a large communal seating area and contains five different «restaurants»:
1) Corner Pizza sells pizza by the slice and ICEE’s
2) World Taco, with what you might expect
3) Market Grill harbors burgers, fries, hot dogs, onion rings
4) Woodland Deli boasts freshly made sandwiches, salads, soups and entrees
5) Zoo Java has espresso, smoothies, ice cream, cookies, popcorn, and pretzels
As you can probably tell, the establishments in the pavilion are very much catered towards kids and their taste in food, along with a little something for the adults in tow. As a family, we had opted for a burger with homemade potato chips, garlic fries, waffle fries, mac and cheese, a Korean taco and a cherry ICEE to wash it down. As a very pleasant surprise, the trophy Wife brought a Cheese Panini with Bacon Jam and potato salad, which might be the single best panini that I’ve ever had! I’m not against paying zoo admission again just for another one of those!
Overall, the food was actually quite good, for cafeteria food. The homemade potato chips were also a stand-​out for me. They were warm and crisp but I would have liked a side of dipping sauce of some sort. The garlic fries were also very nice and the portion was more than enough for the four of us.
It was unfortunate that the mac and cheese was basically Kraft dinner. Granted, it was cooked well and my seven year-​old daughter was happy, but for $ 6, Daddy wasn’t quite as impressed. Also FYI, straws are not available, apparently due to the danger factor for the animals at the zoo. Initially, I was annoyed at this and thought it was a bit of overkill, but after thinking about it, I completely understand and support the zoo in their decision to keep trash as minimal as possible and protect the animals from any potential hazards.
I really liked the fact that if you buy an ICEE, free refills are available at the self-​serve machine. Four ICEE’s kind of made up for the pricey mac and cheese.
The pavilion has TV screens that advertised the zoo and had facts on many different animals, which I thought was a very nice touch, while providing information on the activists and the conservation of these various animals.
The men’s room was nice, clean and big and had a little bench for tired fathers that don’t necessarily want to stand at the urinal with their little wrangler.
I would definitely take in the Rain Forest Food Pavilion again, and urge anybody to partake in the Rain Forest Food Pavilion’s goodness, and not just because it happens to be on the zoo property. The experience was quite good and I give it a solid four stars.