UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — At the brand-new Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen, Victorian steampunk meets chocolate and sugary decadents.

What You Need To Know

  • Universal has opened the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen at Universal CityWalk

  • The Victorian-themed chocolate emporium opens as the company celebrates the 30th anniversary of CityWalk

  • The restaurant features savory items, like burgers and steaks, and over-the-top desserts

  • The Hollywood location is the third Toothsome restaurant in the world, following Orlando and Beijing

Universal Parks & Resorts finally opened its popular and exclusive Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen at Universal CityWalk in Hollywood last week, taking over the former Hard Rock Café, which closed in January 2020.

The full-service restaurant with an over-the-top dessert bar will now anchor Universal Studios' retail and dining strip. It comes as the company celebrates the 30th anniversary of Universal CityWalk.

Jacques and Penelope are character mascots for the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen at Universal CityWalk. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

As the backstory goes, the restaurant is a Victorian steampunk chocolate emporium created by Londonite Penelope and her robot sidekick Jacques.

Penelope, a world traveler, created the chocolate factory in hopes of reuniting with her parents, who set out to find their daughter "wherever chocolate can be found."

So Penelope and Jacques serve travelers savory, chocolate and sugary recipes, hoping that her parents would find her one day.

The two-story structure features a giant clockwork marquee and 97-foot smokestacks on its exterior.

Walking inside, the restaurant is almost like a "Doctor Who" episode, with servers dressed in Victorian-era brown and sepia-toned clothing and brassy top hats with goggles.

While the menu, run by executive chef Carlos Garcia, features items such as salads, soup, burgers, and steak, the over-the-top dessert bar keeps visitors coming.

Pictured here are some desserts at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

The specialty milkshakes are topped with various dessert cakes, such as red velvet brownies, key lime pie or strawberry cheesecake.

The Hollywood location is Universal's third Toothsome Chocolate Emporium in the world. The company opened the first in Orlando in 2016 and another at its Univeral location in Beijing, China, in 2022.