Zambia Smokehouse at Busch Gardens

We're going to talk theme park food today. I ate lunch at Zambia Smokehouse during a recent visit to Busch Gardens. This restaurant is located under the Sheikra roller coaster, which could be a good or bad thing whether or not you enjoy the roar of a coaster train every minute or so. Historically, I've thought the Sea World owned parks have had the weakest food of the three big theme park companies in Central Florida, but that seems to be changing with some of more recent food experiences with their parks (some, not all). Because of this, I was a little worried if Zambia Smokehouse would live up to Busch Gardens' reputation of nasty food, or if it would be passable...

I ordered the Brisket Platter. This came with three large slices of brisket, French fries, and a roll. In terms of the sides, the fries were what was expected and the roll was disappointing. It was flavorless mushy white bread and left me with no desire to finish the thing. The brisket was actually very tasty. It was nice and lean, unlike some brisket I've had with turns out to be half fat. It had a nice smokey taste and was coated with a rub which provided an extra burst of flavor around the edges of the meat.

While the sides at Zambia Smokehouse could have used some work, the brisket here was good. For a theme park where I've had horrible meals in the past, me liking the brisket was a win for Busch Gardens. Comparing that to the past few quick service meals I've had at Magic Kingdom which have ranged from bad to inedible, I think it's time for Disney to step up their food game again when I'm liking Busch Gardens' food better...