Per Universal's Website, "A wall of vintage rums, your own rum specialist, a ceviche bar and a patio overlooking the lagoon combine to make Strong Water Tavern an exceptionally cool and stylish watering hole. Featuring tapas style dining options with rum tastings, this is a true destination lounge in the heart of an island jewel."
The atmosphere is laid back with a standard bar area, several community tables and traditional restaurant tables as well. There are TVs behind the bar and sometimes there is live music playing. This is a great place to congregate with friends and try a few things!
Let's start with the cocktails, you can order a variety of rum-based craft drinks with house made juices, a rum flight, or there are beers on tap and wine available as well. The bar staff is knowledgeable and will help you pick something to suit your tastes if the menu is a little overwhelming.
The cocktails are divided into a few sections, the first is Revivers:
| Tavern Grog - Plantation Original Dark Rum, Pimento Dram, Demerara, Citrus |
| Daquiri - Diplomático Planas Rum - Shake Not Frozen. Classic (also comes in Hemingway, Blackberry or Breakfast) |
| Witch Doctor - Rhum JM Blanc Rum, Pinot Noir, Smoked Apple Syrup, Passion Fruit |
| Sea Shanty - SelvaRey White, House Lemonade with Chamomile Tea, Citrus, Orange Bitters |
For the bravest, there are Potents - stronger classics.
| Mai Tai - Hamilton Reserve and El Dorado 5 yr, Orgeat, Lime |
Finally, you can design a rum flight to try rum in its purest form. The bartender working when I was there, Lenny, was great to design three tastes that he thought I would like based on my preferences - and he was so right! All three of the rums he picked for me were just wonderful.
With all this rum, we of course had to try some of the tapas! The food menu has a few small plates from various regions. The empanadas were the chef's grandma's recipe so of course I had to give those a try (and wow, they were amazing!) We also tried a few other things and honestly everything was so good, I wouldn't hesitate to have these again or go back and try more!
| Ropa Vieja - Shredded beef, garlic, onions, peppers, sofrito sauce. (Little Havana) |
| Beefsteak Empanadas - Onions, carrots and potatoes, spicy green garlic sauce. (Columbia) |
| Vegan Breadfruit Tostadas - Sautéed mushrooms, avocado purée, red pepper sofrito, vegan “chicharron.” (Puerto Rico) |
If you are staying at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort or Aventura (a very short walk over), I would certainly recommend a stop here. Even if you aren't, I think everything was so delightful I'd even go out of my way to go back!
Maci Schau
Maci is an avid foodie and loves trying out new restaurants and seasonal food offerings in the parks. You can email Maci at [email protected].
