Rainforest Cafe — Restaurant in Galveston

I've now been here twice. I took my children last month and the experience was stellar. It was a very busy Saturday and the wait was long, but the service was phenomenal and the food was great. That experience alone would be 5 stars.

I went again on Monday 03/25 for lunch. I live in Houston and my parents were here from out of state to celebrate my dad's and my daughter's birthdays. My parents mentioned that they'd never been, so it was a perfect opportunity to make the drive. So, in short, we drove from Houston only to eat at the Rainforest Cafe.

It was not busy at all. We were quickly seated. A manager walked by a few minutes later and offered a high chair, but that's where the positives end.

We sat for 15 minutes without anyone acknowledging us. I saw two tables near us be seated, receive their drinks, and place their orders in this time. No sign of our waiter. My dad got up and mentioned to someone that no one had helped us at all.

Someone promptly came over and took our drink order, appetizer order, and meal order all at once. Someone else brought out drinks. About five minutes later, a young man came to our table to take our order. We told him that someone already took it and he mumbled and walked away.

Meals came. The baby's meal was missing altogether and we had to flag someone down to get that. We ate while we waited, though, and the food was fantastic. In the meantime, glasses were empty and refills were never offered. The baby's meal came out and we asked for refills. The refills never came.

Someone came to give us a check and I asked if we could get one of the desserts with the sparkler (I didn't know the name). He came back about ten minutes later with a bowl of pudding(?) and gummy worms. I told him that I wanted the one with the sparkler for my dad and daughter since it was their birthday. He blamed me because I'd agreed to a different dessert but went to get the correct one (and we were still charged for the gummy worm one, which was very sweet of them).

He brought out the volcano and placed it on the table and then said "Oh, it's your birthday. Hold on." The staff was singing to someone else so we waited while they sang and then they came to our table to do the same. You'd think this would have been a nice way to end the trip, but no. One of the female employees was so annoyed that she literally frowned and leaned against the booth as she "sang." Wow, you've really made us feel great as you moped while singing and even showed your annoyance as you moped away.

The meal was over $100. I still tipped 20% because I'm not a jerk. I don't even know who the tip even went to, since we were basically helped by 6 or 7 different people that we flagged down (none were anything special). I also didn't complain about being charged for a dessert we did not order or eat -- I was trying to stay positive and let my family enjoy their special day.

We did the ride afterwards where the employee who took our money and the employee running the ride were equally miserable and annoyed as the staff in the restaurant. Not a smile to be seen. Just sheer annoyance at our presence.

My dad, who is over the top kind and positive, said "the concept is really cool, but the service was just disappointing." Yeah, that's putting it very mildly. It was, quite literally, the worst service I'd ever experienced at a restaurant. Depressed, miserable, inattentive staff made for a crappy birthday experience for my sweet dad and daughter. My parents are back in Michigan and won't be back until next March. Next year, the chances of us returning to the Rainforest Cafe are...

We had a party of 9 drive down from Montgomery County, TX, for a birthday lunch. We will definitely be back!!

Food: The food is okay but nothing particularly great or flavorful. My 6 yo son had the popcorn shrimp with fruit from the kids' menu. He didn't eat much of it. I had the Rasta Pasta with shrimp. There wasn't much spinach and broccoli in it, in my opinion, so I would've enjoyed more of that in it personally. There was no shortage of red peppers. My 4 yo daughter ate from my plate originally and then refused because she didn't like it. I brought most of it home for leftovers. I think the menu makes a good effort of trying to appeal to a variety of audiences. For birthdays, a very large volcano brownie is included! It was very yummy and was able to be divided in small but adequate servings between 9 guests. I was thoroughly impressed!

Atmosphere: The atmosphere is amazing! That's really what you're here for. It can be overwhelming for those who are sensitive to sensory overload. They have a pair of giant animatronic elephants protruding from a wall which move slightly and make elephant noises occasionally. There are animatronic monkeys, butterflies, snakes, etc, hanging from the trees and branches throughout the restaurant. Every 30 minutes or so, there is a "thunderstorm" where the lights will flicker, and the sound of rain and rolling thunder will come over the speakers. It can be scary for young children, although some will adjust with reassurance.

Service: The service was very polite and attentive! They have a face painter and balloon artist going around from table to table who work off tips, so you're not expected to accept their offer or pay a fee for the service but a tip is appreciated if you accept their offer. It's a quick process that entertains the kids during the wait for the food but simultaneously doesn't take too long. We had 5 children get their faces painted. The balloon artist did not make his way to our table, so our kids were a bit disappointed about that, haha.

Location: It's located directly across from the beach, which makes it super easy to go there afterward. Free beach parking is just around the corner from the restaurant.

Bonus: They have a 6-person water raft ride on the side of the restaurant for an added cost (I think it was $7.50/pp, but my friend paid, so I could be wrong). It was SOOO much fun! The ride is low intensity and lasts maybe 10 minutes. You have to go down a couple of steps to get into the raft and, therefore, up a few steps to get out. The ride itself is an absolute blast! You won't get wet at all, but it's like you're going down a river through the most amazing animatronic rainforest, so you'll see all sorts of animals, reptiles, etc. The kids (from 3-11) and adults had the best time! If you're going to be at the restaurant anyway, you're missing out if you don't also go on the river ride! The attendant is very nice and...

Rainforest Cafe has a secret. Once a novel concept with nearly 50 locations, today only 16 remain inside the United States. Of those 16, just one sits at the top of the list as the finest example ever constructed: The Galveston Texas location. ✨

Sitting adjacent to the beach in Galveston, one may assume that this Rainforest Cafe is identical to the others, but that would be a huge mistake. You see this is no ordinary Rainforest Cafe, this is the crown jewel of the brand and the personal hometown location of parent company Landrys Inc’s CEO Tilman J. Fertitta. This location is like no other…

This is the ONLY restaurant with a theme park quality river ride attraction inside of it: outside of a theme park. The next closest examples would be San Angel Inn Restaurante / Gran Fiesta Tour at EPCOT in Orlando, or Blue Bayou Restaurant / Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland in Anaheim. But both of those are inside theme parks.

This place is just off a street.

Inside the restaurant has been beautifully preserved in its original 1990’s glory. All the neons work. All the robots work. All the water features work. The original waterfall with golden statue is still intact, now replaced at other locations. There was a two hour wait for a table. But that’s not even the part that shocked me the most…

THE SPARKLING VOLCANO DESSERT IS STILL HERE!

Ask anyone what they remember about a visit to the Rainforest Cafe and they will recall servers yelling “VOLCANO!” as they emerged from the kitchen with a sparkling dessert. In 2010 it was removed from the menu for safety and liability concerns, and for 15 years has remained only in our memories. So imagine my dismay in 2025 when in the middle of the most pristine and maintained rainforest cafe I have ever seen, the servers came out with sparkling dessert once more.

It was a beautiful moment, because I suddenly realized that the original magic and charm that made the place so special for kids and families to begin with has been lovingly preserved here in Galveston. This is the best example of a Rainforest Cafe that exists, and it’s not just something you must do when you come to Galveston:

It’s the entire reason you should come...