Review of Restaurants in the Mall of America: Rainforest Cafe

The Rainforest Café is an experience in itself. It is more than just a restaurant. It is definitely a place for the entire family. Filled with the looks of a rainforest jungle, complete with trees, animatronics animals, and the sounds that one would experience, there is something at this establishment for everyone.

The restaurant's menu features a menagerie of Island inspired dishes. Well, not really inspired by the islands, more like their names are inspired by the islands and rain forests of the world. For appetizers, you may opt for the Rainforest Pita Quesadillas or the Coastal Calamari. The quesadillas are made using grilled chicken and grilled pita bread, served with pico de gallo and sour cream. The calamari is breaded, deep-fried, and served with marinara sauce. For salads, there is the Big Islander Caesar Salad or the Jungle Chop Salad. Surprisingly, the pizzas on the menu are better than I assumed they would be. There are various seafood dishes including the Congo Catfish Plate, Cyclone Crabcakes, Monsoon Grill, and the Shrimp Platter, which includes Shrimp Scampi, Safari Shrimp Skewers, and Shrimp Enbrochette.

There is also a children's menu, which includes pizza, pasta, grilled cheese, hot dogs, shrimp, and the ever-popular kiddie favorite chicken tenders. There also is a special children's dessert menu as well.

For the Vegetarians, There Are Not Specific Non-Meat Dishes on the Menu. However, many of the pasta dishes can be prepared without meat, as can the salads that include meat. There is also the option of having a pizza vegetarian style. Be sure to ask your server to ax the items you do not want.

Being that this is a children's focused restaurant there are no drink specialties offer.

Prices range from $5-$20. Mall parking is available in all mall entrances. The restaurant offers takeout food for all items on the menu. However, that does not allow patrons opportunity to experience the thunderstorms that occur every 15 minutes while eating a meal. The usual way time on a weekend night for party of four is approximately 45 minutes to one hour. They do not accept reservations for seating. The dress code is casual.

As for this restaurant being a kid friendly environment, only Chuck E. Cheese comes to mind as being more kid inspired, and this place is much nicer.

The Rainforest Café is located in the Mall of America, at 102 South Ave., Bloomington, Minnesota 55425. Their phone number is 952.854.7500. Their hours of operation are Sunday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The rainforest Café is not a place just for kids. A lot of work and creativity went into the design of this restaurant and many adults are amazed by what they see and hear. More than that, a parent will marvel at the expressions on the faces of the children that they take with them. This place is bound to leave a lasting impression on children and adults alike.