I Ate At Every Restaurant At Lost Island Theme Park. Here Are My Recommendations

The Thirsty Voyager in Awa at Lost Island, home of cocktails and noodles bowls

I love Lost Island, and I also love food. Every time I have visited Lost Island this season (2023), I have made sure to try new unique food item. We have found the food to be better than at other small themeparks. I made sure to focus on menu items that were invented for the park, or are made scratch in the park. Thus, anything pre-packaged, like pickle bites, Thelma's ice cream sandwiches, and Uncrustables won’t be discussed here. (You can get these, and many other kid favorites, at most dining locations in Lost Island.)

It is important to note that I haven’t eaten everything yet. If I try something new before the end of the season that is so good (or bad) that it warrants adding to this post, I will be sure to add a note. 

Lost Island Dining Locations and Menus 

Eating in Mura

Kotaki Treats

Let's do dessert first! Mura has only one dining location, in a very convenient location on the way towards Lost Island’s entrance/exit. Here you can get a dozen, half dozen, or a chocolate covered tower of cinnamon mini donuts. We liked these donuts! I don’t think they are any better than average food truck mini donuts, but they are pretty good! This stand also has ice cream, Dole Whip, and root beer floats. I would rate the ice cream about the same as the donuts. 

Eating in Yuta

Fries, Pinaple Burger, and BBQ chicken pizza from Totara Market. Sorry for the grainy and unsaturated photo. 

Totara Market

The Market is one of two cafeteria style restaurants at Lost Island Themepark. It features American food like fries, chicken tenders, salad, and tenderloin sandwiches, which can be found at other locations. (The fries are pretty good, at all locations!) There is also a recurring mini cupcake flight with cupcakes themed to each area. This location also offers unique burgers, pizza, and wraps. We enjoyed the pineapple, mango and habanero burger, but found the burger patty to not be very robust. The veggie burger was about what you would expect from theme park food. We liked the barbeque and mac-n-cheese pizza, although I don’t want to oversell it as artisanal.  It’s important at this point to also mention that we would have liked to see a little more volume on this food for the price. This volume issue isn’t unique to this location, but it’s good to note.

Eating in Awa

Thirsty Voyager

This is Lost Island’s sole bar. You can get iced cocktails, canned cocktails, and beer here and drink them on an atmospheric patio with lights and a dancing fountain. More impressively, it has some surprisingly high-volume asian fair. I highly recommend the spicy chicken bowl - I found the non-spicy version to be a bit bland. Expect a lot of food, it's a hearty serving, even without the optional side order of spring rolls. I found the canned Moscow mule to be acceptable; With a lime, it would have been fantastic. 

Whalebone Grill

4 beer battered cod fillets with fries and honey mustard from Whalebone Grill. Sorry that this photo is a little grainy and unsaturated. 

Lost Island’s second cafeteria. Its unique offerings include beer battered cod, coconut shrimp, and “bowls” such as an Asian chicken rice dish and pulled pork-n-cheese. It also has a unique southwest style wrap. My favorite food at Lost Island is the pulled pork and mac-n-cheese bowl, although the serving size isn’t great. The BBQ sauce is divine and combines with the creamy cheese flavor so well. The fish was very good and appropriately portioned. However, I haven't tried the coconut shrimp yet because it always looks just a liiiiitle over cooked. (plus you only get a few for a $12 price as of 2023)  It has a few repeat items from Totara Market, including the same sides, chicken, salad and veggie burgers.

Eating in Udara 

Bardo's pulled pork nachos from Udaran Delights at Lost Island

Udaran Delights

This snack stand near Lost Island’s spaceshot “Skyborne” serves a few types of nachos and hotdogs. I have yet to have the hot dogs, but I have had Bardo’s nachos. (Bardo is a roaming Lost Island original character, a Udarian musician from the band “Hawk Natchos”.)  Every component on these nachos surprises with high quality: savory pulled pork, fajita veggies, and corn on classic cheese nachos. However, I do have a problem with the ratio of toppings. The pulled pork and veggies are a little sparse. Ideally, you should have enough of every topping to have a little in each bit, and that's just not happening. 

Eating in Tamariki

Soft pretzel with Cheese from the Tamariki section of Lost Island

UmmiUmmi's

Tamariki is the colorful spirit realm of Lost Island, and home of most of the kiddie rides. Thus, this stand specializes in pre-packaged kid favorites, cold brew coffee for parents running out of steam, and hot soft pretzels. These pretzels come with salt and cheese, and have the right combination of crisp outside and soft, fluffy inside - a perfect snack. 

My Overall Thoughts on Lost Island’s food

As you probably noticed, no food at Lost Island was particularly bad, in my opinion. This is especially true when compared to foods I have eaten at other Midwest theme parks. My main critique with this park’s food is inconsistent portion size relative to price, or skimping on toppings in one case. 

If you really need to eat on a budget while visiting Lost Island, I would recommend splitting an order of nomad noodles with your travel companion at Thirsty Voyager. It's a truly massive and filling plate of food, for a little less money than a burger and fries would cost at one of the cafeterias. If you're thrifty and not in the mood for noodles, Lost Island will let you leave and come back; Just pack a picnic to eat at your car. That being said, this park still  establishing itself. I encourage anybody who can budget for it to buy either a snack or a souvenir while they are visiting. 

I really appreciate the extent that Lost Island has chosen to include food within the theming and storytelling. Adding little touches to the names of dishes, and placing them in parts of the park that make the most sense make meal time part of the experience, rather than a jarring secondary experience. Furthermore, the staff are super friendly and ready to help, and in good spirits. This makes the industry-standard premium food prices much more worth it for me. 

Special Dietary Needs & Lost Islands Menus

I do not have dietary needs, but as I ate my way around Lost Island, I tried to keep in mind people who might have food intolerances or plant based diets. And to be honest, the options could be better. While most special diets will be able to find one snack and meal within the park as a whole, you might not be able to find something at every stand or restaurant. That being said, Lost island states on their website that you can call and learn more about accommodations for special diets. Lost Island also posts allergen information here, but it lists items by restaurant at the waterpark.

If you are still worried, Lost Island permits you to leave and come back if you want to eat at a local restaurant or eat a picnic at your car. Lost Island is just 15 minutes away from the San Marnen area of Waterloo, which is chock-full of chain and local restaurants, as well as grocery stores. 

Conclusion

Lost Island does a pretty good job with food, especially compared to its competition. I have even found myself using my season pass to pop in just for dinner and a roller coaster some nights. What do you think about the dining  options at Lost Island Themepark? Comment below!