I spent Premium Scream Night at Halloween Horror Nights 35 eating my way through the entire menu, every savory item, every dessert, and the specialty drinks, so I could tell you exactly what is worth your money. Below is my full ranking, the complete 2026 menu with prices and booth locations, and my honest verdict on everything I tried.
My top 10 HHN 35 food items
| # | Item | Price | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carn “Evil” Smash Tacos | $14.99 | Jack’s Surplus (Gramercy Park) |
| 2 | Severed & Smoked Chicken | $12.99 | Evil Dead Burn (New York) |
| 3 | Birria Pizza Fries | $13.99 | DreamWorks Imagination Cafe (Hollywood) |
| 4 | Bloody Bones | $12.99 | Meetz Meats (Central Park) |
| 5 | Torn to Shreds Pork Sandwich | $12.99 | Meetz Meats (Central Park) |
| 6 | Lasagna Burn | $10.99 | Evil Dead Burn (New York) |
| 7 | Steve’s Smuggled Peanut Butter Bites | $9.99 | Stranger Things (San Francisco) |
| 8 | Pleasure & Pain Brain | $7.99 | Hellraiser (San Francisco) |
| 9 | Hopper’s Recharger | $10.00 | Stranger Things (San Francisco) |
| 10 | Death by Cheesestick | $12.99 | Death Tank (New York) |
The HHN 35 food menu at a glance
Universal is running 33 food items this year across more than a dozen themed booths, plus a full lineup of specialty cocktails and mocktails. The average food item costs $11.64, and prices run from $7.99 for the Pleasure & Pain Brain up to $16.99 for El’s Battery Jerky and the Maloney’s Fish & Chips.
What you get here that you cannot find in one place anywhere else: every item’s price and booth location together with a firsthand ranking and a real photo of each dish. Universal’s reveal skipped prices, and the official site splits the menu across separate booth tabs, so this is the only spot with the full picture and a verdict on what is actually good.
Every HHN 35 food item, with prices and booths
The complete 2026 food lineup. Drinks are listed separately below.
| Item | Booth (area) | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fritos Vegan Walking Taco | Dia de los Muertos (Central Park) | $14.99 | Vegan chili, Daiya shredded cheese, lettuce, and vegan sour cream. |
| Fritos Walking Taco | Dia de los Muertos (Central Park) | $14.99 | Picadillo beef with Tostitos cheese sauce, lettuce, and sour cream. |
| Meat Grinder Red Velvet | Fearful Fare (Central Park) | $8.99 | Freshly ground red velvet cake with cream cheese icing and puffed-rice maggots. |
| Pizza Skull | Fearful Fare (Central Park) | $9.99 | Pepperoni and cheese stuffed pizza skull (a vegan version is available). |
| Vegan Pizza Skull | Fearful Fare (Central Park) | $9.99 | Green vegan skull filled with vegan Italian sausage, marinara, and vegan mozzarella. |
| Beer & Cheese Soup | Maloney’s (Central Park) | $7.99 | Beer and cheese soup served with a warm pretzel stick. |
| Fish & Chips | Maloney’s (Central Park) | $16.99 | Beer-battered fried cod with chips and tartar sauce. |
| Shepherd’s Fries | Maloney’s (Central Park) | $8.99 | Crispy fries with shepherd’s pie filling, beer cheese sauce, and onion crisp. |
| Bloody Bones (No. 4) | Meetz Meats (Central Park) | $12.99 | Smoked and charred BBQ ribs with crispy jalapeno bits. |
| Torn to Shreds Pork Sandwich (No. 5) | Meetz Meats (Central Park) | $12.99 | BBQ smoked and shredded pork shoulder with jalapeno slaw on a pretzel roll. |
| Elotes | Parkside Fare (Central Park) | $8.49 | Fire-grilled corn with cotija and Tajin or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. |
| Fried Dough | Parkside Fare (Central Park) | $8.99 | Choice of garlic parmesan or powdered sugar. |
| Annie’s Juke Joint Catfish & Grits | Sinners (Central Park) | $11.99 | Crispy catfish with low country grits, crunchy garlic, and a side of Tabasco. |
| Chow’s Southern BBQ Eggrolls | Sinners (Central Park) | $10.99 | BBQ pulled pork and cabbage in a crispy eggroll. |
| Pecan & Whiskey Bread Pudding | Sinners (Central Park) | $8.99 | Warm bread pudding with a pecan and whiskey caramel sauce. |
| Fried Pickles | Devilish Delights (Gramercy Park) | $10.99 | Fried pickle spears with sriracha aioli. |
| Twisted Tater Chips | Devilish Delights (Gramercy Park) | $9.99 | Crunchy spiralized potato chips with ranch and vinegar seasoning. |
| Carn “Evil” Smash Tacos (No. 1) | Jack’s Surplus (Gramercy Park) | $14.99 | Smashed cheeseburger tacos with American cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, secret sauce, and toasted sesame seeds. |
| Burnt Sando | Oddfellow’s Menagerie (Gramercy Park) | $8.99 | Crispy brioche stuffed with pastry cream and a burnt sugar crust. |
| Deathbringer Tempura Shrimp | Oddfellow’s Menagerie (Gramercy Park) | $12.99 | Crispy shrimp tempura roll with sriracha mayo and eel sauce. |
| Fried PB&J Bites | Crosshairs Coop (Hollywood) | $8.99 | Battered strawberry PB&J with powdered sugar and strawberry jam. |
| Twisted Philly | Crosshairs Coop (Hollywood) | $12.99 | Philly steak stromboli topped with spicy Italian sausage, peppers, onions, and cheese sauce. |
| Birria Pizza Fries (No. 3) | DreamWorks Imagination Cafe (Hollywood) | $13.99 | French fries topped with birria beef, mozzarella cheese, onions, and cilantro. |
| Death by Cheesestick (No. 10) | Death Tank (New York) | $12.99 | Giant hand-breaded mozzarella cheese stick with spicy marinara sauce. |
| Jack & Odd Dog | Death Tank (New York) | $13.99 | Nathan’s all-beef footlong with peppers, onions, cheese sauce, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in an ube bun. |
| Lasagna Burn (No. 6) | Evil Dead Burn (New York) | $10.99 | Szechuan pork potsticker lasagna. |
| Severed & Smoked Chicken (No. 2) | Evil Dead Burn (New York) | $12.99 | Szechuan spice-dusted smoked chicken leg. |
| Pinhead’s Skin & Meatballs | Hellraiser (San Francisco) | $11.99 | Torn pasta with spicy pork and beef chunks in marinara. |
| Pleasure & Pain Brain (No. 8) | Hellraiser (San Francisco) | $7.99 | Brain custard with vanilla cake pieces and strawberry sauce. |
| Skin & Chips Nachos | Hellraiser (San Francisco) | $10.99 | Crispy pork rinds with Tostitos cheese sauce and Jack Links peppered jerky. |
| El’s Battery Jerky | Stranger Things (San Francisco) | $16.99 | Creamy mac and cheese with garlic bread and battery jerky pieces. |
| Hopper’s Recharger (No. 9) | Stranger Things (San Francisco) | $10.00 | 360 Vodka Mandarin Orange, yuzu juice, Powerade Lemon Lime, and Monster Energy (mocktail available). |
| Steve’s Smuggled Peanut Butter Bites (No. 7) | Stranger Things (San Francisco) | $9.99 | Chocolate-covered peanut butter snacks. |
| Upside Down Chicken & Waffles | Stranger Things (San Francisco) | $12.99 | Cheese and potato waffle with crispy chicken bites, sriracha aioli, and chives. |
My tasting notes, ranked
Here is my full take on everything I ate, starting with the top 10 and then the rest of what I tried.
1. Carn “Evil” Smash Tacos ($14.99)
Jack’s Surplus, Gramercy Park. My No. 1, and the only thing I went back for twice. The concept is simple: a smashed cheeseburger folded into a taco with American cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, and secret sauce. It reminds me of In-N-Out’s animal style, but serving it in a taco instead of a bun means I tasted more of the meat and the toppings on every bite. Cheeseburgers are good, and this turns a great one into something better.
2. Severed & Smoked Chicken ($12.99)
Evil Dead Burn, New York. A very close second, and the healthiest thing I ate all night. It is a Szechuan-spice-dusted smoked chicken leg, and it is barely spicy and stays moist because it is still on the bone. The only reason it did not take the top spot is that it is tough to eat while walking. You are working around the bone with just a sheet of paper to hold it. If you can wash your hands and sit down for it, this is an excellent high-protein pick.
3. Birria Pizza Fries ($13.99)
DreamWorks Imagination Cafe, Hollywood. A remix on the classic pizza fries, and they genuinely stack the birria on top. Underneath you still get the crispy fries and the cheese, and on top there is a real pile of birria beef. For anyone who likes birria, or meat, or anything taco-adjacent, this is a great call and a lot of food for the price.
4. Bloody Bones ($12.99)
Meetz Meats, Central Park. My favorite pick for meat lovers. It is a lot of rib meat, smoked and charred, and it is soft enough to pull off the bone without a fight. Like the smoked chicken, it is messy, so wash your hands before and after.
5. Torn to Shreds Pork Sandwich ($12.99)
Meetz Meats, Central Park. If you want great barbecue without the mess of the ribs, this is the move. It is shredded, juicy BBQ pork on a pretzel roll, and because it is a sandwich it all stays together while you walk the park.
6. Lasagna Burn ($10.99)
Evil Dead Burn, New York. The spiciest item at the event, and a good one. The one thing that knocks it down my list is the salt. It runs very salty, so if that bothers you, go in knowing that.
7. Steve’s Smuggled Peanut Butter Bites ($9.99)
Stranger Things, San Francisco. The best dessert here if you like peanut butter and chocolate. It is essentially a hunk of peanut butter dipped in chocolate, and it comes as three pieces in a little case with a card, so it travels without getting squished and is easy to share.
8. Pleasure & Pain Brain ($7.99)
Hellraiser, San Francisco. An excellent little dessert and the cheapest thing in my top 10. It is on the small side, but it looks incredible, and the popping candy gives it a fun texture.
9. Hopper’s Recharger ($10.00)
Stranger Things, San Francisco. The drink to grab when you are running low. The mocktail version has Monster, yuzu, and Powerade, so it gives me a real jolt and some electrolytes to get through a night that runs to 2 a.m.
10. Death by Cheesestick ($12.99)
Death Tank, New York. A basic item, but this cheese stick is just enormous. Sometimes the appeal is exactly that simple, and a giant fried mozzarella stick with marinara does not miss.
The rest of what I tried
Meat Grinder Red Velvet ($8.99), Fearful Fare. Aesthetically this is one of the best-looking desserts at the event. The catch is the texture. Because it is ground up, it does not have the consistency of cake. It is basically red velvet ground into one texture with icing added, so it lands more like cookie dough. Whether you love it depends on how much you like red velvet and that consistency.
Pizza Skull ($9.99), Fearful Fare. One of the classics, and you really cannot go wrong with it. It is, essentially, pizza in a fun skull shape.
Jack & Odd Dog ($13.99), Death Tank. I think the flavor they were going for was spicy, with jalapenos and Cheeto dust, but the dog is much too big for the bun. With all the toppings it is hard to eat, and it ends up tasting like a regular chili dog with jalapenos. The flavor is inconsistent bite to bite.
Twisted Philly ($12.99), Crosshairs Coop. Essentially a remixed Philly cheesesteak. If you like a Philly, this is fine, but there is nothing unique about it.
Deathbringer Tempura Shrimp ($12.99), Oddfellow’s Menagerie. This one did not work for me. There is way too much sauce piled on top, and the tempura batter is too thick, so it mostly tastes like sauce over fried coating.
Burnt Sando ($8.99), Oddfellow’s Menagerie. This is really a dessert. If you are the type who loves icing or French toast, it is for you, because that is basically what it tastes like.
Upside Down Chicken & Waffles ($12.99), Stranger Things. Fine if you like chicken and waffles. It is fried chicken bits on top of a waffle, so it is heavy on the carbs.
El’s Battery Jerky ($16.99), Stranger Things. It looks great in its Stranger Things souvenir cup, but it is really just mac and cheese that tastes like it came out of a box, with some beef jerky on top. You are paying for the cup.
Fried Pickles ($10.99), Devilish Delights. Fried pickles. There is not much to explain, and that is not a complaint.
Pinhead’s Skin & Meatballs ($11.99), Hellraiser. This one is fine. It is three meatballs with some dumpling wrapper on top, and it does not do much beyond that.
Skin & Chips Nachos ($10.99), Hellraiser. One of the only dishes that was not working at all. Pork-rind skins just do not make good nachos, because they cannot crunch the way a chip does, and the nacho cheese does not save it.
HHN 35 drinks and cocktails
Drinks are where the bill climbs fastest. Most specialty cocktails run $19.00 in a 20-ounce souvenir cup, $15.00 for a single serve, and $15.00 for a refill, and the mocktail versions are $10.00. Build-your-own premium cocktails reach $21.00. Three drinks show up at almost every booth: the Maniac Mix ($15.00), the Oddfellow’s Elixir ($15.00), and the Canned Carnival Sour Ale ($14.25). For the cheapest all-night option, a refillable Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cup lets me refill soft drinks all day.
| Drink | Where | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopper’s Recharger | Stranger Things | $10.00 mocktail | My favorite drink of the night. Monster, yuzu, and Powerade for real energy. |
| Lucky Ticket Lemonade | Crosshairs Coop | $10.00 | Minute Maid lemonade with raspberry jam in a big souvenir cup. Good, but steep for lemonade. |
| Black Rain | Ozzy Osbourne bar | $19.00 / $10.00 mocktail | Cazadores Cafe tequila, ruby port, and cold brew. The Ozzy bar is worth a stop for the theming. |
| Bat-Tea | Ozzy Osbourne bar | $19.00 / $10.00 mocktail | Vodka, lime, unsweetened tea, grenadine, and ginger beer. |
| Ultimate Sin-Amon | Ozzy Osbourne bar | $19.00 | Fireball, lemon, apple juice, and spiced brown sugar. |
| Frostbite | Evil Dead Burn | $19.00 | Tequila, blue Curacao, lime, and Liquid Heat bitters. |
| Cenobite’s Kiss | Hellraiser | $19.00 | Tequila, lemon, lime, huckleberry syrup, and Liquid Heat bitters. |
| Slide Guitar Smash | Sinners | $19.00 / $10.00 mocktail | Corn whiskey, lemon, ginger, and mint. |
| Meetz’ Bloody Limeade | Meetz Meats | $19.00 | Bloody Shiraz gin, lime juice, and simple syrup. |
Vegetarian, vegan, and allergen notes
Universal marks dietary and allergen information on every item. Vegetarian options include the Death by Cheesestick, Fried Pickles, Twisted Tater Chips, Burnt Sando, Steve’s Smuggled Peanut Butter Bites, Fried PB&J Bites, Meat Grinder Red Velvet, Beer & Cheese Soup, Elotes, Fried Dough, and the Pecan & Whiskey Bread Pudding. Vegan options are limited but present: the Vegan Pizza Skull and the Fritos Vegan Walking Taco. If you have allergies, check each item’s tags on the official menu. The ones to watch most are shellfish, as in the Deathbringer Tempura Shrimp, and peanuts, which turn up in El’s Battery Jerky and several others.
Is the food worth it?
Individually these are theme-park prices, with most savory items between $8 and $16.99. The value play is Premium Scream Night, where select food and nonalcoholic drinks are included. I added up everything I ate and drank across that night and it came to $304.79 at regular prices, so for me the ticket paid for a big share of itself. For the full breakdown, see my Premium Scream Night guide.
Save my HHN 35 food cheat sheet
Want the short version to take with you? Save or screenshot my one-page cheat sheet with the top 10, prices, booths, and what to skip.
HHN 35 food FAQ
What is the best food at Halloween Horror Nights 35?
My top pick is the Carn “Evil” Smash Tacos at Jack’s Surplus, followed by the Severed & Smoked Chicken and the Birria Pizza Fries.
How much does HHN 35 food cost?
There are 33 food items, averaging $11.64. Most savory items land between $8 and $16.99, and specialty drinks are $10 and up.
Is there an HHN food or dining pass?
There is no dedicated food pass this year. The two value moves are Premium Scream Night, where select food and nonalcoholic drinks are included, and the refillable cups. A souvenir Coca-Cola Freestyle cup refills soft drinks all day, and specialty-cocktail souvenir cups get cheaper $15.00 refills.
How much are drinks at HHN 35?
Specialty cocktails run about $19.00 in a souvenir cup, mocktails are $10.00, and refills are $15.00. House beers and canned options start around $11.00.
Are there vegetarian and vegan options?
Yes. Universal marks vegetarian items on the menu, and there are vegan options including the Vegan Pizza Skull and the Fritos Vegan Walking Taco.
One all-day crossover worth knowing
The Pumpkin Spice Cold Boo is a Simpsons Treehouse of Horror crossover you can grab during the day, not just at night. It is a pumpkin spice cold brew with sprinkles and a donut hole in a cute cup, and it is not too sweet. It runs $10.00, or about $8 with an annual passholder discount. For the sweets you can buy anytime, see my HHN all-day desserts guide.
More HHN 35 coverage
- Halloween Horror Nights 2026: dates, tickets, and lineups
- All 10 haunted houses, ranked
- Premium Scream Night: what it is like and whether it is worth it
- Know Before You Go: hours, scare zones, and policies
- Tickets guide for every Universal park
- HHN 35 merchandise: every item and price
- The all-day desserts, tied to each house
- Downtown Clowntown scare zone
