Space 220 was such a difficult reservation to get. I was able to get reservations for it on the very last day that we were flying out for lunch. When we arrived, there already was a line for walk-ins. Fortunately, we had the 11:30 AM reservation with out flight being at 5:00 PM, so we were looking forward to this new experience. When you arrive at the bottom, you have to stand in line (under the sun) until they check you in. Once they check you in, you enter a room where they ask you to wait for the “elevator”.
Ambiance
When you arrive in the elevator, you and the guests are in a circular room where there are viewports in the center of the room, above and below. The screens look similar to the Avatar screens albeit much higher resolution and quality. When the elevator activates, the viewport below shows you ascending this long tunnel into space very quickly, and the the viewport above shows you arriving at the space station as well. This whole experience probably lasts about a minute. The elevator shakes a little to simulate the speed going up and down this long virtual tunnel.
When the doors open, you see the space decor similar to space sci-fi settings. Some of it looks cheap and gimmicky, but it’s still kind of interesting. The main dining room is a gigantic messhall with carpet, plenty of chairs, and booths that sit adjacent to the views into space. Like the elevator screens, these screens are very large and have little space(wo)men and things flying around. Sometimes you might see a lightsaber action, or sometimes you might see a random pet flying around. It’s a fun way to observe some space shenanigans. The screens sometimes have ghosting, skip around, or a strange silhouette, so it’s not perfect.
We were seated in one of the booths along the walls, and the white lights emitted from the windows were great for taking pictures. There is a subtle white noise that is played in the speakers as if you’re in the spaceship of a Star Wars destroyer. You hear miscellaneous “energies” buzzing through, and it makes you a little calm and tired as you sit there. Despite the floor being quite packed, you can still have conversations with your party very easily because the space feels the antithesis of claustrophobia.
One qualm that we had noticed when exiting was that some areas in the restaurant area close to the elevators literally smell like an airplane bathroom. Maybe that was intentional?
The service was impeccable as we got our food very fast, and the staff was more than accommodating. My cousin found improperly washed vegetables with sand in it, but the manager came over and handled the situation gracefully.
Food
Note that the price for lunch is a fixed $55 per person, and it includes 2 courses: appetizer and entree.
Planetary Punch (top left, $15) came with Bacardi Silver, malibu, blue curacao, guava, and coconut. This was surprisingly very smooth, had great tropical flavors, and real easy to drink.
The Big Tang (right, $16) came with Avion Silver tequila, Grand Marnier, Tang-Infused agave nectar, grapefruit, strawberry, and served with astronaut ice cream. This wasn’t as smooth as the Planetary Punch, and my partner claimed it was a little strong. It definitely was not as smooth nor fruity as the punch.
The Nebula (bottom left, $15) came with Maker’s Mark, pineapple, honey, passion fruit, angostura bitters, and moon dust. This was surprisingly pretty decent for a mixed whiskey drink. The passion fruit was very subtle, but I was pleasantly surprised on how the ingredients kind of worked together.
The Blue Moon Cauliflower appetizer came with tempura fried cauliflower, house-made hot sauce, and blue cheese dust. This really tasted exactly as how it looks. It’s fried cauliflower with buffalo style hot sauce on top. It was good, but nothing super ingenious about it.
The Galaxy Grain Salad appetizer came with quinoa, beluga lentils, roasted red and golden beets, oranges, king oyster mushroom, and cashew hummus. The hummus was kind of interesting in that it was chunky and not finely processed as other hummuses. Everything else tasted exactly as it sounds. It’s a salad with some very light citrusy dressings.
The Starry Calamari appetizer came with fried calamari, Italian cherry peppers, spicy marinara, and roasted pepper citrus aioli. The heat in this is very subtle and a non-factor for me. It tasted pretty much like fried calamari. The aioli and marinara sauces tasted pretty comparable to other restaurants that serve this.
The Centauri Burger came with a signature beef blend, white cheddar cheese, bacon, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, fried potato wedges, and sriracha aioli. There is absolutely nothing special about this burger. It did taste good, although my one criticism is that the bun not soft like a potato bun. You can see from the pictures that the bun lacks airiness and fluff to it, so it comes off a little dense and crispy to the bite. Everything else tasted pretty typical. The fries were thick cut wedges and were actually cooked to a good level of crispiness.
The Seared Tuna salad came with spiced yellowfin tuna, avocado, marinated egg, brown rice, edamame, pineapple, and radishes. Like the salad appetizer, this didn’t have much uniqueness to it. The yellowfin tuna quality was of course not that great compared to sushi grade tuna. It definitely did not taste fresh and had a slice freezer taste to it. Nonetheless, none of us got sick eating it, so I guess it was good enough for our stomachs. Everything else tasted how it looked. The edamame and radishes (green beans) had a subtle pickling taste to it and were crunchy.
The Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake came with dark chocolate sauce, caramel crunchy pearls, and salted toffee drizzle. When you break this down, this is basically a very moist, soft cake with chocolate, toffee syrup on top of it. The caramel crunchy pearls gave it that crispy texture. It was pretty good and not overly sweet.
Final Verdict
Space 220’s atmosphere is really where the experience is unique. I definitely didn’t feel like I was in space, but you feel very calm when sitting there because of the white noise over the speakers. The food was not spectacular nor was it terrible. What was surprising was that the portion sizing of the each course for the lunch was actually a pretty good size. If you haven’t tried this yet and are looking for decent American food, give this a try. It is not as bad as people say it is, but it’s not going to impress you greatly out of this world. The price can be considered expensive for lunch, but I was definitely full afterwards.
Yelp Jabs
The ride up and down: out of this world and totally worth it. it’s basically like being on a ride. This is the reason we recommend coming to this place.
Definitely don’t listen to this Elitist’s take on why you should try this restaurant. The ride is literally an elevator with screens. That is not the reason you should partake in this experience. The overall package was pretty interesting and exciting at first, but it does wear off after a while. If price is no concern, this can be on the list of restaurants to revisit, but I imagine a lot of guests will be turned off by the price point for both lunch and dinner.
This restaurant is expensive, but sooo worth the price. We were there to celebrate a few things so I have zero regrets and plan to visit again. Try the Blue Moon Cauliflower - it was delish!
Worth is of course subjective, but let’s get one thing straight. Unless you have never had fried cauliflower before, there literally is nothing special about the cauliflower. The servers will recommend it as their favorite appetizer, but it’s just cauliflower with buffalo sauce.