By Did you know that Walt Disney was a bit of a foodie? He must have been for his favorite chili and chicken dishes to have stood the test of time.
Even now, you can order both entrees at Disneyland, a lasting tribute to the man’s love of food.
Walt’s passion for comfort food unintentionally led to arguably the best part of EPCOT. We say this because of the entrepreneur’s World’s Fair experiences.
As a world traveler with a penchant for European vacations, Disney loved sampling the local cuisine. So, he couldn’t believe his good fortune at the World’s Fairs he attended.
During the glory days of these events, representatives from many countries appeared, and they brought some of their tastiest recipes with them.
Walt Disney fell in love with the international cornucopia of flavors that he envisioned his E.P.C.O.T. as a kind of permanent World’s Fair.
That’s more or less what happened, as EPCOT’s World Showcase hosts 11 pavilions, all of which serve delicious cuisine representative of their countries.
In a way, EPCOT was predestined to serve the best food of any theme park in the world…and it does.
So, where should you eat at EPCOT? Woof. Now THAT is a loaded question. But we do have a few thoughts, even as we acknowledge that the real answer is, “Almost everywhere.”
Quick Service
We’ll start with a confession. We could have written extensively about the various EPCOT food booths available throughout the year.
Alas, we chose not to because the menus change so frequently, and it would be exhaustive to track the best 50 dishes at each of the four festivals.
Plus, the information wouldn’t help you anyway unless you’re visiting during that particular festival. It’d just make you hungry and jealous, and we don’t want that.
Even after that (absolutely brutal) cut, we’re still going to talk about food more than anyone other than Michelin star chefs ever should. Feel free to skim to your favorites.
We’ll begin with the newest option on this list, the spiritual successor to our beloved Electric Umbrella. Sadly, few shared our opinion of that place. That’s why Disney tore it down and replaced it with this two-in-one combo restaurant, one of the largest you’ll ever visit. Seriously, this place is cavernous.
Even then, you may struggle to find a seat on EPCOT’s most crowded days, as it remains popular throughout the year. That’s partially because you can get STARBUCKS® coffee at Connections Café, but it’s primarily because of the streamlined menu at Connections Café.
When you’re dining with a large group, it’s the perfect compromise choice since everyone can find something they’ll enjoy. The options are primarily chicken sandwiches, burgers, and pizza, but that’s enough for everyone to find something good.
We find the flavors here far short of the other options at the park, meaning that you can do a lot better than Connections. But we frequently eat here anyway. This place resides on the main strip at the front of the park. You’ll walk past it countless times, and presuming you’re like us, you’ll give in, do the lazy thing, and eat here.
Believe it or not, some EPCOT restaurants don’t quite measure up to the park’s overall reputation. And the one that gets brought up the most is Lotus Blossom Café at the China pavilion. While a lot of people adore Chinese food as a rule, this place proves a shocking exception. Seriously, it’s one of the lowest-rated Disney restaurants on TripAdvisor.
We try not to be finite with dining recommendations, but we say with complete sincerity that you should probably steer clear of this one. Please check reviews before your trip just to make sure the place hasn’t really turned it around, though. Anything is possible at Disney.
Sadly, a lot of what we just said applies to Katsura Grill as well. You’ll find this eatery at the Japan pavilion, but we don’t recommend it. TripAdvisor reviewers have graded both spots at a 3.8 out of 5, which is atrocious for a Disney restaurant. If we had to pick, we’d suggest Katsura Grill for the location, though.
Still, why are you eating lackluster food at EPCOT? That’s like going to the Louvre and looking at the trash cans.
You should up your game by trying one of the next four places instead. For instance, you’ll find La Cantina de San Angel right by the Mexico pavilion, the giant Mesoamerican pyramid. So, you’ll have no problem finding this place, and you’ll love eating here, as the outdoor seating area overlooks the World Showcase Lagoon.
This is a wonderful place to devour tacos and enchiladas while chugging down margaritas. It’s one of the best drinking options at the World Showcase. As an FYI, there’s an indoor area for when you don’t want to sit outside due to the heat, rain, or cold weather. It’s a Table Service location we’ll discuss in the next section.
David absolutely adores Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue. It’s his favorite BBQ place at Disney World, and Kim likes the plant-based food here as well. Plus, we’re both huge fans of The Muppets, and Disney has themed the restaurant to them. Make sure to check out the walls here!
You’ll go to the American Adventure pavilion and then follow the savory smells. Strangely, this is one of the few places where you can get Texas Toast at Disney World. So, do that!
The other exquisite Quick Service dining option resides at the World Showcase’s United Kingdom pavilion. It’s an off-shoot of a Table Service spot we’ll discuss in a bit. Yorkshire County Fish Shop doesn’t offer a detailed menu. On the contrary, it only serves one dish, yet it’s Kim’s favorite at EPCOT.
So, she advises you to go here, order the Beer-Battered Fish and Chips, and then eat to your heart’s content. Once you’re done, head across the street to buy lots of Doctor Who merchandise. We’ll be using most of the proceeds from this book to do exactly that.
Finally, we’ll discuss the most beloved option at the front of the park, Sunshine Seasons at The Land pavilion. This place serves meals using the freshest ingredients imaginable. We know this because Disney produces them on-site at The Land’s agricultural facility.
So, unless you’re a farmer who harvests your own meals, this will be the freshest food you’ll ever taste. And the menu is quite strong, too. Even better, you’re likely to visit this pavilion during your park day for at least Soarin’ Around the World and possibly Living with the Land and a show as well.
That makes Sunshine Seasons a convenient dining option with a solid menu. We’d argue you’ll eat better at the World Showcase, but the location of this place can’t be beat. You enter the pavilion on the second floor, take the escalator downstairs, and boom! You’re at the dining room area for Sunshine Seasons.
That’s why many guests make Mobile Orders here while standing in line for Soarin’. When you exit the ride and signal to cook your food, it’ll be ready when you walk across the hallway.
Table Service
Now we get to the fireworks factory as we describe what EPCOT expects of guests. Based on past guest behavior, management has learned that people want to sit down for meals here.
So, the Table Service scene at EPCOT features an embarrassment of riches, thereby cementing Walt Disney’s legacy, all the international cuisines at the World Showcase
Our favorite of them, at least from a tourist perspective, has remained Akershus Royal Banquet Hall for many years now. We love everything about this character meal, which works the same as Princess Fairytale Hall, just as a meal. Also, you don’t need to stand in a line.
The Disney Princesses come to your table instead, and there are several of them! If you don’t take at least 20 pictures here, you’re doing it wrong! Plus, the setup of this restaurant guarantees that you won’t leave hungry. You’ll order authentic Norwegian entrees like KjØttkake: Norwegian Meatballs.
That’s actually how Disney lists the menu so that you know what you’re ordering. But you can also feast with your eyes. That’s because you’ll find a “salad bar” of sorts that serves the finest meats and cheeses from Norway.
David, one of the pickiest eaters in the Western Hemisphere, has fallen in love with a strange brown cheese available here. It’s called Gjetost, and he loves it so much we keep some in our fridge now.
These are the kinds of dining surprises you’ll uncover when you open your mind (and your mouth) to the flavors of Akershus. The Disney Princess encounters are merely a happy bonus!
You’ll notice a recurring theme among several of these restaurants, which is that they’re experiential in addition to serving exquisite food. For instance, Biergarten Restaurant serves all the bratwurst, sauerkraut, and schnitzel that you could ever want, and the beer flights will put a smile on your face.
Still, the most memorable part of a meal here involves the…live band. Yes, we’re serious. Biergarten hosts a polka band, which we realize sounds ridiculous. When you’re eating and drinking here, you’ll fully believe that it’s Oktoberfest no matter when you visit.
Biergarten qualifies as one of those Disney veteran secrets. Casual tourists think, “German food, what’s the big deal?” Once you eat here once, however, you WILL go back. Many times.
Speaking of experiences, our former favorite at EPCOT resides near the park’s front entrance. You’ll walk toward Spaceship Earth, and then veer right. On one side of The Seas with Nemo & Friends, you’ll discover Coral Reef Restaurant, a seafood place with a view of the seafood.
The giant saltwater tank here hosts countless fish living at the pavilion. There are even sharks! And you can watch them throughout your meal!
All the tables at this restaurant face the floor-to-ceiling aquarium tank, meaning that hundreds of fish swim by during your meal. That’s why we find it more than a bit macabre that Disney serves seafood here…but we guess it’s fresh? Yeah, it’s best not to think about it.
Seriously, we’re having fun with the concept, but there’s nothing else like it anywhere. We’ve even made a friend here. No matter when we eat or however long it’s been, one of the manta rays inevitably swims over to our table and sits down in front of us. And that’s why we don’t order seafood here.
Speaking of which, we should acknowledge the culinary reputation of Coral Reef Restaurant. It’s…not great. We quite like the menu here, or at least we did. Disney recently changed it to lean heavily on seafood, removing the popular steak. If/when it comes back, we’ll eat here more often.
Until then, a different experiential restaurant has surpassed it. Obviously, we’re speaking of the mega-expensive Space 220, EPCOT’s answer to Be Our Guest Restaurant and Cinderella’s Royal Table. We’re mentioning those places for two reasons: the price and the setting. These are three of Disney World’s finest offerings. Period.
The Space 220 experience begins when a Cast Member calls your name in the waiting area. They’ll escort you into a room that Disney calls the Stellarvater. Your immersive meal begins here, even though you won’t eat anything. That’s because of the restaurant’s conceit: you’re dining 220 miles above Earth.
To get there, you must take this Stellarvater, which is an orbital lift. When you look at the digital display in the floor, the visuals will make it appear like you’re lifting off. This space elevator will transport you to a space station orbiting the planet, and that’s where you’ll eat.
To perfect the illusion, floor-to-ceiling digital displays show images of outer space…and moving ones at that. It’s a looped video of the highest quality. You’ll watch astronauts perform space walks and short space flights, you’ll notice unidentified flying objects, and you may even see some space dogs!
Space 220 serves a meal unlike any other, which is why it has deposed Coral Reef as our favorite dining experience at EPCOT.
Please understand that you will pay for the privilege of this scintillating meal. We believe it’s well worth the money at least once, though. And it should go without saying that the food’s incredible.
Speaking of incredible food, Garden Grill Restaurant shares a similarity (or two) with Sunshine Seasons. You’ll find one right above the other. Remember when we said to take the escalator down to Sunshine Seasons? Yeah, don’t do that when you’re eating at Garden Grill. It’s right there.
So, you already know where it is, and the same rule applies. Garden Grill utilizes those same ingredients nurtured at The Land pavilion. Of course, we’re barely scratching the surface of why you’ll want to eat by discussing the fresh harvest, though. For starters, it’s a character meal!
Mickey, Chip ‘n’ Dale, and Pluto will come to your table to greet you and pose for photos. Even better, Mickey wears a farmer’s outfit! It’s ever so charming. Also, this restaurant slowly spins, which adds an ancillary benefit. At certain points during your meal, you’ll look down and see the set of Living with the Land.
You may even notice a few boats sailing through the area, making Garden Grill the rare Disney restaurant that offers a view of an attraction. But it’s not the only one at EPCOT!
Our beloved San Angel Inn Restaurante resides in the Mexico pavilion right by the waters of Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros. So, when you sit at the right table – and you can ask for one of these spots! – you’ll watch the happy riders voyage into the darkest night.
That’s another positive about this restaurant. Even during the middle of the day, it’s dark here, making San Angel Inn an intimate meal. You won’t find many of those at the parks.
We haven’t mentioned the best part yet, either. No matter where you sit in the restaurant, you’ll be gazing at the inside of the Mexico pavilion’s pyramid. This creates one of the most fascinating backdrops at Disney World. We joke that it feels like we’re dining at that Mel Gibson movie, Apocalypto.
Obviously, the Mexican cuisine here is topnotch as well, although you could save money by going to a different place right across the street. La Hacienda de San Angel is the indoor twin sibling of La Cantina de San Angel, which makes it ideal during bad weather.
You can eat a meal and nurture a beverage here while waiting out the unpleasantness. And La Hacienda de San Angel provides an excellent view of the fireworks.
Still, if that’s your primary goal, there’s a better place. Everyone knows this trick by now, but you should try to book a table at Rose & Crown Dining Room around 7:30 p.m. The servers know the deal and will stretch your meal so that it lasts until the fireworks begin at 9 p.m. When you time it right, you’ll receive dessert just as the show begins.
Kim wants you to know that watching Luminous The Symphony of Us while devouring Sticky Toffee Pudding is one of the best things in life.
Disney sells fireworks packages at this restaurant now, which takes the guesswork out of your meal. However, you’ll pay $92 per adult plus tax for the privilege. We definitely liked it better when it was free.
While we’re on the topic of our favorites, let’s quickly discuss two places where we frequently dine.
Teppan Edo serves teppanyaki style Japanese food, meaning that it’s dinner and a show! Your chef will cook your food in front of you. During these preparations, they’ll perform all sorts of cutlery tricks and build a flaming onion volcano.
Tricks like this may not impress you, but we’ll counter that everyone loves Benihana. Plus, the food is really, really good. Then again, not everyone loves Japanese food. But who doesn’t love pizza? Yeah, you should target Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria for that reason.
This place serves some of the best authentic pizza you’ll ever try, and you can even admire the stoves while you’re here. There are three remarkable statues with big blazing mouths. They’re the fireplaces where the restaurant flash-fires its flatbreads. It’s a fascinating setup, and Via Napoli legitimately serves the best cheese we’ve ever tasted.
That’s really saying something since we mail-order Giordano’s Pizza, the pride of Chicago, regularly. Somehow, Via Napoli is better.
Plus, you can order one Mezzo Metro, a half-meter pizza (!) that serves three to six guests, making it an excellent group bonding exercise. You’ll find out the identity of the pizza hog in your party.
Should you prefer a more classic Italian meal, Tutto Italia Ristorante will delight you with its menu and an absurdly good wine list. Many of the fine-dining options we’re discussing here hit you over the head with their immersive experiences. So, we quite like the understated excellence of Tutto Italia.
Another excellent option is Chefs de France, and we hope you can guess which pavilion hosts it. If not, please seek medical assistance immediately. Seriously, though, the menu is exquisite and exemplifies the greatness of French cuisine, which is, in our opinion, the most refined food in the world.
On the downside, we’re just gonna say it. The China pavilion needs better food. We already criticized the Quick Service option here, and we’re not in love with Nine Dragons Restaurant, either. Unless you’re just desperate for a sit-down meal with Chinese food, this one’s a hard pass.
We’re no longer including Spice Road Table at the Morocco pavilion because Disney ended its Table Service dining. Now, you’ll find quick bites and alcoholic beverages instead.
We’re a bit bummed about the change, but when you’re in the mood for shareables, you can’t do much better, at least if your palate can tolerate serious spices.
Finally, we have the newest restaurant at the World Showcase, Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya, which we promise never to ask you to spell. However, as a comfort food option, you’ll struggle to do better at Disney World. This place hosts a sushi bar, and you may have already loved the menu back when it was Tokyo Dining.
This restaurant also provides a view of the fireworks, although it’s not our favorite. You’re really just picking the place because you love sushi.
We also haven’t mentioned the Signature Dining restaurants at the World Showcase, yet. You’ll find three of them, starting with the iconic Monsieur Paul. We won’t bore you with the history of the Bocuse d’Or other than to say that it’s the world’s most prestigious cooking competition.
The late Paul Bocuse founded this competition, and he’s also the Paul in Monsieur Paul. A long time ago, Disney persuaded the chef and his son to create two EPCOT restaurants.
We already mentioned Chefs de France, and this is the other one. It’s stood atop the fine dining options at the World Showcase until very recently.
More recently, Takumi-Tei has usurped it as THE fine dining experience at EPCOT. It’s a Japanese multi-course meal unlike any you’ve ever had. However, a full course here starts at $250 per person, which we wouldn’t suggest anyone pay when there’s so much other good stuff at the World Showcase.
Then, we have another place where we ate on a milestone anniversary. We specifically chose Le Cellier Steakhouse on our tenth anniversary because David is an extreme carnivore. This place thrills him due to its steaks and Artisan Cheese Plate, while Kim treasures the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. And everything here tastes like maple. Who wouldn’t love that?
We’ll add that we’ve largely avoided mention of specific prices here. That’s because you should expect all these places to cost a lot of money. You’re paying for some of the best food in the world which you’re eating at a Disney theme park. So, you’ll get what you pay for in the best possible way.
Also, we’ll reiterate that the Signature Dining options have always struck us as overkill. On festival dates, you can eat like royalty at EPCOT for $15 per person. Paying exponentially more isn’t something we’d recommend, save for special occasions.
We realize that we’ve talked about food so long that you’ve probably already stopped to eat a couple of times. Still, we owe it to you to mention a few other places.
Disney opened GEO-82 in 2025, and it’s the lounge David has waited for his entire life. You’re eating and drinking inside Spaceship Earth! You can even look down and watch the park visitors milling around beneath you while you enjoy apps and drinks. Disney should have done this decades ago!
Then, we have the sweet treats available at Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie, L’Artisan des Glaces, and Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe. We’re partial to Kringla, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Those are just the most recognizable dessert and snack spots, too. You’ll find countless others at EPCOT, and we’d be remiss if we failed to tell you to get popcorn at the Canada pavilion. Remember what we said earlier about maple? Yeah…
Look, we’re gushing, we know we’re gushing, and we don’t care. The cuisine at EPCOT surpasses anything Walt Disney ever encountered at a World’s Fair. It’s not even a competition.
Also, please remember that we’ve focused solely on the restaurants. Many food booths serve food that’s just as delicious for a fraction of the price! To foodies or really just anyone with a functional stomach, EPCOT is The Good Place.
Feature Image: Disney