When people think about food inside the Walt Disney World theme parks, they often ponder options at Epcot. What are the best places to eat at Epcot? Which ones should be chosen?
The Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World earned a reputation for high-quality cuisine. Some of the best places to eat at Walt Disney World reside within Epcot. Nonetheless, some of the least exciting places to eat exist at Epcot also.
Based on the World Showcase section of Epcot, guests can literally find cuisine from all over the world. With over 50 different year-round options for places to eat at Epcot, a foodie could spend many days trying food there. Some consider eating and drinking around Epcot the most important aspect of a Walt Disney World theme park day.
We should remember that Epcot has become the theme park of the food festival. Most of the year, Epcot will be holding a festival featuring food and beverage tents. Those options change often, so it is hard to quantify the best options. However, people commonly eat their way around Epcot just by ordering food from the food booths.
So Many Options
With so many options, deciding which places to eat at Epcot becomes difficult. However, any discussion of the best places to eat at Epcot needs some criteria to determine what is best. Unfortunately, what is best for a family of young children may not be best for an older couple with no kids.
As a result, this resource will attempt to focus on places to eat with a wider appeal. For example, as great as the food tastes at Monsieur Paul and Takumi-Tei, the $200 price tag for dinner will only work for some groups. We could argue that the food tastes best in those two places. However, there are better places to eat at Epcot for most people.
For this resource, we will focus on the table service and quick service options available year-round at Epcot. We suspect you will find something in this list that sounds good for you to try during your Walt Disney World vacation.
Best Places to Eat at Epcot: Table Service Restaurants
Biergarten
Table service dining indicates that a restaurant accepts advance dining reservations at Walt Disney World. At these restaurants, a server will take your order. At the completion of the meal, guests will pay the server as well as tip the server.
Many table service options at Epcot fill up with advanced dining reservations quickly. Guests should remember the 60-day reservation booking window.
Either way, some of the table service options at Epcot have a loyal fan following. You can always ask for help from your travel advisor in booking the harder-to-get dining reservation. Also, you can use services to help you acquire a dining reservation at Walt Disney World.
Most Difficult to Acquire Table Service Dining Options at Epcot
Via Napoli
Thanks to MouseDining, we know the most-searched-for table service dining reservation at Epcot. In order from most searched for to least searched for, they are:
- Space 220 Lounge
- Space 220
- Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
- Garden Grill Restaurant
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- San Angel Inn Restaurante
- Le Cellier Steakhouse
- Teppan Edo
- Rose & Crown Dining Room
- Coral Reef Restaurant
- Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya (opening sometime in Summer 2023)
- Chefs de France
- La Creperie de Paris
- La Hacienda de San Angel
- La Cava Experience
- Monsieur Paul
- Spice Road Table
- Takumi-Tei
- Biergarten Restaurant
- Tutto Italia Ristorante
- Nine Dragons Restaurant
As you can see, Epcot offers an incredible number of table service dining choices. So, what criteria did we use to narrow down the list of the best places to eat at Epcot?
Best Places to Eat at Epcot: Criteria for Table Service
Spice Road Table
We wanted to narrow the list down to a few restaurants. That means several good restaurants will not make this list. Rather than deciding by personal preference, a few factors weighed into determining the table service restaurants. They were:
- Popularity – Though not always true, a more popular restaurant will generally be higher quality. Sure, prominent exceptions exist to that rule. Still, that needs to be a starting place. For example, Spice Road Table at Epcot stands as one of the least searched-for table service dining options at Epcot. However, I think few people would define it as a bad restaurant. Now, Spice Road Table did not make our list of best places to eat at Epcot. Still, most people surveyed stated that the food style did not appeal to them. They also express that the price point exceeds desired portion size for table service dining. Nonetheless, Spice Road Table at Epcot offers some quality dining. With that in mind, the most searched-for dining reservations earned a head start in determining the best places to eat at Epcot list.
- Atmosphere and Experience – Dining at Walt Disney World must be about more than just food and beverage, right? The dining experience involves the atmosphere, whether festive, quiet, character-style dining, or something else. Thus, we factored that aspect into our calculations.
- Food – They call it dining for a reason. The food should be meaningful, right? However, we weighed food much higher than beverages. Walt Disney World offers excellent bars and lounges if you desire a great drink. The beverage factor plays a part, but food quality regarding appetizers, entrees, and desserts factors into the final list more than beverages.
- Worth it? – Do you get what you pay for? Related to the last category, is a $150 steak at one restaurant worth almost three times as much as the steak at Le Cellier? How much is character dining worth? Also, all-you-care-to-enjoy table service dining provides value, but what if your group is too picky to enjoy Akershus Royal Banquet Hall?
Worth by nature counts as subjective. We have strived to focus on the worth of these restaurants for most groups. In doing so, one Epcot restaurant we love failed to make this list. Also, one restaurant we would rank far lower personally ended up making this list.
Just because we enjoy it does not equal most people enjoying it. This resource focuses on the best Disney World table service restaurants for most groups rather than our personal preference.
Best Places to Eat at Epcot: Some Surprise Results
For full disclosure, these determining factors hurt several signature restaurants more than we expected. For example, we love Takumi-Tei in the Japan pavilion at Epcot. Takumi-Tei’s excellent food with very high price points looks out of balance in terms of value compared to other Epcot options.
Also, the most popular option at Epcot, Space 220, provides a wonderful atmosphere and themed experience. The premise of Space 220 builds on the concept that guests enter a type of elevator and go 220 miles into space to enjoy dining. The windows show “space” and maybe a few interesting objects for guests to see out those windows.
With Space 220 being the newest table service restaurant at Epcot, the fascination with dining here attracts many guests. However, this place will not make our list of best places to eat at Epcot for various reasons.
We find the prix fixe lunch and dinner menu less positive. Also, the price point of almost $100 for dinner will appeal to only a few guests. Finally, our experience (and we are not alone) with the food quality here lowers this place significantly.
In fairness, if you are looking for a well-themed restaurant or your family loves the idea of space travel, Space 220 might be worth your time. However, for those reasons, it will not make this list of best places to eat at Epcot.
Best Places to Eat at Epcot: So, What Did Make the List?
If Space 220, Takumi-Tei, and Monsieur Paul did not make the list, what did? We chose four restaurants to make this list. We could have included more. Options in the Norway and France pavilion of the World Showcase missed out slightly. Below is the list in no certain order, except alphabetical.
Biergarten Restaurant
This restaurant, located in the German pavilion of the World Showcase, provides a buffet dining adventure. As you can see from the list of most searched-for dining reservations earlier, this place falls low on that list. The key reasons revolve around guests not being confident of the cuisine style, and the massive dining area holds far more people than other table service dining options at Epcot. We encourage you to give this place a try.
The buffet contains various German-style items like traditional sausages, chicken, sauerkraut, potatoes in many forms and fashions, and schnitzel, to name a few of the things served here. The buffet at Biergarten presents some of the best-tasting food at a buffet at Walt Disney World. Even though the vegan items are more limited than we would prefer, the buffet offers something for everyone.
The ability to cater to everyone earns Biergarten’s spot on this list. Picky eaters will do well at Biergarten. The buffet features enough unique and “safe” items to satisfy your group.
The buffet costs $49 per adult. Based on prices for the buffet at Walt Disney World, that price fits in line nicely. A children’s buffet costs $27.
In terms of atmosphere, Biergarten does not count as a quiet romantic dining experience. A German-style polka band plays, creating a version of dinner and a show at Biergarten. Depending on the time, dancing might also be happening. Biergarten offers plenty of quality food and entertainment causing it to make this list.
Garden Grill Restaurant
Unless you want to meet princesses, like at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, this character dining shines as the best option at Epcot. Garden Grill guests encounter Chip, Dale, Mickey, and Pluto most days. The character interaction works very well. They also look less forced compared to other character meals at Walt Disney World.
Garden Grill functions as a character dining meal in the Land Pavilion, above the Living with the Land ride. While you dine on the farm-to-table family-style platters, the characters come by to say hi and take a few photos if you like. By the way, this restaurant rotates.
Yes, it rotates very slowly, so do not worry about motion sickness during your meal. Due to the location and nature of this restaurant, guests receive some unique views of the Living with the Land attraction as they dine. This different perspective of that attraction enhances the dining experience. If you dislike your view when you sit down, wait a few minutes. It will look different then.
Breakfast at Garden Grill returned in June of this year. The breakfast had not happened since 2020 here. Garden Grill serves breakfast for $42/adult and $27/child. The breakfast menu offers many of the standard breakfast items at Walt Disney World.
The lunch and dinner menu shows off the farm-to-table style meal guests enjoy here. Lunch and dinner cost $55 and $36. The lunch and dinner menus include fresh garden salad, grilled beef with chimichurri, barbecue-roasted chicken, seasonal vegetables, southern-style spoon bread, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese. Remember, this table service dining is all you care to enjoy, so feel free to enjoy it.
Le Cellier Steakhouse
The only “signature” dining option on our best Epcot restaurant list can be found in the Canada area of the World Showcase. Le Cellier Steakhouse earns the distinction of “signature” dining at Walt Disney World. Now, Le Cellier will not reach the dining atmosphere and quality of Monsieur Paul or more upscale dining options. Still, the food quality causes Le Cellier Steakhouse to make our list. Le Cellier Steakhouse meets the requirements to be a fine-dining steakhouse.
A dining experience at Le Cellier can begin with the high-quality cheddar cheese soup, pretzel bread rolls, poutine, or steamed mussels. After that, you can enjoy a Le Cellier Filet Mignon. This steak deserves the reputation it has for being so good. Sure, you can find better steaks on Walt Disney World property. Still, the combination of excellent service and great food within a theme park makes this one remarkable.
Charcuterie Board at Le Cellier
The atmosphere of dining in a cellar or pantry, as the restaurant name implies, creates solid theming. We wish the tables were a bit farther apart at Le Cellier, but we have grown used to it. Some consider this place romantic. We disagree but do agree that Le Cellier Steakhouse serves quality food.
If you still have room and time when dining here, we recommend the maple crème brulee. Either way, the dining experience here deserves to be on the list of best places to eat at Epcot.
Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
Walt Disney World does not have a good reputation for pizza. We can blame it on Florida water. However, it could be that Walt Disney World sells so much below-average pizza that it sees no reason to change. Whatever the reason, good pizza can be found in a few places at Walt Disney World. Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria counts as one of those.
Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria has also earned a standout reputation among Disney fans. This table service option within the Italy pavilion of the World Showcase draws quite a crowd. Vai Napoli primarily serves excellent Naples-style thin-crust pizza. This restaurant remains challenging to acquire a dining reservation compared to others on our list.
This restaurant makes the list based on reliability and standards that most people will eat. The key reason you dine here involves the pizza. If you drift into the pasta entrees and other dishes, your experience may vary.
We prefer the pepperoni topping here for the pizza. Still, Via Napoli presents many unique and zesty toppings. Sure, you can order some spaghetti or lasagna here. Nonetheless, Vai Napoli earns his reputation based on pizza.
Via Napoli makes a great choice to bring a group. The pizza comes with a hefty price tag. Still, if you share the pizza among three or four of you, Disney pricing will be manageable. For example, the half-meter pizza at Via Napoli scores high in terms of value at Walt Disney World. However, pizza to-go boxes will not be easy to acquire. As a result, do not order too much.
If you dine here, enjoy yourself. The atmosphere at Via Napoli tends to be loud for table service dining. Still, experienced Epcot visitors love this place.
Best Places to Eat at Epcot: Quick Service Dining
You may not be interested in a full table service meal at Epcot. You may be looking for a faster, more casual meal for your Epcot day. Walt Disney World’s Epcot has that covered also.
If you are visiting during one of the festivals at Epcot, you could sample food from different booths. Even if a food festival is running, the year-round quick service options offer some decent food choices. Also, they offer relief from the sun and air-conditioning in many cases. In addition, the Epcot quick service year-round options make more reliable choices.
Once again, we will present our four suggestions for the best places to eat at Epcot alphabetically, not necessarily in order of ranking. We want to mention that Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion at Epcot missed out on making this list. However, if you need to cool off, that spacious food court area provides a great opportunity for that.
Connections Eatery
The new kid on the counter service dining block resides in the area formerly known as Future World at Epcot. Connections Eatery replaced The Electric Umbrella, which previously served average counter service food and beverage.
Connection Eatery in the World Celebration area of Epcot sits within the same building as the Connections Café, also known as Starbucks. Connection Eatery has become a pleasant surprise for guests of Epcot since it opened. The menu looks very standard, with burgers, pizza, and salads. Do not forget that this place provides plenty of seating, a soda refill station, and air conditioning.
Still, the food quality exceeds similar quick service places inside the Walt Disney World theme parks. The burgers taste better than most quick service burgers. Also, the plant-based Curry-spiced pizza creates a pleasant dining experience for carnivores or herbivores. In addition, the General Tso Chicken Salad might be the best quick service salad inside a Walt Disney World theme park. The menu at Connections Eatery added a few more items recently that received good reviews so far. This place provides a safe, enjoyable meal.
Pizza Al Taglio
This pizza window, Pizza al Taglio, near Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria, offers some of the better quick service pizza at Walt Disney World. Though this differs from the pizza served at that table service location, Pizza Al Taglio provides good pizza. Though we prefer quick service pizza at places like Pizza Ponte at Disney Springs, Pizza al Taglio offers a good option for those craving pizza.
Despite those positives, this pizza window only opens seasonally. According to cast members, Pizza Al Taglio opens about 180 days yearly. Still, this pizza window possesses die-hard fans that obsess about it.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse
Regal Eagle Smokehouse in the American pavilion of Epcot’s World Showcase serves up a variety of barbecue menu items. Though seating is not as ample as at Connections Eatery or Sunshine Seasons, this place has indoor seating.
However, Regal Eagle Smokehouse, like most newer additions to dining at Walt Disney World, provides guests with an upgrade in food. You can find a better barbecue meal on the property, like the Polite Pig at Disney Springs. However, this place serves the best barbecue-style quick service inside the Walt Disney World theme parks.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse brings an immense advancement over the previous quick service in the American area of Epcot. At Regal Eagle, you will find a variety of BBQ dishes such as ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and chicken.
BBQ Jackfruit Burger
Of note, we enjoy the BBQ Burger that comes topped with pulled pork and an onion ring. The plant-based Jackfruit burger also offers a surprising amount of flavor.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse allows guests to enjoy four different types of BBQ sauce. Also, of note to some, Regal Eagle Smokehouse has a soft drink fountain refill station that guests can use while dining here.
Yorkshire County Fish Shop
Our final suggestion on this list of the best places to eat at Epcot takes us to the UK pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. The Yorkshire County Fish Shop serves fish and chips. Yorkshire County Fish Shop will not cause anyone from Great Britain to think of authentic fish and chips. Nonetheless, the ease of ordering and decent quality place this on our list of best Epcot restaurants. The menu presents a simple combination of beer-battered fish and chips.
Once again, to apologize to our UK friends, these are USA-style fries, but they will do as “chips” for a counter service theme park operation. Yet for around $13, this portion size and quality meet the fish and chip needs. So, get some malt vinegar or tartar sauce and enjoy some fish at Yorkshire County Fish Shop.
We recommend visiting this place when it is busy. The line moves quickly. You could mobile order if desired. We like to go when it is busy to ensure we get fresh and hot fish. At slow times, the fish may sit longer than we would prefer. Still, that problem happens with many quick service options.
Best Places to Eat at Epcot: Are You Hungry Now? Want a Snack?
Epcot offers some great food. If you only want a snack, you could visit the Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie in the France area of the World Showcase. The pastries and other baked items here make good snacks. In fact, you can find excellent snacks all around the World Showcase.
Ready To Visit Walt Disney World?
The travel advisors at Pixie Vacations can point you in the right direction. Whether it is dining options, hotel choices, or ticket options, the staff at Pixie Vacations can help. Of course, remember that the Pixie Vacations staff get paid by Walt Disney World after your vacation. They can be there to help you along the way. Their assistance when you book through them costs you nothing.
Words cannot describe the joy of having your travel advisor chatting with Disney over an issue instead of you. While you enjoy the countries of Epcot, your travel advisor can work out problems with the Walt Disney World company if those should arise. Happy vacation planning!
