5 Specific Epcot Foods and Drinks You Must Try
When I took my trip to Epcot, I was absolutely overwhelmed with how many Epcot foods and drinks there were to try. Nobody said that was a bad thing. I mean, having too many choices on vacation is world’s better than having too few.
Speaking of worlds, Epcot is a one-stop journey to 11 countries around the world — Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada. Epcot awakens your senses with music from each country as well as food and drink that you must experience. It’s hard to know where to start and every person you ask will give you a different list of things that you must eat and drink in each country showcase.
Of course your final list will depend on your tastes, but here are my suggestions:
Pizza from Via Napoli
Mangia! Italian for ‘eat’ and Italy was the number one country on my list of places to enjoy at Epcot. Remember that scene in “Eat Pray Love” where Julia Roberts must go to Italy and dine on pizza and pasta? This is the closest I’m getting right now so the family and I opted to go to the Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria for some authentic Neapolitan pizza.
If you could see me, I’m puckering and blowing kisses up because it was delizioso. Ah the cheese on the thin crust pizza just melted in my mouth and the tomatoes (which are imported from Southern Italy) are juicy and perfect. It’s cooked in a wood burning stove and my family fought over the last slice.
Italian Desserts
But you can’t just have pizza in Italy. You need to save room for some decadent Italian dessert. You can choose from the standard tiramisu, a Torta Caprese (a Neopolitan chocolate-hazelnut and almond cake) or Gelati e Sorbetto which is vanilla, chocolate, pistachio gelato or lemon sorbet. There are other options too, but regardless of what you try here, your taste buds will be very very happy and so will you.
Have a Beer
All I heard on the way to Epcot from my husband was “I want a German beer.” I wanted a bratwurst. For an authentic German meal, we headed over to The Biergarten where he enjoyed a German Beer Flight (Four Pours – 5 oz each) of Beck’s Pilsner, Warsteiner Dunkel, König Ludwig Weissbier, and Schöfferhofer Pink Grapefruit Hefeweizen. I chowed down on some of the best sausages and red cabbage I had ever tasted.
The next time we went out we made sure to leave the belt at home, but we didn’t care. We wanted to experience it all.
French Pasties
Next on our trip around the world was France and all we could think about was cream and butter — well pastries and other desserts. At Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie, we each chose something to sample (a great way to try more than one thing at a time).
I chose the decadent chocolate mousse and my family chose Créme Brûlée, Raspberry Mousse Cake and of course, a Macaron. We finished everything and I think we licked the plates clean. I think this woman definitely can live on sweets alone.
Mexican Delights
We decided to finish out our visit with a meal at the San Angel Inn, a Mexican restaurant where you dine in twilight in a restaurant that was modeled after a 17th-century hacienda at the base of Mayan ruins. If that doesn’t set the scene for you, I don’t know what does.
When it comes to the food, I wish computers had smellovision because you would drool when you smelled the Carne Asada Tampiqueña which is a New York Strip served with cheese mole enchilada, chipotle rice, black beans, guacamole, onions, and rajas poblano. The family had Ensalada con Pollo Asado which is grilled chicken served over spinach, goat cheese, diced mango, and toasted pumpkin seeds in a lime vinaigrette.
A few tips:
Entrees at some of these restaurants can be on the higher-end of the prices, so if your budget is an issue, consider choosing your top restaurants and fill out your meals with more affordable snacks and noshes.
Popular restaurants require reservations often months in advance. As soon as you know that you’re going, make sure to call for reservations way in advance. Our friends at MickeyTravels can help with securing all your dining reservations when you book with them! Enjoy all your favorite Epcot foods and drinks!