Should You Eat at These EPCOT Restaurants?
Dining at Walt Disney World can overwhelm the senses at times, especially if you’re prone to paralysis analysis.
EPCOT alone lists 54 different places where you can grab a bite to eat. You don’t want to choose the wrong one, though. And that’s where MickeyBlog can help.
Should you eat at these EPCOT restaurants? Well…
Biergarten Restaurant
The World Showcase alone offers some of the tastiest cuisines in all of Florida. Even the locals believe this, which explains weekend park crowds.
Oddly, Biergarten Restaurant at the Germany pavilion lacks the popularity of some other places at the World Showcase.
I suspect that part of the reason involves the current pandemic changes that have slightly altered the menu and some of the usual practices here.
Still, most Table Service restaurants at the World Showcase book quickly. As I type this, Biergarten lists availability for lunch tomorrow.
Obviously, that signifies a lack of popularity. Conversely, it also means that you could grab a table here when your first choice shows as unavailable.
Pros
The applicable German phrase is “zu vie lessen.” Paraphrasing, “that’s too much food.”
This restaurant will bring you brats and other tubed meats until you’re seeing franks in your sleep.
If you love German cuisine like sauerkraut, schnitzel, and spätzle, the mother ship is calling you home to Biergarten.
The restaurant serves All You Care to Enjoy (AYCE) meals in waves of full skillets. It’s a lot of food at a relatively reasonable price of $46 per adult.
Also, a German band plays on stage, and it’s so silly that you can’t help but be entertained while you watch.
Cons
If you don’t love German cuisine, you’re pretty much screwed. That goes double if you’re not a meat-eater.
Plus, $46 per person ain’t cheap, even when you get good value.
Then, there are the reviews, which trend toward the lower tier of the World Showcase’s fine dining grades.
The old quote of “nobody goes there because it’s too crowded” works in reverse, too.
If a World Showcase restaurant has availability, that’s not always a good sign.
Verdict
Do you live the brat life? Presuming the answer is yes, this place should rank high on your list of World Showcase dining options.
Otherwise, Biergarten’s TripAdvisor score tells the story. This place is fine, but you can do better.
Coral Reef Restaurant
When you enter the park, this place is the first sit-down restaurant. You’ll find it to the right of Spaceship Earth at The Living Seas with Nemo & Friends.
In fact, the restaurant shares the same building with the ride. When you walk toward the FastPass and wait time signs, veer right and follow the path.
Bam! You’re at Coral Reef!
Pros
Obviously, this place is a snap to find. But that’s a fractional pro compared to the best one.
Coral Reef’s name refers to both the theming and the cuisine. Yes, it’s a seafood place with the freshest possible ingredients.
I say that because the massive saltwater tank in this pavilion works as one of the restaurant’s walls.
Yes, you can and should watch the fish play in their natural habitats while you eat. But, of course, if you order fish, you may feel a twinge of guilt.
By the way, I’d also throw in the fact that the desserts here are exquisite. I adore the Chocolate Wave and order it whenever I eat at Coral Reef.
Cons
Coral Reef probably counts as the most divisive restaurant at EPCOT, possibly all of Walt Disney World.
Critics assail two aspects of the restaurant. One’s the price, and the other’s the flavor.
When you choose a place to eat, price and food quality represent the two most important factors. So…
The weird part about Coral Reef is that you will sometimes eat a delicious meal here. Unfortunately, the restaurant’s consistency is nonexistent.
As for the price, yeah, it’s too much. You’re paying for the privilege of watching sharks and chum hang out without any of them resorting to violence.
Verdict
My family eats here a lot. We do so because we’ve befriended one of the manta rays that live in the water tank. It’ll come down and sit beside us sometimes.
e Disney Dining Plan. You get good value that way.
Otherwise, I think you’re paying too much AND settling when you eat here.
Garden Grill Restaurant
You walk past this restaurant a lot and probably idly wonder what it is.
Garden Grill Restaurant resides on the top floor of The Land pavilion, beside Awesome Planet and the escalator/stairs.
Yes, I’m talking about the place you always walk on your way to Soarin’ Around the World, Living with the Land, and Sunshine Seasons.
Pros
Even during the pandemic, Garden Grill has hosted a character meal with Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Chip, and Dale.
They wear farmer outfits that reflect the restaurant’s other celebrated amenity. It’s a spinner!
Garden Grill rotates slowly in a circle. During your meal, you’ll watch the landscape change, and it’s incredible for fans of Living with the Land!
You’ll see different parts of the ride while you eat. In this way, it’s EPCOT’s equivalent to Pinocchio’s Village Haus, a restaurant that shows part of It’s a Small World.
However, you’ll get a better view with Garden Grill since it spins.
This meal is also AYCE with many rustic menu items. So, it parallels Whispering Canyon Café, too.
The difference is that Garden Grill serves fresher cuisine since it utilizes ingredients from The Land for its meals!
Cons
Honestly, not many. The menu features mac & cheese, turkey breast, grilled beef, and herb and leek stuffing.
Oddly, even though it’s AYCE, you may not fill up as much as you’d expect. That’s good or bad, depending on your diet and caloric consumption for the day.
Also, there’s the price. It’s $55 per adult and $36 per child aged 3 to 9. So I’m not sure everyone will feel like they get their money’s worth.
Verdict
Garden Grill isn’t for everyone, but I highly recommend that you try it at least once.
Some visitors turn into lifelong fans who visit each vacation. Others are perfectly fine if they never go back. It just depends on how much you like farmer’s market-type meals.
I will add that it’s like Coral Reef in that it’s better as a Disney Dining Plan meal than when you pay out of pocket.
Teppan Edo
The Japan pavilion includes several prominent restaurants, including the latest offering Takumi-Tei.
However, the most accessible place is the one that’ll make you feel like you’re at Benihana. Whether you think that’s a good thing or not is entirely up to you.
Teppan Edo offers teppanyaki service, the hibachi style popular in Japanese steakhouses and other Americanized versions of table grilling.
Pros
Many people – and pretty much everyone in my family counts here – love when a server cooks your food in front of you.
With teppanyaki service, a gifted chef performs cutlery tricks in between building onion volcanoes, stacking rice, and carving vegetables.
You may have lowered expectations based on your experiences at places like Benihana. Well, Teppan Edo is different.
TripAdvisor actually ranks it in the top ten among Japanese restaurants in Orlando. In fact, it’s in the top 125 overall out of 2,500 restaurants. That’s the 95th percentile.
Cons
Some people don’t like Japanese cuisine. If you’re one of them, this place isn’t for you. So, why are you even reading this? Okay, I kid, but still.
Realistically, the only significant negative is the price of an entrée here. Most of them cost $32 or more, with some passing $40.
That’s the only knock on the place unless you hate the smell of onion. Bring some tissues just in case.
Verdict
As someone who is allergic to onions, anti-vegetables, and not into low-rent circus tricks, the appealing art of teppanyaki is lost on me.
However, chefs have pleasantly surprised me when I’ve dined here. They’ve cooked me a simple steak that tasted divine.
More impressively, they cleaned a spot so that it wouldn’t taste like onion.
In my experience, Teppan Edo caters to diehards but understands that its service isn’t for everyone. So, the staff works hard at inclusivity.
That fact alone would make me want to recommend it. My family’s adoration for the dinner AND the show is the proverbial icing on the (rice) cake.