Here Are My Favorite Places to Eat at EPCOT
One of the most heated conversations that you can have with other Disney fans involves EPCOT dining.
No one can agree on the best places to eat at the park.
Everyone has their favorites, and while there are no right or wrong answers, you’d probably still like some advice.
Well, I’ve dined at EPCOT hundreds of times, and I’m happy to pass along some wisdom.
Here are my favorite places to eat at EPCOT.
Akershus
Long-time readers of this site may remember my post-pandemic plea.
Disney briefly experienced a “princess crisis” due to a shortage of cast members who fit the company’s qualifications to portray these costumed characters.
For this reason, Disney didn’t operate Akershus for multiple years. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say this reduced my pleasure when I visited the Norway pavilion.
My heart soars when I do the Akershus/Frozen Ever After combo, and I’m a sucker for the Gjetost, a Norwegian cheese available at the salad bar.
Connections Café
Electric Umbrella fans, unite.
Anybody?
I loved the former Quick Service joint at EPCOT, but that was not the consensus opinion.
In fact, I felt that I was a lone wolf on the subject.
Even I’ll admit that its replacement, Connections Café, is objectively superior.
You can think of it as a giant fast-casual restaurant that serves Applebee’s-level food, but hey. I like Applebee’s.
This location does serve some decent plant-based options, which is important for my family since my wife is a vegetarian.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse
The south loves barbecue almost as much as it loves SEC football.
That’s why it’s always been a little bit puzzling that Disney theme parks have generally lacked good barbecue restaurants.
For the longest time, the list was Flame Tree BBQ at Disney’s Animal Kingdom… and that was it.
Now, we can happily add Regal Eagle to the list.
It’s an exceptional dining experience that’s also shockingly affordable.
I wholly recommend the Texas toast here, which is the stuff of myth and legend. My wife enjoys the barbecue jackfruit burger as her plant-based option.
And the banana pudding reminds me of my mother, the highest compliment I can give.
Rose and Crown Dining Room
Now that Luminous The Symphony of Us has debuted at EPCOT, my family can continue one of its favorite traditions.
We can eat dinner at Rose and Crown while watching the nightly fireworks presentation.
Some of my favorite memories at Disney have occurred at Rose and Crown, and I smile whenever my server provides me with a table outdoors.
While the English cuisine is an acquired taste that isn’t for everyone, I’ve grown to adore it.
Also, I’m pretty sure my wife likes their sticky toffee pudding more than she likes me.
San Angel Inn
The following two suggestions underscore how I dine differently than most Disney fans.
I’m a diehard who picks restaurants based on the theming as much as the food.
So, if you’re using me as a barometer, please remember this.
Then again, who doesn’t like Mexican food?
You’ll find upscale cuisine in this indoor restaurant that somehow resides by a river.
The restaurant at the Mexico pavilion shares a space with the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros.
So, when you eat here, you can enjoy the unique ambiance of the Mayan pyramid while watching people enjoy a gentle Disney boat ride.
Space 220
I felt like I talked about this location for five years before it finally opened.
The Patina Group famously struggled with several aspects of opening an outer space restaurant.
However, when you eat here, you can tell the loving detail that went into the process.
You start your experience by riding a Stellarvator 220 miles into outer space.
Thanks to the immersive theming and digital screens that cover all the walls, you’ll believe you’re orbiting Earth throughout your meal.
It’s visually stunning, although people seem to tune out their surroundings after about 30 minutes.
I’ll level with you that a dining experience at Space 220 will cost you a fortune, as I consider it Disney’s most overpriced restaurant…
Still, I go anyway because the level of detail and food are just that good.
Sunshine Seasons
I think one of the ironclad laws of EPCOT dining is that everyone eventually winds up at Sunshine Seasons.
That’s because of the location and the cuisine.
You’re dining on the first floor of the Land pavilion. Not coincidentally, the ingredients here are the freshest possible because they’re grown onsite.
Yes, the foods you watch Disney cast members cultivate while riding Living with the Land become the components for some of the dining options at Sunshine Seasons.
I don’t know whether it’s a trick of the mind, but I can taste the difference when I eat here.
Teppan Edo
If you’ve ever eaten at a Benihana, you know the deal.
The creator of that restaurant chain brought teppanyaki dining to America. It’s basically dinner and a show.
You order your food, and then a chef performs an elaborate series of tricks with their cooking utensils.
I’m admittedly not the biggest fan of teppanyaki because many of the tricks involve onion volcanoes, and I’m hypersensitive to the taste of onion, which makes me nauseated.
We can still dine at Teppan Edo frequently because cast members thoughtfully clean sections for customers like me so that no onion taste lingers.
Meanwhile, the show itself is fun to watch.
Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
We’re settling my part of the debate about the best place to eat at EPCOT; however, I could trigger a second argument about where you’ll find the best slice of pizza at Walt Disney World.
Again, nobody’s right or wrong, but my answers vary wildly.
I like Blaze Pizza at Disney Springs – don’t judge me – and I’m a big fan of Via Napoli, which sells the most Giordano’s-like pizza at Walt Disney World.
The cheese they use for the Via Napoli pizza is legitimately the tastiest I’ve ever had.
This is probably the only place on the planet where I could order a cheese pizza and be happy.
Also, I love the setup in Via Napoli. Three pizza chimneys set the tone and make for great Instagram pictures.
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Feature Photo: Disney wiki