Best Epcot Restaurants?

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We are headed to Disney for a quick trip end of October to celebrate our daughter’s 16th birthday. While we know it’s food and wine we do like to make a sit down dinner reservation to get away from all the crazy for a bit but I’m having a hard time finding a solid restaurant with good recent reviews. What would you recommend?

 

[jeneric997]

What kind of food does she like? I would just go with that. I think most restaurants are good!

 

[RickNJane]

we have only done Rose and Crown and San Angel Inn for TS. There are so many good QS and Snacks at Epcot that making and sticking to a reservation does not seem worth the hassle.

I do take that back we also did Akershus Royal Banquet Hall for a character breakfast with the grandkids. That was pretty special watching the grandkids interact with all the Disney princesses.

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[gottalovepluto]

Look at the menus and narrow it down from there based on her preferences.

There is a huge swathe of restaurants that different people consider “the best” because it all comes down to personal preferences and budgets. For some the best would be Monsieur Paul or Takumi Tei- but if you’re not in the market for a bill bordering on $1k (assuming 3 people) you’ll want to narrow down your definition of “the best”.

 

[preemiemama]

I agree with the recommendations here- match the food with your daughter's preferences and your price range. That said, we have eaten at Biergarten on our trips for the past 2 years and it has been a solid choice. It's a buffet, so not necessarily for everyone. There is an oompah band for entertainment at different times during the dinner service, too, which is fun. We have also enjoyed the food at Hacienda de San Angel, but found that it has not been the same after the pandemic in terms of value. The reduction of sides (on the Parrillada, which is our usual meal), and lack of free chips and salsa to start the meal were not our favorite. The food quality was still really good IMHO, but felt that was overshadowed by the reductions.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We've written off most of the restaurants at EPCOT. The only one we actually feel like and it is not overly expensive is La Hacienda. We try to get an ADR to watch fireworks. We've never had a bad meal, however DIL speaks fluent Spanish so she can read the menu and ask waitstaff questions for us. Her family cooks many of the dishes so she can describe what to expect.

Le Cellier has been a disappointment several times so it is off our list as is Chef's de France. Two bad meals there. Space220 was a cool experience but the food just wasn't our thing. We plan to snack our way around EPCOT F & W.

We enjoy resort ADR's much better: Topolino's, Boma, Steakhouse71 and Story Book are favorites.

Read the menus and enjoy your meal!

 

[disneygolfer1985]

Our usuals are San Angel Inn (DW family is Hispanic, so we eat a lot of Mexican inspired foods) and chefs de France. My girls eat well at both restaurants so we always go there.

 

[CynBeth]

Chefs de France, Tutto Italia, Le Cellier, Coral Reef, and Space220.

 

[wannabee]

we love Via Napoli

 

[fly girl]

Depends on what she likes. I know it is hard to pin point what you will be hungry for on a particular night, but if you narrow down to a few cuisines we could give you the best spot and what ones we tell you to avoid *cough, cough ... Coral Reef.*

The one we regularly frequent is Le Cellier. However, we enjoyed Takumi Tei on our last visit. Great if she likes sushi.

 

[boxer]

We LOVE Epcot TS places........we often end up there most nights of our vacation, since they have some of the best:

Tutto Italiana ---very underrated Italian food, and always excellent service (and easy to get reservations)

Nine Dragons--probably in the minority here, but must-do every trip. Not sure why it gets bad press--been dozens of times, and never had a bad meal, or bad service

LeCelliar--expensive, but best steak on property with Steakhouse 71. Cheddar soup and poutine gives it extra points

LaHacienda--not a huge Mexican food fan, but this place is really good.

Via Napoli--another must-do....love their pizza, and is relatively cost-friendly for Disney

 

[StevieB81]

If you've never been to Biergarten, I would recommend trying it at least once. We go there every trip.

 

[Thoreauaway]

Our favourite table service places are Via Napoli (which is an easy and safe choice I think for most groups) and La Hacienda. I was also surprised by how good Teppan Edo was (we eat Japanese food a lot and have plenty of decent teppanyaki options).

In terms of other Epcot TS we've eaten at:
- San Angel Inn was decent, but not as good as La Hacienda (though the vibes are spectacular) and I didn't love squinting at menus and eating in the dark
- In France, we've eaten at both Chefs de France and Monsieur Paul. We didn't mind either, but Monsieur Paul was tastier than Chefs (and to be fair it certainly has the price points to match)
- Everyone loves Biergarten but we found it overrated. If you're keen on the ambiance then sure, give it a whirl, but we were very unimpressed by the food.

I would probably just ask your daughter what her favourite cuisine is and go from there.

 

[BrianL]

My favorites are Garden Grill and Beirgarten. If you want something a bit lighter, try the Creperie - it would make a really good brunch!

 

[NYCgrrl]

*cough, cough ... Coral Reef.*

Yes, yes! Wrong on so many levels

 

[loves to dive]

It's subjective and really depends on how adventurous an eater y'all are. We tend to stay away from the front of the park and only at WS restaurants.

So going around the WS
Mexico. We've eaten at both restaurants here. If you are looking for real authentic Mexican food you aren't going to get it but both places are a step above your local TexMex and do tend to lean more authentic. Neither are horrible bad, both are decent, the service at San Angel can be very slow, I don't think in all our years of going it's ever actually not been slow.

China. The food at Nine Dragons is not bad, it's pretty much what you are going to get at your local Chinese place but the service is excellent and it's always an easy get.

Norway. Never eaten at the TS here because it's a character meal and we don't do character meals. No littles in my family for years and now that we have one she is too little to spend the money on a character meal.

Germany. Have not eaten here, I don't do buffets. I don't eat enough for the amount of money spent and if I want to wait on myself I'll eat at home.

Italy. Haven't eaten at the pizza place (my son is probably the only male in America that dislikes pizza) but have eaten at the other TS. We enjoyed it, another easy get and the food isn't bad.

Japan (I can't remember if Japan or Morocco comes next) I don't eat sushi so both of the high end TS are not worth it for me but we have done the hibachi a number of times. Pretty much like your local hibachi experience.

Morocco. Our favorite. The larger TS has not reopened but Spice Road Tables is open. Think Med. food here. We love it and it is actually one of the few repeats almost every trip for us.

France. We have eaten at both TS here. Chef Paul's before the trying times so they have changed the menu somewhat. The food was o.k. but we didn't think the atmosphere lived up to the price. That might be because there was a family with littles sitting next to us on a bench seat and I got kicked the entire meal and the server spent all her time with them. The other TS in France is o.k. Nothing to write home about but not bad, always an easy get.

Great Britain. Rose and Crown was not our best meal. The service was some of the worst we have ever had, they were changing shifts, our server had a huge table next to us so evidently felt like she was going to get a better tip there, we actually had to flag down a manager at the end of our meal to pay. The food was just o.k. but not the best. The bar is great though.

Canada. Everyone loves LeCellier but we were just o.k. with it. My son loves steak and he said he's had much better at other places on property. I'm not a huge steak eater but do enjoy it every now and again. It was just o.k. our biggest complaint here is that is a very small space and you are crammed in there. It's loud and dark and crowded.

I know it all sounds negative but seriously, with the exception of a few, we have eaten more than once at all the places I mentioned and will most likely eat at any of them again. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

 

[BarbLynnM]

We try to make Biergarten (Germany) on every trip. I personally like buffets (Trails End, at one time, was what I believe one of (if not THE) best restaurant on property. What they did to it was a crying shame. But back to the ‘Garten: the food may or may not be authentic German-I’ve never been to Germany, but it’s reminiscent of what I believe leaning more toward authentic. But what makes it special for me is the band/floor show. They’re interactive, funny, and one can take the kids to the floor and attempt a polka

I found the Rose and Crown in England to be disappointing. I liked the ambience, but the food was bland-more like the stereotypical English meal rather than the reality. I’ve been to London several times, and have always enjoyed the food.

We’ve eaten at the Chinese pavilion, and IMHO the food was a step above what one gets in ubiquitous American-Chinese restaurants. It was pretty good, the wait staff is excellent. I personally don’t care for the wide open room, but that’s the only drawback I personally have of the place.

We’ve visited most of the restaurants in Epcot, and the only one my guy refuses to revisit is Le Cellier. Now, we haven’t eaten there in more than 10 years if memory serves, but that time was, unfortunately, memorable for the wrong reasons. To many negatives to go into in detail; let’s just say service was the worst in just about any WDW restaurant we’ve ever been to, the food/plating was really bad, and never worth half the price we paid. Others have said it’s improved, and I believe it-it couldn’t help but do so-but he will never give it a second chance.

Favorite eateries on property besides Biergarten are Boma in AKL, Whispering Canyon in Wilderness Lodge, Satuli Canteen, and himself loves the Chinese restaurant (sorry can’t remember the name off hand).

 

[David Gardner]

I've had several good meals in Epcot, but the problem is that most of the restaurant experiences tend to not be consistently good. The one that I've never had a bad experience in is Garden Grill. The food is not adventurous, but it's tasty and all you care to eat.

Biergarten was the worst, although to be fair I've only eaten there once. It was everything that I dislike about local cheap buffets. One my first trip I got a piece of chicken that was tough and cold. Before my second trip I saw the staff bringing out more chicken, so I thought I'd try a fresh cut. It was also tough and cold. The sausage-type stuff was OK, but certainly no better than I could get without paying for a trip to Disney.

I used to go to San Angel every trip because I loved the mole poblano, but it looks like it's been cut.

I went to Le Cellier once. I had a 6pm res, and we weren't sat until after 8pm. I asked them if this was normal and several cast members said "yes". The food was good, but again not better than any good steakhouse, and not worth a two hour wait.

 

[NYCgrrl]

went to Le Cellier once. I had a 6pm res, and we weren't sat until after 8pm. I asked them if this was normal and several cast members said "yes".

Never had a two hour wait for any eatery at WDW.
I think longest wait with ADR was an hour on a Christmas or Thanksgiving Day at Hollywood Brown Derby; that made me cranky and I swore off dinner reservations there although it then became our go to for lunch.

 

[jimmymc]

The best restaurant in the area is Flying Fish. Every dish I've ever had there was spectacular, plus the service and setting are great too.

If you want to stay in the park, I'd go for either restaurant in Italy. I also enjoy Chefs du France, but it gets mixed reviews. I also really want to try Shiki-sai.