Biergarten fans... tell me about it

[Lisa F]

The inside is beautiful. The band is fun. However, we were sat up near the buffet and 3 people were already at the table (near the rails). I don't know what their deal was but they didn't say ANYTHING to us. I mean I guess it could be worse, but it was a little weird. They were 3 adults and we were 2 adults, 9 year old, and twin toddlers. I mean you think they would sit us next to someone like OP or a family of 3...not 3 adults.
There was enough to eat, but the food itself wasn't memorable at all.

I know you said you don't drink beer, but the grapefruit beer is so good (and not very alcoholic).

Anyhow, it wasn't bad and it was cheaper than our counter service meal in France that night (thanks to TiW and under 3 year olds being free at the buffet), but it was not something we would need to repeat every trip.

ETA: If I was an adult in my 20s with 2 other adults, I'd be a little annoyed to sit next to twin toddlers. To be fair, though, my kids were well behaved, they didn't scream or throw food or anything.

if you're an adult with your 20's annoyed to sit next to kids then you are vacationing in the wrong place at Disney I mean no one wants to deal with other people's unruly kids but if you don't want kids around at all... you're kind of in the wrong place!

My "every trip" went from 3-4 times a year to every 2+ years so who knows how we'll feel next time. just glad to give it a try after so many years!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

a B from the Rusty Scupper on a buffet is high praise indeed!

And, darn-hard- to come-by.

 

[Lisa F]

And, darn-hard- to come-by.

I know. I'm a secret fan. Feeling great about my decision to go now!

 

[goofy4prez]

I may not be as tough as TheRustyScupper when it comes to WDW restaurants, but I am pretty tough when it comes to buffets. Most buffets are just gosh awful, especially lunch/dinner buffets with it's mass produced food focusing on quantity over quality. With that said, there are only two dinner buffets I will step foot in at Disney, Boma and Biergarten. For me the food at Biergarten is better than average and would still be tasty if not served on a buffet table. I love the atmosphere, the entertainment and I also don't mind the communal seating. The only thing I really don't like at Biergarten is that I leave that place in a self induced food coma. LOL

 

[ArmyVet80]

Confession: Would you believe I have never really done much more than walk past germany? in ALL the years I've been to WDW. Crazy. I knew the caramel place was there so planned to stop by but I guess it is a good time to explore it. Definitely thinking a glass of wine will take the edge off.

Interesting. The German Pavilion is one of our "must-do" stops while at WDW. On our honeymoon/disneymoon our TA didn't let us know we had to make ADR's for TS eateries. We were lucky enough to stop by the concierge and have them set us up with a few meals during our stay. We ended up at Le Chef's, Biergarten x2, Rose & Crown, Raglan Road and Crystal Palace. The rest of our meals were QS. Needless to say we were not very happy with our TA after the trip but still made the most of it.

Ever since then we have gone to the Biergarten for lunch on either our arrival or departure day. We really enjoy the food and the entertainment. It doesn't hurt that we like the Winekellar too. For our 10 year anniversary (just under 3 years away) we are going to Germany (Munich and Berlin mainly) for 3 weeks. It may be the one year we don't head to WDW but should be well worth it.

 

[Disney_traveler]

It was Dad's pick our first trip. I was extremely nervous as I don't even do well socializing with people I know! We were paired with a family from Arkansas with the same personality and since of humor and they got along and didn't prove me with questions.

Food we thought was great an extremely similar to what we would find in the German restaurants in Fredericksburg.

 

[JerseyJanice]

It's been a while since we ate there, but I am definitely planning to go back on my upcoming trip. I haven't made an ADR tho because I won't know until we get there whether the lunch price is lower than dinner plus we're there during F&W so I'm not sure how our appetites will be.

Last time we went was in 2008. We walked outside as Illuminations was starting, and I'm in awe to this day by what a great spot it is to watch the show.

I thought the food was excellent. Potato leek soup with pretzel bread was divine. I liked the beef roulades, and the desserts were incredible. The strudel had a vanilla bean sauce that was very well prepared. I bake a lot at home and was really impressed by the quality of all the desserts.

I think you can't go wrong by choosing this restaurant if you like European food. It's been at Epcot forever with few changes so you know they're doing something right.

 

[Lisa F]

Interesting. The German Pavilion is one of our "must-do" stops while at WDW. On our honeymoon/disneymoon our TA didn't let us know we had to make ADR's for TS eateries. We were lucky enough to stop by the concierge and have them set us up with a few meals during our stay. We ended up at Le Chef's, Biergarten x2, Rose & Crown, Raglan Road and Crystal Palace. The rest of our meals were QS. Needless to say we were not very happy with our TA after the trip but still made the most of it.

Ever since then we have gone to the Biergarten for lunch on either our arrival or departure day. We really enjoy the food and the entertainment. It doesn't hurt that we like the Winekellar too. For our 10 year anniversary (just under 3 years away) we are going to Germany (Munich and Berlin mainly) for 3 weeks. It may be the one year we don't head to WDW but should be well worth it.

I'm not sure why I never made it there. I used to travel with my ex and he did not drink and because he didn't I never did either, so we tended just to avoid anything more booze centered. After my divorce I started to drink (lol not like it sounds... I just started being more myself and having a couple of drinks with friends sometimes or a glass of wine with dinner came into the picture) so I began looking at the WS in a whole new way. When I took my kiddo in 2014 we just popped into mexico for the ride and did american adventure and saw Illuminations, but I knew he would not be super interested in the WS. We are going in december and he is VERY interested in the santas from around the world and we have a bit more park time this time (we took a day to do kennedy space center last time), we are doing the CP and have more Epcot time in general and the new frozen ride is open so I expect we will be doing more in the WS. I think it's time to stop skirting by this one

It was Dad's pick our first trip. I was extremely nervous as I don't even do well socializing with people I know! We were paired with a family from Arkansas with the same personality and since of humor and they got along and didn't prove me with questions.

Food we thought was great an extremely similar to what we would find in the German restaurants in Fredericksburg.

I have only been to one german restaurant by my parents (my dad is german so he likes going out for german food) and I have only had schnitzel and spatzle and like I said, steak. Nothing too ground breaking. But the menu sounds great to me, especially the housemade pickles since that is one of my favorite foods on earth! We are both looking forward to trying new things!

It's been a while since we ate there, but I am definitely planning to go back on my upcoming trip. I haven't made an ADR tho because I won't know until we get there whether the lunch price is lower than dinner plus we're there during F&W so I'm not sure how our appetites will be.

Last time we went was in 2008. We walked outside as Illuminations was starting, and I'm in awe to this day by what a great spot it is to watch the show.

I thought the food was excellent. Potato leek soup with pretzel bread was divine. I liked the beef roulades, and the desserts were incredible. The strudel had a vanilla bean sauce that was very well prepared. I bake a lot at home and was really impressed by the quality of all the desserts.

I think you can't go wrong by choosing this restaurant if you like European food. It's been at Epcot forever with few changes so you know they're doing something right.

You are making me drool. I tend to avoid the cuisines I can get easily at home and don't have a "disney" draw to them, so I've never been to the Japanese or chinese restaurants and I did go to alfredos once but haven't been back to italy. there are just too many other unique disney experiences to enjoy! And this is one of them! I am starting to feel really confused about why I haven't tried it before myself! Garden Grill (breakfast) and Coral Reef are the other two Epcot choices, both are so Disney to me (Coral Reef is the first TS I ever went to back with my friend when we went with school in high school and reviews have been soso forever but I have always loved going there). I have eaten at Marrakesh, at R&C around illuminations time, at San Angel (also great theming but too dark and tight for a kid who needs to move, lol), Norway (kid won't go near princesses with a 10 foot pole) and of course canada. I haven't done france either but that is because I spent a summer in france and the menu did not really remind me of the things I was so fond of there. So really Germany is the only one I haven't done that I am interested in.

 

[Dis703]

We dine here just about every trip. It's definitely one of our favorite Disney restaurants.

The food has always been good. It's the only buffet we have ever been to where we have enjoyed everything we try. My kids eat like kings here more than at any other restaurant. In part this is because they have more options for kids with lots of food allergies (gluten, soy, egg, milk, just to name a few. But they also seem to always go the extra mile for our kids.

We enjoy being seated with other families. Occasionally, we are seated with someone who isn't very interested in talking and that's okay, but it's not something we normally get to do anywhere else, so it's fun. The service has always been good and the band is lots of fun. The kids always get up and dance on the dance floor.

Other people rave about the gigantic beers, but I'm not personally a drinker so I can't comment on that other than to say it's probably DH's favorite part.

We always leave here extremely full so we normally plan for a little break afterwards or at least a slower paced afternoon.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Love this restaurant! It is a must do every trip! I wouldn't necessarily choose to sit with others, but do enjoy meeting new people. The atmosphere is lovely and we enjoy the oompah band. The food is very good. The mac and cheese is awesome and I usually have a couple servings. My son is not like yours and I can only convince him to eat Kraft. He doesn't know what he's missing! I also really enjoy several of the meats, the pretzel rolls dipped in the soup, and the desserts. I don't think you will regret it!

ETA: I am also not a big drinker and most times have not had any alcohol here, so my judgement is not alcohol based. Although they do have a good selection if you choose to partake!

 

[Candycane83]

I'm not sure why I never made it there. I used to travel with my ex and he did not drink and because he didn't I never did either, so we tended just to avoid anything more booze centered. After my divorce I started to drink (lol not like it sounds... I just started being more myself and having a couple of drinks with friends sometimes or a glass of wine with dinner came into the picture) so I began looking at the WS in a whole new way.

Lol just wanted to comment on this... DH isn't used to drink until he met me he started trying drinking occasionally and does like the grapefruit beer!

 

[SBWB48]

We went back and forth so many times on this since we began planning our trip back in April! Was dead set on passing on this in favor of La Hacienda for our upcoming trip only to get sucked back in based on all the positive reviews and just the fact that it's truly a "dining experience" that I can simply recreate back home.

We originally opted to pass based on my hesitation after seeing the menu; just not crazy about the German offerings , but figured I'll be able to find something to eat (desserts look yummy, and I'm not even a dessert person!) since DBF seems to be in love with the idea of beer and sausages (who would have thought! ). Couldn't pass up trying it even if OOP; we have FD for the very first time, but was able to actually squeeze this in (not even sure how that happened!), and it's one of the few places where lunch isn't terribly expensive to pay OOP, so biergarten it is!

 

[Lisa F]

I may not be as tough as TheRustyScupper when it comes to WDW restaurants, but I am pretty tough when it comes to buffets. Most buffets are just gosh awful, especially lunch/dinner buffets with it's mass produced food focusing on quantity over quality. With that said, there are only two dinner buffets I will step foot in at Disney, Boma and Biergarten. For me the food at Biergarten is better than average and would still be tasty if not served on a buffet table. I love the atmosphere, the entertainment and I also don't mind the communal seating. The only thing I really don't like at Biergarten is that I leave that place in a self induced food coma. LOL

Well I love Boma too so that is a good recommendation by me Yeah it is hard to stop yourself when all of that food is out there. I love hearing that it is better than average, I really did read a few bad reviews however there are so many good ones here! I hear you on the dinner buffets, they are not my favorite, but with a kiddo who loves characters and us going during the xmas season and F! dinner packages we are going to do h&v. I know, I know. I have relatively low expectations of the food but high of the characters/experience The rest of our character meals are all breakfasts! I'm sorry I missed you on my first round of replies!

We dine here just about every trip. It's definitely one of our favorite Disney restaurants.

The food has always been good. It's the only buffet we have ever been to where we have enjoyed everything we try. My kids eat like kings here more than at any other restaurant. In part this is because they have more options for kids with lots of food allergies (gluten, soy, egg, milk, just to name a few. But they also seem to always go the extra mile for our kids.

We enjoy being seated with other families. Occasionally, we are seated with someone who isn't very interested in talking and that's okay, but it's not something we normally get to do anywhere else, so it's fun. The service has always been good and the band is lots of fun. The kids always get up and dance on the dance floor.

Other people rave about the gigantic beers, but I'm not personally a drinker so I can't comment on that other than to say it's probably DH's favorite part.

We always leave here extremely full so we normally plan for a little break afterwards or at least a slower paced afternoon.

Wow, that is saying something! (enjoy everything). I think my kiddo will find plenty to eat here. at least quantity of a couple of things if not many different things. My kiddo has no allergies but is just very picky due to sensory issues... however he is not picky along the lines of regular "kid food" and anywhere there is some kind of carved meat and some kind of pasta side (either plain or mac & cheese) he can find enough to eat. if he is willing to try other stuff, great!

We have a 6:20 dinner planned and will probably just stroll around the WS a bit before parking in a good place to watch Illuminations. Maybe i'll try to get a FP+ for it that night. Illuminations is at 9:30 during the holidays.

Love this restaurant! It is a must do every trip! I wouldn't necessarily choose to sit with others, but do enjoy meeting new people. The atmosphere is lovely and we enjoy the oompah band. The food is very good. The mac and cheese is awesome and I usually have a couple servings. My son is not like yours and I can only convince him to eat Kraft. He doesn't know what he's missing! I also really enjoy several of the meats, the pretzel rolls dipped in the soup, and the desserts. I don't think you will regret it!

ETA: I am also not a big drinker and most times have not had any alcohol here, so my judgement is not alcohol based. Although they do have a good selection if you choose to partake!

My kiddo just recently started to try new things - but he did like the disney mac and cheese when we were there (the disney standard I mean). He has recently started watching kid cooking competition shows (chopped, bbq challenge, the baking shows) and it has made him want to help me cook and also try new things, but he still has such major textural aversions but he is at least willing to go out on a limb a bit. The other day he sliced up 3 huge zucchini for me into paper thin slices but then wouldn't eat any of it, lol. baby steps I guess!

Yes, the wine selection is more appealing to me too. They have it so i must not be the only one who prefers wine to beer!

Lol just wanted to comment on this... DH isn't used to drink until he met me he started trying drinking occasionally and does like the grapefruit beer!

lol, lush! I love a glass of wine with dinner (or two) and I LOVE margaritas. I know giving up la hacienda will mean no avocado margarita with dinner so maybe I will have to stop on the way to our final illuminations spot to get one at la cava.

We went back and forth so many times on this since we began planning our trip back in April! Was dead set on passing on this in favor of La Hacienda for our upcoming trip only to get sucked back in based on all the positive reviews and just the fact that it's truly a "dining experience" that I can simply recreate back home.

We originally opted to pass based on my hesitation after seeing the menu; just not crazy about the German offerings , but figured I'll be able to find something to eat (desserts look yummy, and I'm not even a dessert person!) since DBF seems to be in love with the idea of beer and sausages (who would have thought! ). Couldn't pass up trying it even if OOP; we have FD for the very first time, but was able to actually squeeze this in (not even sure how that happened!), and it's one of the few places where lunch isn't terribly expensive to pay OOP, so biergarten it is!

La hacienda was what biergarten is replacing for us too. My kiddo loved the idea of the queso appetizer but it looks so heavy to me. It looks like a perfectly nice restaurant, it just wasn't scratching my "Disney theming" itch. San Angel would have but it is so dark and tight in there i didn't think it would be a great fit for my child who is always in motion. He often ends up standing next to me where I am sitting (our compromise for when he can't sit anymore but needs to stay out of the way) and I just worried it would be too tight in there for him to do that. I think that the carved pork loin is pretty innocuous and what's not to like about breaded and fried pork cutlets? and the mac and cheese and roasted potatoes. I don't like saurkraut and a lot of those cold salads kind of turn my stomach (the mayo based ones) but there are so many other choices I am excited about eating, lol. And the bavarian cheesecake and apple streudel, yum! Even if there is only one or two things I like on a buffet menu I somehow never manage to go away hungry maybe that is just me

 

[SBWB48]

La hacienda was what biergarten is replacing for us too. My kiddo loved the idea of the queso appetizer but it looks so heavy to me. It looks like a perfectly nice restaurant, it just wasn't scratching my "Disney theming" itch. San Angel would have but it is so dark and tight in there i didn't think it would be a great fit for my child who is always in motion. He often ends up standing next to me where I am sitting (our compromise for when he can't sit anymore but needs to stay out of the way) and I just worried it would be too tight in there for him to do that. I think that the carved pork loin is pretty innocuous and what's not to like about breaded and fried pork cutlets? and the mac and cheese and roasted potatoes. I don't like saurkraut and a lot of those cold salads kind of turn my stomach (the mayo based ones) but there are so many other choices I am excited about eating, lol. And the bavarian cheesecake and apple streudel, yum! Even if there is only one or two things I like on a buffet menu I somehow never manage to go away hungry maybe that is just me

Totally agree on La Hacienda. I was sold on it originally thinking maybe illuminations during dinner, but seems like it's a total shot in the dark to get a window table. Then, the food looks pretty decent, but ultimately I knew we leaned towards La Hacienda at first because of the window seat possibility. Without that, like you said, while a perfectly nice restaurant, it just wasn't much different from a few nice Mexican places around here that we have. Similar as well with San Angel, while the theming is fabulous , the food seems to get mixed reviews and we love traditional Mexican. In the end, Biergarten just appealed to DBF more, so while we wanted to try SA, just couldn't fit it in at the end and opted to pass this time.

It's also funny with Biergarten because I am usually a pretty adventurous eater, so while I knew I could find something to eat there, it just wasn't jaw dropping at first sight like the theming was. But ultimately the Classic Disney theming was screaming at me so hard, plus the food pics from @jabead on her Instagram (Instagram name also jabead) totally sold me! Helllooooo apple strudel and Bavarian cheese

It seems you and your kiddo enjoy spending a bit time together looking at food pics, as do I, you may want to check out jabead's Instagram! She has pics for quite a few places.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

That liter of beer sure hits the spot.

 

[Hatbox537]

My wife and I ate there last year in March with much anticipation of having a great experience, sadly it didn't quite work out as planned. While we both enjoyed the food and drink and would highly recommend it based on those things alone I can't say the overall experience was positive. I don't believe our table mates read the part about communal seating because of their immediate reaction to finding this out. Their displeasure at our joining them was immediately verbalized by one of their teenaged sons. His mother shushed him however I suppose at least in their minds the damage was done at that point, or the point was made clear. Undaunted, my wife and I chatted amongst ourselves and had a decent enough experience. I did not try to engage them in conversation until much later in the meal and only to be polite but it was met with a terse indifference. I cannot comment on the show as we left just as it got started. We will go back. I've booked it for our trip this November, but I'm brining reinforcements and whomever we are seated with will be made to feel welcome.

 

[ArmyVet80]

I'm not sure why I never made it there. I used to travel with my ex and he did not drink and because he didn't I never did either, so we tended just to avoid anything more booze centered. After my divorce I started to drink (lol not like it sounds... I just started being more myself and having a couple of drinks with friends sometimes or a glass of wine with dinner came into the picture) so I began looking at the WS in a whole new way. When I took my kiddo in 2014 we just popped into mexico for the ride and did american adventure and saw Illuminations, but I knew he would not be super interested in the WS. We are going in december and he is VERY interested in the santas from around the world and we have a bit more park time this time (we took a day to do kennedy space center last time), we are doing the CP and have more Epcot time in general and the new frozen ride is open so I expect we will be doing more in the WS. I think it's time to stop skirting by this one

Not judging here. My DW and I tend to have a drink or two while we are at Epcot. Especially during the F&W Festival. We normally share drinks from the booths/kiosks. I always get a Warsteiner Dunkel when we have dinner at the Biergarten and my DW always gets the Dr. Loosen Riesling (D. L Riesling on the wdwinfo menu page).

It sounds like you have a good play for your December trip. We always take time to walk the WS to check out the different items each shop has. Last year (Sept. 2015) my DW got to pick 3 pearls from the Pick A Pearl in Japan. She got two "black" pearls at just over 8 mm each and a "gold" pearl at 8 mm. The girl that does the show said she had not seen someone get 3 8 mm pearls in 3 picks before. It was pretty neat. Even if you don't do the pick a pearl it is pretty neat to watch.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Hi

My dh & I don't drink alcohol . Is there plenty of soft drink choices? Any mock tails?

Also we love watching shows but r very shy & don't enjoy interaction (WCC was horrendous or us) is there any interaction in the show?

Many thanks

 

[manicstreet]

Hi

My dh & I don't drink alcohol . Is there plenty of soft drink choices? Any mock tails?

Also we love watching shows but r very shy & don't enjoy interaction (WCC was horrendous or us) is there any interaction in the show?

Many thanks

Not sure about the mock tails as I drink the beer and my wife the wine. They do have the usual Disney assortment of soft drinks.

The place is not a boozers hangout. It's just known for the beer because it's Germany. The food in my opinion is the stand out. It's been in the rotation every year since 2013.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Not sure about the mock tails as I drink the beer and my wife the wine. They do have the usual Disney assortment of soft drinks.

The place is not a boozers hangout. It's just known for the beer because it's Germany. The food in my opinion is the stand out. It's been in the rotation every year since 2013.

Thanks