Avocado Margarita
La Cava del Tequila
$18
Blended avocado, tequila, lime and agave, served frozen with a salted rim. It comes out pale green and thicker than a standard frozen margarita.
Our take: It sounds like a bad idea and it is the best cocktail at EPCOT — creamy, not sweet, and the one drink here worth queueing for.
Do not leave without it
Drink
VeganGluten-friendly
Walkable
A bitter Italian aperitivo soda poured free from the self-serve fountain at Club Cool, where it sits among the sweet international flavors and costs nothing at all.
Our take: It tastes like grapefruit rind and regret, and drinking it is a genuine EPCOT rite of passage. Free, so the only cost is your dignity. Do it once, never twice.
Do not leave without it
Drink
VeganGluten-friendly
A thick soup of aged white cheddar with bacon and a splash of ale, served with a warm pretzel bread roll.
Our take: The most requested dish at EPCOT and it earns it. People who do not otherwise eat soup order this one. Ask for extra pretzel bread — they will bring it.
Do not leave without it
Savory
Grand Marnier Orange Slush
Les Vins des Chefs de France kiosk
$14.50
Frozen orange slush with a float of Grand Marnier poured over the top, served from the outdoor wine kiosk in front of Les Chefs de France.
Our take: The drink longtime EPCOT visitors cross the park for, and it deserves the reputation. Ask for the extra Grand Marnier float — it is worth the upcharge.
Do not leave without it
Drink
VeganGluten-friendly
Walkable
Ham and butter on a fresh baguette. Nothing else — no lettuce, no mayonnaise, no cheese.
Our take: The smartest lunch at EPCOT. Twelve dollars, made on genuinely good bread, and better than plenty of twenty-eight-dollar plates a hundred feet away.
Do not leave without it
Savory
Walkable
Individual wood-fired Neapolitan pizza with San Marzano-style tomato, mozzarella and basil, blistered at the edge and soft in the middle.
Our take: The best pizza at Walt Disney World, full stop. Order the large for a group and it becomes the best value table-service food in the park.
Do not leave without it
Savory
Vegetarian
School Bread
Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
$4.99
A soft cardamom-scented bun filled with vanilla custard, topped with glaze and a heavy blanket of sweetened shredded coconut. Norwegian bakeries call it skolebrød.
Our take: The best five dollars you can spend at EPCOT. Buy two, because you will want the second one and the line will be longer when you come back.
Do not leave without it
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll
Sommerfest
$11.99
A grilled bratwurst served in a dense pretzel roll with sauerkraut and mustard on the side.
Our take: One of the best twelve-dollar lunches in World Showcase and completely portable. The pretzel roll is what makes it — do not swap it for a regular bun if offered.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Walkable
Brioche Ice Cream Sandwich
L'Artisan des Glaces
$9.25
A scoop of house-made ice cream pressed into a warm sugared brioche bun, served in a napkin sleeve.
Our take: The item the staff recommend and nobody orders because it photographs badly. Warm bread against cold ice cream is the whole point and it works.
Near the top of the list
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
A Breton savory crêpe made with buckwheat batter, folded around ham, Gruyère and a soft egg with the yolk left runny in the centre.
Our take: Order it from the walk-up window rather than the dining room and it becomes one of the best-value real meals at EPCOT. Buckwheat batter is naturally wheat-free — confirm preparation details with the kitchen for your specific needs.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Gluten-friendly
Walkable
Fish and Chips
Yorkshire County Fish Shop
$14.25
Battered cod fried to order with a large pile of thick-cut chips, served in a paper container with malt vinegar available at the stand.
Our take: The same dish the dining room next door charges more than double for, and nearly as good. Use the free malt vinegar — the chips are built for it.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Walkable
Fresh Caramel Popcorn
Karamell-Küche
$7.50
Popcorn coated in caramel made in the open kitchen behind the counter and bagged warm when a fresh batch comes off.
Our take: The best thing in the shop and half the price of the apples. Watch the kitchen window and buy when a batch is coming off — warm and cold are different products.
Near the top of the list
Snack
VegetarianGluten-friendly
Walkable
Caramelized onion broth in a crock under a raft of bread and melted Gruyère, browned under the salamander before it goes out.
Our take: The best thing this kitchen makes and the dish people regret skipping. Order it in August anyway — the room is cold enough that it works.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Guacamole and Chips
La Cantina de San Angel
$12.50
Fresh-mashed avocado with lime, onion and cilantro, served with a large basket of warm tortilla chips.
Our take: Made properly, generously portioned, and one of the few vegan orders at EPCOT that is a real dish rather than a substitution. Split it two ways with a taco order.
Near the top of the list
Savory
VeganGluten-friendly
Chickpea batons fried until crisp outside and soft inside, served with a dipping sauce — a fried take on hummus rather than potato fries.
Our take: The item people come back to Spice Road Table for, and the reason to order small plates here instead of an entree. Order two if there are three of you.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Vegetarian
Jumbo Pretzel with Beer Cheese
Block & Hans
$11
A large soft pretzel, salted and warm, with a cup of beer cheese sauce for dipping.
Our take: This is what a theme park pretzel should be, and it makes the $8.50 Mickey pretzel carts look like a con. Two extra dollars, an entirely different item.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Vegetarian
Walkable
Kakigori Shaved Ice
Kabuki Cafe
$7.25
Finely shaved ice — closer to powder than to crushed ice — soaked with fruit syrup, with an optional sweetened condensed milk topping.
Our take: The most effective heat remedy in World Showcase for under eight dollars. Order it without the cream topping and it stays vegan and gets more refreshing, not less.
Near the top of the list
Sweet
VeganGluten-friendly
Walkable
Layers of caramelized puff pastry alternating with vanilla pastry cream, finished with a glazed top.
Our take: The strongest item in the strongest pastry case on Disney property. Buy it in the morning — the best pieces are gone by late afternoon.
Near the top of the list
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Baked pasta in a paprika-spiked cheese sauce, served hot in a deep container with a browned top.
Our take: The sleeper of the Germany pavilion. It is heavy, it is under eleven dollars, and it comfortably feeds two people who are also splitting a bratwurst.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Vegetarian
Shawarma Platter
Tangierine Café
$18.50
Sliced chicken or lamb over seasoned rice and couscous with hummus, tabbouleh and marinated vegetables on the side.
Our take: The best value plate of food in World Showcase — a full composed meal for less than a counter-service burger, eaten in air conditioning.
Near the top of the list
Savory
A warm date sponge cake soaked in toffee sauce and served with vanilla ice cream melting into it.
Our take: The best thing this kitchen makes, and it is a dessert. Order it regardless of what else lands on the table.
Near the top of the list
Sweet
Vegetarian
Sliced smoked beef brisket with a visible smoke ring, served with two sides and access to the self-serve regional sauce bar.
Our take: Real barbecue in a theme park, which almost never happens. Use the free sauce bar rather than accepting what arrives on the plate.
Near the top of the list
Savory
Layered phyllo pastry with chopped nuts and honey syrup, cut into a small dense square at the counter.
Our take: Under five dollars and better than most eight-dollar desserts on the loop. The cheapest good sweet in World Showcase after School Bread.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Caramel-Dipped Apple
Karamell-Küche
$13.50
A whole apple dipped in fresh caramel and finished with chocolate, toffee bits, nuts or candy depending on which one you point at.
Our take: Overrated and overpriced — a photogenic apple under thirteen dollars of sugar that is nearly impossible to eat while walking. Ask them to slice it or buy the popcorn instead.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Chicken Teriyaki
Katsura Grill
$13.99
Grilled chicken glazed with teriyaki over steamed rice with a small salad, served from the counter on a tray.
Our take: Straightforward and better than its price suggests, and you eat it on the best outdoor terrace in World Showcase. Worth climbing the steps for.
Savory
Croissant Doughnut
Refreshment Port
$7
Laminated croissant dough fried like a doughnut and rolled in sugar, sometimes filled with a cream or fruit centre.
Our take: Excellent warm and mediocre cold, which makes it a gamble. Ask whether a fresh batch just came out before you commit seven dollars.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Frozen Lemonade
Fife & Drum Tavern
$6.50
Tart lemon slush served from a machine in a tall cup, sharp rather than syrupy.
Our take: The cheapest genuinely refreshing thing at the top of the World Showcase loop, and the correct purchase at 3 PM in July. Skip the frozen cola beside it.
Drink
VeganGluten-friendly
Walkable
Funnel Cake
Fife & Drum Tavern
$11.50
Fried batter piped into a lattice and finished with powdered sugar, made to order and served hot in a paper boat.
Our take: The right order at this kiosk instead of the turkey leg. It is hot, it splits three ways, and it costs less than the thing everybody photographs.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Ice Cream Martini
L'Artisan des Glaces
$16
Two scoops of house ice cream in a glass with a shot of Grand Marnier, whipped cream liqueur or another spirit poured over the top.
Our take: A real pour rather than a splash, and more interesting than either a dessert or a cocktail on its own. One is a treat; two is a decision.
Drink
VegetarianGluten-friendly
Walkable
Margarita Flight
Choza de Margarita
$21
Three small pours of different house margaritas served together on a board, typically a classic alongside two fruit variations.
Our take: Overrated as a value play — three small pours cost more than two full drinks. Get it once to find your favorite, then order that one full size.
Drink
VeganGluten-friendly
Walkable
Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar
Snack carts around the park
$5.99
Vanilla ice cream shaped as Mickey's head, coated in a hard chocolate shell, on a stick.
Our take: The most reliable cheap cold thing in any Disney park and unchanged in decades. Eat the ears first — the shell cracks cleanly there and you lose less to the pavement.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Pistachio Gelato
Gelateria Toscana
$7.75
Dense, low-air gelato served in a cup or cone, with pistachio and stracciatella the two most consistent flavors on the board.
Our take: Better than the soft-serve sold at five other stops around the loop and priced about the same. Ask for two flavors in one cup — they will do it.
Sweet
VegetarianGluten-friendly
Walkable
Rotisserie Chicken
Sunshine Seasons
$14.99
Half a rotisserie chicken with two sides from the grill station, carved to order at the counter under The Land pavilion.
Our take: The best honest quick-service plate in the front half of EPCOT, with vegetables grown a floor above your head. The grill line is the longest of the stations, so check the others first.
Savory
Gluten-friendly
Three small pours of different sake styles served together, typically covering a dry, a floral and a sweeter option.
Our take: A cheap and genuinely educational way to work out what you like, and the staff will explain the differences if the window is quiet. Better value than any single cocktail on the loop.
Drink
VeganGluten-friendly
Walkable
A thin wheat crêpe folded around salted butter caramel, made to order on the griddle at the window.
Our take: Simple and hot and considerably better than the elaborate dessert crêpes beside it on the board. Skip anything topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Scotch Egg
Rose & Crown Pub
$12
A soft-boiled egg wrapped in seasoned sausage, breaded and fried, served halved with a mustard sauce.
Our take: The best thing on the pub side and not available in the dining room, which is a fact almost nobody knows. Order it with a pint and skip the entrees.
Savory
Tacos de Carne Asada
La Cantina de San Angel
$14.99
Grilled beef on corn tortillas with onion, cilantro and salsa, served three to an order with a side.
Our take: Solid counter tacos with a lagoon view attached, which is most of what you are paying for. Fine, not memorable.
Savory
Troll Horn
Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
$6.25
A cone of flaky pastry piped full of cloudberry-flavored cream, dusted with sugar and made to be eaten from the wide end down.
Our take: Good, messy, and outshone by the School Bread three feet away on the same counter. Order it second, not first.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Churro
Snack carts around the park
$5.50
A ridged fried dough stick rolled in cinnamon sugar, sold from carts around the park in a paper sleeve.
Our take: Fine when fresh and disappointing when it has been sitting, which is most of the time. At $5.50 it is a cheap fix, but EPCOT has better desserts in every direction.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Lefse
Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
$3.75
A soft potato flatbread rolled around butter, cinnamon and sugar, served cold and about the length of your hand.
Our take: The cheapest item in the case and a genuinely useful three-dollar snack for a child, but plain enough that adults will feel they bought a rolled-up pancake.
Sweet
Vegetarian
Walkable
Mickey Pretzel
Snack carts around the park
$8.50
A soft pretzel shaped as Mickey's head, salted and served warm from a cart with a small cup of cheese sauce.
Our take: Overrated and overpriced at $8.50 for what is usually a lukewarm pretzel and a plastic cup of orange sauce. The Block & Hans pretzel in Germany costs slightly more and is twice the item.
Snack
Vegetarian
Walkable
Smoked Turkey Leg
Fife & Drum Tavern
$13.25
A large cured and smoked turkey leg served in foil, salty enough that the flavor reads closer to ham than to poultry.
Our take: The single most overrated item at EPCOT, and it costs more here ($13.25) than at other Walt Disney World carts ($11.75). Most people eat a third and carry the rest looking for a bin.
Savory
Walkable
Orange Chicken
Lotus Blossom Café
$13.49
Battered fried chicken in a sweet orange sauce over steamed rice, served in a bowl from the counter window.
Our take: Genuinely overrated. It is food-court orange chicken at thirteen dollars, and the pot stickers at the same window are twice the item for less money.
Savory