Delicious Restaurants To Try When Visiting Disney World's EPCOT

Delicious restaurants at EPCOT embody a harmony between international diversity and cutting-edge science. This Walt Disney World theme park is home to pavilions representing countries from around the globe, as well as technology-focused neighborhoods. With so many different cuisines in one place, how does one begin to choose a restaurant?

First things first: EPCOT hosts four annual festivals throughout the year, and each festival features an ever-changing array of pop-up food booths. Those booths are excluded from this list. We're talking permanent restaurants only. Additionally, a handful of our choices below may be eligible for a festival dinner package, pairing a meal with guaranteed seating at the seasonal festival's signature entertainment offering (like a choir performance for Christmas or celebrity concerts). For a list of participating restaurants during your visit, call 407-WDW-DINE.

A few other housekeeping items: Disney categorizes restaurants into two groups: table service and quick service. The former is usually more expensive and always utilizes a reservation system. Staying at a Disney resort? You can make dining reservations for your entire vacation up to 60 days prior to your arrival day. Everyone else can make reservations 60 days out from the exact date of their intended restaurant visit. Reservations can be made via DisneyWorld.com or the My Disney Experience app, or by calling 407-WDW-DINE. With the exception of Space 220 Restaurant and Monsieur Paul, every location below is eligible for the Disney Dining Plan for its respective category (table service or quick service).

It's not every day that your meal begins by blasting off into space. Space 220 Restaurant is uniquely Disney in that your dining experience begins with a ride. Located adjacent to the Mission: SPACE thrill ride in the World Discovery neighborhood of EPCOT, Space 220 opened in 2021.

Guests board an "elevator" with a "see-through" floor that takes them from Earth and up 220 miles into outer space, arriving at the restaurant. Once inside the dining room, huge "windows" await guests with stellar views of constellations and Earth in the distance. In actuality, the elevator doesn't take you anywhere, and, of course, those windows are high-definition screens. Still, this is Walt Disney World, and it's fun to pretend. If you're averse to thrills, don't worry. This experience is completely different from — and much calmer than — the nausea-inducing Mission: SPACE ride next door.

As for the food, Space 220 Restaurant is home to an upscale selection of themed items like "galactic miso salmon" and "blue moon cauliflower," to name a few. Lunch is a fixed-price $55 two-course meal, while dinner is a fixed-price $79 three-course meal. As a less-expensive alternative, check availability for Space 220 Lounge, a bar area, though be mindful of its more limited menu and that reservations are still offered (and usually needed). Space 220 Restaurant and Lounge are not eligible for the Disney Dining Plan.

In between catching a screening of the "Reflections of China" 360-degree film, enjoying a museum exhibit about Shanghai Disneyland, and meeting Mulan, refuel with a stop at Nine Dragons Restaurant in EPCOT's China pavilion. A visit here is always worthwhile.

Nine Dragons is a table-service location hosting lunch and dinner. Patrons can enjoy a full plate of specialty Pan-Chinese dishes (such as honey sesame chicken or tofu stir fry), or mix and match tempting appetizers (like bao buns and pot stickers). The restaurant's décor includes ornate, multicolored lanterns, intricate wood fixtures, and detailed glass artwork. Some tables have views looking upon World Showcase Lagoon.

Nine Dragons is an excellent option for guests looking for a wide selection of Chinese cuisine served elegantly over a sit-down meal. For a quicker and less expensive alternative to Nine Dragons' formal meal, check out Lotus Blossom Café, the China pavilion's quick-service restaurant.

Come for the barbecue, stay for Muppet signage and props. So the story goes, Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue is managed by Sam Eagle, the patriotic bird who often tries (usually to no avail) to imbue Muppet films and television shows with a sense of class and dignity. As such, Regal Eagle is adorned with Sam's decidedly stoic decorating ... that occasionally shows signs of influence from his wacky Muppet colleagues.

Regal Eagle is a counter-service restaurant open for lunch and dinner at The American Adventure, World Showcase's United States pavilion. The eatery has indoor and outdoor seating, and menu items reflect locales from across the country: Memphis dry-rub pork ribs, sliced Texas beef brisket sandwich, Kansas City smoked half-chicken, and even North Carolina chopped smoked pork butt. Though it might seem counterintuitive to choose American food in a park filled with international cuisine, if you're craving barbecue, Regal Eagle does it right. If you want to go full kitsch, you can order your drink in a Sam Eagle souvenir cup.

Technically part of the Morocco pavilion but located across the promenade from the pavilion's marketplace, Spice Road Table offers Mediterranean cuisine — like naan bread, grilled lamb, and calamari, for example — for a table-service lunch or dinner with indoor and outdoor seating.

Unique among other World Showcase restaurants, Spice Road Table focuses on smaller plates rather than full meals. While guests may still prefer to order several items to create a full-size meal, the smaller portions offer an excellent alternative to diners who'd like to have a sit-down restaurant experience at EPCOT, but typically don't (or can't) eat large meals. This format also makes Spice Road Table the least-expensive table-service restaurant in the park, with small plates running $15 and under.

Spice Road Table's lakeside location makes it a prime spot for watching the park's nightly fireworks. However, such access is not simply the luck of the draw, and can't be merely requested upon arrival. Instead, Spice Road Table offers a fireworks viewing package guaranteeing that prime location. Of course, the convenience comes at a steeper cost, adhering to a fixed-price menu of $81 for guests ages 10 and older and $31 for guests ages 3 to 9. The fireworks package is not eligible for the Disney Dining Plan, but non-fireworks Spice Road Table meals accept Disney Dining Plan credit.

If your motto is "go big or go home," the fanciest restaurant inside arguably the fanciest EPCOT area is Monsieur Paul, home to an immaculate fine-dining experience in the France pavilion. For starters, guests ascend a staircase to access Monsieur Paul's dining room. If you're eating upstairs, you know the meal's about to be fancy. Clues number two and three: The fixed-price menu is $195 per guest, and diners must be at least 10 years old. This place is serious about its fanciness. Notably, Monsieur Paul is open for dinner only and is not eligible for the Disney Dining Plan.

The meal comprises an extravagant succession of courses: starter cocktail, appetizer selection, fish selection, mid-meal palate cleanser drink, meat selection, cheese plate, and dessert selection. This is all followed by a finale of mini-desserts and a finishing cocktail.

In perusing the menu and imagining a hypothetical meal, a guest's dinner might consist of: the starter cocktail, saffron mussels soup, seared scallops with maple pumpkin velouté, the pear brandy palate cleanser, beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes and fricassee, the cheese plate, thin apple tart with almond cream, and the finale of mini-desserts and cocktail. Monsieur Paul is one of Walt Disney World's most elaborate, and most stunning, culinary experiences.

"Steakhouse" and "Disney" might seem like incongruous words, but the pairing works well in this classy, decidedly Mickey-free restaurant designed to resemble a wine cellar inside the Canada pavilion's imposing chateau. Le Cellier Steakhouse is a table-service restaurant open for lunch and dinner. Entrées range from $36 (tourtière, a tart with endive and snap peas) to $62 (filet mignon).

Le Cellier nicely embodies what draws many adult Disney World visitors to EPCOT. The restaurant carries Disney-level theming, but not of a traditional Disney aesthetic. The food is a splurge, maybe a treat in the vacation budget, with cuisine perhaps different from an everyday meal at home. It's a solid option that doesn't disappoint in guests' expectations of the EPCOT experience, and how the park differs from its Walt Disney World siblings. Le Cellier is eligible for the Disney Dining Plan but requires two table-service credits rather than the usual single credit of most participating table-service restaurants.