The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is happening now through June 1st. We’re so glad this festival lasts nearly three months because we need plenty of time to try all the outdoor kitchens! In fact, there are nearly 30 locations to get limited-time food and beverages with over 180 options to choose from.
With so many choices, it’s important to make a list of must-have items to maximize your festival visit. Visiting multiple of these outdoor kitchens can get really expensive, really fast. To help, here’s our list of Flower & Garden food that’s fairly priced, easy to share, and most importantly, all delicious.
Connection’s Eatery
Pizza Bianca – two slices of freshly baked pizza topped with roasted wild mushrooms, garlic cream, mozzarella, cheese blend, truffle oil, and thyme – $12.29
This is by far the best deal of the festival! The Pizza Bianca comes with two large slices of pizza perfect for sharing. Most of the flavor comes from the rich garlic sauce and mushrooms and we were quite happy with chewy, thin pizza crust. This is a great way to start or end your Flower and Garden Festival day!
The Citrus Blossom – Inside The Odyssey
Cinnamon Beignets – tossed in lemon sugar, lemon glaze, and honey mead-blueberry compote – $5.29
First, can we take a moment to appreciate the use of space in The Citrus Blossom? There is plenty of seating, the lighting package and decorations are spot-on, and it’s the perfect space to cool off without feeling too crowded. Now, let’s talk about these beignets! They’re served in orders of 5 and are pillow-y perfection. The light dusting of cinnamon and lemon sugar is the perfect balance and the blueberry compote is full of fresh, whole blueberries. They’re fried fresh so be sure to eat them right away.
Beach Grub
Seafood Bake – with shrimp, mussels, clams, andouille sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob, persillade butter, white wine broth, and served with grilled sourdough – $8.49
For less than $10, this a surprising portion of seafood in a theme park. The shrimp are large and tender and you get multiple clams and mussels. This dish is rounded out with the addition of corn and potatoes and we were pleased to see so much broth at the bottom of the bowl. The broth is buttery and flavorful and dipping the sourdough makes it all the more filling.
Yacht Grub
Trio of Dips and Chips – house-made potato chips with whipped feta dip garnished with candied lemon, caramelized onion dip garnished with caviar, and pimento cheese dip garnished with pickled veggies – $6.49
The dips are back and the portion size is even bigger than the year before! In fact, we struggled to eat all of them. We all had a different favorite dip which is a sign they were all winners. The pimento cheese has a nice spice to it, the French onion is rich from the caramelized onion, and the feta is creamy with the right amount of salt. We’re also pleased to report the chips are fresh, crisp, and would be good by themselves.
Captain’s Board – spicy salami, prosciutto, selection of two cheeses, sesame crackers, mini Gherkin pickles, and selection of two jams – $7.29
The portion size of this charcuterie board really exceeded our expectations! There was a lot of prosciutto and the cheeses were served as two substantial wedges. The Captain’s Board reminds us of the previous (and far superior) version of the cheese and charcuterie plate at Baseline Tap House. Even better – this version is literally half the price!
The Honey Bee-stro
The Honeycomb Bowl – herb quinoa, honey-whipped goat cheese, poached apples, and hot honey cauliflower topped with a honey tulip – $5.49
The flavor of the hot honey is so so good – the heat paired with the sweetness of the honey and goat cheese was perfect. This combined with the different textures from the cauliflower, quinoa, and apples made it an interesting and filling dish. The Honeycomb Bowl is a great option for vegetarians or anyone hoping to get in more vegetables during their festival feasting. You’ll be surprised how filling it is without feeling sluggish after.
Swirled Showcase
Liquid Nitro Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake – with fresh honey, granulated honey mead-blueberry compote – $5.49
The Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake is a returning favorite and rightly so. It’s the creamiest, richest cheesecake of your dreams and totally shareable. The sweet cheesecake with the honey and blueberry compote helps to cut the oh-so sweet cheesecake. This dessert seems to get better and better every year.
Canada Popcorn Cart
Blueberry-Ginger Smash – Canadian Club Whisky, blueberry, lemon, and ginger – $14.50
While the ingredients sounded good, we weren’t sure how good a cocktail from a popcorn cart could be. I’m so glad we took a chance because this is one of the BEST cocktails we’ve had in World Showcase in a longtime! All the ingredients were well balanced and we could tasted each flavor in every sip. This is also a full-size serving and a fair amount of whisky, making it quite possibly the best value of any alcoholic beverage at Flower and Garden!
Don’t forget, you can use your refillable popcorn bucket to get the infamous maple popcorn which just so happens to pair perfectly with the Blueberry-Ginger Smash.
There are SO many menu items we still need to try at Flower & Garden and we can’t wait to share more with you! Let us know in the comments what your must-have food items are at this year’s festival.
