This is going to be a long post. Having been to WDW and Universal so many times, I figured it was about time I write about some of my favorite food offerings on property to help first-timers and veterans alike. From the Food & Wine Festival to resort lounges, I’ll try to cover everything I can.
Walt Disney World & Universal Orlando have both tremendous and abysmal food offerings. These options are frequently priced similarly, so choosing the right restaurant is an easy way to make the most out of your visit. Disney World of course is known for being an expansive, sprawling resort and most of the best food options are outside of the parks. Personally, WDW's theme parks are a bit lacking versus Tokyo and Anaheim's, but one could argue it makes up for it with the amount to do outside them.
How do my rankings work? It’s simple: have good food. The main restaurant rankings exclusively factor in food quality, not service or theming.
Separate lists are used to factor in theming. I've found theme park service to be extremely inconsistent (from pathetic to legendary), so they will not factor into my rankings for the table service restaurants.
This list is an ever-evolving group of restaurants that is of course based on subjective preferences, but I tried to be as objective as I could, factoring out my personal biases.
I hope you find this helpful, and with that, let's begin!
WDW Resorts
Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Jiko - The Cooking Place *exceptional steaks *phenomenal
- Sanaa *savannah views
- Victoria Falls Lounge *best burgers *hidden gem (speaking of which, lounges are the way to go at WDW for great affordable food).
- Flying Fish Cafe *best seafood *extremely expensive... really good but not truly worth the price
- California Grill *expensive *avoid as long as it’s on its pre-fix menu
- Steakhouse ‘71 *expensive *great steaks
- Three Bridges Bar & Grill *fantastic food *great value
- Citrico’s *expensive *phenomenal
- Narcoossee’s *expensive
- Victoria and Albert’s *$295 per person *league of its own
- Grand Floridian Cafe
- Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and Tiki Bar *incredible theming *solid drinks *very similar to Disneyland's, so go here instead of Oga's Cantina.
- Topolino's Terrace *excellent
Yacht & Beach Club Resorts
- Ale & Compass *breakfast
- Yachtsman Steakhouse
- Capa Steakhouse *Michelin star *extremely expensive
- Contemporary Resort’s Chef Mickey’s *expensive *characters
- Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fare *expensive *characters
- Polynesian Village’s Ohana *expensive *went downhill
Best Food
- Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant *entertainment *great food *reasonable prices
- Homecomin' *elite fried chicken
- Morimoto Asia *phenomenal *expensive
- The Edison *entertainment *exceptional
- Jaleo by José Andrés *fantastic
- The Boathouse *expensive, another great seafood restaurant (alongside Flying Fish) that I wouldn’t consider worth the price
- Splitsville Dining Room *bowling *solid food
- Gideon’s Bakehouse *world-class cookies *must-try
- The Polite Pig *quick service *exceptional
- Pizza Ponte *quick service *elite pizza
- Rainforest Cafe
Best Food
- Monsieur Paul *exceedingly expensive *exceptional *the prices are now $175 per person for pre-fix so just avoid it unless it comes down
- Takumi-Tei *exceedingly expensive
- Le Cellier *expensive *steakhouse
- Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria *world-class pizza *great value
- Restaurant Marrakesh *entertainment
- Tutto Italia Ristorante *incredible lasagna
- Biergarten *entertainment *solid food
- Teppan Edo *standard hibachi
- Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie *sandwiches/pastries (France)
- Regal Eagle Smokehouse *great (American Adventure)
- Tangierine Café (Morocco)
- Connections Eatery (World Celebration)
- Sunshine Seasons *good variety (The Land)
- San Angel Inn *bad food
- Biergarten *entertainment *solid food
- Space 220 *overrated *extremely expensive *mediocre food *get lounge instead or avoid!!!
- Coral Reef Restaurant *bad food
- Restaurant Marrakesh *entertainment
- La Cava Del Tequila *avocado margarita
- Cart Outside Le Cellier *Unibroue’s La Fin Du Monde Beer
- Tutto Gusto *wine; the grand tour
- Lotus House *kung fu punch
- Regal Eagle Smokehouse *craft beers
- Nine Dragons
- Space 220
- San Angel Inn
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall *characters
- Coral Reef Restaurant *hit or miss food
- Sunshine Griddle (Test Track)
- Fried Cinnamon Roll Bites
- Canada Booth
- Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup served with a pretzel roll
- “Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with truffle-butter sauce
- Coastal Eats (Mission: Space)
- Baked Scampi Dip with shrimp, scallops, and baguette
- Oysters Rockefeller
- France Booth
- Brioche aux Escargots, Sauce Crème à l’ail et Persil: Escargot brioche with creamy garlic and parsley sauce
- Crème Brûlée Vanille à la Confiture de Framboises: Vanilla crème brûlée with house-made raspberry jam
- Germany Booth
- Schinkennudeln: Pasta gratin with ham, onions, and cheese
- Apple Strudel with vanilla sauce
- Greece Booth (Morocco)
- Spanakopita
- Griddled Cheese with pistachios and honey
- Lamb Gyro with shaved lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and tzatziki on warm flatbread
- India Booth (China)
- Crispy Paneer with mango-curry ketchup
- Potato and Pea Samosa with coriander-lime cream
- Chicken Tikka Masala with fennel-spiced yogurt and naan bread
- Italy Booth
- Gnocchi di Patate: Potato dumplings with four-cheese sauce and roasted cremini mushrooms
Best Food
- Tiffins *expensive *phenomenal *one of the best theme park restaurants on Earth
- Yak & Yeti Restaurant *I've heard reports it hasn't been as good post-COVID, but it's historically fantastic
- Tusker House *characters
- Satu’li Canteen *serves breakfast too *great food
- Harambe Market *great Chipotle style food
- Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes *not as good as the sit-down but still solid
- Flametree BBQ *solid but a step down from the others
- Rainforest Cafe
- Any quick service not already mentioned
Best Food
- Skipper Canteen *some items
- Be Our Guest *expensive, lunch used to be a great value, but it's now Pre-Fixe
- Cinderella’s Royal Table *characters *solid food
- Be Our Guest *expensive
- Cinderella’s Royal Table *characters *solid food
- Skipper Canteen *tons of details and easter eggs
- Columbia Harbour House *solid quick-service seafood
- Gaston’s Tavern *snacks
- Main Street Confectionary *snacks
- Big Top Treats *many of the same items as the Main Street Confectionary
- Plaza Restaurant *went downhill post-COVID
- Tony’s Town Square *overrated
- Liberty Tree Tavern *overrated
- The Crystal Palace *characters *okay, but not bad
- Any quick service not already mentioned
Best Food
- Hollywood Brown Derby *expensive *best food at the park *get the Cobb Salad
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant *good (not elite) burgers, far more affordable than most restaurants on this list
- I know a lot of people think Sci-Fi is overrated. I was firmly in that camp until this year. It's, for one, one of the coolest restaurants anywhere in the world, so when you pair that with average to good comfort food, you leave satisfied. It's not a $90 per person meal like Space 220 with bad fancy food; it has solid comfort food that, even if you splurge on milkshakes and sharing appetizers, is always under $30 a person. Frankly, Hollywood Studios has awful food, so if you're dead set on a table service restaurant, Brown Derby has to be your pick for food. However, given that it's twice as expensive as Sci-Fi, the atmosphere isn't unique, and you can find similar quality steaks for less in most cities, I don't see how you can't recommend Sci-Fi for that Disney touch. The best value overall at the park is hands down Docking Bay 7, but for a little more, you get a very cool experience at Sci-Fi. I usually eat lunch at Sci-Fi or a Cobb Salad at Brown Derby (the only reasonable menu item) to get out of the heat/crowds and have a quick dinner outside at Docking Bay 7.
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant *solid burgers; great substitute for a quick service; one of the best-themed restaurants at any Disney park in the world; half as much as Brown Derby
- Oga’s Cantina *overrated *expensive *most is standing only *cool theming but feels like a tourist trap
- Docking Bay 7 *eat here!
- Woody’s Lunchbox *solid sandwiches
- Baseline Tap House *drinks
- 50’s Prime Time Cafe *good fried chicken but everything else is mediocre; Service not as unique post-Covid; very overrated
- Hollywood & Vine *some of their special event menus are better but nothing great
- Any quick service not already mentioned
- Any quick service is serviceable
- Any quick service is serviceable
Best Food
- Lombard's Seafood Grille *eat here if you can
- Finnegan's Bar & Grill *solid pub-style food
- Leaky Cauldron *eat here
- Butterbeer throughout the land *snack
- Any quick service during lunch hours; it's chaos
- Any quick service not already mentioned
Best Food
- Mythos Restaurant *the best food in any theme park on Earth, perhaps short only to Tokyo DisneySea's Magellan's
- Confisco Grille *solid second option
- Three Broomsticks *serves breakfast *eat here
- Fire Eater's Grill
- Doc Sugrue’s Desert Kebab House
- Green Eggs and Ham Cafe *serves breakfast
- Butterbeer throughout the land *snack
- Wimpy's *burgers
- Any quick service during lunch hours; it's chaos
- Thunder Falls Terrace (over-rated and a pain for dining when busy)
- Any quick service not already mentioned
Best Food
- The Cowfish *exceptional *expensive
- VIVO Italian Kitchen *great
- Voodoo Doughnut *snacks
Best Food
- All the quick-service restaurants at the park are quite good
Orlando Area
Some great food I've had:
- Kres Chophouse (downtown)
- Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse (near SeaWorld)
- Hawkers Asian Street Food (downtown)
- Gideon's Bakehouse (Baldwin Park) *original location *no massive waits like Disney Springs!
- Bandeja Paisa Latin Restaurant (John Young Pkwy) *elite colombian food *bakery too
- La Abundancia Bakery & Restaurant (Baldwin Park)
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