Biergarten Review
Biergarten is a buffet restaurant in Epcot’s World Showcase Germany at Walt Disney World that is set in the middle of a Bavarian Village celebrating Oktoberfest year round. Biergarten serves authentic German cuisine for lunch and dinner. At the center of the village is a stage where costumed musicians perform traditional Oktoberfest entertainment and where guests can get up and fun fun on the dance floor. Biergarten is a 1-credit restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan, and also accepts Tables in Wonderland. As a buffet, it’s priced slightly below average for a table service restaurant, making it a good option if you’re paying out of pocket, but a poor option for maximizing your value on the Disney Dining Plan.
Biergarten is an interesting restaurant. The exterior is somewhat understated, with only the painted name of the restaurant above a small archway at the back of Epcot’s Germany pavilion. However, once you step inside, you’re inundated by the sounds of the traditional oompah music, other entertainment, and a Bavarian Village setting (outside, no less!). The seating is communal, which may not appeal to all patrons, but was fine by us. The other guests at our table chatted with us throughout the meal and we had a good time. If you’re looking for a romantic meal or are shy, this may not be the best dining option for you.
At the start of our meal (ironically on one of the first days of our honeymoon!), little did I realize that Sarah was already husband-shopping, and that the family style seating would give her the perfect opportunity to find her prey. I guess I should have seen it coming. I am only in my twenties and have most of my hair. Clearly, not what most people look for in a man. The gentleman across the table from us, with his wife, mind you, was easily in his late 60s, and looked much like Santa Claus with shorter hair. I know how Sarah loves Christmas, so this should have come as no surprise to me.
While I innocuously went to get my second helping of German meats I can’t pronounce (besides bologna!), Sarah made her move. Over a microphone, one of the CMs began to congratulate Sarah and me on just having gotten married. Naturally, I assumed this was an elaborate ploy by Sarah to secure the man’s affection, as the CM drew attention to Santa and Sarah, as if they were the two who had just gotten married. Okay, maybe this isn’t quite how Sarah “plotted” the event. Truth be told, she was a little embarrassed about the announcement, as she said a lot of people looked over at our table oddly. Were I in their position, I would have done the same thing. Later we both got a pretty good laugh out of it, but I can imagine that it was fairly embarrassing for her at the moment!
Now that I’ve shared this story that probably adds nothing to the substance of the review (I thought it was amusing, at least), I’ll cut to the chase. The ambiance was good, the entertainment was great, and we even had a great time dancing together after a couple plates of food.
As for Biergarten’s food, it was pretty decent but nothing exceptional. The first round of food we had was on the lukewarm side, with the second round being considerably warmer. My usual theory with buffets is that you can get unlimited amounts of decent food versus a decent amount of good food at a ‘normal’ restaurant. It all depends on how hungry you are, and I’m sure buffet quality varies widely based upon when you go. Such is the hit or miss nature of these restaurants. This was a somewhat unique buffet in that it contained foods I typically wouldn’t expect from a buffet, but none of them were really exceptional or overly unique (it’s far from adventurous). Although I can’t say either of us really ate that much the evening we visited Biergarten, we enjoyed the experience.
Overall, I would recommend Biergarten, but would qualify that by stating that it’s not for everyone, nor does it have the best food in Epcot’s World Showcase. Like I said at the outset, it probably isn’t the ideal honeymoon restaurant as you’re seated with other parties, so I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic evening. Its ambiance and “fun level” really help its score here, though. I’ve heard the best time to visit Biergarten is during the Christmas season, when it becomes much more festive. The next time we dine there, that’s probably when we’ll go, but as of right now it’s not extremely high on our list of priorities.
Your Thoughts…
If you’ve been to Biergarten, did you like it? Do you think it’s a great option for dining in the World Showcase, or do you think the food falls a little short? Planning on going? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Read our other Walt Disney World restaurant reviews and Disney Dining Plan resources.
Overall Score: 7/10
9 Responses to “Biergarten Review”
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My wife and I love Biergarten, but we don’t go anymore unless we are going with 6 other friends. We’ve had a few experiences with downright grumpy tablemates in the past.
We would also recommend going during the holidays. Our last visit was in early January, but they were still doing the holiday show, and the decorations were still up. We loved it. And the food seems to go better with crisp, cold weather than a muggy, hot summer night.
Good idea about the 6 friends. Maybe it’s a Reunion-type activity? (Probably not this year for us, as we want to mix it up, but I’d be willing to give it a go in a year or two.)
I’m pretty much with you on the review. I wouldn’t give it any higher of a rating at all. The atmosphere is great, provided you have good table mates. The food is, well, just mediocre. Having grown up in a house where these foods were a staple, I may be a bit biased, but it wasn’t great German food…just okay. We were on the dining plan thankfully so we didn’t feel too bad about using a credit there but I’m just not sure if we’ll go back. The quality of the food had diminished over the last 3-4 years. There are so many other great places to eat in ‘The World’ that I just don’t know if it ranks high enough.
This is exactly where we stand (except neither of us have grown up eating German foods). It’s good, and someplace we might eat if there weren’t other great options, but it’s tough to justify the ambiance given the price and the quality of the food. Why is it the restaurants with the coolest “shows” seem to have the worst cuisine?!
Biergarten and indeed the Germany Pavilion is a place I hang out in a LOT, much to my families annoyance. The food is as you say fine, not outstanding but I totally love the vibrancy of the Bierkellar and the fact you get so many biers in such vast quantities to choose from. We have not had a bad experience with diners yet and indeed I am going to Munich in September, which I believe is the place built in tribute to the Epcot Pavilion….might be wrong on that but hey-ho.
The Germany pavilion is one of my favourite areas to take pics in at night and one day I will get the shots I have in my head actually in the camera.
If, “the place built in tribute to the Epcot Pavilion….might be wrong on that but hey-ho.” was intentional and not a typo, that’s awesome. Even if it wasn’t intentional, just pretend it was!
Spot on with the review! Great atmosphere and tough to beat entertainment, but the main courses just weren’t quite there. I do have to admit though, some of those desserts were GREAT! I do occasionally feel the need to stop for some Bavarian Cheesecake at the quick service stand outside.
Yeah, the desserts were pretty good. I don’t recall ever having had a dessert at the quick service stand outside. Do they have anything different or unique there?
My husband introduced me to the Beirgarten on our honeymoon. It was the must place to dine at Epcot for him. I really loved the decor and theme. So beautifully designed. And I love buffets when I am not sure about the food. Love options. Food and company was great. I think it is a lot of fun to eat at a table with others. Make new friends. We enjoyed going back with family a couple years later and again during our 5th anniversary trip. Is it our favorite place in all WDW to dine with the best food? No. But the atmosphere is so amazing and so much fun, we keep coming back every other trip.