Best Dishes & Desserts at 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival
This lists the must-eat items from the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival booths at Walt Disney World. Here we cover the best dishes & desserts at the Global Marketplaces throughout World Showcase and front of the park that are “worth it,” with everything you need to try at the fall foodie event. The good news is that you have a lot of great options in 2026 that are good-to-great!
Frankly, the Menus for the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival are the best since at least 2019. Although we won’t have a full review of the event as a whole, we were pleased by the new decor package and way the event just felt fresher. It’s still a shadow of its 2019 self, but the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is the best version of the event in the post-reopening era.
Walt Disney World has reinvigorated the event for 2026 because it’s the 30th Anniversary of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. If you want a fun way to graze around the event, just pick from the list of the 30 dishes for the 30th Anniversary; with only a couple of exceptions (looking at you, Italy) those dishes are good to great! We have our own favorites above and beyond that, too.
Let’s start with a few prefatory notes before digging in. We’ve been covering Food & Wine Festival over the last 15 years, and quality control is hit or miss. Items are produced quickly and in large quantities, and are not made to order. As such, results can be inconsistent, and one person’s “perfectly cooked” steak could be over-cooked for a guest who orders the same thing minutes later.
Likewise, portion sizes can vary pretty significantly. There have been times when we’ve noticed that other guests near us who ordered the same thing have significantly smaller or larger portions. Both of these variables can impact your perception of a particular dish.
Meat or seafood that’s been slow-cooking under a heat lamp for 30 minutes is not going to measure up to something freshly prepared. That’s especially true on slower days. You might be happy to find no lines at the food booths, but some lines are actually a good thing from the perspective of freshness.
With that out of the way, here’s a look at the best-of the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival list…
Seoul, South Korea: Bo Ssam Pork Poutine (La Poutinerie)
The Seoul, South Korea: Bo Ssam Pork Poutine features French fries, cheese curds, bo ssam pork, gochujang gravy, kimchi pickles, aïoli, and sesame. The dish is available at La Poutinerie, which is the reimagined snack stand (themed to an Air Canada airport lounge) at the entrance to World Showcase.
Every poutine at La Poutinerie is elevated, but the Bo Ssam Pork Poutine takes that to the next level. The fries are fantastic (not just the Walt Disney World standard issue fries). The bo ssam pork is tender and juicy, and each of the accompaniments bring something to the dish–tangy, smoky, sweet, spicy, and sesame.
This is easily the most nuanced poutine that we’ve ever had at EPCOT. It’s still a crowd-pleasing comfort food, but there’s surprisingly subtlety and complexity to the flavor profile that takes this to another level. It’s an unexpected winner that we highly recommend.
Crab & Corn Macaroni & Cheese (The Wedge)
Located in CommuniCore Hall’s incredibly underwhelming Cheers to Cheese exhibit, the Crab & Corn Mac & Cheese is another 30th Anniversary winner. According to Walt Disney World, this dish dates to the 2015 Farm Fresh booth, and features smoked cheddar sauce, bacon, crab seasoning, roasted corn, herbed panko, and jalapeños.
For starters, calling this a 30th Anniversary dish from Farm Fresh is a stretch. On offer at that Global Marketplace 11 years ago was Loaded Mac & Cheese with Nueske’s pepper bacon, cheddar cheese, peppers, and green onions. (I had to dig into the DTB Archives for that one, as I didn’t recall any Crab & Corn Mac & Cheese from years past.)
Even so, this dish is delicious. It’s got a lot going on, and all of the flavors work surprisingly well. Smoky, cheesy, slightly spicy and very crab-y, this is the best mac & cheese inside CommuniCore Hall. Sarah thought the crab was “a bit much” and that it would’ve been better as lobster mac & cheese; she’s right, but lobster is rare at Walt Disney World these days. I loved this, regardless.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle (Festival Favorites)
The Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle featuring PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese with citrus sauce and spice cake topped with cranberry streusel is available at the Festival Favorites window outside CommuniCore Hall.
We’ve been begging Walt Disney World to bring this dish back for years, mentioning it in countless unrelated posts (as we are wont to do with our WDW agenda-items). Most notably, it garnered a standalone entry in EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival Is Stale. Here’s What We Want Disney to Change.
For newer readers, that dish is the “Pumpkin Mousse with Ocean Spray Craisins and Orange Sauce.” Against all odds, it has made its triumphant return as the “Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle featuring PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, citrus sauce, spice cake, and cranberry streusel.” This is a return of the 2011 dish from Hops & Barley, with light updates.
The Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle proves that sometimes you can go home again. I remember the original dish like I last had it yesterday. The Pumpkin Mousse was so great in large part because of the textures and subtly nuanced flavor. It wasn’t one-note like many Walt Disney World mousses, but instead had spice and interesting flavor thanks to the cranberry and orange.
The 2026 reimagined version of the Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle lives up to our memories and manages to recapture that same magic. It costs a lot more and differs slightly, but this is what we’ve been craving for the last 14 years. It’s an absolute must-buy!
Everything at Gyozas of the Galaxy
There are no brand-new booths at the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, but we never got around to reviewing Gyozas of the Galaxy last year. Now in its sophomore season, this marketplace expands the event to an intergalactic or other-world showcase, and does so with a trio of delicious dumpling dishes (say that five times fast).
The group photo above doesn’t do justice to these dishes, which are thoughtfully plated and finished. My two favorites are easily the Basil Pesto Chicken Dumplings (Chicken dumplings, basil pesto, fonduta, tomato confit, and balsamic) and Street Corn-style Dumplings (Chicken dumplings with tomatillo salsa verde, street corn salad, cotija, lime crema, and cilantro). With that said, the Edamame Dumplings (Butternut squash purée, caramelized onions, sage, and walnut-toasted garlic aillade) are also excellent, and are a lighter dish that Sarah preferred.
It is typically the case that Walt Disney World dumplings draw (unfavorable) comparisons to those from the frozen food aisle at Trader Joe’s. Not so with any of these. The dumplings themselves are delicious and high quality, and having a plant-based option that uses its own distinct dumplings (as opposed to the same ones for all three) is a nice touch. These are all perfectly-prepared, with just the right exterior texture and chewiness.
The accompaniments take each of these three dumpling dishes to the next level. All three could be standalone dishes without dumplings (or with something else swapped in), as they are excellent, ambitious, and substantive. All three of these are must-orders, elevating Gyozas of the Galaxy to the #1 overall booth at the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. Don’t make the mistake of assuming these dishes are interchangeable because they’re all dumplings–there’s a ton of differentiation among the trio. Order all three!
Everything at Flavors from Fire
After a few steps backwards, Flavors from Fire is back in full form for 2026 and once again attains coveted ‘order the full menu’ status (between this and nearby Gyozas of the Galaxy, it’s better easy to do an entire meal just from these two booths).
A returning entry to this list is the Rodizio-style Grilled Beef Skewer with marble potatoes, charred shallots, roasted baby peppers, and chimichurri. This is grilled “out back” behind the booth, so if you’re walking near Test Track or Cosmic Rewind and catch a whiff of glorious meats in the air, this is it. The beef is cooked on giant skewers, and then dished out on plates.
We were given a sizable serving size of this dish and were impressed by both the preparation and tenderness of the meat. It was cooked to a perfect medium, with a smoky flavor. The flavor from the beef and vegetables is fantastic, with this beef being on par with what you could find at some table service restaurants. This, not the Le Cellier Filet Mignon, is the best beef of the fest. This is Sarah’s favorite savory dish at the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival; our daughter is also a fan (“I like the sauce”).
Another perpetual favorite is the Smoked Corned Beef with house-made potato chips, cheese curds, pickled onions, and beer cheese fondue. This has been one of the top 5 dishes for as long as it’s been on the menu, and that’s true again this year. It’s a perfect marriage of flavors; an ambitious comfort food that’s perfect for fall.
New for 2026 is the Smoked Chocolate Bread Pudding with chocolate ganache, vanilla bean-bourbon sauce, and smoked sea salt. Every bit as rich and decadent as you’d expect, the smoky and salty qualities make this something unique, and one of the better dishes at the event. All in all, Flavors from Fire is our #2 booth of the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, right behind Gyozas of the Galaxy.
Pumpkin Pie Funnel Cake (American Adventure)
Served at the Funnel Cake Stand near American Adventure, this is a funnel cake topped with pumpkin pie ice cream, whipped cream, dark chocolate sauce, cinnamon streusel, and powdered sugar.
This little spot nestled between America and Japan always has a festival funnel cake, and they’re usually winners. The 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is no different, and this is glorious. The downside of the solo shop is that the lines can be long and move at an anemic pace.
The upside is that the funnel cake is always freshly-made. This particular version is basically pumpkin pie in funnel cake form, which is every bit as good as it sounds. The funnel cake comes out hot, and the ice cream is served very cold–almost frozen–to compensate. Within minutes, the two meet in the middle for a dessert that’s melt in your mouth delicious.
Cast Iron-seared River Trout (Bramblewood Bites)
This is served with vanilla-butternut squash purée, brussels sprouts salad, candied pecans, spiced pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and maple dressing. Everything on the Bramblewood Bites menu is fantastic, a trio of must-order items that make a fantastic full meal.
This river trout has incredible flavor, with a juicy and tender quality that’s complemented nicely by the crispy skin. The butternut squash purée and brussels sprouts salad add depth to the dish, making it on par with something you’d get at a table service restaurant.
Quite honestly, I can’t think of a better fish dish in all of EPCOT, including Coral Reef. It’s long been the case that EPCOT festivals do salmon well, but this is the best fish we’ve ever had at any EPCOT festival. This also doubles as a high-quality, healthy kids meal that our daughter likewise loves.
Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib (Earth Eats)
The Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib is served atop a bed of goat cheese polenta and puttanesca sauce, and is garnished with shaved pecorino, and petit herbs. It falls apart when cut with the fork, and is incredibly tender, flavorful, and juicy. It has a little bit of fat for flavor, but not so much as to render any of the meat inedible.
While the puttanesca sauce is there for flavor, I felt no need to touch this until I was done with the meat. Both stand on their own–the puttanesca sauce with chunks of tomatoes and vegetables, plus the perfect acidity and garlic level. Then there’s the goat cheese polenta, which is absolutely heavenly–rich and creamy and with just the right amount of earthiness.
This short rib is a great substitute for a counter service meal. This is EPCOT festival food at its best–nuanced flavor and attention to detail, while still being approachable for everyone. Also a good dinner alternative if Sunshine Seasons is already closed for the day.
Roasted Lamb Chop (Australia)
This Global Marketplace has been offering up lamb dishes since as long as I can remember, and the Roasted Lamb Chop with mint pesto and crushed salt and vinegar potato chips is a personal favorite. I really like the refreshing mint pesto contrasted with the rich lamb; the potato chips aren’t necessary, but a little texture never hurts.
Australia almost gets the coveted “order the entire menu” endorsement. The Grilled Bushberry Spiced Shrimp Skewer with sweet-and-sour vegetables and coconut chili sauce is the best version of the shrimp we’ve ever had, and the Mixed Berry Pavlova with crunchy meringue shell, macerated berries, and whipped cream is very good.
Slow-Roasted Pork Slider (Hawaii)
This slider is served with sweet-and-sour chutney featuring DOLE Pineapple and spicy mayonnaise. It’s made this list since the Hawaii booth was established in 2011.
Despite the relatively small roll, this sandwich comes with a heaping helping of moist pork, topped with pineapple chutney and a liberal coating of spicy mayonnaise. The mild zest of the sauce mixes perfectly with the pineapple, and the meat is always perfectly flavored.
If you’ve been to EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival in the past decade, you’ve tried or heard of this. It’s a fan favorite, and for good reason. My only complaint is that WDW didn’t bring back the SPAM Hash for the 30th.
Everything at Hops & Barely
The former Flavors of America has once again been renamed to Hops & Barley, and brings back its menu from last year. This includes the Gulf Coast-style Seafood Roll with warm-water lobster, rock shrimp, lobster bisque, and sherry-crème fraîche on a toasted brioche bun. Then there’s the New England Slider: Slow-braised beef pot roast with spicy giardiniera, horseradish cream, and crispy fried onions on a potato roll. This is in addition to the Freshly Baked Chocolate Pudding Cake with Kentucky bourbon caramel (always a winner).
The New England Slider is nothing short of fantastic. The meat is tender, the sauces offers a refreshing quality and nice flavor, and the fried onions further that while adding texture. The bun is pretty good, too. This is an absolute must-order; the highlight of the menu, and a great 1-2 punch with the decadent pudding cake.
The Gulf Coast Seafood Roll is surprisingly tasty, and much better than its unappetizing appearance suggests. Everything from the bread to the lobster bisque and sherry-crème fraîche to the mix of seafood itself. Lobster roll purists are going to recoil in horror at this abomination, but it gets a guilty-pleasure nod from me (Sarah’s review: “I’ll take your word for it.”)
Griddled Cheese (Greece)
The iconic Griddled Greek Cheese is back once again! This uses kasseri cheese, which is a traditional semi-hard Greek cheese made from sheep and goat milk. Griddling the cheese softens it up, giving it an exterior skin.
The hardened honey adds a sweetness and the ground pistachios offer further crunch. The ingredients coalesce remarkably well, and the end result is a creamy, nutty, sweet, and earthy cheese dish that is a truly sublime. This is easily one of our all-time favorite dishes of the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival.
Silly Milkshakes
There are two silly milkshakes that we recommend. The first is the infamous Pickle Milk Shake at Brew-Wing Lab in the Odyssey. Don’t let the name fool you. It’s a vanilla milkshake with dill seasoning plus green food coloring. The end result is something that has an interesting interplay of sweet and creamy, and semi-sour, savory, tart and tangy. More than anything else, the Pickle Milkshake is tasty, cooling and refreshing.
The new-for-2026 addition is the Cannoli Milk Shake from the Wedge/Cheers to Cheese in CommuniCore Hall. This is topped with chocolate shavings, cannoli shell, and a maraschino cherry. The Cannoli Milk Shake is creamy, rich, and indulgent, and doesn’t go for the shock-factor of the Pickle Milk Shake. It’s a simple crowd-pleaser that tastes exactly as the name suggests, like a cannoli in shake form.
Both of these earn my recommendation. The ice cream in the shakes is shockingly good, the portions are sizable, and the price is relatively reasonable given the ‘collectible’ cups. Both are less inventive or ambitious than they look, and should instead be viewed as economical ice cream delivery vehicles in large indoor booths with ample A/C and seating. Grab dishes from elsewhere and bring them inside to try alongside the shakes at CommuniCore Hall and the Odyssey.
Apple-Cinnamon & Caramel Mini Churros Sundae (Milled & Mulled)
These delightful little desserts are served with vanilla bean gelato. These punch above their weight to an absurd degree, and are arguably the best churro product in the parks (closest competition is Nomad Lounge).
The caramel sauce tastes a bit cheap and is thick, but once ‘mixed’ a bit with the excellent vanilla gelato, it’s fine. The churros themselves are exquisite; a bit of crunch that quickly gives way to a pillowly inside.
Harvest Hollow as a Whole
Harvest Hollow once again delivers the best ‘region’ of the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. This stretch along the Rose Walk between Journey into Imagination and World Showcase is home to three food studios and a grand total of 9 dishes.
On top of that, a few other booths are a stone’s throw away, including La Poutinerie, Swirled Showcase, Shimmering Sips, and Hawaii. It’s easy to make the large seating area here your home base, while sending a runner to grab dishes at all of those booths. Everything in Harvest Hollow is ambitious, in between counter service and table service quality.
When grazing around the event, our advice is to start in Future World and work your way backwards. Milled & Mulled, Forest & Field, and Bramblewood Bites are all top 5 of the entire EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. Throw in the options above plus Gyozas of the Galaxy, Earth Eats, and Flavors from Fire, and you could easily ‘finish’ Food & Wine before even entering World Showcase!
Honorable Mentions
It’s impossible to list every dish from the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival that’s very good or better. Here’s a list of honorable mentions:
- Hawaiian Rice Bowl (Hawaii)
- Cheddar Cheese Soup with Pretzel Roll (Canada)
- Filet Mignon (Canada)
- France Booth (all dishes are good to very good, but not great)
- Beer-braised Beef (Belgium)
- South African Cream Liqueur Chocolate Mousse (Refreshment Outpost)
- Basque Cheesecake (Spain)
- Chicken Tikka Masala (India)
Even skipping entire booths like Mexico, Italy, China, and other popular options, you’re still left with over two dozen recommendations if you order everything on this list. That’s a lot of dishes to try! If you don’t get full or go broke trying, chances are, you’ll want to repeat some of them before needing to bother with the rest of the fest.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you have any must-eat dishes, desserts or drinks from the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival? If you’ve tried any of the dishes on this list, what’d you think of them? What about the 30 items for the 30th Anniversary? Agree or disagree with our choices? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
