Review: Refreshment Port Food Booth at EPCOT

Refreshment Port is a permanent booth in EPCOT’s World Showcase open at Walt Disney World. This kiosk has special menus during Food & Wine Festival and other events throughout the year, along with a permanent lineup of poutine and other dishes. In this WDW dining review, we’ll look at the menu prices, share food photos, and offer thoughts on what is—and is not—worth your money.

The first or last stop while Snacking Around World Showcase at Epcot, Refreshment Port has gone from being a dull ‘safety net’ for picky eaters who only do fries and hot dog to a place for some delicious indulgences in recent years. (We still miss those ice cream-covered croissant doughnuts and hope they return!)

For those unfamiliar with it (the generic name doesn’t help), Refreshment Port is a permanent food booth located at the entrance to World Showcase on the right side as you enter. It’s right behind the relatively new Starbucks and across from the Noodle Exchange. The Refreshment Port snack spot typically serves varieties of poutine, drinks, and desserts.

Here’s the food menu for the Refreshment Port Global Marketplace:

• Braised Beef Poutine: French fries, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce, cheese curds, and gherkin relish
• Maple cheesecake with whipped maple bourbon cheese and candied pecans

Refreshment Port Drinks:

• Frozen Mango Martini: Boyd & Blair Vodka with mango nectar and lemon

Now our photos and reviews of each item from this Global Marketplace at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival…

Braised Beef Poutine ($9.50) – These are regular Walt Disney World fries topped with high-quality braised beef and Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce, Cheese Curds, and Gherkin Relish. This is one of the rare items at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival that is a huge, shareable portion.

We did these towards the end of our first day at the festival, which was a mistake. When I say these are shareable, I mean it. Our crew was around six deep at this point, and it took every ounce of our energy to finish these. In hindsight, I think it would be a far superior idea for a smaller party to start with the poutine before hitting other Global Marketplaces. This would make a good mini-lunch for two people, and you’d spend far less money grazing around World Showcase afterwards. (Whatever you do, don’t eat this poutine alone.)

Quality here is shockingly good. Obviously, these are just the normal fries served at Walt Disney World, so nothing special. It’s actually a bit odd to have such otherwise high quality ingredients–meat included–on top of that ordinary base, but it works. The cheeses were also quite good. This all culminated in an epic comfort food, and one that was better than anyone would expect. This one is highly recommended, and something I could see as a go-to dish at Epcot in the future.

Traditional Poutine ($7.50) – In addition to the seasonal “poutine” for the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, the booth normally serves its Traditional Poutine, which is also currently available. This has been modified slightly due to the Boursin sponsorship, and it now offers French Fries, Beef Gravy, Boursin Pepper Crumbles, and Cheese Curds.

It’s basically the same and is a longstanding guilty pleasure of mine. However, I’d strongly recommend paying the extra couple dollars to get the braised beef poutine. That is easily worth the extra money (and then some).

Maple Bourbon Cheesecake ($4.50) — Finally, this glorious dessert. This was conspicuously absent last year, after previously dethroning the Chocolate Liquid Nitro (RIP) and taking the mantle as the best dessert at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

The cheesecake is rich and savory, but with a somewhat light consistency that’s absolutely perfect. This contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the maple and caramel flavors and earthy sharpness of bourbon, while the crunch of the candied pecans offers a wonderful texture. Everyone should order this–it earns our highest possible recommendation of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

The Maple Bourbon Cheesecake is sublime, and one of the few we’ll revisit again and again during the course of the event. This October and November, I look forward to spending many evenings in Epcot, showing up and grabbing something from Noodle Exchange and this dessert–or this dessert and the braised beef poutine–before enjoying Harmonious.

Overall, Refreshment Port has transformed in the last few years from a forgettable snack stand for picky eaters to something that still serves crowd-pleasing favorites, but with more unique choices. That’s a win for Epcot guests, and makes it a must-visit location year round at Walt Disney World.

Check out our Global Marketplace Booth Menus & Photos for the Epcot Food & Wine Festival Booth Menus post if you want to see and read more about every menu this year! You’ll also want to read our full Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Guide before you go to get an idea of what to do, strategy for the festival (yes, you will need a strategy), and much more!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of the poutine at Refreshment Port? If you’ve tried the sweet potato version, do you agree with our lackluster review, or think this is a concerted smear campaign? Have you tried any of the other items at this snack spot? Any thoughts on these items? Questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!