Yorkshire County Fish Shop Review

Famous for its fish & chips, there’s more to the menu at Yorkshire County Fish Shop in EPCOT. This Walt Disney World dining review features food photos, thoughts on the menu, what we recommend ordering, and whether it’s worth your time given the wealth of cuisine in World Showcase.

Located in the United Kingdom pavilion, this unassuming walk-up window is nestled beside Rose & Crown Tavern on the waterfront side of World Showcase. On the other side is International Gateway, making Yorkshire County Fish Shop the closest counter service restaurant to an entrance or exit at EPCOT.

That makes Yorkshire County Fish Shop perfect for a pit stop on arrival or departure day for guests staying in the Crescent Lake Resorts. This easy access to fish & chips makes the limited counter service restaurant lineup at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Yacht & Beach Club Resorts slightly more forgivable.

In theory, you could make a fish & chips run from the Beach Club Villas in about 30 minutes roundtrip, assuming minimal lines at the turnstiles and the restaurant. If you wanted to add ice cream at L’Artisan des Glaces in the France pavilion, tack on another 15 minutes to that time.

Again, hypothetically speaking–not that we have any experience doing this or anything. (In all seriousness, it would be awesome if Walt Disney World did Mobile Order delivery from World Showcase restaurants to Crescent Lake Resorts. Disney already partners with Lyft for the Minnie Vans. Why not with Door Dash or some other food delivery service for this?!)

There’s one thing I want to get out of the way up front because we have a large number of readers in the United Kingdom. If you hail from the historic county of Yorkshire in Northern England–founded by the Romans and home to 13th-century cathedral York Minster, Tudor houses, medieval walls, and known for its Viking (really?) heritage–you may be disappointed by the food here. It is, presumably, not 100% authentic.

I hate to break it to you, but literally none of the food in World Showcase is strictly authentic. Not even the barbecue in the American Adventure. I don’t know why this bothers people so much, but regional foods are reinterpreted and localized. This is true at Walt Disney World…and literally everywhere.

Regional pride is fine–everyone has it–but the steadfast belief that cuisine should be monolithic and uniform is unnecessarily limiting. The attitude that a particular item is lesser because it doesn’t comport with some narrow definition of that dish–rather than because it doesn’t taste good–is dumb.

Americans do all sorts of crazy stuff with burgers–that doesn’t make them inauthentic. There is no single type of ramen in Japan. Even in New York or Chicago, you’ll find variations on pizza. Food should be judged on its deliciousness; everything else is noise.

In short, it should come as absolutely no surprise that everything at Yorkshire County Fish Shop has been modified to appeal to the widest range of guests from around the globe who visit a theme park in Central Florida.

The operative question, as with everywhere else: does the food at Yorkshire County Fish Shop taste good?

The iconic entree (and only one available if you look at the online menu) at the United Kingdom pavilion window is the Fish and Chips. (Also pictured is the Victoria Sponge Cake, which is not currently available–nothing of value was lost there.)

You’ll receive two medium-sized filets of fish atop a bed of fries. Yorkship County Fish Shop usually uses tilapia, but it changes from time to time–it’s always a white fish of some sort. (Tilapia is cheap and farm raised, so everything else is an upgrade.)

The milder flavor of the tilapia is not particularly “fishy,” especially underneath the crisp and flavorful batter. That’s arguably the prevailing flavor, with the tender and flaky fish pairing well with it.

In my view, the two strike the right balance and come together for a delicious dish that’s consistently good. Since Yorkship County Fish Shop basically serves this one thing, you’re not going to get fish that’s been sitting under a heat lamp for hours, “slow-aged” a la 7-11 hot dogs.

The chips or fries are likewise delicious, an ideal accompaniment. These aren’t the typical Walt Disney World counter service fries found at other counter service restaurants around the parks. They’re thicker and more on the authentic side.

In the end, the answer to the question posed is: yes, the fish and chips here taste good. They aren’t going to be the best you’ve ever had, but for theme park fare at a walk-up window these absolutely deliver, and do so on a consistent basis. The last time I had a “bad” batch of these was (literally) over a decade ago.

A more recent addition to the menu at Yorkshire County Fish Shop is the Chicken and Mushroom Pie, which can be ordered with or without chips. This has been available for like 3 years, but still isn’t on the permanent menu for some reason–there’s just a little sign by the register advertising its existence. I guess you might say it’s a “secret menu” option? (We wouldn’t, but you could.)

While Americans might call this a meat or hand pie, I’m told the Brits call this a “pasty.” That’s a British baked pastry, which is traditionally associated with Cornwall, South West England but has spread all over the British Isles. (All per Wikipedia, the ultimate internet authority.)

Seems like a distinction without a difference to me, but I’m sure I’ll be advised otherwise in the comments! Before you Brits get too upset about us Yankees butchering your baked goods, just keep in mind that Walt Disney World also made a big deal about butchering our own cuisine just a few short months ago–renaming a whole restaurant and publicizing it for no real reason other than to upset Northeasterners, I guess.

In other words, it’s nothing personal–Walt Disney World just seems to have a penchant for angering those who feel passionately about their regional cuisine. It doesn’t matter whether it’s food from the United Kingdom, Mexico, or New Jersey–Disney does not discriminate! 😉

But I digress–back to Yorkshire. The Chicken and Mushroom Pie here is more like a mushroom and chicken pasty, as it’s heavier on the mushrooms than it is the chicken. The creamy gravy is rounded out with leeks and herbs. While that’s all fantastic–especially as a mushroom lover–it’s the buttery and flaky crust that really makes this pastry.

That crust is at once thick and tender, dialing up the “heaviness” factor of the mushroom and chicken pie to 11. Like so many of my favorite so very British dishes, I think this could best be described as hearty, with comforting and earthy flavors. It’s the perfect winter dish, but I love it so much that I would order it during summer in Central Florida. (In fact, I’ve done exactly that!)

Although it’s just a walk-up window, there’s abundant waterfront seating behind Yorkshire County Fish Shop.

I wouldn’t necessarily call this a secret spot, as it’s pretty obvious if you actually order food from the quick service location. However, if you’ve never bothered to stop at this UK eatery, you might’ve never noticed this expansive area given how it’s tucked away from the main promenade.

We love this area. Or rather, areas.

Off to the right is a two-tiered seating section, with tables down along the waterfront and an elevated section closer to the main World Showcase walkway. I prefer the lower level as it puts you at lagoon level, with an up-close view of FriendShip boats. You also have a great view of the Harmonious Stargate and water tacos, if you’d prefer to face that direction.

To the left, there’s covered seating.

This is adjacent to the outdoor seating area of Rose & Crown. It’s a good option if you can’t find a table with shade on the other side–but really right on the water is best, if you ask me.

Ultimately, Yorkship County Fish Shop is an excellent option for fast food that’s comforting, familiar, and filling. To be sure, it is most definitely not one of the elite EPCOT restaurants and it’s also not as delicious or envelope-pushing as some top-tier festival booth dishes. In fact, it wouldn’t land in the top 25% of food in World Showcase for us.

However, neither would most counter service restaurants. In the strong culinary landscape of World Showcase, the savory and satisfying quick service options can be shockingly weak. Among those, the best options are pretty much this, Regal Eagle Smokehouse, or Katsura Grill. As compared to its direct competition, Yorkshire County Fish Shop is quite good. It’s just not the best of the best in all of Walt Disney World, or even all of World Showcase.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Have you dined at Yorkship County Fish Shop? If so, what did you think of the food and seating area? Was it better than you expected, or were you disappointed by your meal experience? If you’re from the UK, how do you feel about the authenticity (or lack thereof) of the food at Yorkship County Fish Shop? Agree or disagree with our restaurant review? Any 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!