The Best and Worst Food at Disney Epcot’s Festival of the Arts 2025 – Our Rankings!

During a quick trip to Kissimmee, Fl to visit family, we decided to sneak in a single day at Epcot (our favorite of the Disney parks). We had no idea until the day before we left that the Festival of the Arts was happening while we were there! We quickly looked up menus and food pics to come up with a plan of attack to sample as much food and drink as possible. Thankfully, all six of us were there (us and our adult children/their significant others), so we could cover a lot of ground!

What is the Festival of the Arts?

If you have ever been to a festival at Epcot, you know there are booths with specialty food and drink *everywhere*. Epcot is already the top park for food (in our opinion), so we had to have a few favorites as well. The Festival of the Arts (known as FArts to the Disney community – we never got tired of joking about all the delicious FArt food we were eating) runs from January 17th to February 24th. Besides the food/drink booths, there are many displays with art for sale, mainly with a Disney theme of course. There are also some super cute artistic photo ops, a huge paint-by-numbers mural, a chalk art area for the kids, and more special activities.

But we are here to rank the food through our highly scientific rating system, a 1-10 scale average of our 6 opinions. As for the drinks, we will only assign ratings to the cocktails, and just do a brief run-through of any wines and beers.

L’Arte di Mangiare (Italy/World Showcase)

Fortified with Viking Coffee from Norway (get the frozen version!) and various margaritas from La Cava del Tequila in Mexico, we walked around the World Showcase to Italy. At this point, it was about 11:15 am (the booths open at 11 am), and we had already had crepes for breakfast in France while waiting to get on the Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride. It wasn’t FArt food, but I was super impressed with the butter and sugar crepe! Unfortunately, the ride broke down before we could ride it, but this being Disney they quickly made it right with a lightning lane pass to return once it was fixed.

Tricolore Ravioli

Three cheese ravioli, each with a different sauce: pesto, cream, and tomato. This was tasty, but nothing we hadn’t had elsewhere. This was also a ridiculously cold morning at Disney, and the food quality suffered from temperature issues as a result. SCORE: 6.1

Mozzarella Frita

Although this dish was one of my favorites by appearance, the fried mozzarella itself was served cold and there was no lovely stretchy cheese with the first bite. There might be better results on a warmer day, and the dippers were good. The balsamic glaze and pesto were the favorites. We weren’t sure about the pink sauce – it tasted like asian yum yum sauce to us. SCORE 6.0

Red Sangria and Mela Spritz

This was a very middle of the road sangria (not pictured) that was too sweet for our palates. We ended up adding some (awful) cabernet from the American Adventure to try to even it out, but mostly just passed it around and tried to choke it down. SCORE 3.0

The fizzy little mela spritz cocktail was made of prosecco, apple schnaaps, and sparkling water. It was a a little on the sweet side, and likely would be better on a hot day. SCORE 5.0

We didn’t have the best beginning in Italy, which made us that more eager to try some other offerings!

Goshiki (Japan/World Showcase)

Things were definitely looking up in Japan! On the way, we had a brief stop in the American Adventure for a moonshine sour (always a favorite). In Japan, Mr. Toasty Tourist tried a yuzu beer and enjoyed it more than any other beer the rest of the day!

Sushi Donut

This had an adorable presentation, and we all love sushi so it was sure to be a hit. Some of us felt that the fish to rice ratio was too low. The flavors weren’t anything new to us, but it was an enjoyable, light snack! SCORE 7

Wagyu Bun

Everyone loved this one – a steamed bun with plenty of seasoned wagyu filling! The flavors were great, and the bun wasn’t too dense. It was served with a tiny amount of mustard sauce and a violet shiso sauce. SCORE 8.6

Taiyaki

This was a super cute fish shaped pastry filled with mildly sweet red bean paste. This was a new flavor for some of us, and most of us enjoyed it! It had blueberry popping boba and whipped topping on the side. SCORE 5.5

Pop Eats (near the Port of Entry)

After our pre-lunch in Italy and Japan, we successfully redeemed our lighting lane pass and finally rode Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Then it was time for real lunch – we started heading toward the World Celebration area, where there were several booths clustered together that we wanted to sample.

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese 2 ways

The tomato soup was the perfect consistency and not too tart, and was served in an adorable “pop art” can. The standard grilled cheese was great, and the fancy grilled cheese really stood out (pimiento cheese, fried green tomatoes, and bacon). We had to go back for a 2nd helping that night! SCORE 8.5 (Standard Grilled Cheese, and 9.2 Fancy Grilled Cheese

Blanc de Bleu Cuvee

This was a blue cuvee (sparkling wine) with popping boba pearls. It was very light and refreshing; we were fans! SCORE 8.3

Opening Bites (World Celebration)

This was a brand new booth this year, and a couple of the items available there have gotten a lot of buzz. We thought the offerings were solid, but didn’t make it into our top tier. I enjoyed the Cabernet here – probably my favorite wine of the day. The beer drinkers liked the IPA and beer flight (IPA, Pilsner, Berliner Weisse) as well.

Soft Shell Crab Slider

I’ll admit that I have a mental block about eating soft shell crab, but I tried a small bite anyway and thought it had good flavor. Some of our more adventurous eaters dug right in! It’s on a brioche bun dressed up with green papaya slaw and mango ketchup. SCORE 6.5

Cheddar and Chive Scone with Smoked Salmon Salad

I had high hopes for this one, but it was firmly middle of the road. The scone was directly from the refrigerator and would have greatly benefited from being room temperature. The salmon salad had good flavor, but it didn’t make up for the cold scone (even topped with creme fraiche and caviar). SCORE 6

Enchanted Rose

This was a chocolate mousse rose that looked gorgeous. It was filled with a rose and raspberry gelee (thankfully the rose is very subtle). It’s perched atop a chocolate shortbread cookie, which can be skipped. I expected it to be all show and no flavor, but it was a surprisingly good dessert. SCORE 6

The Craftsman’s Courtyard (near Journey Into the Imagination)

After hitting up the Land and Sea Pavillions, we worked up a mid-afternoon appetite. This one was a big winner! Not only was the food great, but it had my favorite spot to sit – a picnic table in a turf play area within view of some pretty fountains.

Beef Wellington Croissant

With nearly a perfect score, this Beef Wellington-inspired croissant has a ton of great umami flavor and texture. It’s an open-faced sandwich, and besides the beef, it includes creamed spinach, pickled mustard seeds, a mushroom/gorgonzola sauce, and a red wine sauce. We came back for another helping before leaving the park that night. If you only get one thing at the festival, make sure it’s this! SCORE 9.8

P.E.I. Mussels

This is in a light sauce of tomatoes, garlic, and fresh Italian herbs. The mussels were cooked well, and the portion was large for the price! SCORE 8.25

Roasted Bone Marrow

This is served with onion marmalade and pickled mushrooms. Everyone that tried this enjoyed it, until it was no longer warm (the texture gets gelatinous). SCORE 7.0

Coffee Old Fashioned

Once again, most thought this cocktail was entirely too sweet. SCORE 3.8

Deco Delights (near Port of Entry)

We mainly came to this booth for the drink options! The Keel Farms Strawberry Shortcake Hard Cider was relatively well-received. On a future visit I would try the 3 Daughters Brewing Vanilla Ice Cream Beer!

Almond Frangipane Cake

This cute cake was layered with raspberry jam and Belgian chocolate. It was a dense but tasty dessert, just a little heavy for midday! SCORE 6.3

Boyd and Blair Espresso Martini

Since we were getting a little sleepy after plenty of food and some dark rides, the promise of an espresso martini was exactly what we were looking for. Unfortunately, it was nearly undrinkable…syrupy sweet with very little coffee flavor. A big disappointment! SCORE 3

Tangierine Cafe (Morocco/World Showcase)

We then headed back to the World Showcase for some favorite non-festival food – maple popcorn from Canada and fish & chips from the UK. Since these are classics, we didn’t take any pictures! Then it was on to Morocco. Tangierine Cafe used to be open all year, but has morphed into a festival-only venue.

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Kebab

Mr. Toasty Tourist tried a single item here, the lamb kebab served with garlic aioli and chickpea/carrot salad on the side. He enjoyed the lamb (I’m not a fan), but I tried the salad and thought it was well seasoned. SCORE 8

The Artists Table (The American Adventure/World Showcase)

We were wrapping up our time in the World Showcase, but had time for one more bite. I had been looking forward to this dish – I love traditional comfort food with a twist.

Chicken Pot Pie

Unfortunately, this was my least favorite snack of the day. Described as a flaky pie crust topped with cheddar mornay sauce, sherry chicken, pickled mushrooms, roasted veggies, and wasabi peas, this pot pie was a huge miss. The crust was ice cold – like the salmon scone earlier, pastries with high butter content are always better served at least at room temperature. The wasabi peas were an unwelcome texture, and the sauce tasted of artificial smoke. I wold give this one a hard pass! SCORE 2

The Deconstructed Dish (near Test Track)

After the pot pie debacle, our virtual queue was finally called for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (amaaaazing ride!). Thankfully, our day of gluttony didn’t result in any reappearances of our treats while on the ride! We were ready for our last few items to wrap things up. This booth was completely empty, which made us a little nervous. The servers said they thought it was because Test Track is currently closed for refurbishment, so people just don’t make their way over there! I’m really glad we did, because this booth finished our day off with a win.

Deconstructed BLT

We received a well-composed plate with pork belly, garlic aioli, onion bread pudding, watercress espuma (foam?), tomato jam, and a beautifully poached egg. We did our best to get a little of everything in each bite, and each component complemented the other perfectly. SCORE 8.92

Deconstructed Key Lime Pie

One of the coolest plates we saw all day, and the flavor backed up the appearance. The dish consisted of graham cracker cake, key lime curd, key lime mousse and meringue (with raspberry coulis as garnish). SCORE 7.25

Deconstructed Strawberry Mint Julep

This was the least “deconstructed” item we received, and it was quite strong! It contained Jim Beam, frozen mint, simple syrup, and a syringe of strawberry puree. Don’t forget to mix it up before you drink – I had a sip of pure bourbon, yikes! SCORE 6.5

Fictional Victuals (near Test Track)

The last main item on our list to try was found here, very near the Deconstructed Dish.

Squid Ink Pasta

This dish is new this year, and my seafood-loving son had to try it. Made up of squid ink pasta, lump crab meat, truffle cream, and shaved truffle, it didn’t make it into our very top tier of dishes. The flavors were good, but milder than expected given the ingredients. SCORE 8

Boyd and Blair Outis Fathom

This drink was a bit of a surprise – the ingredients are Boyd and Blair vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, and juniper. We did not expect the dark brown/black color! It tasted a little like a strong, sweet wine, and wasn’t as refreshing or light as we hoped it would be. SCORE 3

Refreshment Port (between Canada and Port of Entry)

We divided up and got some of our favorites before leaving the park – the aforementioned second round of tomato soup and grilled cheese and Beef Wellington croissant. We snagged one new item at the Refreshment Port while we finished up.

Caprese Poutine

What’s not to love about french fries topped with fresh mozzarella, balsamic glaze, roasted tomatoes, basil pesto, slivered garlic, and italian herbs? The flavors were not a new combo, but I love caprese and was happy with our savory final choice. SCORE 7.33

FArts Faves and Fails

We all agreed that the favorite *savory* dish of the day was……the Beef Wellington Croissant from Craftsman’s Courtyard. We got at least 4, and they were all cooked well, at the appropriate temperature, and all the components worked so well together. The Deconstructed BLT received some mentions as well. They were both a twist on a favorite without being too outlandish. Our favorite *sweet* dish was the Deconstructed Key Lime Pie. It turns out we have a strong preference for savory over sweet – the score wasn’t nearly as high as for the croissant!

We all have our personal preferences on drinks (mine is obviously red wine), but the festival cocktails were mostly fails for us! The Blanc de Bleu Cuvee from Pop Eats came in first, and it barely qualifies as a “cocktail” with the addition of popping boba. My favorite wine of the day was the Katherine Goldschmidt Cabernet at Opening Bites.

THREE cocktails tied for our least favorite! The Espresso Martini from Deco Delights, the Red Sangria from the Italy Pavillion, and the Outis Fathom from Fictional Victuals all got no love from us. And as for the food….the big loser is the Chicken Pot Pie from The American Adventure. Nothing else even came close, which says a lot about the great food that is available at the Festival of the Arts! Now that you’re armed with the knowledge of what to eat and what to skip, you are ready to make some FArts magic!

For more Disney vacation information, check out my post How to Make Disney Magic with your “Big” Kids!