Happy #tastytuesday friends! We’re back this week with another allergy friendly round-up of my favorite food options from the latest Epcot festival, Taste of Epcot International Festival of the Arts. In all honesty, this festival was tougher to find good allergy friendly food options compared to either Food & Wine or the Festival of the Holidays. However, after 3 visits, I think I’ve come up with some decent options, plus some of my favorite drinks of any of the Epcot festivals. As a quick reminder, these are just my favorite items from the festival, not a cumulative review of all of the food booths.
If you haven’t heard of the Festival of the Arts before, you aren’t alone! The festival is only 5 years old, as this year was its 5th year, and tends to happen during a “down time” at Walt Disney World. The festival is really cool if you can visit- local artists will come in and create amazing chalk drawings weekly, there is a large paint by number mural that you can contribute to, and there are tents set up all throughout World Showcase displaying Disney inspired art pieces by real artists (who may make an appearance themselves every once in a while and sign the piece of art you buy!). And of course, there are food booths that play off of this art theming as well.
Usually I try to alternate between food and drinks, but for the review, we’re just going to take a trip around World Showcase, starting at the Mexico pavilion. If you have read either of my Festival reviews before, you’ll know this booth is a favorite of mine. This time, however, I’m not highlighting food. That’s right- let’s check out the Diego Pomegranate Margarita at El Artista Hambriento!
My favorite alcoholic drink of all time is a margarita, and this one did not disappoint! The hibiscus rim was sweet and salty, and I could taste the pomegranate prickly pear juice amongst the alcohol in the drink. It was such a smooth margarita, and one I think I’ll come back to try before the festival is over. 10/10 for me!
Alright, moving onto China! An new booth that keeps creeping up in my favorite booths for the Epcot festivals is the one in the China pavilion. The Painted Panda was no exception! And, as I can’t eat the food at this booth (I asked about the Sichuan Hot Mala Shrimp that unfortunately contains eggs), we’ll be focusing on another drink- the Sea Butterfly.
To start- how pretty is this drink?! It’s got such a beautiful purple/blue color scheme going on. But don’t be fooled by its beauty as this drink packs a punch with both vodka and rum amongst the liquors that go into it. Make sure to ask for more lychee syrup if you don’t like the taste of a strong drink. Also, I loved the boba balls at the bottom that gave the drink some texture amongst the liquor. 10/10 again for me, and I’ve already been back to order another one because it was so good!
Moving on to the Refreshment Outpost in the Africa section of the World Showcase, we’ll find our first food item- the Plant Based Bratwurst. This plant based item is dairy and egg free, but not gluten free.
In all honesty, I should have ordered this item without the jackfruit because, as it turns out, I don’t like jackfruit (LOL). At all. It added a sweetness to the bratwurst that I was not a fan of. However, I really liked the rest of the bratwurst. The spicy turmeric aoli and the slaw were awesome on top of the bratwurst. 6/10 for me with the jackfruit; 8/10 for me without the jackfruit.
Another favorite booth of mine from all of the Epcot festivals is the booth in the Japan pavilion, and Goshiki did not disappoint. I was super curious to try the sushi donut here.
None of the sauces for this dish were allergy friendly, so I had the donut as-is with just the fish and rice, which is gluten, dairy, and egg-free. This donut was a hit for me, and easily my favorite item I’ve had at the festival! If you don’t like sushi or raw fish, you probably will not like the sushi donut, but I thought it was great. The rice was sweet, sticky, and well balanced. The fish was good, and the pickled ginger in the middle gave a little bite when I felt the fish/rice together was a little bland without the sauces. 9/10 for me!
Moving on, I stopped at a booth I haven’t stopped at before: Vibrante and Vivido. This booth is located between the France and Morocco pavilions. Although I could have tried the seafood cocktail here without the aioli, I decided to opt for the Frozen Pina Colada.
It was as delicious as it was beautiful! It tasted so yummy and creamy, without having dairy in it, and I loved the pineapple chunks on top. 8/10 for me!
After my yummy pina colada, I made my way into the World Showplace festival center and decided to head to Festival Favorites to try Remy’s Ratatouille.
I will say that I thought the dish was much prettier than it tasted, mostly because I’m not a huge eggplant person. I’m not usually a picky eater, but it’s definitely a texture thing for me. Overall, I thought the dish was delicious (aside from the eggplant because I only ate the squash and zucchini) and a great way to get in some veggies at the festival if you’re looking for some. 7/10 for me!
Last, but not least, I stopped by another new booth for me- Pop Eats. You can find this booth on the left hand side of the World Showcase entrance and right before the Mexico pavilion. I was very intrigued by the Shrimp Ceviche at this booth.
The ceviche was gluten, dairy, and egg free as-is, but was another case of the dish looking much prettier than it tasted. I may be biased because my husband makes amazing ceviche at home, but I found this ceviche to be so-so. It was good, especially with the lime foam, but not something I would rant and rave about. 6/10 for me.
I hope that you found my experience at the Taste of Epcot International Festival of the Arts helpful! Although I really enjoyed the drinks at this festival, if you have several food allergies, I would recommend eating at a table service restaurant in Epcot rather than trying your luck at food booths as they don’t have as many yummy food options for those with food allergies compared to other Epcot festivals. But, if you choose to enjoy yourself- good for it!! The drinks that I’ve had are amazing, and you can still find some decent food options for food allergies.
Here’s to living our best and most delicious Disney lives! <3
~ Meagan
Meagan has been living with many food allergies and sensitivities since she was 19 years old. She is currently a Personal Vacation Advisor for Magical Vacation Planner, specializing in helping her guests book trips to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. Meagan enjoys researching fitness and nutrition and has taken a special interest in finding allergy friendly options at Walt Disney World.
Interested in having Meagan help you plan your next trip? Send her an email at m.slone@magicalvacationplanner.com or get a free quote at https://magicalvacationplanner.com/staff/meagan-slone/!
