The Shiki-Sai Restaurant Has OPENED in EPCOT — Go Inside With Us!

A BRAND NEW restaurant has opened in EPCOT. What does it look like? What food does it offer? Don’t worry, we’re taking YOU inside this new spot with us!

EPCOT’s Japan Pavilion

Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya is the latest restaurant to join the Disney scene and it offers an experience unlike anything else you’ve had in Disney World. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the Japan pavilion in EPCOT, is a table service location, and offers a “festive dining experience in a sharable Izakaya-style” (according to Disney) complete with sushi, all kinds of small dishes to enjoy, and an ever-changing experience that’ll celebrate different Japanese festivals each month. Ready to take a look inside this new spot? Let’s GO!

A Look Inside

As we mentioned above, Shiki-Sai is located on the second floor of the Japan pavilion. To find it, you’ll head to the area near Teppan Edo and the former home of Tokyo Dining. Shiki-Sai has essentially taken over the Tokyo Dining space and transformed this area into a NEW dining experience.

Shiki-Sai

Inside the restaurant, you’ll find decor that is meant to change with the seasons as the restaurant adapts to celebrate different Japanese festivals. That might include hanging tanzaku (“thin strips of colored paper streamers,” often featured in the Tanabata Festival — according to Bokksu), or other unique items.

Tanabata tree

We were given one to personalize ourselves!

You can read more about the tradition on the sign next to the tree. The Tanabata Festival is dedicated to the summer and celebrates the story of two celestial lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi who are separated by the Milky Way and are allowed to meet once a year during the Tanabata Festival.

Tanabata Festival

A cultural representative from Japan will help guide you through each celebration, so be sure to ask any questions you might have about what you’re seeing around you!

The entire atmosphere really embraces Japan’s festivals. There is hand-painted artwork and lanterns in the space to really make an immersive and beautiful setting. Plus, some of these items are meant to highlight some of Japan’s natural wonders.

Mural at the entrance to the restaurant

Within the restaurant, you’ll find a variety of seats and tables…

Dining room

…and since it is located on the second floor of the Japan pavilion, you can’t forget about those epic views over World Showcase Lagoon. Time your visit correctly, and you could even catch the fireworks from up here!

If you don’t get a seat with a view of the World Showcase Lagoon, there are booths with “window” views of fireworks, with fake breezes and all!

One of the highlights of the restaurant is the sushi bar, where you can watch sushi being made fresh before your eyes. But don’t just look at the chefs and the sushi, check out the decor of this space which features a “trellis inspired by the roof of the Phoenix Hall in Kyoto.”

Sushi bar

Now, let’s get to the food!

Menu

In terms of food, there is PLENTY to check out here. Here are just a few of the items you can find.

Menu

Sushi

  • Kobore Sushi — negi toro and nakaochi tuna elegantly paired with salmon roe and green onion
  • Tokyo Negi Roll — green onion tempura rolled with tuna tataki and topped with jalapeno aïoli, shredded carrot, and sliced jalapeno

Menu

  • Funamori — sashimi and sushi arranged on a boat-shaped platter (Disney notes that this is “served with the festive pomp and the boat procession of the famous Tenjin Matsuri”)
  • The Monster Roll

Menu

Japanese Izakaya

One of the main focuses of the menu is Izakaya, which Disney describes as “a type of casual pub-style restaurant.” A big part of Izakaya culture is sharing food (typically small dishes) while enjoying drinks with friends. You’ll find that represented at Shiki-Sai with the following items:

  • Karaage Chicken
  • Salmon Misoyaki
  • Tomato Salad with Avocado

Starters & Izakaya Classics

Grill

There are a variety of items available from the grill that you can pick from as well. These include:

  • Okonomiyaki — savory pancake filled with shredded cabbage and bacon, and topped with tangy okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori, bonito flakes, and pickled ginger

Menu

Drinks

There’s also a nice selection of drinks, like Signature Sake, Craft Spirits, Beer, and Wine.

Drinks

And you’ll find some Specialty Cocktails and Non-alcoholic Specialties as well.

Drink menu

Let’s dive in!

Drinks

To start, we tried some drinks!

First, we had the Violet Yuzu Lemonade for $12.

Violet Yuzu Lemonade

This is made with yuzu juice, lemonade, and blue butterfly pea flower, and when you mix it together it changes colors!

Violet Yuzu Lemonade

We also tried the Gari Gari Sour Ramune for $16 — Shochu and a Ramune-flavored popsicle with soda.

Gari Gari Sour Ramune

Last, we got the Sake Sangria for $18.

Sake Sangria

This is a fruit-inspired sake cocktail.

Our Food

For our meal, we grabbed off with a few Starters and Izakaya Classics.

Full Spread

We tried the Kara-Age Chicken for $12, a Japanese-style fried chicken flavored with garlic and ginger and served with lemon.

Kara-age Chicken

Next, we got the Agedashi Tofu for $14, which is deep-fried tofu with shimeji mushrooms in a flavorful broth.

Agedashi Tofu

We also tried the Grilled Wagyu Gyoza for $20, which are pan-fried dumplings filled with smoky A5 Japanese wagyu beef.

Grilled Wagyu Gyoza

Next, our server brought the Fune for 4-6 Chef’s Special — an assortment of sushi and sashimi served in a boat!

This presentation costs $300.

The presentation was beautiful.

Fune Boat

It brings a lot of food, so come hungry!

YUM

After the Fune Boat, we got a few more items.

MORE food!

Next, we tried the Okonomiyaki for $28, which is a Japanese savory pancake filled with bacon.

Okonomiyaki

We also ordered the Vegetable Nabeyaki Udon for $24 — a hot pot-style udon soup with mushroom, yuba, and spinach.

Vegetable Nabeyaki Udon

Next up, we grabbed the Ishiyaki-Sukiyaki Rice for $28, which is served with grilled strips of beef in a hot stone bowl along with spinach and rice in a sweet garlic sauce.

Ishiyaki-Sukiyaki Rice

The Kids Bento Box for $20. This was a balanced meal set with a variety of proteins and sides.

Kids Bento Box

For dessert, we had to try the Ichigo Parfait for $18.

Ichigo Parfait

This is made with layers of luscious strawberries, cheesecake, and vanilla ice cream.

Ichigo Parfait

What a selection!

More About Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya

Again, one of the big things about Shiki-Sai is that it is meant to embrace Japan’s many festivals and change monthly as different festival celebrations take place. Based on Disney’s descriptions, those changes might come in the form of different decor or different menu items — like moon-viewing dumplings in September. A cultural representative will help guide you through these various celebrations.

So, Shiki-Sai won’t be a restaurant you’ll just be able to visit once. If you want to make sure you don’t miss out on a thing here, it sounds like you’ll have to visit OVER and OVER again to see what each month brings in terms of different festival celebrations and offerings.

©Disney

We’ll be sharing a FULL review with our complete thoughts on Shiki-Sai soon, so check back with us for that.

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REVIEW: Should This Food and Wine Festival Dish in EPCOT Come With a WARNING?

What do you think of this new restaurant? Would you try it? Tell us in the comments.

The post The Shiki-Sai Restaurant Has OPENED in EPCOT — Go Inside With Us! first appeared on the disney food blog.