It’s no secret that not all Disney World dining experiences are created equally.

Whether you’re just looking for a quick snack, a filling meal that won’t take up too much time, or a sit-down meal that also doubles as a break from the parks — there’s probably something for just about everyone. But, did you know there’s one table service restaurant in EPCOT where you get to see and FEEL your food being cooked right in front of you?! Come with us to check out Teppan Edo in the Japan Pavilion for a truly unique dining experience at Disney World!

Atmosphere

You’ll find Teppan Edo in EPCOT’s Japan Pavilion, on the second floor of the Mitsukoshi Department Store building. This area is also where you’ll find Tokyo Dining. We love the Japanese architecture and grand staircase — it really makes you feel like you’re about to dine somewhere important!

As you walk up the stairs, you’re greeted with a large set of double doors to welcome you to the restaurants.

Inside, sleek lines and earth tones help transport you out of EPCOT and into a table-service dining experience.

Because Teppan Edo is a Teppanyaki restaurant (your food is prepared in front of you), the tables are set up family-style around a large grill. Each table has its own personal chef that will be cooking and entertaining you throughout the meal.

Depending on how many people are in your party, chances are you might be sitting with other guests at your table. But, the chefs put on a really entertaining and fun show so you might not even mind sitting with strangers!

Once we were seated at our table, we took a look at the menu to get an idea of what we were hungry for — and we were faced with some seriously tough decisions.

Menu

Teppan Edo serves up all kinds of delicious Japanese-inspired dishes, most of which are prepared right in front of you. There are a few different menu offerings that don’t require the grill and are prepared in the back of the house, like the appetizers and sushi.

You’ll find plenty of different entrée options including steak, chicken, salmon, shrimp, scallops, and a tofu dish as well. Each entree comes with a garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables, and steamed white rice. 

Of course, you could get a combination of multiple entrées if you really can’t choose — like the steak and shrimp or the chicken and shrimp. There are also a few add-on enhancements like A5 cut Wagyu Strip steak or a lobster tail if you’re feelin’ fancy.

The kiddos can choose between chicken, shrimp, or salmon for their meal…

…and we’ve got a few different desserts to choose from as well!

Your typical fountain drinks, lemonade, and teas are served here — along with some non-alcoholic specialty drinks like yuzu lemonade.

Teppan Edo serves a variety of Japanese beers and sakes…

…and some signature cocktails as well!

If you’re more of a liquor person, you’ll also find Japanese vodka, gin, and whiskey on the menu as well.

Now we know what’s on the menu at Teppan Edo — but what are WE eating during this visit?!

Eats

We kicked things off on the lighter side — with an order of Miso Soup from the appetizer menu for $4. This is tofu, wakame, and green onion in a bonito miso broth and just the kind of warm soup you want before a meal like this. It was a good portion size and exactly what you might find at other teppanyaki restaurants — only typically you don’t have to pay extra for it.

There was a really deep flavor from the miso broth and we thought there was a decent amount of the wakame (seaweed). The bonito broth and flakes mean this miso soup isn’t plant-based, though — so keep that in mind if that’s important to you.

We kept the appetizer train rolling with a Veggie Roll next! This might be one of the best veggie sushi rolls we’ve ever had — the vegetables were incredibly fresh and crisp, and there was a really great flavor. We’ve had some pretty bland veggie rolls in the past, but the addition of ginger inside the roll gave it a nice zing.

Since teppanyaki meals usually include quite a bit of food, you might not need the extra sushi — but if you’ve got a craving for it you probably won’t be disappointed with the veggie roll.

Next up we were served the salad course which is included with each entrée at Teppan Edo. This is a solid salad! It comes with a ginger dressing that has that fresh tang, and there are actual grated ginger pieces in the dressing as well.

It was a mixed green salad, but other than the greens, some carrots, and dressing — there wasn’t a whole lot going on. We were okay with that, though, since this is a heavy meal with a lot of different flavors.

Remember how we said you’d also be entertained during your meal at Teppan Edo? While our chef was cooking the vegetable course, we got to see an actual volcanic eruption — talk about Disney magic!

But then, our chef destroyed the onion volcano and started mixing it into the delicious veggies he was cooking on the flat top, which was fine by us.

As we mentioned before, there are vegetables and udon noodles included with your entrée as well. The udon noodles were amazing — perfectly cooked and chewy with plenty of sauce in every bite. The vegetables are served mixed in with the noodles, which is a bit different from other teppanyaki restaurants where the noodles or rice are served separately from the vegetables.

The veggies had a good flavor and were cooked well — not too mushy. We wished we had a larger serving of the noodles and veggies separately, or even a larger portion of the mixture.

There are plenty of meat and seafood entrées, but there’s also the plant-based Yasai option as well. This is made with seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu and comes with the same salad, veggies, and udon noodles.

We were really impressed by this dish — the tofu was seasoned so well and had a nice sear on it. Tofu can be bland or undercooked, but that wasn’t the case here. The mushrooms were cut into smaller pieces, and it was easy to get everything in one bite. The sauce gave the asparagus, red peppers, carrots, other veggies, and noodles an excellent flavor, and the dipping sauce served on the side had a really fresh and bright citrus profile which helped cut down on the salty, savory flavors of the rest of the dish.

The steak was by far the best part of the entire meal. We ordered ours cooked medium, and it came out the perfect temperature. It had a great sear and crust that can only come from a well-seasoned grill, and we didn’t find ourselves having to chew for ages — it was incredibly tender. Our only complaint is that there wasn’t MORE!

We ended our meal with the Chocolate Ginger Cake — layers of ginger cake and chocolate mousse. This was a subtle dessert but it did NOT disappoint. The ginger and chocolate are a unique flavor combination, and the chocolate was incredibly light — it didn’t overpower the rest of the dessert.

The cake was moist and spongey, while the mousse was light and added a fluffy texture to the whole cake. While there are much better desserts around EPCOT, we did really enjoy this cake!

Is Teppan Edo a table-service meal you should be adding to your Disney World bucket list?

Nosh or Not

You should book a table at Teppan Edo if…

• You love Japanese food and teppanyaki restaurants — you’ll find a lot of the same dishes here but done with a Disney flare.
• You want to be entertained during your meal! The chefs are so much fun and you’ll leave feeling full and entertained.
• You want a break from the hustle and bustle of EPCOT.

You should skip Teppan Edo if…

• You don’t want to waste part of your park day at a sit-down meal. Since this meal is also a show, it can eat up some valuable time.
• You’re on a budget. At $40+ per entrée, Teppan Edo is certainly not the cheapest place you’ll find a bite to eat.
• You’re looking for something unique. Sure, the teppanyaki entertainment is fun but there are plenty of teppanyaki restaurants located just outside Disney World (and probably even near your house)!

Overall

If you’re looking for a really solid teppanyaki meal while you’re on your Disney World vacation — Teppan Edo is definitely the place for you. But, you could probably get a similar meal for much less money outside of Disney World too. It’s a fun and entertaining restaurant, but nothing particularly unique — for a more unique Disney dining experience check out Space 220 or Spice Road Table.

With DOZENS of places to eat at Disney World, we know it can be tough to plan your meals. That’s why we wrote the DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World. We have reviews, pictures and details about every restaurant all in one digital download – along with ALL of our best tips and strategies from decades of Disney World trips. We’ve got a special discount code for DFB readers, too! Use WDW2022 at checkout for 25% off!

Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney food reviews, news, and more!

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Have you eaten at Teppan Edo in Disney World before? Let us know in the comments!

The post Why You Should SKIP the Most Exciting Dining Experience in EPCOT first appeared on the disney food blog.