EPCOT is filled with diverse dining experiences, creating opportunities for guests to explore different foods. Today we are venturing into the Japan Pavilion to dine at Teppan Edo. This dining location is very reminiscent of chain hibachi restaurants but with a Disney flare. Disney describes the dining location as a place where you can celebrate authentic Japanese cuisine during an exciting dining experience that’s part meal, part show.
If you aren’t familiar with this dining style, then there’s an essential piece of information you need to know.
In the communal ritual of Teppan-yaki-style cooking, skillful chefs chop and stir-fry dishes on grills at your table.
Disney World Website
Yes, you read that right communal. You will be seated with other guests at this large table, offering a fantastic grill view. If you are ordering one of the stir-fry options, you can select from steak, chicken, seafood, and vegetable entrées, which are served with Udon noodles and steamed rice. Don’t worry if that isn’t something you are interested in; that’s fine because they also have assorted sushi rolls. Now that you know all the important stuff, let’s jump into the food.
Appetizers
We ordered the Spicy Roll, which comes with eight pieces of tuna-salmon mix with cucumber, seaweed wrap, and volcano sauce for our appetizer. The volcano sauce is your standard spicy mayonnaise, with plenty of it. Craig, Ryno, and I shared this, and we all loved it. I love sushi, so for me ordering this was a must-do. This roll was priced at $14.00, which is a decent price for sushi.
Entrees
Before the main show, where our entrees would be prepared, they passed out salads. The garden salad with ginger dressing is included with all the entrees. I didn’t expect this to be the star of the show. It most definitely was. We all enjoyed the salad and thought it was the perfect way to kick off the meal.
For my entree, I got the Ebi, better known as the shrimp. This entree comes with ten grilled shrimp served with garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables, and steamed white rice. The price for this one was $33. I thought the $33 was a bit pricey, but the portion was huge, and the entertainment was terrific, which definitely justified the price. Overall, I enjoyed my meal. I didn’t think it was anything extraordinary or out of this world, but everything was seasoned perfectly, so I can’t really complain.
Ryno ordered the Salmon entree, which was priced at $37. This dish came with 6 oz fresh Scottish fillet served with spicy yuzu sauce and served with garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables, and steamed white rice. It is important to note that their salmon is sushi grade, so if you aren’t a fan of that, be sure to ask if they could cook it medium or maybe consider something else. Ryno mentioned he wasn’t a fan of the consistency of the salmon. He loved the yuzu sauce that accompanied the fish and said it definitely had a kick to it.
Craig got a combination entree, meaning he got the most food out of all of us. He got the Nihonbashi which is steak and chicken served with garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables, and steamed white rice. This combination meal costs $43, which is a decent price for all the food that gets put on your plate. At the table, Craig and I spoke about how everything was perfectly seasoned, but there was just something missing. He did love the entire show experience and thought our chef was amazing.
Overall Thoughts
The experience was very quick, and I don’t say that in a negative way. The cast members here were very efficient, and they had the pace under control. They started taking drink orders, addressing allergies, and explaining the menu from the moment we sat down. In what felt like minutes, we had our drinks and starters in front of us. Not too long after, the chef arrived, confirmed the orders, and started the hibachi-style show.
Our chef was hilarious; she made so many jokes throughout the experience and had the whole table laughing. While we were eating, I took a moment to scan the restaurant, and I saw a table filled with kids that were in awe of the show, watching the cook make the iconic onion volcano.
With that being said, this isn’t somewhere I would go out of my way for, and I’m not sure that I’d immediately recommend it to someone if they told me, “Hey, I’m going to EPCOT. Where should I eat?” There are a few other restaurants I would put before this, Spice Road Table I’m looking at you, but I wouldn’t tell someone, “Oh no, don’t eat there,” because I think you should experience this at least once.
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