We’ve had a WONDERFUL day eating and drinking our way around the 2021 Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts!

This year’s festival runs January 8th through February 22nd and, like all the other recent festivals, it looks a little different from years past. With health measures abound, some adjustments have been made. Still, we got to CHOW DOWN today at more 16 Food Studios and additional locations  and we made it through every single menu!

Well, you know what that means! What happens when we’ve worked our way a-sippin’ and a-munchin’ through every festival menu? We bring YOU the very best of the best! So, without further ado, here is the 2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts BEST of the FEST!

Sushi Donut at Goshiki Food Studio

First on our list (which is in no particular order BTW) is a returning favorite from last year. It’s the Sushi Donut from Goshiki for $8.25. The Sushi Donut made it on our list last year and it’s right back on it again. This eat is Donut-shaped Sushi featuring salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumber, and sesame seed over a decorated plate of wasabi aïoli, sriracha, and eel sauce.

Not only is this eat nice to look at, but it’s also delicious! You might notice that’s a theme of our bests for this fest.

Click here to see our REVIEW of Goshiki!

Vegetable Gyoza at Goshiki Food Studio

The Vegetable Gyoza at Goshiki is new-ish this year (It’s been updated for 2021!) and the updates put it right on our bests list! This $6 eat was absolutely fabulous!

We had pretty much no complaints about the vegetable-filled spinach gyoza with tofu atop mashed potatoes with a Kamaboko fish cake, pepper strings and Tonkatsu teriyaki sauce. The potatoes were creamy and flavorful and the veggies and tofu were perfectly seasoned!

To see the full menu at Goshiki, click here!

Stone Garden at Goshiki Food Studio

This booth also wowed us with the new Stone Garden for $6.75. This treat is red bean mousse with chocolate rocks and Arare rice cracker pebbles.

It’s sort of a DIY situation where you build your own Stone Garden in the mousse. We’ll TOTALLY take getting to play with our food in this case! Plus, there’s no better way to zen out when you’re eating your way through World Showcase than with an EDIBLE zen garden!

Want to see more pics of the Stone Garden? Click here!

Crème de Brie en Petit Pain at L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise

Another returning favorite of ours is the Crème de Brie en Petit Pain for $8. We’re talking warm creamy Brie in a house-made bread bowl. And you KNOW how we feel about liquid cheese contained in bread!

Yes, we absolutely have to stop ourselves from sticking a paper straw in the bowl. There’s a reason we love this one year after year. How can you go wrong with cheese and bread?

Want to see our FULL REVIEW of the France booth? Click here!

Trio de Macarons at L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise

As usual, the France booth TOTALLY brought its a-game. We got to follow our delicious and cheesy bread bowl experience with a dessert of the Trio de Macarons, A.K.A. an Assortment of 3 House-made Macarons in a Gift Box for $9.50.

The flavors this year were Chocolate Passion, Cappuccino, and Strawberry Lime. And they come presented in that ADORABLE package!

Can’t get enough of L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise? Click here!

Frozen French Martini at L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise

And WE’RE NOT DONE at this booth! You can wash down your delicious brie and macaron meal with the Frozen French Martini, a delectable combo of Grey Goose, vodka, Chambord liqueur, pineapple, orange, and grape juice with lemon-lime foam for $14.50.

This sip made our list last year and with good reason. The combination of fruit flavors makes for a delightfully refreshing sip — and zippy too! We kind of think it tastes like liquid Smarties.

To see the full menu at L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise, click here!

Tomato Soup Can Bloody Mary at Pop Eats

YES. SHE’S BACK. It’s the Tomato Soup Can Bloody Mary! If you’ve never laid eyes on this drink you are CERTAINLY missing out. Served in a souvenir can-style cup, you’re gonna get some SERIOUS kick out of this $14 drink!

The presentation is only a small, small fraction of what sells this sip for us. Last year, we called this Bloody Mary one of the best drinks we’ve EVER HAD in Disney World. And, you know what? Nothing’s changed.

Check out more fun items at Pop Eats right here!

Tomato Soup with French Onion and Bacon Grilled Cheese at Pop Eats

Pop Eats had another big winner for us with the Tomato Soup with French Onion and Bacon Grilled Cheese — one of two totally adorable cheese sammy and soup options on the menu.

This $5.25 eat was so perfect. The soup (which is served in a can BTW) had an amazing kick of flavor and that sandwich was an awesomely elevated grilled cheese. We’d eat it again right now.

Want to see more pics of this dish? Click here!

Deconstructed BLT at The Deconstructed Dish

We love the eats at The Deconstructed Dish for their creative presentation. We feel just like we’re judging a show on The Food Network! Last year, the Deconstructed Reuben made our list, but a NEW item has pulled into its spot this year! Welcome to the Deconstructed BLT!

This dish walks the line between gorgeous and fun. It’s crispy pork belly, soft-poached egg, Brioche, watercress Espuma and tomato jam for $7. And yes, get a bite of any one of these ingredients or all of them together and you’re in for some tasty flavors.

Click here for our FULL REVIEW of The Deconstructed Dish!

Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake at The Deconstructed Dish

Dessert was pretty killer at The Deconstructed Dish too! Check out the Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake, made from whipped New York-style cheesecake with fresh Florida strawberries and sugar cookies for $6.25.

Something about eating the individual ingredients of this dish makes us feel like Remy in that one Ratatouille scene where he eats the strawberry and the cheese at the same time. You know what we’re talking about.

Click here to see the menu at The Deconstructed Dish!

Sipping Chocolate Flight at The Artist’s Table

It’s pretty much become a tradition for us here at DFB to put the Sipping Chocolate Flight on our Best of the Fest list. And, honestly, you should probably make it a tradition to SNAG the Sipping Chocolate Flight whenever you make it to Festival of the Arts.

This delight is a trio of white, milk, and dark chocolate for $8. Or, you can grab the adults-only version, the Symphony in Chocolate Flight, with Mozart Cream Liqueurs for $13.

To see our other thoughts from The Artist’s Table, click here!

Beef Wellington at The Artist’s Table

The Artist’s Table had another winner as well with the Beef Wellington for $8.25. This dish was a phenomenal serving with mushroom Duxelle, Prosciutto, and puff pastry with red wine demi-glace, and fennel cream.

This dish has been a winner for us in the past and this year was no different. It’s cooked perfectly with amazing flavor. Add that mushroom duxelle and demi-glace and you’ve got a dish we’d just…keep eating.

Check out the FULL menu at The Artist’s Table right here!

Mediterranean Flatbread at Mosaic Canteen

The Morocco booth tends to BRING IT in the flavor department when it comes to EPCOT festivals and this year was no different. It had two options make our bests list, the first one being the Mediterranean Flatbread!

This flatbread is made with Za’atar Pesto, artichokes, roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and fennel cream and talk about being jam-packed with flavor! Try it out for $5.75.

Click here for our FULL REVIEW of Mosaic Canteen!

Mouskoutchou at Mosaic Canteen

The second item is the dessert offering at Mosaic Canteen. This is the Mouskoutchou, A.K.A. orange cake with cinnamon-chocolate mousse. Don’t you just want to take a picture of it?

We never knew something could be so light and so full of flavor! Plus, look at that pretty mosaic tile it’s served on.

Want to see more items at Mosaic Canteen? Click here!

Blue Corn Pupusa at Vibrante & Vívido

There is a NEW booth at the festival this year inspired by Disney artist, Mary Blair. We’re pretty pleased with the options at Vibrante & Vívido but there are two that are some serious best-of-the-fest material.

The Blue Corn Pupusa for $6.50 is stuffed with cheese and topped with shredded pork, Guajillo and Árbol chile sauce, cabbage slaw, and Aji Amarillo crema. Those complex flavors are AMAZING and we can’t believe they packed so much color into one dish.

Click here for our review of Vibrante & Vívido!

Passion Fruit Mousse at Vibrante & Vívido

For dessert here, we’ve got one of our very favorites — even out of all these bests. This is the Passion Fruit Mousse with dragon fruit jam for $4.75. Vibrant and Vivid is a good name for this booth, huh?

Our reporter isn’t even a big fan of passion fruit and she RAVED about this eat. The little mask detail and overall presentation is just an extra plus to an already delicious treat.

Want to see the full menu at the new booth? Click here!

Lobster Poutine at Refreshment Port

Our next pick is for lobster-lovers everywhere. It’s the Lobster Poutine at Refreshment Port for $10.50! Yup, you read that right. They loaded lobster onto French fries.

How could we ever pass up on lobster, lobster bisque cheese sauce, pickled jalapeños, and citrus cream loaded up on fries? Spoiler: We can’t.

Click here to see our review of the Refreshment Port offerings!

Chile Relleno at El Artista Hambriento

Of course, we have to make a stop at the Mexico Pavilion booth. Although this spot didn’t wow us like it has at other EPCOT festivals in the past, there was one item that we think you should make a must-do.

It’s the Chile Relleno, a fried poblano pepper filled with flank steak, black beans, and tomatoes drizzled with a poblano cream sauce. You can really taste how high-quality these ingredients are. Altogether, they’re a delicious serving.

For the full review of the Mexico Booth, click here!

Sichuan Red Hot Mala Shrimp at The Painted Panda

The China booth brought us a few awesome options for this festival. If you like Asian flavors, you should swing by!

The best of this booth, though, was the Sichuan Red Hot Mala Shrimp for $10.50. Get ready for a little heat!

Check out more of The Painted Panda right here!

Playalinda Brewing Co. Blue Raspberry Blonde at Refreshment Outpost

It’s not too often that we get a beer on the best of the fest list. Typically, they have to be pretty stand out in some fashion. Well, do you think BLUE BEER is stand out enough? Only if it tastes good too!

Well, we’re in luck because the Playalinda Brewing Co. Blue Raspberry Blonde at Refreshment Outpost for $9.75 tics BOTH of those boxes.

Want to learn more about the offerings at Refreshment Oupost? Click here!

Opera Cake at Cuisine Classique

Our FINAL pick on the main list was the dessert option at Cuisine Classique. Take a gander at the Opera Cake — almond Joconde, coffee buttercream, and chocolate ganache for $4.50.

This is hands-down a coffee-lovers dessert and we’re 100% okay with that. The flavors and textures here are amazing. It wowed us and totally earned a spot.

Want a full review of Cuisine Classique? Click here!

Best BOOTH of the FEST

Now that we’ve seen our favorite items, it’s time for us to give you our pick for the best BOOTH of the whole fest.

L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise

Can you hear the celebratory music? The France pavilion booth, L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise, has claimed a spot as the NUMBER ONE booth at the 2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts!

Will France ever disappoint us? History says no. Turns out, we can’t resist a bread bowl full of brie, molten chocolate cake, macarons, fancy frozen cocktails, and more. This booth is our MUST DO PICK this year. So, when you’re at Festival of the Arts, make sure you don’t miss out!

Click here for our FULL REVIEW of the BEST FEST BOOTH!

Runners-up for Best Booth of the Fest

The Deconstructed Dish

Our first runner-up is The Deconstructed Dish. This booth is definitely a must-visit at Festival of the Arts since it really does demonstrate the whole cuisine-as-art thing that this fest has going on.

We were fans of everything on the menu this year. Seriously, you wouldn’t believe how fast we ate that Deconstructed BLT.

For our FULL REVIEW of The Deconstructed Dish, click here!

Pop Eats

Between iconic festival staples like the Almond Frangipane Cake, creative presentations of classic eats like the Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese, and one of the greatest Bloody Marys we’ve ever had — Pop Eats has got some serious chops!

If it weren’t for the France booth’s rarely-wavering promise as a festival option, this one just might have taken the cake (the Almond Frangipane Cake, that is).

To see more of this booth, click here!

Best of the Fest for Kids

Festival Donuts at Joffrey’s Locations

Our winner for kids has GOT to be the four festival donut options at the various Joffrey’s locations. These treats are large, airy donuts topped with various iconic candies. That sure sounds like a kid’s dream to us!

The options are located at the four different EPCOT Joffrey’s kiosks and include the Snickers-topped Caramel Canvas Donut, the M&M’s-topped Color-Me Donut, the Milky Way-topped Starry Night Donut, and the Twix-topped Creative Twist Donut!

Want to check out more offerings at Joffrey’s? Click here!

Instagram Winners

Yup, we’ve got the most ‘grammable item of the fest too. We started this tradition when that Glitter Beer first popped up at Festival of the Arts and there’s no going back. Our Instagram winner is always the dish that brings us the best presentation or “wow” factor, even if they may not taste that great in their own right.

Red Velvet Funnel Cake at Funnel Cakes

We love heading over to the Funnel Cake Stand in The American Adventure Pavilion during festivals. They tend to crank out some SERIOUSLY fun and delicious specialty funnel cakes for EPCOT fests. This time is no different — and the Red Velvet Funnel Cake has landed a spot as one of our Instagram Winners!

This $9.50 treat is a Red Velvet Funnel Cake topped with cream cheese icing and pixie dust and it is SO adorable. The colorful and glittery sugar on top is so sweet in more ways than one. We’re just saying, this dessert will look BOMB on your feed.

Click here for our FULL REVIEW of the Red Velvet Funnel Cake!

Sea Butterfly at The Painted Panda

And we’ve got a drink that made the list too! The China Booth brought their ‘grammable game with the Sea Butterfly cocktail for $12.50. This sip is butterfly pea flower infused cocktail with lychee syrup, vodka, light rum, and magic boba pearls.

It was tasty and folks all around were asking where we snagged it. Look at the brilliant purple hue! This drink is an absolute work of art — and that’s saying something at this fest.

To see the full menu at The Painted Panda, click here!

Vanilla, Rose Water, and Pistachio Panna Cotta at The Masterpiece Kitchen

Over in the Canada Pavilion, we were reunited with one of the prettiest desserts we’ve ever seen in Disney World. Take a look at the Vanilla, Rose Water, and Pistachio Panna Cotta.

This $8 treat is light and yummy with complex flavors. Pro tip: Make sure you get all of the elements in one bite to maximize goodness!

To see our FULL REVIEW of The Masterpiece Kitchen, click here!

Weirdest of the Fest

Well, they can’t all be winners, can they? Sure, we had some stuff this year that was not-so-great or had some less-than-tasty flavors. But there was one item that was downright surprising! Here’s our pick for WEIRDEST of the fest!

Kalimotxo at Painters Palate

So, the Painters Palate booth had some seriously interesting eats this year, but our winner for the weirdest of the fest has GOT to be the Kalimotxo. This two-ingredient cocktail is a Red Wine Cocktail with Pibb Xtra for $6.

Yep. Red wine and Pibb Xtra. It tasted about how you would think that would taste. This cocktail is a combo that was developed in Basque in the 1970s. We’re not really sure what the appeal is, but it CERTAINLY stood out enough for us to show it to you. If you’re looking for something adventurous, head for that Kalimotxo.

Want to see more of Painters Palate? Click here!

Thanks for tagging along on our trip through EPCOT’s very first festival of the year! We’ve had a BLAST and we must say, we’re very full and feeling…inspired? Don’t forget we’ll be right here throughout the festival for all of the tips and planning needs you might have!

Click here for all the UPDATED details on Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays!

Which of these are on your must-eat list? Tell us in the comments! 

The post BEST of the FEST! What to Eat and Drink at the 2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts! first appeared on the disney food blog.