Figment lovers and artists unite – this one’s for you! EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts is back this year for a colorful extravaganza of food studios, art experiences, and Broadway-inspired concerts. This year’s EPCOT Festival of the Arts runs from January 16th to February 23rd, 2026. You can check out our complete guide to the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Arts for a full breakdown of what’s returning and what’s new at this year’s festival, but we’re here to talk about what might be the best part of the festival…the FOOD!

So, are you ready to eat around World Showcase with us? We’re bringing you some of the best dishes of the festival, and a few we’d skip next time. Let’s go!

EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts Overview

EPCOT Festival of the Arts focuses on all things arts, including everyday visual art experiences like drawing or painting, theatre, and culinary arts! Guests can participate in a Figment-themed scavenger hunt, help paint a massive art mural with cast members and fellow guests, purchase original paintings and meet artists at merchandise booths, enjoy Broadway-style concerts nightly with popular Broadway performers, and (new for this year) trade Disney Lorcana cards!

The most anticipated part of any EPCOT Festival is the eats and drinks throughout the World Showcase and beyond. Not only does the Festival of the Arts offer over 18 food studios (a.k.a food booths full of yummy eats and drinks), but what this festival does best is make aesthetically pleasing treats!

Best EPCOT Festival of the Arts Food

Let’s start with everything we loved, because there was a lot! The best of this year’s festival features a mix of old festival classics and new hits. And, they really hit it out of the park this year! Will I be making multiple trips back to EPCOT just for these food studios? If you guessed yes…you’re probably right.

Chapter 2: Plate of Impossible Bites

Location: Fictional Victuals

Price: $7.49 plus tax

We’re starting off with a new item, the Chapter 2: Plate of Impossible Bites, and, boy, did it deliver! This Alice in Wonderland-themed food studio features a plate of roasted turkey breast, a bacon-and-onion custard tart, cherry gel, and a brown butter milk foam. The turkey was moist and well seasoned, the tart was onion-forward and savory, while the accompanying sauces and butters balanced out the savory and sweet.

This unassuming dish is one you might consider skipping at first glance, but that’d be a mistake!

Tostada de Cangrejo

Location: El Artista Hambriento

Price: $9.50 plus tax

The Mexico Pavilion always hits it out of the park with its festival food booths, and this year is no different! They always have a tostada of some kind on the menu, and they went pretty unique this year! This crispy corn tortilla is topped with guacamole, lump crab and mango, crispy fried onions, and hot sauce.

If you like crab, this is a must-get dish. The portion of crab was plentiful, the sweetness of the mango and guacamole was nicely balanced with the hot (but not too hot) sauce, and the fried onions were the perfect crunch.

Deconstructed Key Lime Pie

Location: The Deconstructed Dish

Price: $5.29 plus tax

While the Deconstructed Key Lime Pie is a recurring dish, they took it to a new level this year! It’s back with a new look and elevated flavors, quickly becoming one of our top festival desserts. The portion is easily shareable. The waffle cone “chips” were perfectly crisp, and the toasted meringue combined with the key lime curd provided a great balance, neither too acidic nor too sweet.

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of key lime desserts; however, I’ll be going back to get this.

Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib

Location: Pastoral Palate

Price: $8.79 plus tax

This was on my best of the festival list last year, and it’s staying put in 2026! The tender short ribs are paired with parsnip puree, broccolini, tomatoes, and balsamic glaze. The dish comes with a decent portion of short ribs. The balsamic glaze added a nice bit of acidity, especially when paired with the parsnip puree. This dish was a perfect balance of light, yet still savory. Don’t skip this!

Chorizo and Potato Empanada

Location: Vibrante & Vivido

Price: $6.79 plus tax

A studio that started as a tribute to Disney’s new (at the time) movie, Encanto, has quickly become a fan favorite food booth that you won’t want to miss! Honestly, everything on the menu here is great. As its name suggests, this booth is an all-around vibe. And, this chorizo and potato empanada with turmeric and annatto aiolis is a fan favorite, which is why it keeps coming back!

Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it tastes great, too! The flaky crust tastes handmade, and the filling is full of meat, potatoes, and spices. The aiolis balance out the dish’s spiciness, though it isn’t overly spicy by any means. For the price, this is a filling snack at a great value.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Location: Gourmet Landscapes

Price: $9.79 plus tax

Located in the Canada Pavilion, Gourmet Landscapes has brought back a repeated festival favorite. This wild mushroom risotto with aged Parmesan, truffle shavings, and zinfandel reduction is served at their table service restaurant, Le Cellier, so it consistently hits the mark.

One of the best things about this dish is not only its creamy truffle and mushroom flavors, but that it’s 100% vegan! And unfortunately, there aren’t many vegan options at this festival. This alone makes it a must-try.

Peppercorn-crusted Striploin

Location: The Artist’s Table

Price: $9.29 plus tax

I’ve been critical in the past of food booths in the American Adventure Pavilion for being boring. But this year is different! While this dish seems simple, the flavors are next level. They’ve taken a simple steak-and-potatoes and turned it into a restaurant-quality bite.

The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, the grilled asparagus was well seasoned, and the potatoes au gratin were creamy and delicious. The au poivre butter really took the steak and asparagus to the next level. This is my number one dish at the 2026 Festival of the Arts!

Croque Monsieur Inspired Grilled Cheese

Location: Pop Eats!

Price: $6.79 plus tax

This is about to be a hot take, as it seemed everyone loved the pimento grilled cheese from last year’s festival. However, this grilled cheese with black forest ham, gruyere, and bechamel sauce was the perfect bite on a cold day. Add in the tomato soup – what’s not to love?

Not only that, but the portion was also large and easily shareable, as long as you aren’t planning to make it your only meal of the day. The sandwich got a little messy as we ate it, but the flavors were worth it!

Liquid Nitrogen Minnie Cake Pop

Location: Swirled Showcase

Price: $4.79 plus tax

I’ll start off by saying that this is mostly for the kids. However, I have a soft spot for anything cotton candy, so I had to try this. This Minnie Mouse-themed cake pop is a cotton-candy sponge cake, covered in white chocolate ganache and drizzled with colorful chocolate splats.

I loved it. It wasn’t overly sweet, which can happen easily with flavored cakes, especially cotton candy flavors. It held together well, and most of all, it was fun to watch the cast members make it through the window! For the price, this is a great treat for the kids, and large enough that two kids could probably share it. Or, if you’re a kid at heart (like me), have it all to yourself!

EPCOT Festival of the Arts Food to SKIP

Although we thoroughly enjoyed most of the festival studio items, there were a few we wouldn’t order again. Whether it was due to taste, value, or quality, here are some items you may want to skip if you’re heading to the Festival of the Arts this year.

Popcorn, Popcorn Chicken and Waffles

Location: Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey

Price: $6.79 plus tax

Look, ya’ll, it’s pretty. And I know that’s the whole point, but that’s all it has going for it. This comes with a red waffle, popcorn chicken, colorful popcorn, mini mozzarella, and maple syrup.

Unfortunately, the waffle we were served was rock hard, resembling more of a chip than a waffle. We had no mozzarella in our dish, the popcorn chicken was cold, and the syrup was not evenly distributed. There were pieces of chicken that tasted like nothing but syrup, and others with no flavor at all. Maybe it was an off day, or maybe it’s supposed to be this way, but save your money and opt for something else instead if you’re not interested in it just for the pics.

Wagyu Bun

Location: Goshiki

Price: $10.75 plus tax

The Japan Pavilion is known for the sushi donut but has also adapted variations of other menu classics. The Waygu Bun is a steamed bun filled with American Wagyu beef, onion, and seasonings. And, this year, the bun is purple!

Now, overall, the dish is fine. In fact, you could even argue it’s good. The beef flavor is there, but for nearly $11, it’s not big or high-quality enough. This is the second most expensive thing across the entire festival, and I just didn’t find it overly impressive for the cost. Mine was served in a lukewarm bun, and only about 40% of the bites contained beef, which is what landed it on my skip list.

Tokyo Kawaii Roll

Location: Goshiki

Price: $9.75 plus tax

Unfortunately, there was another dish at the Japan Pavilion food studio that missed the mark this year (which is a bummer because this stop is typically one of my favorites!). Let’s start with the good – the sushi roll is beautiful and absolutely hits the mark in the “art” aspect. The rice is colored a bright pink and blue, with lettuce and shrimp tempura inside. And, the plate is lined with a yum yum and plum sauce.

Now for the bad. The lettuce added a weird texture to the roll, which was also accompanied by sticky rice that didn’t help the texture issue. The shrimp was bland and didn’t seem to be seasoned at all. If the roll had been topped with the sauces rather than the plate lined with them, this might have been a better, more complete dish.

Polenta Pasticciata

Location: L’Arte di Mangiare

Price: $8.00

Oh, the Italy Pavilion…some of the simplest food just seems so hard for them to get right. I will say that, compared to previous years, this dish was a step in the right direction, but it’s still not worth the money.

The Polenta Pasticciata consists of polenta, bolognese, parmesan, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. The positive is that the sauce was good. In fact, I wouldn’t have been upset if that sauce were on a pasta. However, the rest of the dish was the problem. The meat of the bolognese was some parts crispy, some parts chewy, and the polenta’s texture was way off. It was more of a sponge cake.

Final Thoughts

EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts is my favorite festival for many reasons, and the food studios this year really solidified that. Almost everything we tasted was great, and many things we enjoyed didn’t even make our best list, which says something!

While there were a few things I’d skip when I return to the festival, this is a foodie lineup you won’t want to miss.

Comments

Have you been to EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts? Let us know in the comments if you plan to attend this year’s Festival of the Arts and what food you’re looking forward to trying most!