The BEST Dishes From EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays

We recently returned from a Christmastime trip to Walt Disney World, and one of the highlights was snacking around World Showcase during EPCOT’s International Festival of the Holidays!

EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays is a celebration of traditions and cuisine from around the world during the holiday season.  In 2022, the festival takes place from November 25^th to December 30^th.  We timed our trip just right to catch the very beginning of the festival.

Guests attending EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays will enjoy various seasonal offerings around World Showcase including holiday storytellers, festive decorations, musical performances, and special events.  But the big draw of this festival for many is the holiday kitchen food booths.

Each holiday kitchen features a menu inspired by dishes specific to that region.  For a full list of the festival’s holiday kitchens and their menus, head to Walt Disney World’s website!

I wish we could have sampled every menu item, but our wallets and available stomach space only allowed for so much.  But in this article, I will cover everything we sampled at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays, and which dishes we thought were the best of the fest!

Refreshment Port (Showcase Plaza)

Turkey Poutine

I’m a big fan of poutine, so I was really excited to try this holiday twist on the classic Canadian dish.  While traditional poutine is French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds, Disney upped the holiday flavor with the addition of turkey, cranberry relish, and crispy onions. 

On Disney’s menu, it doesn’t mention cheese curds are included in this dish, which I found odd.  But once I ordered it, I was happy to see that cheese curds were in fact present!  The Turkey Poutine was so tasty, and everything I had hoped it would be.  We found it to be a generous portion and super satisfying snack with great holiday flavor. 

Pasek Cellars Cranberry Wine

I decided to order the Cranberry Wine to enjoy with our Turkey Poutine. The wine was served chilled and was decently sweet, but you could still pick up on the cranberry notes. I would recommend this if you enjoy sweeter wine varietals.

Nochebuena Cocina (Near Port of Entry)

This brand-new festival booth features Latin American and plant-based dishes.  While there were several dishes that piqued my interest, I was on a mission for one menu item – Alfajores.  This cookie is part of the Holiday Cookie Stroll (EPCOT’s cookie scavenger hunt resulting in a complimentary completer cookie once finished) and this was the cookie I was most excited to try.

Alfajores

Two vanilla shortbread cookies sandwich a dulce de leche filling and coconut to create this tasty bite.  The cookies themselves were fairly thick, and somewhat dry.  But the sweet filling tied everything together. 

Being the good mother that I am, I shared this with my toddler who proceeded to make a HUGE mess with it before feeding most of it to some nearby ducks.  So be forewarned – this cookie can get messy when sharing!

Mele Kalikimaka (Near Port of Entry)

The menu at Mele Kalikimaka features festive food and drinks inspired by the islands of Hawai’i.  Guests can enjoy Kālua Pork, Lomi Lomi Salmon, and Hawaiian Coconut Pudding.

Lomi Lomi Salmon

While I was riding Soarin’ with the bigger kids, my husband and son ventured off to order this dish.  (Had I known, I would have made him order the Kālua Pork too!)

The Lomi Lomi Salmon is served with tomatoes, onions, salmon roe, yuzu mayonnaise, and yuca chips.  This is not a typical dish I would order as I’m not a fan of raw fish, but I’m glad my husband did because the flavors were fantastic!  The tomatoes and onions made this dish fresh and bright, while the salmon roe created a great salty complement to the acidity of the yuzu mayonnaise.  If you are an adventurous eater, this dish is worth checking out!

Le Marché de Noël Holiday Kitchen (France Pavilion)

At this Holiday Kitchen, you will find French-inspired savory dishes as well as wine and specialty cocktails.

Napoleon de Saumon Fumé en Brioche

Smoked salmon, dill mousse, and crème fraîche mousse create the layers of this savory bite served on brioche.  The brioche was flaky and buttery, and delicious rich pairing with the salmon.  The dill and crème fraîche mousses were also a great complement to the smokiness of the salmon.  My only complaint is the serving size was fairly small. 

Rôti de Jambon Sauce Moutarde à l’ancienne, Pommes Dauphine

This dish was a new offering at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays this year.  Roasted ham, mushrooms, pearl onions, and bacon are topped with a mustard sauce and served with a side of puff potatoes.  While my kids would not normally eat some of these ingredients, the mustard sauce really pulled all the flavors together and made this a family-friendly dish.  They particularly enjoyed the puff potatoes which were like little potato clouds that melted in your mouth.  Yum!

Frozen Hot Chocolate Martini

France’s Frozen Hot Chocolate Martini is made with Grey Goose La Vanille Vodka, regular vodka, chocolate milk, and whipped cream.  Oh man, was this drink tasty.  The cocktail was chocolatey and creamy and the perfect way to cool off during the hot afternoon.

I couldn’t taste the alcohol in this drink, which means there probably wasn’t much or this drink is very dangerous.  It was a fantastic treat that I didn’t have to share, nonetheless.

L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen (Between Morocco and France Pavilions)

According to Disney, L’Chaim’s kitchen features “classic deli noshes with a side of New York flair.”  The menu includes dishes such as Pastrami on Rye, Latkes, and the famous Black and White Cookie!

Potato Latkes

This was a fairly simple dish that could be compared to a hashbrown patty.  The Latkes were nice and crisp on the outside, and the drizzle of sauce was cool and creamy.  I’m not sure exactly what the sauce was, but I believe it had a sour cream base mixed with fresh dill and perhaps chives.

Overall, the Potato Lakes were a tasty snack, but pretty standard in flavor.  In hindsight, I wish I had ordered the Smoked Salmon Potato Latke, which came with a generous serving of salmon.  Something I will have to try on another visit!

Frozen New York Whiskey Sour

This was a new cocktail to appear at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays this year.  The blackberry wine in the cocktail was sweet but well balanced with the sour mix.  I had a hard time sharing this one!  It was the perfect drink to enjoy while it was still hot outside.

Black and White Cookie

The Black and White Cookie is another eligible cookie on the Holiday Cookie Stroll.  I’ve heard many good things about this type of cookie, but unfortunately, they aren’t common in our region.

This cookie was everything I had hoped it would be.  It was soft and chewy, and the vanilla and chocolate icing added the perfect touch of sweetness.  This was my favorite of all the cookies we sampled!

Tangierine Café (Morocco Pavilion)

The Morocco Pavilion features kebabs, Moroccan bread, and various ciders on their Holiday Kitchen menu. 

Grilled Chermoula Chicken Kebab

These grilled chicken kebabs are drizzled with garlic aioli and served with a carrot-chickpea salad.  We were big fans of this menu item!  The chicken was juicy and wonderfully seasoned, and the carrot-chickpea salad provided a light and fresh contrast to the richness of the dish.

Stone-Baked Moroccan Bread

Having just dined at Sanaa over at Animal Kingdom Lodge, this dish reminded us of their amazing bread service.  The Moroccan Bread is served with three sauces: hummus, chermoula, and zhoug.

The bread was soft and fluffy, and perfect for dipping in the sauces.  The chermoula sauce is the same used to prepare the chicken and one that we enjoyed.  The hummus was pretty standard, and not one of the sauces we found ourselves gravitating toward. 

Our favorite sauce by far was the zhoug.  Zhoug can best be described as a spicy cilantro sauce, so it may not be for everyone.  I didn’t find the sauce to be spicy, but the cilantro and garlic flavors were very pronounced which we really enjoyed!

Refreshment Outpost (Between China and Germany Pavilions)

Peanut Stew

This plant-based stew is made with sweet potatoes, mustard greens, and roasted peanuts over a bed of rice.  I was really looking forward to trying this dish because I have enjoyed spicy peanut dishes in the past, but this was a big let down for me.  The stew was thicker than I was anticipating and was unfortunately not warm.  I was also hoping this dish would be spicier and more flavorful, but I felt it was lacking.  Perhaps if it was served hot, I would have felt differently.

Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen (Mexico Pavilion)

You will find festive Mexican cuisine at this Holiday Kitchen.  Menu items at Las Posadas include tostadas, tamales, and churros.

Giant Tostada de Barbacoa

The Giant Tostada de Barbacoa is a new festival offering this year.  This tostada is loaded with toppings including braised barbacoa beef, chipotle black bean puree, salsa verde, queso cotija, crema Mexicana, and pickled onion.  All these ingredients come together to create a flavor explosion that we absolutely loved.  Disney often caters to milder palates, but I didn’t feel that was the case with this dish.

Cochinita Pibil Tamal

The Cochinita Pibil Tamal also made its festival debut this year.  This tamal was filled with cochinita pibil in corn masa and topped with pipián sauce, queso cotija, and crema Mexicana. 

I really enjoy tamales, but unfortunately this one missed the mark.  The masa dough was very dry and crumbly, and the dish was cold.  This could have been an unlucky experience, but I would not recommend the tamal for this reason.

Pomegranate Margarita

Another new festival offering – this margarita was fantastic!  The flavorful blend of black currant, pomegranate, and ginger juice made this a really unique cocktail which was elevated by the hibiscus salt rim.  The flavor of the tequila was also still present which I appreciated.  If you are stopping by Las Posadas, this cocktail is a can’t-miss!

Bavaria Holiday Kitchen (Germany Pavilion)

The Bavaria Holiday Kitchen is consistently a fan-favorite during EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays.  The menu features German dishes such as Pork Schnitzel, Fondue, and the popular Linzer Cookie.

Pork Schnitzel

The Pork Schnitzel is served with mushroom sauce, spätzle, and braised red cabbage.  These components worked very well together to create a perfect bite.  The kids were big fans as well!

Cheese Fondue

This was one of my favorite dishes of the day.  This fondue is served in a bread bowl with steamed carrots, zucchini, and potatoes.  The vegetables were cooked perfectly and paired well with the cheese.  And the best part?  Eating the bread bowl after the veggies were gone! 

I would definitely order this again.  Besides being tasty, the portion size was huge and a great value for the money.

Linzer Cookie

The Linzer Cookie is another treat you will find on the Cookie Stroll.  I have heard rave reviews of this treat in the past, so had to give it a try. 

The cookie was very soft, and the raspberry filling was a great balance of sweet and tart.  While I preferred the Black and White Cookie from L’Chaim, I would definitely recommend this cookie for anyone trying to complete the Cookie Stroll.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we felt the best dishes of EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays were:

• Lomi Lomi Salmon
• Turkey Poutine
• Hot Chocolate Martini
• Black and White Cookie
• Cheese Fondue
• Pork Schnitzel
• Moroccan Bread
• Chicken Kebab
• Rôti de Jambon Sauce Moutarde à l’ancienne, Pommes Dauphine

Dishes that could be skipped included:

• Peanut Stew
• Cochinita Pibil Tamal

Which dishes are you looking forward to sampling at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays?  Let me know in the comments!

Looking for other Disney food reviews?  Check out our Skipper Canteen Review HERE and our Guide to Eating and Drinking Around the World HERE!

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