Walt Disney World’s biggest asset is arguably its two dozen(ish) hotels. Some fans will argue its the four theme parks, which is double the number of any other Disney destination. But then you start counting attractions as compared to Disneyland or Tokyo and realize, eh, maybe not so much.
Nowhere can compete with Walt Disney World when it comes to the resort roster. Within that, nowhere can compete with Walt Disney World on the resort restaurant roster. Whether we’re talking the total number of restaurants, where it absolutely trounces the competition, or even arguably pound for pound, where it’s still debatable that any other destination can hold its own against Walt Disney World.
While readers of a blog like this have probably experienced the fun of resort hopping via the Monorail, Skyliner, walking around Crescent Lake, and so forth, but the unfortunate reality is that most guests mostly miss Walt Disney World’s biggest asset, aside from the resort where they’re staying. That is, if they are staying on-site–and most guests are not. Accordingly, we loved the idea of the 2025 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival bringing a taste of the resorts to park guests, with two brand-new food booths. This reviews the first of those: Beach Grub Outdoor Kitchen.
Here’s a full rundown of the Beach Grub food & drink menus:
Food:
- Seafood Bake with shrimp, mussels, clams, andouille sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob, persillade butter, white wine broth, and grilled sourdough (New)
- Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with savory garlic spread and “cheese” (Plant-based)
- S’mores Bar: Fudge brownie, dark chocolate, toasted meringue, and smoked graham cracker (New)
Beverages:
- Coconut Water (Non-alcoholic)
- Coconut Water with Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum (New)
Let’s turn to the location of the Beach Grub Outdoor Kitchen, which is in World Celebration or World Nature–I don’t really know which, and I’m not sure Disney does, either. Let’s just go with “former Future World” on the walkway from Journey into Imagination towards World Showcase.
This walkway also has several names, from the Culinary Corridor to the Rose Walk. The booths in this area are basically at the entrance to World Showcase, very near the Canada pavilion. Yacht and Beach Grub are also across from Honey Bee-stro on the same path, and the Swirled Showcase is across from that. All are must-visit booths.
More importantly, Beach Grub is directly adjacent to the new Playalong Bay Play Garden. Like the food booths it’s nestled between, this play area pays homage to one of Walt Disney World’s famed resort pools, Stormalong Bay at Yacht & Beach Club, mixing fun for the whole family with adventure on the high seas.
Kids love the Playalong Bay Play Garden, which means parents love the adjacent food booths. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder why I even bother with these reviews, as the vast majority of people are spontaneously stopping at Outdoor Kitchens based on eye-catching menus, whenever they’re hungry, or out of convenience.
Playalong Bay Play Garden can definitely be filed under the third point: if their kids are going to spend a bit of time playing, one parent might as well grab some grub. This review will help you determine which grub is worth grabbing, for those who don’t just want to go with their gut.
Here are our food reviews from the Beach Grub:
Seafood Bake ($8.50) – The dish consists of shrimp, mussels, clams, andouille sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob, persillade butter, white wine broth, and grilled sourdough. The broth is light but rich, with an herby flavor.
The seafood trio is tender, high-quality, and have an exceptional flavor thanks to the buttery broth. The sausage, potatoes, and corn add hearty and heavy options to the dish, and are likewise fantastic. None of these tasted fishy–they were all buttery and herby thanks to that broth.
There’s a freshness to this Seafood Bake that caught me by surprise. I was expecting at least some of the seafood to be rubbery, the corn to be mushy, etc–none of that was the case. It was all somehow, shockingly perfectly prepared.
This is festival food, so preparation has a ‘luck of the draw’ element, but it’s probably an asset to the Seafood Bake that the Beach Grub booth had a perpetually long line when I visited. I may not want to roll the dice with this at the beginning of the morning or end of the night, but it was perfect when I bought it.
Even at $8.50, this strikes me as a good value given the contents, quality, and portion size. This is easily shareable, and it’s much more filling than other dishes at the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival.
Grilled Street Corn on the Cob ($6) – This is corn on the cob that’s plant-based (isn’t it all?), but what that really means is it’s topped fake “cheese” and savory garlic spread. This has become a staple of the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, with the smell of freshly-grilled corn on the cob beckoning people from around the park.
Being from the Midwest, I’m an absolute sucker for grilled corn on the cob. We used to eat the stuff every evening, all summer long. Having lived in Southern California, I’m also an absolute sucker for elote or Mexican street corn. As it turns out, you can make a healthy plant-based food even more delicious, and very unhealthy, by adding indulgent toppings to it. Who knew?!
I’m not going to complaint about this Grilled Street Corn on the Cob. It’s a good dish and you should get it. But I will re-up my perpetual criticism that there’s a bit of squandered potential here. This corn could be caked with chile powder, butter, cotija cheese, lime juice, mayonnaise, and crema fresca for the ultimate indulgence. I get that it wouldn’t have been vegan at that point…but so what? Nevertheless, grilled corn is always a winner, and even though the price is a bit high in my opinion, it’s still a good pick.
S’mores Bar ($5.50) – This is a fudge brownie with dark chocolate, toasted meringue, and smoked graham cracker. On gimmick factor alone, this is a winner. It approximates the flavor of s’mores pretty well, and tastes delicious.
My biggest concern here was that the graham cracker would accomplish its “smoked” flavor artificially, and I still assume it does, but this dessert doesn’t taste fake or chemically. It’s also a bit lighter than expected. Lots of flavors and textures working in concert here, resulting in one of the better desserts at the festival in this S’mores Bar.
Perhaps it’s because I went in with low expectations–EPCOT has done a lot of mediocre chocolate desserts on sticks at the festivals–but I found this to be excellent, and addictively good. It’s not so good that I’ll drop $5.50 repeatedly over the course of the event to eat this again and again, but I’ll probably buy it at least once more. (And if someone handed me free S’mores Bars, I’d eat as many as I could–that’s more than I can say about 75% of desserts at EPCOT festivals.) Highly recommended.
Ultimately, Beach Grub is one of the better Outdoor Kitchens at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. Everything here is at least worth trying and sharing. These are either winners thanks to inventiveness, execution, or value for money. All three dishes are in the good-to-great range, even if none of them are all-timers worthy of the Outdoor Kitchen Hall of Fame.
Honestly, even though Beach Grub is still good and recommended, I’m a little disappointed that it’s mostly an homage to Disney’s Beach Club Resort in name only. The Seafood Bake is similar to what’s served at Cape May Cafe, but not quite the same. The corn on the cob has no connection, and is just a perennial Flower & Garden fan favorite that has bounced around from booth to booth over the years. While delicious, the S’mores Bar is not an iconic snack from Beach Club. It would’ve been fun if Walt Disney World brought fan-favorite flavors from the resort to guests at EPCOT, but that’s not the case. This booth is more about never letting a good pun go to waste, and proximity to the (very good!) play area. This Outdoor Kitchen is still a contender for ‘best of fest,’ but it’s not quite what I hoped it’d be.
World Showcase has several Outdoor Kitchens with solid items here and there, but only a couple are as strong from top-to-bottom as the booths in the former Future World (minus Citrus Blossom). Almost all of these offer excellent and ambitious cuisine at relatively fair (by Walt Disney World standards) prices. You could easily do multiple meals from these Outdoor Kitchens alone and leave very satisfied!
Check out our Outdoor Kitchen Booth Menus & Food Photos at EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival post if you want to see and read more about every menu this year. You’ll also want to read our full Guide to the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival before you go to get an idea of what to do, strategy for the festival, photos of the topiaries and floral displays, and much more!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the Beach Grub booth? Have you tried any of the dishes, drinks or desserts here? Any thoughts on these items? Portion-size or quality-wise, did you have better or worse luck than us with what you ordered? Questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!