If you’re looking for a hidden gem restaurant, Garden Grill at EPCOT is a great spot for a meal at WDW!  It features a family-style, all-you-care-to-enjoy menu full of comfort food, character interaction with Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto – all in a spinning restaurant with views of various scenes from the Living with the Land attraction!

Today we welcome guest reviewer Katie Prevot from Destinations to Travel with a review of Garden Grill at EPCOT!  Take it away, Katie!

Garden Grill – Photo courtesy of disneyworld.disney.go.com

When you walk into The Land pavilion at EPCOT, you can’t help but notice the Garden Grill restaurant at the center of the top floor looks like it is moving!? And then you see the characters walk by and now you know you want to eat there…

So did I! I have wanted to eat at the Garden Grill for about three years now, and I finally got to try it. I got to enjoy a great Lunch, here is my review:

Spinning

When most people hear about a restaurant turn or spin, they think “um no”. But this is a very slow turn. In fact, I was worried that we would not get to make it around the entire place before we were done, but we did make the full circle 1.5 times. As you spin anti-clockwise, you leave the “front” of the restaurant,and enter the top of the Living With the Land attraction with great plant scenery that looks real.

Seating at Garden Grill – Photo courtesy of disneyworld.disney.go.com

Seating

My seat was in a semi-circle booth front and center to the scenery. One complaint that I do have with the booths are that the tables were way too high. I am a young adult and the table was nearly to my shoulders, and the 5 yr old had the table right under her face. We both had to sit on our knees. I don’t know if it was because the booth seats were too low, or if they had a back slant to them, but I really wanted those tables to be lower. However, I didn’t even notice that there were more than one row of seats in the restaurant until later when the table right above us started singing happy birthday, so I guess quiet & privacy is an advantage to having a booth as well.

Chip and Dale at Garden Grill – Photo courtesy of disneyworld.disney.go.com

Characters

At Garden Grill, you can dine with Chip, Dale, Farmer Mickey, and Pluto. When the characters came around, they spend a great amount of time with us. Mickey (in a cute farmer’s outfit!) noticed everyone at the table, and both he & Pluto wanted me to come out and take a picture. So pictures and hugs are not just for the people sitting on the outside. Chip was our favorite, while Dale always just walked by us. But all 4 characters walked by and visited at least 2 times while we were there, so there is lots of opportunity for interaction. Another small complaint here is that the room from the table to the outside railing of the restaurant was very limited, making area for the the characters and kids to interact very small. Combine that with those high tables, and we had to move a lot around.

Lunch and Dinner are served Family Style at Garden Grill – Photo courtesy of disneyworld.disney.go.com

Food

The servings here are family style, and the main plate brought out has everything on it – you ask for more as you need it. We feasted on sweet potato fries, stuffing, salmon, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, string beans, sliced turkey, and beef. Not to mention the wonderful fluffy rolls served before and the HUGE garden salad they bring you. Not to mention the berry shortcake for dessert! The menu is the same at lunch and dinner, but Garden Grill recently started serving breakfast too!  All the food is comforting and even picky eaters should find something they enjoy.

Pluto at Garden Grill – Photo courtesy of disneyworld.disney.go.com

Value

This restaurant is All You Care to Eat, so it’s a great value if you have big eaters in your family or you’re looking to have one “big” meal per day.  If you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, it will cost you 1 Table Service Credit per person.

ADRs

It’s definitely recommended that you make an Advanced Dining Reservation at Garden Grill, but unlike some other locations it doesn’t usually fill up at 180 day out, making it a good choice for those who are booking closer to their travel dates.