25 Popular Restaurants In Disney World, Ranked (2024)

When most people envision dining at Walt Disney World near Orlando, things like Dole Whip, Mickey-shaped pretzels, and herculean turkey legs have been the long-established Disney snack fodder, many of which are so famed they were the subject of a recent cookbook. But nowadays, the most magical place on Earth is a veritable mecca of gourmet snacks, sips, and dining, from immersive themed meals and tasting menus in literal castles to legit fine dining and swanky steakhouses. Are Mickey-shaped treats still ubiquitous? Absolutely. But there's much more to dining in Disney World these days than ever before.

Throughout all four parks — Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom — and in Disney Springs and its myriad hotels and resorts, food and drink are overflowing. Altogether, there are more than 200 places to get food in Walt Disney World, including nearly 100 full-service restaurants. These span the spectrum from casual cafes and churro stands to full-blown fine dining, with plenty of fun theming and playful cookery along the way. From a buzzy space-themed spot to classic Hollywood-style dining that never goes out of style, these are Walt Disney World's best restaurants based on my personal experiences and supplemental research.

All prices are as of the date of publication. 

Outside of the parks, Disney Springs (formally known as Downtown Disney) has emerged as a mecca of dining, shopping, and entertainment. One prime example is The Polite Pig, a fast-casual barbecue restaurant from the folks behind one of Orlando's most acclaimed restaurants, The Ravenous Pig. The Polite Pig is a casual offshoot that always commands a worthwhile line from its vantage point in the middle of Disney Springs' main shopping corridor.

Here, the bill of fare is barbecue, both of the classic comfort food variety, and the inventively eccentric. This means familiar fare like baby back ribs, fried chicken, and prime brisket share top billing with novelties like burnt ends meatballs, bourbon-glazed cheddar sausages with jalapeño cornbread, and a smattering of unconventional vegetable dishes, like roasted beets with smoked pecan granola and crispy Brussels sprouts glazed with whiskey caramel. To drink, don't miss the smooth-as-silk barrel-aged Manhattan, or try one of the house beers from its very own Ravenous Pig brewery.

Optimal for all ages, the reservation-free restaurant tends to command a lengthy queue at prime meal periods, especially starting at 6 p.m. The line moves fast, but to avoid it, your best bet is to arrive off-hour, or try lunch. It's definitely a tad pricier than old-school barbecue joints (entrées range from $15 to $23, and sandwiches average $13), but the quality of the ingredients and the sheer singularity of many of its menu items make it worthwhile.

When it comes to batter-based breakfast fodder, Disney World is more known for its Mickey waffles than for crêpes. But to round out the recent expansion of the France Pavilion in Epcot, which saw the opening of the Remy's Ratatouille Adventure ride, Disney added a new restaurant that even the most discerning Pixar rat-chef would love: La Crêperie de Paris.

Modest and rather understated in terms of decor, at least compared to other highly themed restaurants in the parks, the crêpe restaurant puts its focus on the food — an emphasis made clear by the quality and authenticity of the menu. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with both full-service and quick-service options, as well as affordable prix fixe choices, the restaurant really offers something for everyone and every age at a reasonable price point (savory buckwheat-based crêpes are all $18.50, while all sweet crêpes are $10.95).

The sunny restaurant is located in the rear of the France Pavilion, behind the faux Eiffel Tower, and along a walkway designed to resemble the streets of Paris as you stroll to the Remy ride. The menu is inspired specifically by the Brittany region of France, with real-deal offerings like the Savoyarde crêpe brimming with molten Raclette cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, and French Bayonne ham, or the Pomme crêpe, a sweet caramel apple homage filled with caramelized apples and caramel beurre salé, a salted butter staple from Brittany.

Southern comfort food is on full, decadent display at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', one of the most popular restaurants in Disney Springs, for good reason. The huge, clamorous restaurant is perched on the inner lagoon in the shopping and dining district, with massive dining rooms evocative of a cozy Southern cottage, where the hospitality is as warm and charming as the soulful cuisine. Said cooking is courtesy of chef Art Smith, a celebrity chef who once worked as Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, and whose penchant for buttery Southern cuisine is revered enough to make this one of the most in-demand tables in Disney World (reservations are highly suggested for brunch, lunch, and dinner, though you can get a boozy cocktail from the bar area to bide your time while you wait).

Fried chicken, fluffy doughnuts, deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, barbecue pork, and fried catfish are all requisite Southern staples (and menu hits) joined by Floridian favorites like conch chowder and hand-battered gator bites with remoulade and hot sauce. Whatever you do, try and save room for dessert — the towering chocolate cake is one of Art Smith's top recommendations. To drink, the bar is known for its fruity moonshine-based cocktails in chilled copper mugs. The vibe is fun, lively, and come-as-you-are, and while sandwiches and entrées can cost upwards of $19 and $29, respectively, you more than get your money's worth for the sheer portion sizes that are enough to feed a hungry family.

All around the central lagoon in Epcot, the World Showcase features elaborately themed pavilions inspired by different countries, each one boasting its own architecture, shops, and restaurants, with a few rides thrown in for good measure. In the U.K. Pavilion, Rose & Crown is a quaint, bustling pub designed to transport diners straight to London, and it succeeds with its rustic, cozy decor, and hearty pub grub.

While British beers and ciders take top billing, the restaurant (and its lagoon-adjacent patio, a prime spot for watching the fireworks at night) is quite family-friendly and casual. Open for lunch and dinner, kids love the fish and chips or cheesy pasta, while adults have plenty to savor and sip, from Scotch eggs and shepherd's pie to sticky toffee pudding and pints of Guinness and Boddingtons English Pub Ale.

Rose & Crown is undoubtedly a popular go-to restaurant in Epcot, but it's not terribly difficult to snag a reservation. At the very least, wait times won't be too long, aside from prime dinner time and during the fireworks. If you're looking to just grab a pint of beer to go, customers can order drinks from the front bar without any wait. You also get a lot of bang for your buck, where hefty portions of shepherd's pie, bangers and mash, and fish and chips are all in the mid to high $20s.

Animal Kingdom, in all its wilderness adventures and far-flung theming inspirations, is the Disney World park that's big on getting wild — even the otherworldly kind. Located in the "Avatar"-themed Pandora section of the park, Satu'li Canteen is a quick-service spot that feels like dining in a cafeteria on another planet. Here, you can customize your own bowl, drink a green beer, and chow down underneath a huge Avatar-inspired plant on the patio.

Great for diners of all ages, the lunch and dinner spot offers hearty bowls with base options like rice, noodles, and salad, plus toppings like wood-grilled chicken, slow-roasted beef, and chili-spiced fried tofu. Portions are huge, and accouterments are as colorful as they are flavorful, including crisp vegetable slaw, black bean vinaigrette, and boba balls. The Cheeseburger Steamed Pods are a fun favorite: fluffy bao buns stuffed with ground beef, ketchup, mustard, pickle, and cheddar cheese. To drink, there's wine, sangria, juices, and space-themed beers, like the Elysian Space Dust IPA and the Mo'ara High Country Ale.

The restaurant is enormous, with an interior area designed like an otherworldly mess hall. It's quick-service, so it doesn't take reservations, but you'll need to select a time slot by pre-ordering food via the My Disney Experience app (it usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes, so don't wait until you're starving), and then approaching the host stand in front of the canteen when your app notifies you. This is also one of the most economical restaurants in the parks, where huge bowls range from $13.29 to $17.99.

Of all the resorts in Disney World, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort feels like one of the more underrated. Tucked away in the palm-filled wilderness, far enough from the parks and Disney Springs to afford some solitude, the resort — and its restaurants — feels like a hidden gem, and a breath of fresh air. The same sentiment certainly applies to its sleeper hit of a restaurant, Sebastian's Bistro.

Decked out in colorful pastels and complete with a sprawling porch lined with lime-green lounge chairs, the full-service dinner restaurant is as casual and leisurely as a beachy island vacation. The menu is a prix fixe that costs $38 per adult and $20 per child, with a spree of Latin- and Caribbean-style eats served family-style. Items include fluffy pull-apart rolls with guava butter and caramelized onion jam, kale salad with grilled pineapple and key lime dressing, and the Taste of the Caribbean, a hulking platter of citrus chicken, mojo pork, mango sambal, grilled flank steak, cilantro rice and beans, vegetable curry, and grilled broccolini. It's all followed by a shareable portion of coconut pineapple bread pudding. To drink, look for lots of tropical rum-based cocktails, sangria, Caribbean spirits, and beer. As underrated as it is, Sebastian's Bistro remains an easy reservation to snag, with a motif and menu — and casual, breezy vibe — befitting diners and families of all ages and persuasions.

In terms of in-demand bars in Disney World, the hottest spot is one that takes guests to another planet, in a galaxy far, far away. Said planet is Batuu, the meticulous and immersive "Star Wars"-themed Galaxy's Edge land in Disney's Hollywood Studios, where spaceships, stormtroopers, and lightsabers are commonplace sights. Follow the line to Oga's Cantina, a bustling music-filled watering hole that feels right out of the movies (which has one of the best bars in Disney World).

It's still tough to find reservations (although last-minute openings pop up pretty regularly on the My Disney Experience app). Those lucky enough to snag a barstool or booth are rewarded with a truly out-of-this-world drinking experience, thanks to the bubbling and fizzing drinks, the in-character bartenders, and the party-starting music from DJ R-3X, a droid pilot that hardcore "Star Wars" fans might recognize for his role on the Star Tours ride nearby.

Though booze is front and center, the cantina is a smash hit with kids, thanks to its fun cavernous space and kitschy droid energy. Plus, kids love the Blue Bantha, a blue milk drink garnished with a vanilla-butter sugar cookie. Adults, meanwhile, can feel the tingle with the Fuzzy Tauntaun, a vivacious mix of peach vodka, peach Schnapps, tangerine-orange juice, cane sugar, and a "tingling foam" that'll zap your lips (in a fun way). Food-wise, limited offerings include Batuu Bits, a smattering of crispy "Galaxy Snack Bits" with spiced chermoula dip, and the Happabore Sampler with cured and roasted meats, cheeses, and pork cracklings. Most drinks are reasonably priced, clocking in between $17.50 to $20.50 (though there is a special $46 drink that comes with a souvenir mug).

For proof of Disney Springs' dining legitimacy, look no further than Wine Bar George, a sophisticated wine-centric restaurant that looks like something out of Napa, presided over by certified master sommelier George Miliotes. Not only is the wine list here gargantuan, but some of the bottles are rare gems that go up to $3,000 per bottle. Don't worry, though — if you want a taste of the elite, the bar employs a needle-like device called a Coravin to offer 1-ounce pours that cost far less.

While kid-friendly (especially at brunch with its crispy mac & cheese bites and brioche French toast), the swanky restaurant definitely feels more conducive to a date night or girls' night, especially considering its wine emphasis and the fact that most food is designed to pair with vino. Along with a dictionary-sized menu of Old and New World wines, lunch and dinner selections run the gamut from hummus and grilled octopus salad to flaming saganaki cheese, charcuterie boards, and red wine-braised short ribs.

Prices aren't cheap, but they're reasonable for the high quality and craft that goes into every bite, mirroring the attention to quality that goes into the wine list. For dinner appetizers, prices range from $9 to $26, charcuterie and cheese boards are $27 to $64, and entrées between $38 to $52. The restaurant is usually pretty easy to get into, but if you need to bide your time — or simply grab a snack or a drink on the go — then just stop by the takeout window, The Basket at Wine Bar George.

From Disney World's wide portfolio of elaborately themed and transportive resorts, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge reigns as the most authentic and immersive. Tucked away from the rest of the parks and resorts, on the far western edge of Disney World, the resort feels like a real-deal African savannah lodge, surrounded by woods and teeming with African wildlife — both of which are viewable through the windows at Sanaa, an Indian and African restaurant filled with African art.

Although Sanaa lacks the nostalgic kitsch and childlike wonder of other restaurants and attractions (which might make this restaurant a challenge for some kids), it's unabashedly authentic in both its artsy decor and its cuisine. Again, kids might shy away from some of the unfamiliar flavors at this all-day restaurant, but adventurous adults have lots to get excited about. The most popular item on the menu, the Indian-style bread service, pairs five different kinds of breads (including three naans, an onion kulcha, and a paneer paratha) with a multitude of dipping sauces and chutneys (like cucumber raita, mango chutney, tomato-date jam, and red chile sambal). The rest of the globe-trotting menu features items like char-grilled lamb kefta, samosas, Goan seafood curry, Zazibari vegetable curry, and turmeric-marinated fish with roasted cauliflower and coconut gravy.

Prices are fairly high, with appetizers between $9 to $22 and entrées between $24 to $36, but the ingredients and authenticity merit the cost. Sanaa is relatively easy to get a reservation for, but there's also an adjoining Sanaa Lounge that offers a slimmed-down version of the menu without reservations.

Located atop Gran Destino Tower in Disney's Coronado Springs Resort (one of the more mature, adult-centric resorts on the property), Dahlia Lounge is a high-flying restaurant in a league all its own. This is true of its panoramic views, as well as its art-filled decor inspired by Spanish Surrealism, and especially of its legit Spanish-inspired menu of dishes and drinks.

Chic, modern, and swanky, the lounge definitely feels more fitting for adults, or a parents' night out — it's also one of the best late-night options in Disney World, open until midnight. The food menu offers a curated array of shareable tapas, like shrimp in aji amarillo, traditional tortilla Española, ham and cheese bocadillos, Spanish charcuterie boards, and crispy artichokes with raspberry-grape gastrique. Meanwhile, drinks include an extensive selection of Spanish wines, gin & tonics, as well as sangria. Dahlia Lounge is also known for its boozy after-dinner drinks, like the Cafesito Delicioso with coffee liqueur, Licor 43, espresso, and heavy cream.

Considering plates are small and shareable, prices feel very reasonable, running from $8 to $38. Accessible for reservations, or for walk-in drinks and bites, the lounge is especially doable later at night. And there's really no better nightcap than a glass of wine on the terrace, overlooking an epic Floridian sunset.

Nestled on the ground floor of one of Disney World's original hotels near Magic Kingdom, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Steakhouse 71 is a newer restaurant that puts an aptly contemporary spin on the classic steakhouse template. Sleek and modern in design, the sprawling, upscale restaurant and adjoining lounge is a breath of fresh air in its modernity and calm atmosphere.

Although kids have plenty to choose from on the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, its understated decor and sophisticated vibe make this Disney World restaurant more appealing for adults. In addition to standout steaks like New York Strips and top sirloins, the menu offers an elevated take on vintage American fare. This includes a fork-and-knife Caesar salad, citrus-poached shrimp cocktail, sea salt-dusted potato brioche, red wine-glazed mushrooms, and lump crab cakes with Old Bay remoulade, corn hash, and housemade saltine crackers. To drink, there's a selection of wines from across the globe, plus some of the best cocktails on the property — try the Cocoa Boulevardier, a richly smooth tipple of single-barrel reserve bourbon, Campari, vermouth, and chocolate bitters.

By ritzy steakhouse standards, this is one of the more affordable options in Disney World, with steaks topping out at $39. The huge restaurant is pretty easy to get a reservation for, but the casual lounge offers a limited version of similar snacks and drinks in a large bar area where it's always easy to find a chair or a stool.

Bursting with authenticity, Animal Kingdom is a park that goes to great lengths to source ingredients and draw inspiration from across the globe. This is true of its African-inspired full-service restaurant, Tiffins, but what's even better is its casual, reservation-free sister spot, Nomad Lounge.

Located on Discovery Island towards the middle of the park, Nomad Lounge is easier to get into and offers a largely similar menu in a more family-friendly environment. Overlooking the river, its huge covered terrace offers a tranquil escape from the bustle of the park and great views of boats with waving Disney characters drifting by. The atmosphere feels like a swanky African safari lodge, with a menu of snacks and cocktails that's just as well-traveled.

The Tiffins Bread Service is a habit-forming combo of naan and paratha with red pepper hummus, spicy coriander yogurt, and ginger-pear chutney, along with tuna poke bowls, Impossible Beef sliders with yucca fries, and churros with vanilla crema and coffee creme anglaise. The relaxed terrace is especially popular for families and kids, with shredded beef tacos, grilled shrimp, and falafel for little ones. The cocktails, though, are the main attraction. Showcased via an elaborately illustrated menu, travel-inspired tipples include the Lamu Libation with African rum, banana rum, guava puree, and orange, lime, and pineapple juices, and the Annapurna Zing with gin, passion fruit purée, mint, lime juice, ginger beer, and a lotus flower garnish. Its prices are more affordable compared to Tiffins, with plates between $10 to $16 and cocktails between $15 to $17.

I based these Walt Disney World dining recommendations on a combination of extensive personal experience and online research to compile a list of the best places to eat. I looked at not only the four parks (Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) but also the resorts and hotels Disney offers, as well as Disney Springs' offerings. Price, what you get for the price, quality, variety, atmosphere, and more were all considered in my ranking.