Dining Review: Biergarten – Germany Pavilion
Menu (Allergy Menu) The Biergarten is located in the Germany Pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot. It’s a buffet/family style table service restaurant that serves semi-authentic German food for lunch and dinner. It also has a nice selection of food for folks who are gluten free. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is completely authentic and immersive. First, when you enter the Biergarten it’s themed to a German Bavarian Village. Specifically, in the middle of a kickass Octoberfest celebration. You’re in a damn theme park so don’t worry about a dress code. As with all table service restaurants, a reservation is highly recommended and can be made 180 days prior to your stay.
The Background
The Biergarten at Germany Pavilion has always been a restaurant I wanted to try, but I shied away from it because of the communal seating bullshit. Moreover, there are so many places to eat in the World Showcase so it makes it really hard to choose one. The Biergarten happened to be one of the restaurants that was offering the dining package to the Candlelight Processional, which we were interested in experiencing. Plus, it offered an extensive gluten free menu and one of our contributors recommended it as their favorite table service restaurant at Epcot. Above all, it was the cheapest dinner package option available, so we made the damn reservation.
Once we checked in for our reservation the cast member confirmed our allergies. They provided a detailed pamphlet that contained an allergen guide of the whole buffet menu, plus dessert. I have found Disney goes the extra mile to accommodate their guests and this is just another example.
The atmosphere in the Biergarten is quite remarkable. As soon as you walk in German music is blasting. If you’ve been to an Oktoberfest then you know the type of shit they play over the speakers. In addition to the music, they have an entertaining live band that plays brass horns and shit. They come out a couple times while you’re enjoying your meal. Since you’re in a German Bavarian Village, the exterior walls are made to look like you’re in the center of the town. Specifically, the walls are facades made to look like homes from a German village. It’s incredibly immersive.
The Gluten Free Food at Biergarten
The Biergarten is a traditional buffet. It doesn’t need a damn explanation. I don’t consider myself a connoisseur of German foods. I initially filled my plate with German Sausage, Roasted Pork, Roast Beef, Potato Salad, and Sautéed Green Beans. There were also a couple condiments such as German Mustard, Sweet German Mustard, and Apricot Chutney. The Roasted Pork paired really well with the Apricot Chutney. The chutney added another level of flavor to the roasted pork. It was really damn good. I’m not shitting you. And the sweet mustard made an amazing impact on the German sausage and Knockwurst. We also tried Salmon in Mustard Dill Sauce, Knockwurst, Warm Potato Salad, and a couple other items. However we weren’t able to try the Bavarian Style Pot Roast, as it was not gluten free. Apparently it’s a highly popular dish.
Unfortunately we also couldn’t wash it down with a pint of beer because they didn’t have a GF option. Although, they did have a nice selection of German wines, but we didn’t indulge. Nevertheless, we liked everything we tried and there is a shit ton of gluten free food options.
Dessert
Unfortunately, the gluten free dessert options are very limited. We could choose between seasonal fruit, red berry compote, and vanilla sauce. However, my wife and daughter grabbed a slice of Bavarian cheesecake and cut the crust off. My allergy is a little more intense, so I didn’t try it. My wife came up with the idea to put the vanilla sauce over the red berry compote. It was a badass combination. In fact, they should serve it that way in the first place.
Overall, it isn’t the best food I’ve eaten at Walt Disney World, but it’s really good. Everyone should be satisfied after eating. Above all, the theming and immersion is kickass. It lifts the Biergarten to another damn level. The communal seating was a little weird at first, but in the end it didn’t matter. I would recommend it solely for the experience. The food is just a damn bonus. On the other hand, if you like eating in peace and don’t like people, stay as far away from this bitch as you can.
