Biertgarten is a table service restaurant located in the Germany Pavilion in EPCOT. It’s an all you care to enjoy experience service traditional bavarian fare and includes entertainment and a highly themed dining area. For years this restaurant was communal seating, meaning you were likely to share a table with 1 or more other parties. Now since the pandemic they’ve moved to each party getting their own table. Don’t worry if you love meeting people and conversation, the tables are still close enough together that you’re likely to make new friends if you want to.
We arrived a bit early for our reservation and checked in at the front desk. We were told we’d be texted when our table was ready and asked to wait in a large waiting area. We didn’t have to wait long before we were shown to our table. The tables are arranged in a semi circle around the main show area over 3 different levels with the buffer on the top level. It didn’t look like there was a bad seat in the house.
After being seated we were presented with a drink menu. Soft drinks were included, but beer, wine, and cocktails were also available. If you’re a beer lover, then this is the restaurant for you. They server beer in 1/2 liter and 1 liter mugs. For the reference, in the photo above a guest is holding the 1 liter mugs with the 1/2 liter just behind it. There was no question in my mind, the only question was what kind of beer was going to fill my liter mug. I decided on a Beck’s PIlsner, which proved to be a good choice when paired with the rich and savory food on the buffet.
We were quickly served our drink orders and wasted no time in attacking the buffet. This is a vast spread but fairly meat centric as bavarian fare is known to me. There were various salads to start with including potato, macaroni, and greens. I quickly honed in on the pretzel buns and beer cheese soup. I am very bad about taking photos of my food in a restaurant. I’m often too eager to dig in to the meal and I strill feel kind of silly taking photos of a plate of food or worse a buffet station when people are just trying to get some food! I’ll include a few generic photos to give you an idea of the food offerings.
My first plate was a win all around. The salads were all tasty and basically fairly down the middle as far as taste profile and what one might exepct from a german potato salad or macaroni salad. A word of warning if you are a pretzel fan like I am, the pretzel rolls are very filling so try to pace yourself. I ate two and by the end of the second I was wondering how much of the main courses I was going to be able to eat. But I composed myself, dug deep, and headed back into the fray for plate number 2.
This time I loaded up on the main course offerings. A bratwurst, schintzel, roasted chicken, meatball and a slice of pork roast from the carving station. I sqeeuzed some roasted potatoes and red cabbage on my plate and topped off my schnitzel with some of the red wine sauce, then head back to tuck in.
The meat offerings did not disappoint. The pork roast and schnitzel were maybe a little dry, but that’s not too surprising from a buffet. The good news is the red wine sauce was flavorful and complimented both very well, so that slight problem was easily recitified. The roasted chicken was very moist and flavorful. I love schnitzel, but objectively the chicken was the best followed by the meatball. If you have a picky eater, this chicken could be a good choice as it was fairly basic (but in the best way!)
The sides went perfectly with the main course. The red cabbage was a star in my opinion. I’m a big cabbage fan in general, but the red cabbage was exceptionally well done. The texture was soft, but not mushy, and the slight sweetness and acidity it offered cut through the richness of the main courses just right.
During the meal, it seemed like maybe every 15-20 minutes, the performers come out to play music and lead a fun toast. Sometimes this stuff feels forced and hokey, but that was not the case here. The performers were talented and engaging. They urged people to get up and dance to the music, which several kids and big kids did. It brought a nice energy and comraderie to the meal. We had some nice conversation with the family next us that probably wouldn’t have opened without the shared toast opening the door – or at least it would have taken another 1/2 liter or so of beer before it did!
I’m not sure how, but I had enough room for a 3rd trip up to the buffet. Actually, I do know how. I realized that I did not even peruse the kids section of the buffet! This is where you can find two must haves in opinion; the potato pancake and believe or not the macaroni and cheese. If I go back here i will forgo all other potato offerings in order to have more potato pancakes. They were absolutely delcious. The mac and cheese was a surprise winner too. The macaroni held up well on a buffet, probably because it was not very creamy which is exactly how I prefer it anyway.
In a feat of increadible fortitude I mustered up the courage to grab something for dessert. I really didn’t have the room but I had my eye on the apple strudel and vanilla sauce. This was good, but not great. I can’t point to anything wrong with it, but it just didn’t wow me. There were other dessert options such as cookies, brownies, chocolate rolls, and fruit. I would probably opt for one of those options the next time.
Overall, I was extremely impressed with my experience at Biergarten. The price is very reasonable in my opinion at $49 per adult and $27 per child. I definitely got my money’s worth in volume and the quality was surprisingly high for a buffet. Very picky eaters may not find a huge variety of food they’re interested in but you’re not going to leave hungry. The performances add so much to the meal that this really feels like a greater than the sum of the parts type scenario. We don’t often do sit down meals at EPCOT because there are so many grab and go options tempting me with every step, but we both agreed that we want to return here as soon as possible. I highly recommend you check this out. It’s a uniquely Disney dining experience that’s well worth the cost.
