Is a Meal at EPCOT’s Coral Reef a 2025 Must-do?

There are Walt Disney World restaurants that just have a mystique to them; some for good reason, and some, I would argue, due to a long-gone heyday that just hasn’t quite been preserved. Today, we’re here to talk about my experience at one that I’d argue needs to be placed in the latter category. Let’s have a meal at EPCOT”s Coral Reef Restaurant.

You’ll find Coral Reef Restaurant tucked around the right-hand corner of the Living with Seas pavilion in World Nature. Before EPCOT’s massive overhaul, Coral Reef’s location rendered it completely out of the way and really only visible to the restaurant’s guests. Nowadays, the dining location is more along the beaten path, which, one would hope, would bring added foot traffic and reservations.  

During a recent trip to the park, my hubby and I found ourselves with extra time on our hands and no dinner plans. After jumping into My Disney Experience and surveying the late afternoon options, we landed on eating at Coral Reef. It had been six years since I’d last dined there, and my hubby had only been there for a work engagement, so we figured it was time. We joined the Walk Up List and was notified that our wait would be approximately 10 minutes. We made out way to the restaurant when it was time, and were seated just minutes later. 

The Environment 

It’s no doubt that the physical environment of the restaurant is impressive; you’re dining in a coral reef, after all. You enter the dining room from the back and top of the terraced space, with four tall windows into the pavilion’s iconic aquarium lining the lower row of the bowl.

Each of the restaurant’s three terraced levels has two rows of tables, with the very back of the space being lined with booths. Even though we were seated in one of the booths at the back, we had fairly clear views of the massive windows and the sea life that periodically swam by. 

The Menu

To be honest, I found the menu to be utterly perplexing for one of EPCOT’s classic dining venues. The menu itself has only six entrees, four appetizers, and three desserts. There are a total of only thirteen dishes served at this restaurant, omitting the kids’ menu. I’m not new to the fact that, over the last five years, Disney has whittled away once-grand offerings from their menus. It’s been sad to see, but never so blatant as the menu at Coral Reef. Inventive choices have seemingly gone the way of the dinosaur and left us guests with just a few options. The menu at Coral Reef is described by Disney as reflecting different flavors that you’ll find in Florida, however, I found the offerings to be a bit of a hodgepodge, and the overall taste and execution of the dishes to be a mixed bag. 

The Food 

My hubby went with a dish that I’d place soundly in the ”hodgepodge” category: the Seafood Boil ($34). The overall taste of the boil was delicious, with a kick that brought a vibe of authenticity, but I would typically think of a seafood boil as being of Louisiana origin. Nonetheless, guests will be pleased to find that the clams, mussels, shrimp, andouille sausage, potatoes and a half an ear of corn all are prepared perfectly.

The entree that I chose was the one that’s used as the featured image for the restaurant in the My Disney Experience app: the Grilled Snapper ($35). The ceramic plate that was placed before me was huge, but the piece of fish was not. Don’t get me wrong; I loved this dish. The fish was moist and the mango salsa that accompanied it brought a fabulous flavor to the dish. The portion, however, wasn’t the same as shown in that beautiful featured image, and I left the restaurant hungry. It’s been a long time since that’s happened. 

Be warned: the Coconut Lime rice that comes with the snapper is nothing to write home about. I denoted no coconut or lime; it was simply sticky white rice. 

Skip This

The item that I suggest you absolutely skip while at the Coral Reef is the Coconut Fried Shrimp appetizer ($18). Goodness gracious, I’m not sure what happened along the way, but the shrimp that arrived to our table was devoid of all flavor. The mango chutney that accompanies the shrimp is the one thing that adds discernible flavor to the dish, but the shrimp themselves were expensive ($3 a piece), and were the seafood equivalent of eating a rice cake: bland and just weird. Please skip this dish and save yourself the $18.

All in all, the Coral Reef seems confused. Its charm is there, but the menu and execution left me confused. Is it Caribbean-inspired? Cajun-inspired? Or is it just trying to find its way in a park filled with some absolutely incredible food options?

Have you dined at Coral Reef Restaurant? What would your recommendation be?

You can watch my full dining experience at Coral Reef below: