BONJOUR! We are having a blast eating our way through the 2019 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

We’ve been jammin’ out to the Eat the Beat Concerts, spending too much $$$ on adorable souvenirs, and of course, eating our way around the 30+ Festival Kiosks. Thank goodness the festival is a record-breaking 87 days this year — there is so much to do! Including a recent return visit to one of our favorite Festival Special Events: the Parisian Breakfast. 

The Parisian Breakfast takes places on select Saturdays throughout the Festival, from 9:15 to 10:45AM. The cost is $45 (plus tax) per person and the meal takes place in the France Pavilion (duh) at Les Chefs de France.

Even though the event is scheduled to start at 9:15AM, we highly recommend arriving early! Epcot doesn’t open until 9AM, but guests with dining reservations are allowed in earlier. You’ll be “held” at the bridge between France and the United Kingdom until it’s time for breakfast — but even still, we were allowed in around 9:05AM.

As you enter, Cast Members pass out Mimosas and escort you to your table. It’s important to note, this event does have shared seating so smaller parties may be sat with other smaller parties. But it’s fun chatting with other Disney-lovin’ folks — especially after a mimosa. 😉

Now it’s time to hit the buffet! (Don’t forget your plate from your table in your excitement to eat. You need it to create your mountain of cheesy carby goodness.)

The buffet is made up of a variety of pastries — both sweet and savory, charcuterie, and accompaniments. These are all options you can find in one of our favorite Quick Service Restaurants, Les Halls Boulangerie Patisserie, so you know they’re gonna be good. All of the baguettes are made from scratch every 48 hours. Are you drooling yet? Then just wait until we look at all of the options…

First up, a couple of savory items for the taking: an Egg Croissant and Cheese Tartine. Don’t worry, we will give you a close up and tasting notes of each item on our plate shortly. Consider this a teaser…a cheese teaser. A cheeser, if you will. (Sorry, we had to!)

We also spotted some Croque Monsieurs, one of our favorites! These ham and cheese sandwiches have a yummy bechammel sauce inside and toasted extra cheese on top.

Next up, a nice selection of fruit, meats, and French cheeses.

Following the charcuterie options, several delicious versions of French bread. Like those made-from-scratch baguettes we mentioned earlier.

Or perhaps you prefer a Brioche! Lucky for you, you don’t have to choose.

Accompanying the breads are two yummy spreads — Raspberry Jam and Hazelnut (read: Nutella).

The sweets don’t stop there! Cake for breakfast? You won’t catch us saying no.

Don’t forget to try a Palmier — a cinnamon-sugary pastry.

And what would breakfast in Paris be without croissants?! Not a world we’d want to live in, that’s for sure. Lucky for us, we don’t have to. In fact, there’s two styles of croissant to choose from — classic and chocolate. 

Now that we’ve seen all the options, let’s eat!

We grabbed a little of everything and were ready to dig in! First up, the Cheese Tartine.

This beauty is tomato sauce, basil, and cheese (including a whole round of goat cheese) piled on French bread and toasted. This is kinda like France’s response to pizza, and we are here for it. The sauce tastes fresh and slightly sweet, and the basil shines through in each bite. Plus, as a goat cheese lover, I am all about that giant slice on the top. And lucky for non-Goat Cheese lovers, it’s easily removed should you wish to enjoy the Tartine without it.

We were also excited to sample the Egg Croissant. 

The Egg Croissant was a unique French take on an egg sandwich. It was like a little egg in a basket — but that basket was a delicious, buttery croissant. We really enjoyed this one, especially because it was the only spot eggs were available in the meal. Overall, it was egg-cellent.

Next up, a French favorite and an us-favorite: the Croque Monsieur.

As we stated earlier, the Croque Monseiur is a French ham and cheese sandwich, made extra special by a bechamel sauce inside and extra Gruyere cheese melted on top. Considering this is one of our favorite items at Les Halles, it should come as no surprise that it was still delicious. The sandwiches were toasted just right, and the bechamel adds a yummy creaminess. This is the “heartiest” option on the buffet, and while simple, it’s well-executed and tasty.

Now we were ready to sample a few specialty sweets! For starters, the Brioche.

It was heavenly. Soft and light, with a lightly sweet flavor from the sugar crystals on top. We snapped this picture of it plain, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t later slather some Nutella on it.

We also just had to have cake for breakfast… you know, for research.

The Pound Cake was moist and light, and not overly sweet on its own. We got crazy and put BOTH spreads on it, and honestly, we are culinary innovators. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart and nutty. If you attend the breakfast, we HIGHLY recommend this combo.

The Palmier was a sleeper hit of breakfast! It was flaky and had a lovely cinnamon-sugar dusting. Basically a French churro. I cannot wait to grab this one again in Les Halles.

And lastly, our favorite of the sweets:

…the Chocolate Croissant! Or as the French call it, “Pain au Chocolat.”  This classic is a flaky, buttery, perfect croissant with a sweet surprise inside. There is just enough chocolate to make this a delightfully sweet breakfast — without being overwhelming. The chocolate itself is rich and semi-sweet — perfect French Chocolate. Tres magnifique!

Throughout the meal, French servers walk around with Orange Juice and Sparkling Wine to refill your mimosas as desired.

Additionally, when you sit down, a server will come by and take your beverage order. Sodas, iced tea, water, coffee, and juice are on the menu — but so are fancy coffees like espresso and cappuccinos.

We also STRONGLY recommend getting a cup of  “Chocolat Chaud,” which is French Hot Chocolate.

It’s the creamiest, chocolatey hot chocolate I’ve ever had! Pro tip: dip your carb of choice in it — croissant, brioche, chocolate croissant. There are no wrong choices here. Go with your heart.

Overall, this is a fabulous event that we highly recommend and always look forward to at the Festival! The food and drinks are super delicious, and we like that it’s an early morning event. Not only do you get to access the park with very few other guests (aka amazing photos), but it’s nice to wrap up early, enjoy some leisurely time in Epcot, and then ya know…start eating again at the Food and Wine booths.

And did we mention it’s $45?! You could easily spend that much just on a few flutes of Champagne and coffees out in the park before you even get to food. This is a tremendous bang for your buck, and one of our favorite Low Cost Special Events. 

We adore the food in the French Pavilion, so we think this is a great event and highly recommend it if you also fancy the French cuisine. The Parisian Breakfast is one we plan to attend again and again, and look forward to every single year. You’ll leave in a cheesy, carby coma and honestly, it is 100% worth it.

Are you headed to a Special Event at the Food and Wine Festival this year? Let us know in the comments!