People love to argue that EPCOT is THE Disney World park for foodies, and with dozens of restaurants, they may be right!

When you step into the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, you have your choice of cuisine from countries around the world, in snack, quick service, or sit-down restaurant form — you could try an entire smorgasbord of international eats. But should you choose an AMERICAN restaurant instead? Let’s find out — I’m taking you along on my latest dining review!

Atmosphere

Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue is located in the American Adventure Pavilion — where Liberty Inn used to live in the days of yore.

The restaurant has a low-key Muppets theme, with the beloved Sam Eagle as the mascot! You can spot him on the mural just inside the restaurant entrance.

In fact, Sam Eagle is hosting a barbecue competition! Four teams are competing in the barbecue-off, each with a Muppet mascot and a signature barbecue sauce.

There’s the Old Glory Mustard Guild, represented by Gonzo…

…the Sizzlin’ Pit Dry Rub Coalition, represented by Rowlf…

…the Blue Ridge Vinegar League, with Janice as its leader…

…and finally the Blue Ribbon Brisket Society with Bobo the Bear. Each participant has their own section on the wall to display their awards, accolades, and ingredients.

To order your food or pick up your Mobile Order, you’ll head to the back of the restaurant, where there are several counters and cash registers.

The drink stations at Regal Eagle are self-serve, which means you can snag those refills! We love a good drink hack.

And since the restrooms are located outside the restaurant, there’s a handwashing station INSIDE the dining room to get you squeaky clean before you eat.

Of course, one of the big highlights of Regal Eagle is trying all the sauces! You can get ketchup, Classic Smokehouse Sauce, Savory Spice Sauce…

…Vinegar Base Sauce, and Sweet Mustard Sauce. (Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each!)

There are spaces to dine both indoors and outdoors here, but I advise sitting indoors if possible because there are LOTS of birds outside who like to steal food. 😒

Now let’s dive into the menu!

Menu

As you may have guessed based on the name, Regal Eagle serves barbecue! (What?! I know, SHOCKING!) The main entrees include ribs, smoked chicken, a BBQ Burger, a brisket sandwich, a pulled pork platter, and then basics like a cheeseburger or salads.

If you’re a plant-based eater, they have a BBQ Jackfruit Burger. Regal Eagle is also known for having some pretty delicious sides, which include baked beans, coleslaw, seasoned fries, onion rings, pickles, and macaroni & cheese.

For kids, they have options like a cheeseburger or a salad with chicken, as well as chicken strips or macaroni & cheese.

And of course, we’ve got to round it out with dessert! You’ll find barbecue staples like banana pudding, fresh watermelon, or a s’mores brownie.

Eats

I ordered a decent spread with a variety of items from the menu, so let’s dig in and taste it all! Time to determine if the American eats are really worth skipping all those international goodies for.

Starting with my drink, I ordered the Berry Punch for $5.29. It’s white grape juice with strawberry, peach, and blackberry flavors. They fill it with more of a frosted ice than regular cubes, which gives it somewhat of a slushy vibe.

This was incredibly fruity with kind of an indistinct “berry” flavor — I couldn’t really tell that it was blackberry, but I got a hint of strawberry. It was quite refreshing and not too sweet, so it’d be a great drink in the summertime.

The first meal I tried was the Kids Meal Macaroni & Cheese for $6.99, which is honestly a STEAL. For less than $7, you get house-made oven-baked macaroni & white cheddar cheese, two sides, and a small beverage. I got the watermelon and the coleslaw.

The mac & cheese was definitely the highlight here! It was creamy and deliciously cheesy with a strong white cheddar flavor. The cellentani pasta (which has kind of a corkscrew shape) was great for holding the sauce and keeping the breadcrumbs and seasoning attached.

The noodles were soft, and the breadcrumbs helped vary the texture. It was also nicely salted, which is always a plus. I pretty much have zero negative notes for this mac & cheese. This is probably one of our favorite kid’s meals in Disney World — it’s a large portion and delicious. AJ sauce hack — try the garlic aioli with the mac & cheese!

The watermelon is sliced thin and fairly basic. It was well-chosen, as it was sweet and very red in the middle. They gave me seedless slices (with no black seeds, just the underdeveloped white ones), so that would be easier for kiddos to eat.

The coleslaw was probably my least favorite part of this kid’s meal, so I would likely choose a different side next time. The slaw was pretty mayo-heavy and quite crunchy, with a lot of black pepper. 

But alas, we cannot simply survive on kids’ meals, so onto the adults’ menu we go! My next dish was the BBQ Burger for $14.79. This is a 1/3 lb. Angus burger on garlic toast, topped with BBQ pork, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli, and a fried onion ring. You get a choice of one side, and I ordered the seasoned fries.

The burger was a little bit of a letdown for me. The onion ring on top was nice and crispy, but then the onion inside was rather mushy. When you get to the actual burger, it has a heavy meat flavor with some brightness from the tomato and lettuce, but the burger patty was under-seasoned and fairly dry. The pulled pork was also pretty dry, and I ended up enjoying the sandwich better when I added some sauce to it. There’s not a lot of the aioli.

The Texas toast was a fun concept, and the bread was buttery and soft, but it did get a little bit smushed from the weight of the burger.

However, the fries I got on the side were top-notch! Here at Regal Eagle, they serve seasoned fries, which are like regular quick-service Disney fries but with seasoned salt. I wish they’d do this EVERYWHERE! It makes the fries so much more interesting flavor-wise with extra salt and some paprika. You’ll want to eat them quickly because they get tough when they’re cold, but they were soft and delicious when they were fresh.

Last but not least, let’s talk about that Kansas City Smoked Half Chicken for $14.79. This comes with a slow-smoked half chicken with sweet barbecue sauce served with one side and a piece of garlic toast. Disney notes that due to their unique smoking process, your meat may appear pink in color, so don’t be alarmed if that’s the case!

The chicken was pretty smoky and comes in a giant serving. They had removed some of the bones so that it was easier to cut and eat, but my piece was also pretty dry. This may be due in part to the smoking process, but I needed to dip it in sauce to help it out.

The garlic toast was very similar to the burger bun. It’s buttery and a little salty, with a nice, soft piece of bread. Honestly a pretty good crowd-pleasing side.

And then for my choice of side, I picked the beer-battered onion rings. Like the one on my burger, I found these to be very crispy on the outside but with a mushy onion in the middle. They’re pretty greasy as well. On the bright side, the onion didn’t pull out through the batter when I bit it, and for that I am grateful!

And of course, you know I couldn’t resist trying all four of the barbecue sauces with the chicken, so let’s dive into each!

First up there’s the Classic Smokehouse Sauce, which was smoky and sweet, and very traditional barbecue sauce. Think like what you’d get in a bottle at any grocery store in America.

The Savory Spice Sauce was thinner with a tangy punch. It’s also a tiny bit spicy with almost a tomato-ness to it.

The Vinegar Base Sauce was my personal favorite (I hail from the Carolinas, where vinegar sauce is KING!). It’s heavy on the vinegar with a strong tangy flavor and a tiny bit of spiciness. I thought it was a great pairing for the chicken.

The last of the bunch was the Sweet Mustard Sauce, which tastes just like the name describes! It was sweet and tangy with a very mustard-forward flavor. It’s on the thicker side.

So now that we’ve tried everything, how does Regal Eagle stack up?

Overall

All in all, it seems like Regal Eagle might’ve been having a rough day meats-wise, considering both my burger and chicken were on the overdone side. However, most of the sides were pretty top-notch, especially the mac & cheese!

There’s a great variety of options here, and I think you could really mix and match entrees and sides to find the best possible combination for your tastes. Plus, we’re suckers for a variety of self-serve sauces! Typically, this is one of our go-to’s and we’ll likely continue coming back.

Nosh or Not?

Head to the back of the World Showcase for a Muppet-themed barbecue if…

• You’ve got picky eaters in your party. This is a great spot for those who aren’t quite as adventurous and don’t necessarily want to branch out to the international cuisines around the World Showcase.
• You want a quick service meal indoors. In the World Showcase specifically, there aren’t many quick-service restaurants with abundant indoor seating. This is a great spot to dine if it’s hot outside or when it’s raining.
• You want to get the spread of American barbecue. This restaurant offers a nice variety of barbecue options from different regions across the U.S., represented in the entrees, sides, and sauces.

Keep strolling around the Showcase if…

• You want some adventurous fare. There are plenty of unique dining options in the other World Showcase pavilions if you want something a bit more adventurous than American barbecue.
• You’re very particular about your barbecue. The barbecue options here are a pretty basic representation of what you’ll find across the country. If you’re from a barbecue-centric area, it might not be quite as fancy as what you get at home.

That’s a wrap on my visit to Regal Eagle! Thanks for coming along with me on this review, and stay tuned to DFB for more food news from Disney World.

Click Here to See Our List of the Best Restaurants in EPCOT!

Do you go to Regal Eagle when you visit EPCOT? Tell us in the comments!