REVIEW: Ireland Returns to the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 2021

Katie Francis

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REVIEW: Ireland Returns to the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 2021

Ireland has been a featured location of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival since 2001. And after taking a break last year (with an appearance by the Seafood Fisherman’s Pie at Wine & Dine Studio Featuring Festival Favorites), they’re back for 2021. They were scheduled to open on October 1, but debuted early. The 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs from July 15 – November 20, 2021.

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Menu for the Ireland Marketplace at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

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Food:

  • Fisherman’s Seafood Pie – $6.75
  • Roasted Irish Sausage with Colcannon Potatoes and Onion Gravy – $5.50
  • Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard – $4.25

Beverages:

Photos of Menu Items from the Ireland Marketplace at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

Fisherman’s Seafood Pie – $6.75

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The fisherman’s pie was enjoyable enough. There was a good amount of seafood without being fishy, and it was a good portion size for what you pay. Plus, it was piping hot. It wasn’t anything overly special, but still a decent dish.

Roasted Irish Sausage with Colcannon Potatoes and Onion Gravy – $5.50

Epcot Food & Wine 2018 Ireland Sausage

Do you love Jimmy Dean breakfast sausages? Well, then we have a treat for you! For your money, you can get TWO of those amazing breakfast sausages with a bunch of onions to push to the side. Yeah, it’s par for the course for a standard EPCOT Festival dish, and we wish they didn’t bring this one back. Anyway, the sausage is well cooked to give a plump bite each time, and the potatoes help soak up the onion gravy. Overall, it’s pretty mediocre and certainly not worth the price tag.

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard – $4.25

Epcot 2018 Food & Wine Ireland Pudding
(Photo courtesy easywdw.com)

Another festival staple, this incredibly creamy custard on top of a warm molten chocolate pudding rivals Chili’s molten lava cake. We would rather have this one, though, even if it is small. You get a few bites of one of the reasons why the Food & Wine Festival returns year after year. Recommended.

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale (4.3% ABV) – $5.00 for 6 o.z., $9.00 for 12 o.z.

From BeerAdvocate: “Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale, with its deep red hue and rich, creamy head delivers a distinctively smooth and flavorful taste.”

Bunratty Meade Honey Wine ($19/bottle) – $6.00

Bunratty Winery describes their mead: “Bunratty Mead “is a traditional wine, produced from an ancient Irish recipe of pure honey, fruit of the vine, and natural herbs. It’s a medium sweet wine, with a wide taste appeal, and suitable for all important occasions.”

Guinness Bailey’s Shake – $11.50

Epcot Food and Wine 2018 Ireland Shake

Bailey’s will run you about $18/bottle at your local liquor store, but good luck being able to mix a Guinness and Bailey’s shake at home like this. Fortunately, EPCOT takes the mixing pain away and provides the end result: a smooth, rich, and creamy shake that’s simply to die for. There’s a hint of Bailey’s cream liquor and an underlying flavor of the Guinness beer. A few chocolate flakes on top help bring this mixture together into one perfect drink. Plus, you get a souvenir plastic cup to take home (somehow a rarity at this event), so what’s not to love?

Location of the Ireland Marketplace at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

The Ireland Marketplace is located on World Showcase Promenade adjacent to the United Kingdom Pavilion, at number 18 on the map below.

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Did one of your Festival favorites return with the Ireland booth this year? Let us know in the comments below.