REVIEW: La Isla Fresca Brings Oxtail, Shrimp Skewers, and More Caribbean Flavors to the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Alicia

REVIEW: La Isla Fresca Brings Oxtail, Shrimp Skewers, and More Caribbean Flavors to the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

If you’re looking for dishes with fresh coconut, mango, lime, grapefruit, and more, head over to La Isla Fresca, an outdoor kitchen available during the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. This marketplace is known for bringing Caribbean-inspired dishes and flavors to the festival.

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Menu for La Isla Fresca at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

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Food:

  • 🆕 Braised Oxtail with Pigeon Pea Rice – $7.75
  • Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with BEN’S ORIGINALâ„¢ Long Grain White Rice, Mango Salsa and Coconut-Lime Sauce – $7.25
  • Coconut Tres Leches: Vanilla Cake soaked in Oat Milk, Almond Milk and Coconut Milk with Toasted Coconut (Plant-Based) – $4.75

Beverages:

*Price per bottle is an average price of the spirit at your local liquor store.

  • Tropical Breeze: Lemonade, Grapefruit and Simple Syrup (Non-Alcoholic) – $4.50
  • Islamorada Beer Company Coconut Key Lime Ale, Islamorada, FL (5.0% ABV) – $5.50 for 6 oz., $9.50 for 12 oz.
  • Florida Orange Groves Winery Tropical Perception White Sangria, St. Petersburg, FL – $11.00
  • Tropical Breeze with Don Q Límon Rum ($14/bottle) – $11.00

The Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer returns after a one-year absence, adding mango salsa as an accompaniment.

Photos of Menu Items from La Isla Fresca at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

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*NEW* Braised Oxtail with Pigeon Pea Rice – $7.75

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The braised oxtail is fatty. There isn’t a lot of sauce, and it doesn’t give the dish a lot of flavor. It tastes like a basic teriyaki sauce, but it’s too salty. The rice is nothing extraordinary, it just kind of exists. This reminds us of a microwaveable meal. We wouldn’t get this again.

Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with BEN’S ORIGINALâ„¢ Long Grain White Rice, Mango Salsa and Coconut-Lime Sauce – $7.25

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The shrimp was not warm but not cold, either. It has a strong curry flavor and it’s very spicy, which grows as you eat it. The fresh mango works well with the shrimp, cooling it down. If it had more mango sauce drizzled on the rice, it would be better.

Coconut Tres Leches: Vanilla Cake soaked in Oat Milk, Almond Milk and Coconut Milk with Toasted Coconut – $4.75

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This wasn’t bad, but the milk was disproportionately in there. Some parts were denser than others. It wasn’t completely flavorless, but there really weren’t any prominent flavors. The cake was dry and the thing we tasted the most was the vanilla topping. The denser parts of the cake had a strong oat milk taste. If that doesn’t bother you, it might be worth a try.

Tropical Breeze: Lemonade, Grapefruit and Simple Syrup (Non-Alcoholic) – $4.50

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This is both Incredibly tart and very sweet. Overall, it tastes as it’s described on the menu. It starts off as a frozen drink, which is good for the current Florida heat. This is solid, refreshing non-alcoholic drink for the spring and summer weather.

Islamorada Beer Company Coconut Key Lime Ale, Islamorada, FL (5.0% ABV) – $5.50 for 6 oz., $9.50 for 12 oz.

From Islamorada Beer Company: “Coconut dominates with a slight zip of lime zest. The smooth creamy mouthfeel and light sweetness make this a dessert that’s light enough to drink all day. Cruisin’ on idle, listening to some tunes, and sipping on this mild Key Lime Coconut ale will get you on Island Time no matter your location.”

Florida Orange Groves Winery Tropical Perception White Sangria, St. Petersburg, FL – $11.00

From correspondence with Florida Orange Groves Winery: “A secret blending of five of the winery’s most popular tropical wines (mango wine, passion fruit wine, pineapple wine, watermelon wine and key lime wine), Tropical Perception explodes on your palate with citrus and tropical fruit flavors. Uniquely Florida, Tropical Perception is a great tropical companion with any Florida food (especially seafood) and is the winner of a Best of Show award, a Best of Class award and two Double Gold medals in three different international wine competitions.” This wine is exclusive to the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.

Tropical Breeze with Don Q Límon Rum ($14/bottle) – $11.00

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You can really taste the rum in this, which isn’t always common. The rum definitely changes the flavor profile of the drink, and cuts the lemonade a lot more than the non-alcoholic version, making the grapefruit taste more prevalent.

Location of La Isla Fresca at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

La Isla Fresca is located between the Morocco Pavilion and the France Pavilion on World Showcase Promenade. You can find it at number 19 on the map below.

2023 FG Booth Map

The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival will be running from March 1 to July 5, 2023.

Did the dishes at this booth transport you to an island in the Caribbean? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them with us on social media.

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