Cool Down at Kabuki Cafe

Not only does the Japan Pavilion in EPCOT have some of the best shopping in Walt Disney World, it’s also home to one of our most favorite cool treats. Kabuki Cafe is an outdoor food stand located on the outer walkway of World Showcase on the American Adventure side. They open at 11 am, but Mitsukoshi Department Store opens at 9 am, so have a stroll through the best Hello Kitty merch and Japanese snack options around for a few minutes if you pop over early.

TouringPlans Subscribers (Hi Liner fam!) rank Kabuki Cafe #65 of 114 food stands in WDW with a 91% satisfaction rating. We stop here often and fully agree with this rating. With temperatures in the mid-90s and super intense humidity for at least the next several months, we look for opportunities to grab a cool treat and some shade. While there is no seating at Kabuki Cafe, it is located close to several options in both the Japan and American pavilions that do offer tables, chairs, and lots and lots of shade.

Kabuki Cafe is always changing its featured items, so if you’re visiting and think you might want to try something, go on and get it because it might just disappear. Yes, the Violate Sake Slushy that has already disappeared from this menu is still a sore point. Let’s review the two new treats we tried on our most recent visit.

This Mochi-Gori comes with a traditional mochi donut and your choice of one flavor for the kakigori shaved ice on the bottom. Thanks to an excellent Liner question on our Instagram, we asked about gluten-free substitutions for the donut. As of the date of this post, that isn’t an option, so our gluten-sensitive pals will want to skip this one. The mochi was very chewy and not very sweet, but it was lovely and dense. We enjoyed this, but probably won’t get it again until the sun isn’t trying to actively fry us.

This Kyoho Boba is another new treat on the menu. We think these are the same blueberry popping boba that were on the stupendous Taiyaki that was such a huge hit during Festival of the Arts earlier this year. It was good then, and it’s good in this sweet beverage. Note from the lead picture that our drink was a more vibrant purple than the display here. No matter the color, it was sweet and cold and we will get this again.

Kakigori is the best use of Len’s money in World Showcase on a summer afternoon. There are six flavors of this imported syrup: lemon, blue Hawaii, melon, cherry, strawberry, and kyoho grape. A single flavor is $7.00 or one Disney Dining Plan credit (DDP), two flavors are $7.50, and all of the flavors mixed together, or “rainbow,” is $8.00. If you want to add sweet milk topping, which you absolutely should, you’ll pay an additional $1.50. The milk topping is sweetened condensed milk, and if you haven’t tried it then we suggest you spend the extra change and get it on top of a melon kakigori. Outstanding!

If you’re peckish, Kabuki offers a few options. We always grab a California Roll for $6.25, but they also stock a Spicy Roll, $6.25, Nigiri Combo, $6.50, and Chilled Edamame, $4.75. All of these items qualify as one snack credit on the DDP, too. While they aren’t close to the level of sushi excellence you’ll find at Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya inside the pavilion, they move so much volume each day that the items they do have are very fresh.

Have you tried the kakigori from Kabuki Cafe before? Let us know your order so we can give it a try!