Epcot 2022 Festival of the Arts Review: New Favorites & Best Values

This particular booth is a huge win. All three dishes we’ve tried from here have been yummy, and the serving sizes are well worth the price!

For starters, this mousse isn’t just beautiful, but rich, delicious, and an absolute work of art in every way. Chrissy actually ordered this one more than once during her festival visits, and her first impression was no fluke. If you’re bringing first-timers to the Festival of the Arts, this mousse is sure to convert them.

So this gorgeous treat is actually Chrissy’s favorite dessert of the entire festival! Despite the fact it has the same soggy, wobbly texture as a dome cake – it 100% isn’t.

Even though the kitchen was missing the raspberry meringue on the second day of the festival, this orange confection was still so good! The exterior of the mousse has a lovely, firm-ish texture and the orange flavor isn’t fake at all.

FYI: Be prepared to wait a little longer at this kitchen than the others because everything is complicated to plate.

So both the pork belly and the egg were overdone when we tried this dish. Even though that was a bummer, the flavors were nice. It’s worth noting that our complaints could’ve been due to opening weekend woes and crazy crowds. Maybe give it a try if the line is short?

French Onion Soup – $6.50

It was delicious, but it would’ve been better if it wasn’t cold.

Key Lime Pie – $6.25

Pretty, tasty, and not a bad value either.

Apple Pie a la Mode – $4.50

Chrissy was shocked that she liked this one. It wasn’t as cloying and heavy as you’d think by the description. Plus, it comes in a keepsake cup!

Craftsman’s Courtyard

When it comes to visiting this booth, there are a few things to know. First of all, two of the three items are cast iron-roasted or seared, and you as a guest may pay the price for that while waiting in line.

For example, after Chrissy received her Pâté and the mussels, she was told the trout would be 2 minutes. However, it was more like 9. This meant that her mussels were ice cold when she finally received the trout. It’s just something you may want to plan for to fully enjoy your experience.

Pâté de Campagne – $6.75

While the garnish was gorgeous, Chrissy admits that she just couldn’t manage to eat gray fat-wrapped anything.

Iron-roasted P.E.I. Mussels – $7.50

This giant bowl of freshly grilled mussels covered in light garlic and herbed tomato sauce was a big favorite and a great value.

Cast Iron-seared Steelhead Trout – $6.75

Tiny, tasty, and probably less lovely because of the wait.

Donut Box

Vanilla Donut – $5.50

This one was pretty, but maybe a bit overcooked?

Inside Out Donut – $5.00

We loved this one! It’s so different and lovely, and the cream was hiding just under a firm layer of icing.

Chocolate-dipped Donut – $5.00

Another pretty option, but also a bit overcooked.

L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise (France)

Sadly, Chrissy and our team didn’t enjoy any of the items at this booth. They were just too small and expensive.

Brie – $8.50

So it looks like the serving size of this one shrunk? This year, it’s basically a tiny roll with a dollop of melted cheese; and while it was good, it’s just not worth $8.50.

Truffle Croissant – $8.00

This item had a deep, musky flavor. While that may not be the best word to describe it, that’s all we’ve got. Also, not our favorite at the $8.00 price point.

Lobster Mousse – $10.50

This dish quickly found its way on Chrissy’s “avoid at all cost” list. The gelatinous texture felt like something out of a 1960’s cookbook.

With deep flavors and just enough to share, the risotto is amazing. However, the $9.25 price tag stung a little.

So delicious and original! Expect a huge serving and spicy flavors with this one.

This was an excellent value and paired wonderfully with the spiciness of the kitchen’s other dishes.

This smoothie is the perfect complement to the booth’s other fiery flavors. Plus, you get to keep the souvenir cup!

This is tender, deeply flavored beef atop wonderfully toasted gnocchi and crowned with a dollop of soft burrata. Also, the serving is large enough to share or could work as an entire meal all on its own! Great value and an outstanding option.

The best sushi flavors in a pretty package and much larger than it appears in photos. Fresh & wonderful.

Chrissy considers this one as one of the worst values. It’s as if someone plated some Chick-fil-A nuggets to make them pretty? Not worth the $8.50 price point.

So $4.25 per bite of beef is never going to be a good deal no matter how tasty it is. Yes, it’s good, but we just can’t move past that tiny portion size.

The lime foam is fun and different, but let’s face it – this isn’t a good value. Also, while the scallops were fine, the kitchen actually ran out of them twice on opening day leading to lengthy lines spanning 50 to 60 minutes.

Outstanding! This cake was a wonderful value and beautifully presented, and we loved how they found a way to offer familiar flavors in a new, fancy way.

Even the fussiest eaters will devour this one. It’s not pretentious or too unusual, just really great.