Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe at Epcot – Not Just Burgers and Fries!

A constant refrain I hear from friends or family who go to Disney and come back is “all they have to eat is burgers and fries.”  This is the one thing they could say that is guaranteed to drive me nuts, because I know that they just didn’t try to find the unique places to eat.  Inevitably, I point them to one of my favorite quick service locations in all of Walt Disney World, the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway.

A simple glance at the menu of Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe takes that “burgers and fries” notion and puts it to rest.  Like any good bakery, there are a number of baked goods available.  There’s the sweet pretzel, in both almond and chocolate varieties, which is very tasty.  The rice cream is pretty nice as well.  Oh, and the cream puff, the Danish and the veiled maiden are good, too.  Like any Disney counter service restaurant, there’s also cookies of a staggering variety.

My favorite dessert, though, is the school bread.  Oh, the school bread, I could write sonnets about it.  Basically a yeast donut style bread, the school bread surrounds a sweet, creamy filling that pops out the top, surrounded by frosting and coconut shavings.  It’s sweet, usually very soft and chewy and is delightful with a cup of coffee or glass of milk.  Desserts at Kringla will cost you $1.99 for the wonderful school bread, up to $4.29 for a sweet pretzel.  In comparison with the prices at other Epcot restaurants, everything is quite reasonable. 

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is not just about desserts, though.  It’s got some great options for a light lunch as well.  Everything is sandwiches, but what different style sandwiches they are.  My personal favorite is the ham and apple sandwich on a wheat style bread.  Nice thin slices of ham and fresh green apples topped with cheese does not sound appealing, but it really does go together well.  In addition to the ham and apple sandwich, you can find the Norweigian club with turkey, ham and bacon, a roast beef sandwich, the more eclectic salmon and egg sandwich and the chef’s selected sandwich of the day.  The sandwiches will run from $6.99 to $7.99 depending on which you pick.  Again, for the size of these sandwiches, that’s a pretty good deal.

Every Epcot restaurant also has a wide variety of drinks, and Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is no exception.  Aside from the usual soft drinks, milk and coffee drinks, there are some great unique choices here.  Try the Voss Artesian water if you’re looking for some different style bottled water.  The Carlsberg beer is a good one, as is the Viking coffee, which is a coffee that includes Kamora Coffee Liquer and Bailey’s.  During the holiday season, the Viking coffee is one that I make sure to grab. 

The atmosphere in the bakery is also quite nice.  It’s well themed to a Norweigian countryside, including an oven outside for baking the sweet treats inside.  Complete with ornate tables, a roof thatched with grass, and a stone and wood exterior, it melds seamlessly into the Norway pavilion.  Every time that I head to Epcot, Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is on my must see list.  Even if it’s only for a quick school bread, this is one place I have to stop and have some unique food, very different from burgers and fries.