The BEST Eats at Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic
When it comes to festivals, most Disney World guests think of those festivals at EPCOT, like the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. But there’s another HUGE food festival that happens at Disney World every year: The Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
In the past, we’ve liked this event and even consider it one of the most underrated things you can do in Disney World. So how was this year’s food? Well, let us tell you about some of our favorite eats!
How the Festival Works
You’ll need to purchase a ticket to attend the Food and Wine Classic.
Here we go!
A Causeway Ticket is $165 per person plus tax — that price gets you unlimited samples at The Causeway, which is the section of the festival that contains a variety of food booths, as well as access to the Beer Garden.
Be sure to get a ticket!
You can also get a discounted ticket if you book a stay at the Swan and Dolphin for the weekend, but you’ll need to call the hotel directly at (888) 828-8850 to make a reservation.
Atmosphere
When we arrived, we checked in and got our wristbands.
Got our wristband!
You’ll get a guide showing where the food booths are and a list of everything you can eat…
Food guide
…but if you get lost, don’t worry! There are plenty of signs, too, to point you in the right direction.
Where to?
When we arrived, there were already people checking out the food booths and grabbing some goodies to eat, even before the sun went down! This party was hopping!
Before sunset
The food is prepared right in front of you at each booth, like The Fountain booth, which features food from the Swan and Dolphin’s The Fountain restaurant.
They make the food right there!
Along with food booths, you’ll also find plenty of wine booths serving up wines from all over the world!
The Best Eats
The Fountain
Time to eat! We LOVED the Beef Sliders at The Fountain booth, which are made with a hand-formed Angus Beef Patty, Truffle Aioli, Smoked Bacon, and Roma Tomato Chutney.
Beef Sliders from The Fountain
The first thing we noticed was that this was good high-quality meat. The garlic in the truffle aioli comes through, too, which we loved. The tomato chutney was just okay, but we’d say this was a solid slider.
Pastry Booth
At the Pastry Booth is the White Peach Red Currant Melba with Almond Cake Crumbs and Peach Meringue Drops. This texture was light and airy, and the almond cake crumbs complemented it very well.
White Peach Red Currant Melba
The peach meringue adds a nice acidic taste — this one was both fun and different.
Cabana
At the Cabana booth, we had the Compressed Late Harvest Watermelon, with Spiced Labneh, Marinated Tomatoes, Frisee, and Marinated Feta Cheese. This watermelon, y’all, was DIVINE.
Compressed Late Harvest Watermelon
The spiced labneh was so delicious and well-spiced that all those flavors, including the tomato flavor, were perfectly balanced. It’s also a very refreshing dish and perfect for someone looking for something light, but flavorful.
Amare
Here, we grabbed the Chargrilled Chicken Souvlaki with Crispy Potatoes, Tabbouleh, Spiced Hummus, and a Warm Pita. This was also delicious!
Chargrilled Chicken Souvlaki
The chicken was cooked well, and the tabbouleh was AMAZING. It reminded us a lot of tzatziki — it was light and heavy on the dill. The pita was fresh and fluffy. The crunch from the crispy potatoes added to the overall texture.
Todd English’s bluezoo
Okay, y’all. We have to tell you about the Dynamite Shrimp with Tempura-Fried Crispy Seasoned Sushi Rice, Fried Shishito Pepper, and Tentsuyu Sauce.
Dynamite Shrimp
We’re just going to have to say this lived up to its name — it was DYNAMITE! There was just enough heat for flavor. This was probably one of our favorites this year!
Rosa Mexicano
We had the Roasted Mushroom Taco — it’s made with Shitake, Cremini, Oyster Blend, Pasilla Chile, Green Apple Slaw, Sliced Avocado, Queso Fresco, and a Corn Tortilla. The mushrooms were tender, and the entire taco was good. We liked the queso fresca on top, too. It’s a great vegetarian option that brings a LOT of flavor.
Roasted Mushroom Taco
Okay, we HAVE to talk about the Classic Guacamole En Molcajete at this booth, which is served with Warm Tortilla Chips and Roasted Tomato Salsa.
Classic Guacamole En Molcajete
This was another favorite of ours. The guacamole was DELICIOUS, and it popped with the red onion and lime flavors that were in it.
Shula’s Steak House
We were stoked to try the Roasted Linz Heritage Black Angus Beef Tenderloin with Organic Mushrooms, Pearl Onion, and Sauce Foyot.
Roasted Linz Heritage Black Angus Beef Tenderloin
The beef we got was a PERFECT medium-rare and melted in your mouth. We also really liked the mix of mushrooms and the acid from the vinegar in the sauce that complemented the richness of the meat. Also, the seasoning on everything was done really well.
Kimonos
Kimonos delivered the flavor with the Kimonos Roll, with Ahi Tuna, Yellowtail, Sustainable Salmon, and Wasabi Mayonnaise.
Kimonos Roll
It certainly looked beautiful, but more importantly, it tasted great — the wasabi mayo and soy sauce added just the right amount of kick to the sticky rice the roll was served on.
Chinatown
Let’s head on over to Chinatown for a Pan Seared Vegan Dumpling with Spicy Sauce. This was another favorite, and yes, it is vegetarian.
Pan Seared Vegan Dumpling
The vegan dumpling filling had LOADS of flavor and the dumpling was pan-fried perfectly so it wasn’t tough to eat. The spicy sauce added a bit of a kick, but not so much that people who don’t like spicy foods should enjoy it. This one is a crowd-pleaser.
Hang 10
Don’t miss out on the Hearts of Palm Ceviche, with Thinly Shaved Fresh Hearts of Palm, Citrus, Bell Pepper, Fresh Jalapeno Pepper, and Bermuda Onion at Hang 10.
Hearts of Palm Ceviche
There was a flavorful EXPLOSION between the crunchy hearts of palm, the citrus, the jalapeno, and the bell pepper and sweet onion flavors
Carnival Corner
We tried the Grilled Sausage Sandwich, Peppers, Onions, and Italian Red Hot Peppers. This one had just a nice mild kick from the spice and the grilled flavor made us think of summer cookouts. If we weren’t already so full, we would’ve gone back for seconds.
Grilled Sausage Sandwich
Finally, we absolutely loved the Vegetarian Macaroni and Cheese. So, yes, we’re mac and cheese snobs, but this one surprised us SO MUCH. The sauce was sufficiently tangy and there was a LOT of it — this is comfort food at its finest.
Vegetarian Mac and Cheese
So if you happen to find yourself headed on over to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic, be sure to add these items to your list! Here’s a look at ALL the menus at the festival if you want to know more! Happy eating!
Click here to see 10 huge tips for conquering the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic.
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Have you ever attended the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic? What were some of your favorite dishes? Let us know in the comments!
Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin to attend their media preview of the Food and Wine Classic. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ
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