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The food is one of the best parts of Disney World trips. But, there’s so many restaurants to choose from! It can sometimes be hard to find ones that are best for your family. To help you decide on where to eat at Epcot, here is my review of Coral Reef. Keep reading to see if it’s the perfect place for your Epcot night dinner!
Theme/Decor
Coral Reef is located in the back of the Seas pavilion in Epcot. So, it’s not surprising that the theme of the restaurant is water.
The outside of the restaurant is pretty underwhelming, with just some wavy lines painted in various shades of blue on the walls. However, the decor on the inside takes it up a notch.
There are waves and curvy lines everywhere. The tile work throughout the restaurant is amazing. Everything from the blue color of the ceiling to the sandy colored tiles on the bottom part of the walls evokes a feeling of being under water.
The star of the restaurant, however, is the wall of windows that look into the pavilion’s aquarium. The view of the aquarium commands your attention from the moment you walk into the dining area.
The rest of the decor, from the tables and carpet to the tiled walls, complements the aquarium views by making you feel as if you are part of the amazing underwater world.
The inside of the restaurant is pretty dark. In fact, it is one of the darkest Disney restaurants I’ve been in. This is intentionally, however, in order to improve your views of the fish inside the aquarium.
The low light levels always bother me when I first walk in here, but once I start watching the fish, I quickly forget about the lights.
All of the tables at Coral Reef are positioned to face the aquarium. Some of the tables are right up against the glass, giving you an up close and personal view of the fish and divers swimming by.
The floor of the restaurant is tiered, so the tables further away from the aquarium are higher than those that are closer. This gives every table an unobstructed view.
Location
As you approach the Seas pavilion’s front side, make your way to the right. You will see the sign for Coral Reef on the far right of the walkway. Keep walking around the building to the entrance of the restaurant.
Like Garden Grill, I find that Coral Reef is a very convenient place to eat because of it’s location in the front of Epcot. Many times, we hop to Epcot from one of the other parks, arriving just in time for dinner. I like that we don’t have to walk all the way to World Showcase to get there.
Another benefit to the location is that if you arrive for your reservation a bit early, you can ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends or see Turtle Talk with Crush before dinner.
Food
Coral Reef is a seafood restaurant. The menu includes mahi mahi, salmon, rainbow trout, and shrimp. However, they do have some non-seafood choices. Among other things, they offer a New York strip steak, oven roasted chicken, and pork tenderloin.
The children’s menu offers steak, mac-and-cheese, fish of the day, and pork tenderloin, in addition to the standard chicken tenders.
The restaurant’s signature dessert is the chocolate wave. Other dessert options are a vanilla panna cotta tart, turtle cheesecake, and Baileys and Jack Daniel’s mousse.
Coral Reef is open for lunch and dinner.
For a complete look at the menu, see allears.net.
I don’t really love the desserts at Coral Reef. I just think there are better dessert options at some of the other restaurants.
We have eaten here several times. The first several times, we loved it. However, over the years, the quality of the food went downhill. Due to this, we have skipped Coral Reef on our last several trips. But, it might be time to give it another try.
Entertainment
As you probably guessed by now, the entertainment at Coral Reef is provided by the marine animals that live in the aquarium.
Each table has a fish guide on it to help you identify the various creatures that swim by as you dine. There are so many inhabitants in the tank that you never have a moment without some aquatic animal in view.
Many times, there are also divers in the tank as well. They will swim up to the windows and wave at people dining. Kids love interacting with the divers.
Disney Dining Plan/Cost
Coral Reef is a participant of the Disney Dining Plan. It will cost you 1 table service credit per person.
If you are paying out of pocket for your meal, you can expect to pay $15-30 per adult to eat here. I find that this is pretty average on the scale of Disney restaurants when it comes to price.
While it is not one of the most expensive places to eat at Disney World, it is one of the more unique places to dine. I like eating here and feel that it is a good use of our dining credits when you factor in the food and atmosphere.
Conclusion
Coral Reef is a seafood restaurant in Epcot’s Future World that showcases a huge wall of windows that look into the aquarium. This is a good compromise place to dine if you have some seafood lovers and haters in your group, like we do.
This is one of the best non-character restaurants for kids on property. Because of the low lighting in this place, it has a cozy and calm feel which is a nice break from the sun, heat, and crowds. This is a great choice if you are looking for a seafood place to eat with kids.
For more dining at Disney help, see our tips for using the dining plan, dining plan questions, best character meals for boys, and character meal quick guide.
Happy travels!
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