You’ll HAVE to Visit EPCOT’s NEW Restaurant Over and OVER Again — Here’s Why

A BRAND new restaurant is coming to EPCOT but if you think trying it once will be enough, you’d be very WRONG.

Disney has announced that a brand new spot called Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya will be coming to EPCOT’s Japan pavilion. It’ll feature a sushi bar, grill, and much more. It’s expected to open on the second floor of the pavilion (with great views of the fireworks!) in the summer of 2023, but you’ll need to come back to this restaurant OVER and OVER again.

Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya will be a new table service restaurant in the Japan pavilion of EPCOT. According to Disney, it’ll offer a “festive dining experience” in a “sharable Izakaya-style.” According to the Japan Pavilion Mitsukoshi Instagram post, “Izakaya is a Japanese-style pub that serves small plates of food and drinks.”

So why will you need to go here over and over again? Well, there’s one very specific reason — the whole idea behind the restaurant is that it’s meant to give you the chance to “experience the essence of Japan’s seasonal festivals.” In fact, Shiki-Sai literally means “festival of the four seasons.”

Disney has shared that each month will actually bring a NEW celebration to your table here. So you may experience totally unique things in July that you couldn’t have seen here in January.

Based on Disney’s descriptions, these celebrations may be embodied by food or other things, like decorations in the restaurant. They shared that you may find “hanging tanzaku to celebrate Tanabata in July” (tanzaku is a colored strip of paper used to write wishes on as part of the Tanabata Star Festival), or “moon-viewing dumplings in September.”

So you shouldn’t necessarily expect new dishes each month (at least based on Disney’s initial description) but it appears there will be little differences — either in food or decor — to look forward to on repeat visits.

Don’t worry about having to figure it all out yourself though. There will actually be a cultural representative from Japan in the restaurant that’ll be able to guide you through “each unique festival experience, one bite at a time.”

In terms of the atmosphere, Disney has said that it will embrace Japan’s festivals with “hand painted artwork and lanterns highlighting some of the natural wonders that Japan offers as well.” Mitsukoshi also noted that there will be “enchanting scenes from Japan’s seasons and festivals.”

Disney has promised that each visit is meant to create “unforgettable memories” that capture the essence of Japan’s seasonal festivities. In other words, every visit should give you something exciting and unique to look forward to.

Ready to learn more about this new spot? Thus far, Disney has said that the menu will have Japanese items like sushi, teppan items, an open sushi bar, and a grill. You’ll even be able to sit at the sushi bar and watch sushi be made before you.

Some options from the sushi bar will include:

• Kobore Sushi — “negi toro and nakaochi tuna elegantly paired with salmon roe and green onion”
• Tokyo Negi Roll — “green onion tempura rolled with tuna tataki and topped with jalapeno aïoli, shredded carrot, and sliced jalapeno”
• Funamori — “sashimi and sushi arranged on a boat-shaped platter”
• The Monster Roll

Other menu items will highlight Japanese Izakaya (“a type of casual pub-style restaurant”). These may include things like:

• Karaage Chicken
• Salmon Misoyaki
• Tomato Salad with Avocado

From the grill you’ll be able to check out:

• Okonomiyaki — “Japanese savory pancake is made with a batter of flour, eggs, and water, and then filled with shredded cabbage and bacon, and topped with tangy okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori, bonito flakes, and pickled ginger”

Disney hasn’t explicitly said that this restaurant will take over Tokyo Dining, but Tokyo Dining has been closed for an extended refurbishment and was previously set to open in the summer of 2023. Considering that this new restaurant is also set to open in the summer of 2023 and is meant to be on the second floor of the pavilion (where Tokyo Dining is also located) it could replace Tokyo Dining so we’ll be on the lookout for updates there.

Thus far, an official opening date hasn’t been shared but stay tuned and we’ll update you on that as soon as we know more. For more EPCOT tips and info, see our video below!

 Are you hoping to visit this new spot? Tell us in the comments.

Post a Comment