REVIEW: Disney World's First Ramen Bar Isn't Where You'd Expect!

Disney World is full of exciting culinary experiences you can’t find back in your hometown.

Yes, you may be able to find a regular buffet, but what about a buffet where you can meet your favorite Disney characters? And while you have fine brunch locations around town, is there anything as great as Homecomin’ in Disney Springs? We’ve tried out a lot of restaurants in Disney World, but this is the first time we’re getting to try a ramen bar on property, and we couldn’t be more excited!

Background

El Mercado de Coronado is located inside Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and is designed to resemble an open air marketplace. Due to that, there are multiple different stalls and restaurants to grab food from, making sure there really is something for the whole family.

And that’s where this new restaurant comes in! A new Ramen Bar has just opened in one of the stalls and we headed straight over to try it out.

Atmosphere

There’s plenty of seating in El Mercado de Coronado, and it’s all indoor, which is a major win for super chilly or super hot days. You’re more than welcome to grab your food from one stall and then eat at a table across the room — there are no rules!

We love how spacious and open this dining area is, especially during the day, because all that gorgeous sunlight comes through the windows!

Enough chitchat though, let’s get to the food!

Food

There are three options at this Ramen Bar currently.

We decided that, since it was a ramen bar, it was best to try out both of the ramen options! The Beef Ramen is $18 and is made with tender teriyaki beef over yakisoba noodles in a rich beef broth topped with a hard-boiled egg, edamame, shreddred carrots, mushrooms, scallions, crispy garlic and seasme seeds.

This wasn’t bad! We do feel the noodles were more similar to a spaghetti texture, but the beef broth was spot on, and the additional toppings (the edamame, scallions, crispy garlic, etc.) all wasn’t too overpowering, which we appreciated. The beef was well cooked with a crispier outer edge, and we loved that it was tossed in teriyaki. We’re not sure we’d get it again, but we do feel it’s a very solid choice for those who love ramen.

The Vegetable Ramen on the other hand costs $16 and has Yakisoba noodles in a flavorful vegetable broth, topped with a hard boiled egg, edamame, shredded carrots, mushrooms, pickled ginger, and cucumber slices.

This one isn’t bad either but there’s a massive block of seaweed on the top that is very aromatic. If you love that smell, you’ll love it, but otherwise, it may put you off. It makes it smell more fishy, and since the broth served with this one is veggie, it reminds us more of soup. Again, it wasn’t bad in the slightest, but we prefer the beef one if we had to choose.

So what about overall? How do these dishes really measure up?

Magic or Tragic?

Here’s the thing — we honestly thought it was an interesting choice putting a ramen bar in here, but a coordinator at Coronado happened to come around to us while we were eating and asked us our thoughts. We told him as such and he told us that the hotel gets a lot of international guests who are looking for cuisine like this, so they wanted to make it more accessible to them.

We think that’s incredible! While this ramen isn’t top tier, it won’t knock your socks off, it makes it easier for international guests who may be craving this type of comfort food to get it, rather than having to spend more money to order the food and have it delivered from a restaurant not on Disney World property.

With that being said, we think this Ramen Bar is a Magic if:

You’re already staying at Coronado Springs and you’re looking for something more unique
You’re an international visitor who finds ramen to be a staple back home, and you’re looking for a decent comfort food option
You’re a lover of ramen in general and aren’t looking for it to be the best of the best

At the same time, this might be a Tragic if:

You’re expecting this ramen to be up-to-par with some of the other incredible dining options around Disney World — this spot isn’t owned by Disney and they’re just starting out, so they’re not there yet
You’re not staying at Coronado Springs
You’re a picky eater

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