FULL REVIEW: Le Gobelet Noir in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic at Epic Universe

Epic Universe is all the rage right now, as the newest theme park in Orlando! We’ve been journeying around every part of the park to get all the information you’ll need for your Epic Universe vacation.

We’ve had a few chances to enter Epic Universe, and have put together a complete overview of what’s inside. Obviously there are so many thrilling attractions, amazing shows, and such amazing sights to see. But what about the most underrated part of theme parks, the FOOD!

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

We recently got to try Le Gobelet Noir inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. It’s a great spot for grabbing something quick, but also getting to be inside for a bit!  Let’s try this place out and decide if this is a must-visit or a skip when you enter Epic Universe — warning, no muggles are allowed!

Background

Le Gobelet Noir is a dining place themed after the world of Harry Potter and is located in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic at Epic Universe. Its French name is because of the setting of the land, Paris.

The Ministry of Magic joins Islands of Adventure’s Hogsmeade and Universal Studios’ Diagon Alley, continuing to add more chapters to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Place Cachée is a 1920s marketplace in Wizarding Paris. It’s in this marketplace where you may stumble upon Le Gobelet Noir. It’s said to be found “In the shadowy corners of Place Cachée, where international Dark witches and wizards gather to escape the prying eyes of the Paris Ministry and have a hearty meal over hushed conversation.”

Here’s what you need to know about dining at this restaurant.

Atmosphere

As soon as you walk through the front door of the restaurant, you’ll find yourself in a large sitting room. There isn’t a lot of decor — brooms, and a fireplace with strange writing above it. If you take the time to search, you’ll notice the home of Nicolas Flamel above Le Gobelet Noir. In case you’re not a Potterhead, he’s a famous alchemist known for creating the Philosopher’s Stone (from the first book/film).

The writing above the fireplace was an awesome add, it was detailed and mysterious. What do you think it means?

There was also a cabinet with artifacts on it. The space when you first enter was extremely spacious, and lots of cool details despite the minimal decor!

Once you pass the fireplace, you’ll be walking down a skinny hallway and towards the ordering station. The ordering station is run by Team Members ready to cook up a spell and help with placing your order.

Afterwards, you’ll be directed to Le Gobelet Noir’s many dining rooms. There truly is magic and mystery around every corner and in every small spot. You can even Mobile Order right from your table!

They had cool bottle linings in the walls…

Some photos decorate the walls, and you’ll find other special artifacts throughout the marketplace. Stay alert for the Deathly Hallows and the puppets from the Tale of the Three Brothers because you may find them in an unexpected place!

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

First up, we grabbed the Warm-Shaved Beef Sandwich for $17.99. A dish made of shaved corned beef, butterkäse, and German mustard. It’s served between two hearty multi-grain bread slices and comes with a choice of house salad or tavern frites.

The sandwich was much thicker than we expected, and tasted equally as good as we had hoped. Several layers of shaved corned beef really gave it a heftier yet salty taste to the sandwich. Despite the meat being shaved, there were TONS of it! It made the sandwich nice and thick to bite into. When we heard “shaved” in the name, we prepared ourselves for a very thin portion of meat and were pleasantly surprised. This as a whole was pretty good!

The butterkäse and German mustard gave the sandwich a nice zing to the flavor, which accented the salty taste in the meat and set the tone for the entire sandwich. There couldn’t have been a better option than the multi-grain bread slices, and they came lightly toasted on the outside. We went with the tavern fries for our side, which weren’t anything special for the meal. The thick-cut salted fries were a solid side for a sandwich, but we’ve had these fries at several places around Epic Universe, so they’re not hard to come by.

We also grabbed the Alchemist’s Platter for $27.99. This platter came with smoked sausage, potato & cheese pierogies, marinated beets, pickled egg, caramelized onions, warm pretzel, German mustard, and cheese fondue.

The platter is huge, and it’s pretty obvious that this could easily be split between a party of people. It’s a very heavy meal, and we warn you in advance if you’re pairing up this platter alongside a hefty dish (like we mistakingly did with the sandwich). If you’re a big fan of Polish and German food, you’re most likely going to love this platter! The pretzel bread stood out the most. It was so warm and was able to break open with ease.

We loved pairing the pretzel with the cheese fondue, WOW was it amazing! The bread was so soft and tasted just like a pretzel, and it had the light salt crystals on the outside. The cheese fondue had several spices to it, giving it phenomenal flavor. It completely covered all of the bread’s pores as we dipped each piece in. If you don’t enjoy anything else on this platter, this is the safest bet for the picky eater.

Ok, enough with the cheese and the bread, and how delicious it was. The platter, like we mentioned, also came with pickled eggs, beets, pickles, sausages, German mustard, and caramelized onions. It was almost like a charcuterie of side accompaniments. While everything was nearby each other, there was enough space to allow for you to pick and choose what you wanted to eat! We loved how easy it was to customize how much or how little of each thing you could grab.

Nothing really stood out to us, or swept us off our feet on the platter. That being said, they did have great flavor, and added to the overall vibe of the platter — both in how they tasted and aesthetically. The cheese pierogies were another safe choice for a picky eater; the outside was easy to bite into, and the cheese on the inside mimicked a whipped consistency like mashed potatoes. They were delicious!

The pierogies, pretzel bread, and cheese fondue were the highlights of the platter. They were enough to make us completely stuffed by themselves!

To drink, we picked up the Le Breuvage Sombre du Gobelet Noir for $7. It was a delicious dark brew drink created with unique flavors of mixed fruit. It was topped with the eyes of Plimpies — better known as yogurt-popping pearls.

We have one word for this drink — WOW! It surprised us in the best way! It’s a non-alcoholic drink, but it looks dark and mysterious. It had a somewhat black tint to look at, and anyone looking for non-alcoholic drinks will love this. It’s got a taste of a deeper blue raspberry flavor to it, kind of like when a slushy of the same flavor melts, just not as sour. The drink overall is fairly sweet, and you’ll only detect a hint of extra flavor to it when the yogurt-popping pearls burst in your mouth.

Magic or Tragic?

This Epic Universe restaurant is a must-visit if…

• To put it bluntly, you’re just a HUGE Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts fan. The theme of this place is Grindelwald’s hangout spot. You’ll find some dark magic hidden within the restaurant!
• You’re looking for a tasty and unique non-alcoholic drink! Obviously, there is the extremely popular butterbeer, but if you’re looking for a different wizarding drink — here it is!
• You have a large party with you! There are so many rooms within the restaurant, and it’s spacious. The restaurant itself is hidden, so it’s very much removed from the crowd. If you’re dining with a larger group, this could be a great option to share a dish, possibly saving you money.

You should skip this Epic Universe spot if…

• You’re looking for something that’s a little easier to grab and go. While this is a quick-service restaurant, the dishes are built more for taking a seat. You won’t get to enjoy the restaurant to the fullest if you don’t have time to spare during your busy day!
• You’re not the biggest Wizarding World fan. The theme is meant to have special details and nods to the popular franchise. If you aren’t the biggest fan, then it might not excite you as much.
• If the thought of dining somewhere hidden and a bit more dimly lit isn’t quite your choice of restaurant, we could see you skipping this one.
• You’re looking to eat the BEST of what Epic Universe has to offer with limited time. As good as this place was, Epic Universe has MANY places to eat at. We could see people skipping out to try something more exciting and with more to offer. If you’re ok with saving this spot for a repeat visit, we wouldn’t blame you.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news and more!

A full list of all the restaurants available at Epic Universe

 

Will you be eating from this Epic Universe restaurant? Tell us in the comments.

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