Nine Dragons Restaurant at Disney's Epcot Center in Florida: Restaurant Review

Nine Dragons Restaurant can be found at the China Pavilion at the World Showcase in Epcot Center. The restaurant serves Chinese cuisine, wine and beer, in a traditional Asian setting. Here is a review of Nine Dragons Restaurant at Disney's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida.

Even on a Tuesday night in late September, it is nearly impossible to walk into a restaurant at Epcot's World Showcase and get a table. If you don't have reservations, you are either not eating, or you are eating fast food, which can be found at the American Pavilion (appropriate, wouldn't you say?). The one exception is often Nine Dragons Restaurant at the China Pavilion. Oh, Nine Dragons is plenty busy; in fact, it's bustling with patrons every night. But the service is fast (maybe too fast), and the restaurant is the largest Chinese eatery many have ever set foot in.

The setting is dazzling on the eyes, but the servers are far from friendly. They're all business, as they need to turn over tables in a hurry to empty the crowded lounge. If you're a walk-in, you're grateful just to be eating at Epcot. You may start with a Chinese beer or a glass of wine, and an appetizer like Drunken Chicken. Swallow 'em down quick, because your entree is already on its way. The Chinese beer is delicious - go with the Pure Draft - and it might just be the best thing on the menu at Nine Dragons Restaurant.

The General Tso's Chicken passes as a decent dish. It's spicy and served with a side of white rice. The portions are large and filling. But the food at Nine Dragons Restaurant is not unlike any Chinese food you'd find at your local take-out. Yet, it's priced at approximately three times as much. Why pay $20 for a dish of General Tso's when you can get the same thing for $6.95 and have leftovers at home? The setting? Well, it just isn't worth it because you don't get to spend all that much time at the restaurant. The check is on the table before you've swallowed your last bite.

Overall, a meal for two will run you about $60 with drinks. You'll be in and out in about a half hour. The one positive is that Nine Dragons Restaurant does accept the Disney Dining Experience card, which will save you twenty percent. And it is still better than counter service at the American Pavilion. Who needs cheeseburgers at Epcot, when you can dine on some decent Chinese cuisine? But skip Nine Dragons, if you can. And you can, as long as you have the forethought to make reservations someplace else.