There is a new entree over at Coral Reef in EPCOT. The short-lived cauliflower has been replaced with an option that is worthy of the location and packs a ton of flavor. Coral Reef is located in The Seas pavilion next to the Seas with Nemo attraction. This restaurant looks into the aquarium here, which may be a turn off for many so I want to make that known first off.
The meal here starts with a bread basket. Be sure to let your server know you’re vegan so you can enjoy the classic gluten free and vegan Bloomfield Farms rolls with Earth Balance butter. These were warmed slightly and did not come in the plastic bags. They were tasty and light as always. I am never mad when I am served a Bloomfield Farms basket.
For our appetizer we have the Caribbean Salad. This salad features tomatoes, onions, pigeon peas, avocado, crispy plantains, and a key lime vinaigrette. This salad was absolutely delicious. The key lime vinaigrette was unexpectedly creamy and was well coated throughout the lettuce.
The textures were a good balance with large cuts of grape tomatoes, plenty of pigeon peas, and an avocado smear hiding in the bottom. There was a good amount of the plantains on top of the salad which added a nice crunch, similar to a crouton. The salad reminded us of the starter offered at Sebastian’s Bistro, but better!
The new entree here is the Coastal Palm Cakes. The menu describes this dish as Hearts of Palm, Quinoa, Kale, Pearl Peppers, Toy Box Tomatoes, Red Onions, Roasted Corn. But they have so much more than that!
Chef Joelle came out to present this dish to us as she was the one who came up with it. The Coastal Palm Cakes were a blend of hearts of palm and chickpeas with your usual crab cake fillings (sans crab) and old bay seasoning. The remoulade with the coastal cakes was a blend of vegan mayo, Tabasco, and capers. Hiding under the coastal cakes was a quinoa and baby kale mix with a lemon vinaigrette and on top of it all was a roasted corn salsa with my favorite pearl peppers.
Upon first bite I just tried the coastal cakes and didn’t love the texture of them as it was very mushy inside despite the crispy outside. However, the more I ate of it (with smaller bites of the cake) I really didn’t notice it to be mushy anymore. The textures of everything together, plus the flavors of it all, was just absolutely stunning. There were several layers to the flavors offered and the tanginess of the vinaigrettes was so good.
If you’ve been on here for a while you may remember our beloved vegan chicken dish from here from like 10 years ago, the flavors and textures brought me back to that but better. This dish is such a great new addition and actually feels on theme to this restaurant. This has to be one of my favorite things I’ve eaten at Walt Disney World in a while.
For dessert our option is the Chocolate Mousse Bar, which features Baileys Almande, Chocolate Ganache, Almonds, and Orange Coral. This is a similar dessert to the previous mousse but has been updated in a great way.
The bottom of the bar had a great crunchy texture and inside the chocolate shell was a creamy sweet mousse. There was also hints of orange on top of the ganache and with the orange “coral” pieces on the side that were basically like compressed cotton candy. This dessert was one I would absolutely get again.
Truly this whole meal was so good. I am going to be thinking about this for a while and we’ll absolutely be back for this one again! If you think you might be interested in this one, be sure to add it to your next trip.
Price $$$
Review from November 2024.
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