REVIEW: Australia 2017 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

The Australia booth is an Epcot Food and Wine staple, and it hasn’t changed really at all since last year.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing mind you as Australia is one of the most solid marketplaces and a place I always have to stop.  But can they maintain the same high quality as in year’s past?  We’ll find out what it’s like this year in my Australia Review: 2017 Epcot Food and Wine Festival….

Australia Booth:

You’ll find The Australia booth almost right when you enter World Showcase from Future World.  You’ll find it on the left before you get to Canada.  It looks pretty much the same as last year with it’s patented red coloring:

 

The Almond Orchard Menu:

Again pretty much the same as last year except there are 2 new wine selections to choose from.  They also apparently forgot to change the pictures because that’s not how the shrimp or lamb looks this year:

Food:

• Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas (Gluten-Free) – $5.25, DDP Snack Credit  *Ziggy Recommended
• Grilled Lamb T-Bone with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies – $7.50, DDP Snack Credit  *Ziggy Recommended
• Lamington: Yellow Cake Dipped in Chocolate and Shredded Coconut – $3.25, DDP Snack Credit  *Ziggy Recommended

Beverages:

• Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale – $4.25
• Robert Oatley McLaren Vale Shiraz – $5.00
• Hope Estate “Wollombi Brook” Semillon, Hunter Valley – $5.00

 

Menu Review:

I’ll start by telling you that even though it hasn’t changed, the whole menu is AMAZING!  Let’s start with my fav: the Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp.  Mmmmmmm these are finger licking good!  For $5.25 these 4 good size shrimp are an excellent bargain, one of the best of the fest.  That sauce though is incredible!  You can tell they’ve just been marinating and marinating in there for all day.  Since we’re obviously going healthy here, even the veggies are stupendous.  Loved the snap peas which actually snapped, and the marinade of peppers and onions leaves a flavor like no other.  It is a bit spicy, so beware, but if you can handle it you won’t even know what to say they are so good!  I don’t know if it’s the size or if the recipe changed a bit, but this is miles bette than last year imo!  It’s a much better version than last year, Get these no questions asked!

Next we had the Grilled Lamb T-Bone with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies.  I’ve only been getting into lamb over the last few years as usually I don’t go for the overly gamey meat, and none of my family likes lamb..so I guess you know which way this one is going.  Wrong you are my friend, everyone loved it!  I never told my dad or my wife it was lamb and they gobbled it right up and were raving about every bite.  They were very surprised!  In fact it really didn’t have much of a “gamey” taste to it at all and was very succulent.   The marinade of mint and potato crunchies was incredible, and the mint wasn’t overpowering at all, it was just a hint.  Much better than I remember last year!

For dessert they have a favorite of ours, the Lamington Yellow Cake, which is dipped in Chocolate and Shredded Coconut.  Yesssssss please!  The combo of coconut and chocolate is just about unbeatable, and the cake is really moist and flavorful, not dry like cake can be.  

When you open this baby up you see how moist it is inside…

I love this stuff!!   Now granted it isn’t very big, which isn’t a problem in of itself, I can just pop these bad boys in my mouth one by one, I just wish they’d give me more of them cause they are so freakin addicting!!  You have to try these!

To drink we had the Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale which is a popular choice at the Australia booth, and for good reason.  It has a dusty gold color, light without being watery, and not too bitter.  A nice crisp, understated and somewhat lager-like pale ale.  Just the kind of drink you want to sit back and relax with on a hot day!

 

Booth Summary and Grade:

I LOVED the Australia booth, everything we had was excellent quality and didn’t disappoint.  It’s a super close call for what I would recommend the most as they are all excellent!  We all loved the lamb even though we aren’t lamb eaters, it was super juicy.  The Lamington are like crack, in a good way and the Bush Berry Shrimp were one of my favorite dishes at the Festival this year, truly special!!  Australia is leading favorite for Best Booth at the 2017 Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  A MUST stop!!

If you have to get just one thing: Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp

Grade:  9.5

Take a look at all of my 2017 Epcot Food and Wine articles.  I have a 2017 Epcot Food and Wine Info Guide with a complete Index of the Food and Wine Menus, The Top NEW Items for 2017, Top Food and Wine Booths and more…I want you to be able to have the best info on the Festival so you have a great time and don’t waste your time!

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think of my Australia Review 2017 Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  Have you tried the Bush Berry Shrimp yet?  How many Lamingtons can you eat in one sitting?  Let us know in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this article, as always I appreciate it if you’d share it with others via social media.  I work hard at making this website into a useful resource for you and your family to plan your visit to Walt Disney World, and I hope it can help you! Thanks 🙂