Somewhere in EPCOT, Disney is serving apple cider, sweet potatoes, squash, and an Old Fashioned while Central Florida is still sitting comfortably in the 90s. Why? Because Bramblewood Bites tends to serve food that feels more like an actual meal than a tiny festival snack.

We’re back at Bramblewood Bites for the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, and this booth continues to operate as EPCOT’s little pocket of fall. You’ll find it along the walkway between World Showcase and the Imagination! Pavilion. The booth first joined the festival in 2024, and it has quickly become one of the places we watch each year closely. This year, two dishes we really enjoyed last year are back, and we’ve got a brand-new sweet potato creation that sounds suspiciously like Thanksgiving got dressed up for EPCOT. Let’s dig in!

Menu

Over at Bramblewood Bites, it’s once again all about cozy, autumn-inspired flavors. The Grilled Cider-brined Pork Tenderloin returns for $7.19. Also returning is the Cast Iron-seared River Trout for $7.29.

And then we have something NEW. The Brûléed Sweet Potatoes with Dried Cranberries, Walnut Streusel, and Orange Goat Cheese joins the menu for 2026. This new dish replaces the Cast Iron-roasted Brussels Sprouts and Root Vegetables we had last year, which is bittersweet because we were BIG fans of those veggies. They had char, sweetness, tang, and enough going on that we didn’t remotely feel like we were eating Brussels sprouts out of obligation. No pressure, sweet potatoes.

On the beverage side, the Spiced Apple Rum Old Fashioned with Boyd & Blair Rum returns for $12.50, while a NEW Crooked Can Brewing Company Banana Bread German-Style Wheat Beer joins the lineup. A 6-ounce pour costs $6, while a 12-ounce pour costs $9.75.

So, this is a menu containing cider-brined pork, butternut squash, brûléed sweet potatoes, apple rum, and banana bread beer.

Eats

We have history with this one. The Grilled Cider-brined Pork Tenderloin with Chili-Apple Butter, Celeriac-Apple Slaw, and Apple Cider Gastrique returns for $7.19.

This isn’t simply a returning dish. The pork tenderloin has been one of Bramblewood Bites’ strongest performers for us in previous years, and it was a returning Best of the Fest item when we reviewed it last year. Last year’s pork was juicy with a nice char from the grill, which gave the outside just enough texture to contrast with the tender meat. We also liked how well the pork worked with the apple components, particularly the celeriac-apple slaw.

There is a LOT of apple happening here between the chili-apple butter, slaw, and cider gastrique, but last year’s version managed to keep it from tasting like somebody dropped a pork tenderloin into an apple orchard and called lunch. The savory, smoky pork kept everything grounded.

This year, the Grilled Cider-brined Pork Tenderloin featured tender, juicy pork topped with flaky sea salt. It’s served with a crisp apple slaw that added a fruity flavor while still keeping everything savory.

The Cast Iron-seared River Trout is also making a comeback after debuting at the booth in 2025. It costs $7.29 this year and comes with Vanilla-Butternut Squash Purée, Brussels Sprouts Salad, Candied Pecans, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Dried Cranberries, and Maple Dressing.

That ingredient list sounds like a fall farmers market was given one plate and told to figure it out. Fortunately, it worked last year. When we first tried the trout, we were impressed that the fish wasn’t overwhelmingly fishy. That’s an especially useful distinction at a festival where some guests may be hesitant to spend limited stomach space on seafood.

The vanilla-butternut squash purée was one of our favorite parts of the dish. The Brussels sprouts, candied pecans, cranberries, and other toppings added some light sweetness and made this a more complex plate than your standard fish-and-sauce situation. There are a LOT of ingredients competing for attention here, though, which makes execution especially important.

This year, the Cast Iron-seared River Trout had a great-sized trout that was meaty with crispy skin. The Brussels sprout salad had a stiff texture that was hard to chew, but the flavors were good. The sweet potato puree was the most prominent flavor, but it was ultra-sweet and didn’t pair well with the trout.

And now for the newcomer. The Brûléed Sweet Potatoes with Dried Cranberries, Walnut Streusel, and Orange Goat Cheese are brand-new for 2026. There is quite a bit going on in that description. Sweet potatoes already bring plenty of natural sweetness. Add dried cranberries and walnut streusel, and we’re moving firmly into Thanksgiving side dish territory. Then Disney throws orange goat cheese into the mix. That tangy cheese could be exactly what this dish needs to break up all that sweetness. Or we could end up with a dessert, side dish, and cheese plate trying to occupy the same paper tray. This is why we taste things.

The sweet potatoes were well-cooked and had a crispy blackened skin. Unfortunately for us, our sweet potatoes didn’t have any brulee topping. The walnut, goat cheese, and sweet potato were all strong flavors and didn’t blend well together.

Drinks

Bramblewood Bites remains deeply committed to drinking autumn out of a plastic festival cup.

Spiced Apple Rum Old Fashioned

The Spiced Apple Rum Old Fashioned with Boyd & Blair Rum returns for $12.50. This is not a traditional Old Fashioned. Instead of the bourbon or rye you’d normally expect, this version uses rum. Last year’s version leaned sweeter, with the apple flavor taking center stage while the rum itself stayed relatively subdued. So if you’re ordering this expecting something spirit-forward, dark, and boozy, adjust those expectations accordingly. If you want apple and spice with a little rum tagging along? Now we’re talking.

This was much sweeter than a traditional Old Fashioned, and the maple was the most prominent flavor, followed by a strong rum. While this isn’t a traditional Old Fashioned for all the purists out there, it tasted like fall in a cocktail!

We’ve also got a brand-new beer this year. The Crooked Can Brewing Company Banana Bread German Style Wheat Beer costs $6 for a 6-ounce pour or $9.75 for 12 ounces.

Last year, Bramblewood Bites served the 81Bay Brewing Co. Nitro Bananas Foster Cream Ale. That drink had an unmistakable banana flavor that we thought veered into banana-taffy territory. It was unusual, artificial-tasting, and definitely aimed at people who enjoy funky beers. Oddly enough, we appreciated it more the longer we drank it. The 2026 version is a completely different beer from a different brewery, but the banana baton has clearly been passed. A German-style wheat beer is also an interesting base for this flavor. Wheat beers can naturally produce banana-like notes from the yeast, so a “banana bread” version could potentially taste much more integrated than last year’s Bananas Foster experiment.

OVERALL

Bramblewood Bites has only been around since 2024, but it has already developed a pretty clear identity. This is hearty festival food. Pork. Trout. Squash. Apples. Sweet potatoes. Drinks that sound like they should come with a pile of leaves and a flannel shirt. And we’ve historically had good luck here. This year, the two new items were hit or miss for us, but we’re still stopping here on our next visit to EPCOT!

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Food & Wine Festival!

That’s it from Bramblewood Bites, but our stomachs have approximately 3,000 more EPCOT dishes to deal with. The 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs from August 27th through November 21st, and we’ll be reviewing the foods, drinks, returning favorites, and questionable flavor experiments all festival long.

And don’t forget to pick up our 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival e-book! See more details about the book below.

Which Bramblewood Bites dish are you most excited to try this year? Tell us in the comments!