Hear ye, hear ye — it’s time to dine like straight-up ROYALTY in Disney World.

No, we’re not talking about Cinderella’s Royal Table or Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. Instead, we’re heading over to EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion to check out a newly reopened Akershus Royal Banquet Hall! Get ready to see everything this Princess Storybook Dining meal has to offer because we’re bringing you our FULL review!

Atmosphere

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is modeled after a Norwegian castle, and it really does feel like that! You can see medieval stonework on the outside of the restaurant, and that decor carries through to the interior.

This is a character meal — a Princess Storybook Dining meal, to be exact — meaning that some of your favorite Disney Princesses will be greeting and interacting with you throughout your dining experience. Prior to the closure, Akershus featured buffet-style service, but that has since changed to family-style.

We meant it when we said this place looks like a castle! There are large, stone archways and wooden trusses in the ceiling with different sigils hanging from them. Chandeliers hang down from the ceilings and there are lit sconces on the red patterned walls.

There are a few different rooms inside Akershus, but each one definitely has that castle feel.

Over here, you can see more stone walls and wooden ceiling accents. There’s plenty of space and quite a few families were dining there when we visited!

We made our way to the table and were pretty quickly served drinks, bread, and salad. But — we were quickly distracted by some very regal visitors.

We saw Princess Ariel…

…Snow White…

…Princess Aurora…

…plus Jasmine and Belle, too!

Snow White and Princess Jasmine are greeting guests too! pic.twitter.com/Arrsez9haS

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 4, 2022

We were able to visit with each princess for a few minutes and took lots of photos with them — a few of the princesses even came around to our table multiple times. You can definitely count on seeing each princess at least once during your meal!

Menu

As we mentioned previously, Akershus has switched from buffet-style service to family-style, meaning that it’s still all you care to enjoy, but the food will be brought to your table instead. Lunch and dinner feature the same menu, and it’s a bit pricey at $63 per adult and $41 per child.

You’ll find all kinds of traditional Norwegian dishes on the menu, like Kjøttkake (meatballs) and Kylling og Melboller (chicken and dumplings) plus sides like mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, and red cabbage.

The menu also features a selection of non-alcoholic specialty beverages and a few cocktails.

There are a few beers on the menu, both imported and domestic…

…and a selection of red, white, and sparkling wines as well!

We also were able to order a taste of the Linie Aquavit, which is a Norwegian spirit — but more on that later! Let’s dig in.

Eats

Since Akershus is now a family-style restaurant, all the dishes are brought out to your table pretty quickly. We started with Lefse with Cardamom-Cinnamon Butter, which was absolutely incredible. Lefse is a type of flatbread, a bit thicker than a crepe but thinner than a pita. The cardamom-cinnamon butter was perfectly spiced and sweet, and when you unrolled the lefse and spread the butter on…it was an excellent start to this meal.

Next up was a Field Greens Salad with Lingonberry Vinaigrette, which was SO good. The greens did get a bit soggy, but we honestly didn’t mind because the lingonberry vinaigrette was deliciously fruity and had a great tang. The cucumber and tomato were fresh, and overall this was a really nice, light start to the meal.

Talk about comfort food — the Kylling og Melboller or Chicken and Dumplings were a super solid dish. The dumplings were small and bite-sized, but perfectly soft and doughy. The chicken was shredded so there was some in every bite, and the broth was rich and comforting. The chicken and dumplings were a bit on the saltier side, but we really enjoyed them and found the dish almost nostalgic.

Of course, we had to try a little bit of everything but let’s talk about those meatballs first! The kjøttkake or Norwegian meatballs are served with gravy and lingonberry sauce. The savory and sweet pairing is top-notch here, but we thought the meatballs were a bit salty. They were nicely cooked though and weren’t too mushy.

The meatballs are served over mashed potatoes which were SO creamy and delicious. The gravy was flavorful but didn’t mask the overall taste of the mashed potatoes. If you’re not a gravy fan, we’d recommend asking for it on the side as it smothers the meatballs and mashed potatoes.

Next up, we tried the macaroni and cheese. It was no Gasparilla Island Grill mac & cheese but it was cheesy, creamy, and didn’t just taste like bland gluey noodle sauce. But, each noodle was covered in sauce. This is a great option for those picky eaters you might have in your party!

What those picky eaters probably won’t like, though, is the red cabbage. Don’t get us wrong — we thoroughly enjoyed this — but it is an acquired taste. It wasn’t quite sauerkraut, but it was extremely vinegary and had a definite bite to it. If you’re not a fan of pickled foods, this probably isn’t for you. We loved it, so give it a try!

We also tried the grilled salmon with herbed butter, which was surprisingly lackluster given everything else we had tried. It was cooked perfectly with a nice crispy skin, but it didn’t have a ton of flavor to it and we found ourselves reaching for the other foods on our plate more. Don’t expect anything too knock-your-socks-off.

The green beans were pretty solid, and had a ton of flavor from the onions — they reminded us of what you might find on your holiday dinner table. Nothing to write home about, but a solid veggie option that was fresh.

There’s a new plant-based sausage offering at Akershus, so we tried it out as well. If you’ve had any other plant-based sausages in Disney World, you’ve had this one. We would have liked some of the lingonberry sauce served either on top of the sausage like the meatballs.

The sausage was served over olive-oil mashed potatoes which were some of the best we’ve had on property. The olive oil gave them a rich, aromatic taste, showing how good olive oil can actually add flavor to a dish. These were delicious and savory and perfectly salted and so creamy despite being dairy free and made with olive oil instead of vegan butter.

We ordered a traditional Linie Aquavit shot, which is part of the “Viking Challenge” where you’re supposed to take the shot with a straight face, but our Norwegian Cast Member said that in Norway they tend to sip it towards the end of dinner, so that’s what we chose to do. You’ll definitely taste the alcohol, but there’s a deep, earthy, herbal flavor from the spices in the Aquavit. If you’re looking for something traditionally Norwegian at Akershus, this could be it!

Dessert was a rice cream with strawberry sauce — kind of like a rice pudding. This was so creamy with tons of vanilla flavor, and we didn’t mind the sometimes odd texture of rice pudding. The strawberry sauce tasted fresh like it was made with real strawberries, too. Overall, a light dessert that wasn’t too heavy.

But, we also had the Chocolate Roulade with Lingonberry Cream which was excellent. The chocolate cake was more on the cocoa powder side and wasn’t too sweet, while the lingonberry cream was sweet and tart. Together, they were a perfect combination and really interesting flavor profile.

We also had the plant-based vanilla gelato which disappointed us at first, but we were pleasantly surprised by how rich and creamy it was — by far some of the best vegan “ice cream” we’ve had in Disney World.

We would have liked to see a traditional pastry (but a plant-based version) instead here, but overall this was a great dessert.

Nosh or Not

You should book a meal at Akershus if…

• You have a princess fan in your party. We were able to see each princess at least once, and some more than once.
• You want to knock out several character meet and greets at once — saving you time in the parks.
• You miss the full experience of Cinderella’s Royal Table or want to be able to spend some time with the characters you’re meeting.

You should skip Akershus if…

• You don’t care about character dining or meeting Disney Princesses.
• You don’t like holiday-esque food or food served family style.
• You’re balling on a budget, as this is a PRICEY meal.
• You don’t want to waste time on a sit-down meal.

Overall

We really enjoyed our meal at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and think it’s a great option for those looking for the ultimate Disney Princess character meal. But, it is expensive and while we liked everything we ate, we’ve certainly had better meals in EPCOT. If you’re looking for a character meal that’s more unique, consider giving Akershus a try!

With DOZENS of places to eat at Disney World, we know it can be tough to plan your meals. That’s why we wrote the DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World. We have reviews, pictures and details about every restaurant all in one digital download – along with ALL of our best tips and strategies from decades of Disney World trips. We’ve got a special discount code for DFB readers, too! Use WDW2023 at checkout for 25% off!

As always, stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney food reviews, news, and more!

See Our FULL Review of the Returning Buffet at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom Here

Have you eaten at Akershus in EPCOT? Let us know in the comments!

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