New details on the upcoming Epcot restaurant Space 220, scheduled to open sometime next year. It is an immersive experience restaurant that will make customers feel as though they’re dining in outer space with a view of Earth below.
In fact, the 220 in the name is a reference to the number of miles guests will travel via space elevator to get to the restaurant. I had mistakenly assumed it referred to the average check price.
The restaurant will be operated by the Patina Group, which also operates Via Napoli and Tutto Italia, also at Epcot, as well as Morimoto Asia, Maria & Enzo’s and Enzo’s Hideaway at Disney Springs. Other restaurants in its bicoastal portfolio include the Michelin-starred Patina Restaurant at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Lincoln Ristorante at New York’s Lincoln Center.
Guests arriving at Space 220 will be invited by a crew member into the space elevator and whisked upward to the Centauri Space Station, which is in permanent orbit above the park’s Mission: Space attraction. Just outside the elevator will be a spinning wall of produce that the chefs will use. Typically, the definition of local cuisine is anything sourced within a hundred miles. So Florida produce couldn’t qualify. The produce wall spins to mimic Earth’s gravitational pull, so you won’t have to worry about colliding with collards during your meal.
No details yet on the menu. I’m still holding out hope for a special Tang cocktail and steak and mashed potatoes served in a tube.
Nick Valenti, who recently stepped down as Patina Group’s CEO, will continue to oversee the project. “I look forward to welcoming guests to Space 220, an immersive culinary journey intended to celebrate the wonders of our solar system and transport guests 220 miles above Earth’s surface to experience the height of dining,” Valenti said in a statement.
The company is saying that the restaurant will open this winter, but I don’t know. I was at Epcot recently and it didn’t look like they’ve even started construction on the space elevator.
