Vulcania is a counter-service restaurant in Tokyo DisneySea’s Mysterious Island. The restaurant is inside of the park icon, Mount Prometheus. Vulcania serves Chinese food with prices in the $10-$20 range. In this post, we’ll review the counter-service restaurant’s atmosphere, cuisine and value while sharing photos!

Mysterious Island is one of many incredible lands in Tokyo DisneySea. Inspired by Jules Verne’s novel of the same name, the land, or port-of-call, houses several rides and restaurants. Although set in the 19th century, Mysterious Island takes a view into the future and mixes a bit of steampunk with ingenuity. From a simple perspective, the port is incredibly colorful and has a great kinetic energy.

Vulcania’s back story, in short, is that it is a mess hall for Captain Nemo’s men. Captain Nemo has his submarine docked outside the doors of Vulcania in Mysterious Island. The mess hall was carved out of the mountain and doubles as a goethermal station. The seating area it feels as if the mountain is coming to life as the lights flicker and and the volcano rumbles.

As far as themed counter-service restaurants I’ve been in, this takes the cake. That’s not a surprise as DisneySea is the mecca of themed areas. Even with a high number of chairs and tables, dining in Vulcania is an experience. I don’t think many counter-service restaurants could be considered that.

Vulcania has a buffeteria-style ordering system where guests get in line and pick out items as they go. Many counter-service restaurants at Tokyo Disney Resort have this same set-up and it’s very convenient, especially for foreigners. It’s nice to be able to see what you’re ordering and easy to point to the items you want.

Another common Japanese custom is the ‘set meal’. This is essentially a combo meal where a side item or two and a drink is added to the entrée. You’ll encounter the set meals throughout the country, not just the theme park. Think of it like the American fast food combo meal except the side options are more varied than french fries. Not that I would ever allow any fries slander, they are one of the wonders of the world as far as I’m concerned. 

Vulcania offers a few different Chinese food entrees including Prawns in Chili Sauce, Tofu, Fried Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork. There’s also fried rice and dipping noodles (ramen) offered. Here’s a look at the menu, although you may have to use a translation to help! 

This is the Pork Belly Ramen with a Black Garlic Butter. It’s an absolutely delicious dish and on par with other ramen we had in Japan. The Garlic Butter made the broth very rich and filling while the Pork Belly soaked up that broth and was very tender. Between the flavor and the heartiness, this is a perfect dish for a cool day at DisneySea. It’s around $10 USD, so the value is strong like most counter-service options at TDR right now thanks to the exchange rate.

This dish came with the ramen set and was a play on the Shrimp with Chili Sauce, which is also on the menu. The shrimp were good, no surprise when it comes to food in Tokyo. I didn’t find the Chili Sauce to be overly spicy but it was flavorful. Compared to other things on the menu, I wasn’t blown away by this but it was an interesting item worth trying.

The Sweet and Sour Pork was juicy and flavorful. I liked the sauce which gave the dish a sweet taste with a slight spice. The pork was tender and delicious. This was one of the better counter-service entrees I’ve had. Unfortunately, we had this on our first trip to the restaurant and when we’ve come back on subsequent trips, this dish isn’t always on the menu.

The fried rice was good but less memorable than other items we’ve mentioned. Cashews added into the fried rice were a nice touch and the egg had more flavor than your typical fried rice. While there was no meat in the fried rice, the dish was still filling.

The dim sum may have been the highlight of the meal. All three of the items above were filled with meat (among other things). My favorite of the three was the one on the top left of the photo. This had sausage inside and the dough on the outside was juicy. I’d recommend all of these items to anyone who dines at Vulcania. We’ve tried dim sum each time we’ve been to the restaurant and it does vary but it’s always been delicious.

All in all, I would absolutely recommend Vulcania. The environment of the restaurant is one of the best I’ve been in, regardless of counter-service or table-service. Along with that, the quality of the food is high and delicious. Honestly, passing up a chance to eat inside of a volcano (and not die while doing it) would be a bad choice. Vulcania is one of the best counter-service restaurants out there.

Overall Rating – 10/10

Have you tried Vulcania? Let us know, along with any thoughts you have, in the comments! Planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort? Check out our planning guide to help you along the way! If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney please subscribe to the blog and like our Facebook page. You can find both of those on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!