Disney Is Exploring Tonkotsu Ramen With Eyeball Fishcake for Harryhausen's, and Blort Is Coming to Archie's in Monstropolis

When Disney detailed Harryhausen's at D23 in August, it promised "more than just sushi" without saying what. Disney's first look at specific dishes fills in one of those blanks with a bowl of ramen.

In a Disney Parks Blog post on Tuesday morning, October 6, Chef Brian Piasecki, Director of Culinary and Concept Development, and Beverage Director Evan Rosenthal previewed what they are developing for the two Monstropolis restaurants coming to Hollywood Studios. Disney repeated that the table-service Harryhausen's will serve "more than just sushi."

Ingredients staged for Disney's Monstropolis menu preview. Photo: Disney

Ramen at Harryhausen's

According to Disney, the team is exploring ramen bowls built on a traditional base of tonkotsu broth and alkaline noodles. The monster touches come in the toppings: fishcake cut into eyeball slices, and green eggs.

Disney's photos show the components rather than a finished dish: noodles, shiitake mushrooms, nori, spinach, whole eggs, a carafe of broth and a plate of sliced fishcake. None of them shows a finished bowl.

Ramen components from Disney's Harryhausen's preview. Photo: Disney

Sushi is still part of the plan. In August, Imagineer Michael Hundgen told Variety that Harryhausen's would serve sushi rolls and tempura with names straight out of the film, as Pirates & Princesses reported. The ramen is the first dish Disney has described in any detail.

The restaurant recreates the sushi spot where Mike takes Celia for her birthday dinner in Monsters, Inc. Disney first revealed at D23 that an Audio-Animatronics sushi chef would work in the middle of the dining room. The new post adds that it is the head sushi chef, using "eight talented tentacles" to prep food. Rosenthal described Harryhausen's as "the swanky place that you go for a night out," but said the menu has to work for younger guests as well as adults.

The Harryhausen's dining room, with the tentacled sushi chef at center. Artist concept only. Image: Disney/Pixar

Blort is coming to Archie's (maybe frozen)

Elsewhere in the land, Archie's Scare Pig Pizza is the quick-service option, an all-new spot inspired by Monsters University that Disney says will feel like the pizza place where generations of monster college students gathered after class. Disney says a drink from the movie will debut there: Blort, which Disney calls one of the most popular soft drinks in Monstropolis.

Disney hedged on the form. The post says it is "maybe" a purple frozen take on the soda, finished with Scream Apple Foam. Disney's photo shows one version: a purple slush with a thick green cap, sitting on a stack of Monsters University textbooks next to a dish of candy eyeballs.

A frozen purple drink with green foam, matching Disney's description of Blort with Scream Apple Foam. Photo: Disney

What Disney did not say

None of the dishes are final. Disney calls the ramen one of the items "being explored," and the Blort description starts with "maybe." Also missing:

• Prices: none for either restaurant.
• Reservations: no word on when Harryhausen's bookings open, or whether it will take walk-ins.
• Opening date: still just 2027, and Disney says only that parts of Monstropolis open then. As we reported in August, the Monsters, Inc. door coaster is still under construction and not part of that first phase.
• The pizza: this post describes the vibe at Archie's but not a single pizza. Disney has said only that new equipment and an upgraded recipe are in testing, according to BlogMickey.

The Monstropolis entrance, with Harryhausen's behind the fountain. Artist concept only. Image: Disney/Pixar

"We're taking familiar dishes and adding unexpected twists that feel authentic to this world," Piasecki said. The culinary team's name for the style is "grossly fun" food, and the post claims you can never have enough eyeballs in Monstropolis. So, would you book a table at Harryhausen's for ramen with eyeball fishcake, or are you holding out for the sushi?

Sources

• Disney Parks Blog, Sneak-Shriek: How Disney’s Culinary Team is Bringing the Flavors of Monstropolis to Life
• Pirates & Princesses, Harryhausen's at Disney World Will Serve Sushi Named After Monsters, Inc.
• BlogMickey, All-New Equipment, Better Pizza Coming to Monstropolis

Image credits: Disney (food photography) and Disney/Pixar (concept art), via Disney Parks Blog.