Amare at Swan Reserve vs Il Mulino

[japanese maple]

We are debating between these two.

Anyone eat at both and have a favorite? We love both menus. For reference, we do eat at a lot of great Italian places at home.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

To be honest, this is 'no contest' for us. We've done both, but Amare has become a bit of a regular stop for us. We really, really enjoy the menu, food, and service. As a disclosure, we prefer the more Mediterranean options of Amare. We also have done Il Mulino outside of WDW on rare occasion, and it's not a must-do for us at Disney. But we'd highly recommend trying Amare. It's a bit of a hidden gem. We often stay at BC, and it's a nice easy walk to our reservation at Amare.

 

[japanese maple]

To be honest, this is 'no contest' for us. We've done both, but Amare has become a bit of a regular stop for us. We really, really enjoy the menu, food, and service. As a disclosure, we prefer the more Mediterranean options of Amare. We also have done Il Mulino outside of WDW on rare occasion, and it's not a must-do for us at Disney. But we'd highly recommend trying Amare. It's a bit of a hidden gem. We often stay at BC, and it's a nice easy walk to our reservation at Amare.

Awesome, thank you!

 

[OKW Lover]

We are debating between these two.

Anyone eat at both and have a favorite? We love both menus. For reference, we do eat at a lot of great Italian places at home.

We've done both and they were both good. Since the OP has a lot of great Italian places at home I'd recommend Amare instead. That's not to denigrate Il Mulino though. We absolutely love that place. IMHO, it's the best Italian in WDW.

 

[gatordoc]

Amare is way better. Il Mulino at Disney is barely a mediocre shadow of the original in NYC.

 

[aammtt20]

I haven't been to Il Mulino, but I will say the meal I had at Amare was superb, good enough that even though I'd like to try new places, I also really want to return there.

 

[japanese maple]

Thanks all! The group has decided on Amare!

 

[gharter]

We have done both and both were very good. I was expecting (maybe wrongly) that Amare would be more upscale and it isn't. The food was good, but we didn't think it was at the level of Il Mulino. I don't think you will be disappointed at either.

 

[CarolynFH]

We have done both and both were very good. I was expecting (maybe wrongly) that Amare would be more upscale and it isn't. The food was good, but we didn't think it was at the level of Il Mulino. I don't think you will be disappointed at either.

I'm putting Amare on my list of places to try next visit. When you say it isn't more upscale than Il Mulino, do you mean menu? Dress code? Trying to figure out whether I'll have to convince the menfolk to bring button down shirts, ties, etc.!

 

[gharter]

I was wrong on Amare on many points. When I saw the resort being built and the beautiful glassed area on the top, I thought the restaurant would be up there ( like CG). No, it's on the 2nd or 3rd floor. I expected it to be fancier, it is very casual (nothing wrong with that). T-shirt and jeans were common. Khakis and polo was fancy for the night we were there. I think Il Mulino decor is nicer than Amare and thought the menu was better there as well, but the food still was much better than the Italian in EPCOT or Disney Springs.

 

[CarolynFH]

I was wrong on Amare on many points. When I saw the resort being built and the beautiful glassed area on the top, I thought the restaurant would be up there ( like CG). No, it's on the 2nd or 3rd floor. I expected it to be fancier, it is very casual (nothing wrong with that). T-shirt and jeans were common. Khakis and polo was fancy for the night we were there. I think Il Mulino decor is nicer than Amare and thought the menu was better there as well, but the food still was much better than the Italian in EPCOT or Disney Springs.

Thank you for the additional information! It helps!