Best Italian at WDW

[brkn3467]

We've never tried italian food at Disney but my DSiL has requested this for our Aug. 2011 free dining trip. Now, we live in an area with an abundance of really good italian joints and I am worried that she might be disappointed? For those that have tried more than one, which italian DDP restaurant do you prefer:

Mama Melrose's
Tony's TS
Tutto Italia
Via Napoli

Thanks!

 

[ransom]

Many people who live in areas with truly authentic, really good Italian restaurants have posted that all the ones in WDW are disappointing.

So my recommendation would be to either avoid those restaurants, or set your expectations accordingly. They're similar to Olive Garden. That's especially true of Tony's and Mama Melrose.

Personally, I like all the restaurants you listed. But I never expect my meals at WDW to be the finest I've ever eaten. To me, Tutto Italia is the best of those listed.

Good luck!

 

[PatriciaH]

Il Mulino in the Swan gets the best reviews. Cafe D'Antonio in Celebration is really good too. Sorry, not DP

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

I didn't vote because we have only tried Tony's and it was NOT good, we will not be back. We didn't enjoy the food at all but the service was great. But our biggest complaint was we didn't like the sauce, so maybe it just wasn't to our taste.

 

[KAA1972]

You live in NY.... you will be disappointed with WDW Italian food at all of those listed. Personally, I would skip Italian unless DSiL has his heart completely set on it.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

We have eaten at all four.
In this order we would rank them.

4th place: Tony's - One of only a few places we will never go back to. Food and service were terrible.
3rd place: Mama Melrose - It has been a while since we have dined there but we were underwhelmed by the food. Less than average Italian fare.
2nd place: Via Napoli - Ate there in Aug. DH enjoyed his pizza. I liked the eggplant...pasta was dry and odd...kids enjoyed their meals. Tiramisu was fantastic.
1st place: Tutto - We have eaten several meals here and have always enjoyed everything we have had. We have tried the Lasagna, Spaghetti and Meatballs, a Crab and Pasta dish (that is no longer on the menu), Lobster Ravioli, Chicken Parm, and DH had lamb there as well (also don't see it on a menu). We have never had a bad meal there. The service had always been excellent.

 

[B-Ride]

The best I have eaten at is a little place we ate at in Italy a few years ago. However, if I have to stick to WDW I would say Tutto Italia.

 

[Pakey]

Il Mulino is the only place at WDW I could recommend and it's not on your list.

 

[Pugmalion1]

Sorry. I can't vote because I don't really care for any of the Dining Plan Italian joints. They range from merely passable to pretty awful. The two that aren't on your poll are much better.

 

[tinacaplan]

As a proud Italian-American girl who lives and grew up in the Northeast, where there's excellent Italian food EVERYWHERE, I have to say that our meal at Tutto was pretty outstanding. Not a typical Italian-American menu, by any means, either. Our food was very fresh-tasting and well-prepared. And we can't wait to try Via Napoli, either, and its run by the same people.

Tutto was one of the best meals we had on our last trip, actually.

 

[cigar95]

Does Portobello not take the DDP? I would vote for it over any of the four on the list.

 

[brkn3467]

No, last I checked Portobello was not taking DP and neither does Il Mulino, unfortunately.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Il Mulino at the Swan is the best but runner up is Tutto

 

[GeorgeG]

You live in NY.... you will be disappointed with WDW Italian food at all of those listed. Personally, I would skip Italian unless DSiL has his heart completely set on it.

I agree. Several years ago the was a question about one of the Italian restaurants at WDW (can't remember which) and a poster made the wise observation that it all depended on where you were from. For one area of the country it would be the best, another just average, New York "slop."

Not that it's slop, but Italian dining in Florida, in general, is usually hit and miss. I've had good and not-so-good at all of the WDW Italian restaurants. It can depend on the menu the executive chef puts together (they do change), who is cooking that day, crowds, and your expectations. That's true for a lot of WDW restaurants, not just Italian. I'd go with whichever restaurant is most convenient to your itinerary... and how much you're willing to pay for pasta.

 

[cigar95]

No, last I checked Portobello was not taking DP and neither does Il Mulino, unfortunately.

Portobello and Fulton's are both run by Levy, and neither take the DDP. The third Levy restaurant is Wolfgang Puck's - maybe they don't take DDP either? All three provide discounts for annual pass, DVC, and TiW. (At the moment, they are offering *very* good DVC discounts, and it will get even better in January.)

(Don't mix up Levy's with Landry's, which is Rainforest, T-Rex, and Yak n Yeti.)

 

[sweetsusannah]

Il Mulino at the Swan and Dolphin. You can also get a restaurant.com gift certificate to use there to help offset the cost.

 

[Puncek]

You live in NY.... you will be disappointed with WDW Italian food at all of those listed. Personally, I would skip Italian unless DSiL has his heart completely set on it.

This is true; I'm from NY and haven't truly enjoyed the 'Italian' at WDW since Alfredo's left. But I do enjoy Tony's because of the servers and the atmosphere.

 

[Shleedogg]

I've eaten at every one except Via Napoli. We've gone back to Mama Melrose 3 times. The difference for us is that MM makes your food fresh to order. They have an open kitchen so you can tell that stuff isn't sitting out under heat lamps.

At Tutto DH and I both ordered pasta dishes (maybe our mistake?) and they were out literally less than 5 minutes after we placed our order. Also, they were simply not good. My dish was a cheese stuffed pasta with a cream sauce and it was supposed to have chunks of vegetables in it. The veggies were minuscule and not enough to cut the richness in the dish. I could only stomach a few bites. DH didn't care for the spaghetti and meatballs.

At Tony's DH got chicken parm, and it was ok, sauce too chunky for his liking. I got a veggie lasagna. It was slop on a plate. It had no distinct veggie flavors, it was all just mush. It was really disgusting. Again, like at Tutto, our food was out in less than 5 minutes after ordering, so clearly sitting under heat lamps. The garlic rolls were delicious though.

The food at MM is Italian-American, but it's good and it's fresh and the service has always been great.

 

[ElizabethB]

We, too, miss Alfredo's.

We love Il Mulino. But, I have to say we had a surprisingly tasty meal at Mama Melrose's last month. We always enjoy the calamari at MM, which is done with fried peppers and a marinara sauce. My rigatoni with sausage was delicious. And, our group downed the cannoli cake almost before it landed on the table. It was that good.

MM is your basic southern Italian/American-style cooking and the decor is intentionally kitschy.
For Disney park Italian, based on our recent visit, I'd pick Mama Melrose.

 

[The Mayor]

We always eat at Mama Melroses and have always had a good meal there...now granted, I'm not looking for 5 star meals at WDW just good food for a good value...to us MM fills that bill.