Il Mulino - the good and the BAD

[kabuki]

My husband and I just got back from a couple days at WDW. My camera was off so no pictures .. I am sorry!

I did want to review Il Mulino for you who haven't been. I went twice in a couple days.

The 1st was the 7th of Feb. A friend and I had dinner while the husband had work. It was quiet except for convention people that were very ...ummm... well lets just say they had an open tab at the bar they were not paying for!

That night We both had :
INSALATA TRATTORIA - Mixed Salad with Tomatoes, Artichoke hearts, Carrots, Hearts of Palm and Red Onion with Olive Oil and Aged Red Wine Vinegar $10
This was great - big salad with lots of fresh greens and veggies

For dinner my friend ordered - PENNE RIGATE - Penne served with our Original Il Mulino Marinara Sauce Topped with Ricotta Cheese $20

She loved it and I had a bite, it was great and done perfectly!

I had -LINGUINE ALLE VONGOLE - Linguine with White Clam Sauce $26

This was great! Lots of clams and spicy.
The service that night was great and the managers kept apologizing for the free drink crowd which we didn't feel they had to but was very nice. This dinner was so good that we decided to come back!

This dinner was on Saturday the 9th and was a completely different experience. It was later and busy because it was Saturday but again not packed. They told us it would be a 45 minute wait because we asked for the same servers. No problem! We waited in the bar and had some club soda to hold us over. The hostesses were not happy we were will to wait and never told the servers we asked for them. When we were seated after an hour and a bit the two men that waited didn't recognize us from being there. I didn't expect it but also didn't expect the service to go so far south.
We were given bottled water and then they refilled it with tap. Later looking at the bill we were charged for bottled.
They took our order and didn't ask if we wanted a drink or wine. We had to ask for the list. ( I'll get to the wine in a minute) They gave us there complimentary appetizer and didn't explain what it was. We had the same salad as before and it was watery with no dressing. We all had the PENNE RIGATE and it was lacking in sauce and looked as if it had been under a heat lamp all day. The service was non-existent and at one point they did remember us. We had to search for someone to get us a bill and it wasn't anyone who was serving us the meal.

Now the wine! OK! The 1st night we came in we asked about a wine that was in the $40 price range. The 1st server knew nothing about the wine list and went and got out second server. He said the wine we picked was just ok and picked out 5 other bottles. The cheapest of the these being $70 and went all the way to $210. I felt as if I was being up-sold but my friend and I decided to try the wine in the $70 range. It was very good and we had a great meal. The 2nd night when we finally got the wine list my husband asked for the same bottle we had and the same server who had shown us the $70 bottle now showed us some wine that started at $89. This is when I finally said we were here before and he recognized us and got us the same from the 1st night.


All and all the restaurant is pretty and the 1st meal we had was really good. They make it clear that they are not associated with Disney and don't offer any discounts. I knew this ahead of time but not all people do and we saw people trying to use special dinning plans and discounts. I hate writing bad reviews but I just want people to be aware of what could happen!

 

[John's Mom]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm going to cross Il Mulino off my list.

 

[BriarRosie]

My husband and I just got back from a couple days at WDW. My camera was off so no pictures .. I am sorry!

I did want to review Il Mulino for you who haven't been. I went twice in a couple days.

The 1st was the 7th of Feb. A friend and I had dinner while the husband had work. It was quiet except for convention people that were very ...ummm... well lets just say they had an open tab at the bar they were not paying for!

I'd say they met their Booze Quota a long time before you saw them.
The food sounded fantastic!

The service that night was great and the managers kept apologizing for the free drink crowd which we didn't feel they had to but was very nice. This dinner was so good that we decided to come back!

I read the entire review before replying, so I have to wonder if the level of service was in direct proportion to the drunken crowd around you. I'm thinking they bent over backwards so you would return.

This dinner was on Saturday the 9th and was a completely different experience. It was later and busy because it was Saturday but again not packed. They told us it would be a 45 minute wait because we asked for the same servers. No problem! We waited in the bar and had some club soda to hold us over. The hostesses were not happy we were will to wait and never told the servers we asked for them.

Now that stinks. Why would they hold back that info? You'd think they'd be thrilled to have repeat business and share that info with the servers.

When we were seated after an hour and a bit the two men that waited didn't recognize us from being there. I didn't expect it but also didn't expect the service to go so far south.
We were given bottled water and then they refilled it with tap. Later looking at the bill we were charged for bottled.

I would have asked for them to remove the charge from my bill for doing that.

They took our order and didn't ask if we wanted a drink or wine. We had to ask for the list. ( I'll get to the wine in a minute) They gave us there complimentary appetizer and didn't explain what it was. We had the same salad as before and it was watery with no dressing. We all had the PENNE RIGATE and it was lacking in sauce and looked as if it had been under a heat lamp all day.

I'd say that part was more inconsistency in the kitchen, and that's pathetic to have worse food on a busy night! Oh, but the lack of explanation on the appetizer was the server's fault, of course.

The service was non-existent and at one point they did remember us. We had to search for someone to get us a bill and it wasn't anyone who was serving us the meal.

And since you said it was busier but not packed, I have to wonder why the service was miles apart from the service you receive a couple nights prior.

Now the wine! OK! The 1st night we came in we asked about a wine that was in the $40 price range. The 1st server knew nothing about the wine list and went and got out second server. He said the wine we picked was just ok and picked out 5 other bottles. The cheapest of the these being $70 and went all the way to $210. I felt as if I was being up-sold but my friend and I decided to try the wine in the $70 range. It was very good and we had a great meal. The 2nd night when we finally got the wine list my husband asked for the same bottle we had and the same server who had shown us the $70 bottle now showed us some wine that started at $89. This is when I finally said we were here before and he recognized us and got us the same from the 1st night.

Oh this burns my biscuits! I'd definitely say the server was trying to squeeze the extra wine cost out of you to pad the gratuity, perhaps. I would have told the manager about that, comparing the levels of service between the first time and second time. And I wouldn't let the wine scam go unnoticed.

All and all the restaurant is pretty and the 1st meal we had was really good. They make it clear that they are not associated with Disney and don't offer any discounts. I knew this ahead of time but not all people do and we saw people trying to use special dinning plans and discounts. I hate writing bad reviews but I just want people to be aware of what could happen!

This is really sad, because most reviews I've seen for Il Mulino echo your first visit.

 

[kabuki]

Oh this burns my biscuits! I'd definitely say the server was trying to squeeze the extra wine cost out of you to pad the gratuity, perhaps. I would have told the manager about that, comparing the levels of service between the first time and second time. And I wouldn't let the wine scam go unnoticed.



This is really sad, because most reviews I've seen for Il Mulino echo your first visit.[/QUOTE]

This burns me too and makes me sad because the first time we went the food was GREAT! The wine thing has happend a lot when they see woman alone but when they did it again to my husband - it just stinks all the way around! Good thing for me (bad for my liver ) I know enough about wine so they don't pull it off too often. The wine we did have was fantastic. Oh well! Live and Learn. I will write them and let them know what happend!

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for the review.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Il Mulino SHOULD have better food and service than your visit #2.
The drunks can happen anywhere--Swan/Dolphin are both meeting/convention hotels, so I suppose the staff at Il MUlino are well used to such things.
Sounds to me the servers aren't particularly "Disney friendly"????

 

[Robert P]

Sorry about your second visit. Doesn't sound enjoyable.

I've reviewed Il Mulino in my thread, and our first visit was exceptional. We have a second visit planned for April. I hope that there won't be a noticeable change between the two. Either way, I will post a review after our next experience.

 

[kabuki]

Il Mulino SHOULD have better food and service than your visit #2.
The drunks can happen anywhere--Swan/Dolphin are both meeting/convention hotels, so I suppose the staff at Il MUlino are well used to such things.
Sounds to me the servers aren't particularly "Disney friendly"????

I agree about the drunks.. it's hard in that area with all the conventions and that didn't bother us. We know what to expect!

Saying Disney Un-friendly is a good way to put it. I understand that they have two guests - conventions and Disney people but there has to be a better way to handle the Disney situation then what was presented.

 

[kabuki]

Sorry about your second visit. Doesn't sound enjoyable.

I've reviewed Il Mulino in my thread, and our first visit was exceptional. We have a second visit planned for April. I hope that there won't be a noticeable change between the two. Either way, I will post a review after our next experience.

Robert -
Your review is what made me want to go. I have to say that the 1st visit for us was like what you said in your post. Great food!!! I am hoping that it was an off night and can't wait to hear about your experience in April. I am sure it will be right on track!
Everyone isn't going to have the same time everyone else does. I just enjoy these threads so much to see what everyone else likes and what they don't.

 

[Robert P]

Robert -

Everyone isn't going to have the same time everyone else does.

That is so true. But I would hope for more consistancy between visits, especially when having the same waitstaff team. Usually, if there is a problem with the food or the timing, it can be explained away or brushed off as no big deal. But a huge difference in service, from the same waitstaff, on visits that close together, is 'concerning' indeed.

We are giving it a try again in April. I'll bring the camera this time.

And ITA with the ending to your first post.
I hate writing bad reviews as well, but if we don't write about our experiences, the information doesn't get out there and isn't available for others. It is much more fun to write a really good review, any day of the week.

Good, bad, or ugly - thank you for posting.

Rob

 

[Blondie]

For some reason, my brain transcribed your review to read Tutto Italia! Therefore, I've deleted my post as it doesn't apply!

Sheesh!

 

[BriarRosie]

I'm wondering if your servers couldn't handle the Saturday night crowd levels as much as a Thursday night level? I still can't wrap my mind around such a huge level of inconsistency.